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Parts Truck Search

Imagator

Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2006
Messages
748
Loc.
Land O' Lakes, FL
I would like to upgrade my steering, brakes, gears, axels, tranny and transfer case. My bronco is a 2x4 '66 with stock brakes and a 5.0 302 and auto trans from a '85 mustang.
I am the hard core offroad type but not in my Bronco. I am building this one for my dad and I so it will be used mainly on country roads and light offroad trails. Regardless, I still want to make sure it is solid and able to handle the occasional unavoidable tuff terrain.

Can anyone recommend a year and make of a newer parts truck that would have most or everything I need for my upgrades?
 

73stallion

Bronco Guru
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Messages
16,786
Loc.
Eugene, OR
how is it a 2wd, did someone convert it?

starting in '71 they had dana 44's. in '73 they came with C4's. in '76 they came with power disc brakes. the transfer cases were all dana 20's, but the earlier ones had lower gearing.

get a dana 44, put in a stock power steering box (if you can find one), get a dual return saginaw pump, put on hydroboost brakes. if you get a '71 to '75 dana 44, it's easy to install GM discs on it. many people have done it, i've done 14 of them.
 
OP
OP
I

Imagator

Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2006
Messages
748
Loc.
Land O' Lakes, FL
73 Stallion

Thanks Stallion! The reason it is 2x4 is because The guy that owned it before me took out the Motor, tranny and transrfer case and replaced it with a tranny from a 85 mustang leaving it as a 2x4.

The information you gave me on the parts is very helpfull, however it is very hard to find used bronco's or parts in Florida. I was hoping to find a vehicle that might have everything I need so I could get it all at once. Also, you know how it goes when you buy used parts. You never know what kind of shape things are in until you recieve them. With all the stuff I need shipping is going to be very expensive. It looks like I am going to have to hit the junk yards and find things individualy. I know my chances of finding early Bronco's in junk yards down her is are slim to none. What alternative vehicles and year should I be looking for to get the stuff I need. By the way I think your the same guy that saved me a bunch of money and kept me from making a huge mistake a few months ago when I was building my motor. At my skill level I would never have gotten anywhere without the advice from guys like you. I am in the paint stage of my project and will post some pictures this week. Thank you for taking time to help me. I would be broke and lost without it, I really mean it, Thanks Man!
 

73stallion

Bronco Guru
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Messages
16,786
Loc.
Eugene, OR
astro vans are very popular to get hydroboosts out of, but many other newer vehicles are using them. mustangs, vans, F series trucks, old ford wagons, lincolns, all good donors. usually if you find one of those vehicles to get the hydro from, it'll have a dual return PS pump,grab it!

power steering boxes can be gotten from '77 to '79 F-150 4x4's. you'll have to reverse the turn direction though. many vendors are now selling nissan frontier boxes too, i don't know yet what they do to make them ready for a bronco. plus side is the frontier box bolts directly up to the stock bronco holes.

axles, you can get them from a F100 or F150, but they're gonna be quite a bit wider. if you get one from a F series, make sure to get one that has welded on wedges.

i'm just another guy here. i've learned from my mistakes like everyone else, and i just try to help others not break theirs like i have mine. believe me, i've learned a lot off this site too!
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
34,835
73stallion said:
power steering boxes can be gotten from '77 to '79 F-150 4x4's. you'll have to reverse the turn direction though. many vendors are now selling nissan frontier boxes too, i don't know yet what they do to make them ready for a bronco. plus side is the frontier box bolts directly up to the stock bronco holes.

As for the Frontier boxes sold by the Bronco houses, they are not really frontier boxes. They are Delphi boxes specially made for the bronco to the venders specs. Great way to go if you want a new steering box.
 

broncnaz

Bronco Guru
Joined
May 22, 2003
Messages
24,341
Your D30 front axle can be converted to Disc's using the same GM setup 73 stallion mentioned if your stay with tires under 33in the D30 will be fine. Hydro boost is nice but not nessesary especailly with smaller tires. I'd go with a P/S kit from one of the venders much less hassle than finding a box that needs to be converted plus you get pretty much every thing you need with the kits they may be pricey but you could endup paying just as much when your converted box ends up needing to be professionally rebuilt because it has too much play in it. There are a lot of Tranny and T case options out there depends on what you want manual or auto? Many people get rid of the stock 3sp they are fine for light offroading you should be able to find one cheap sometimes people give them away. Another good and cheap swap is the NP435 found in pickups until 1980 the 2wd version is used to mate to a stock EB t case, if you find a 78/79 pickup or bronco it should have a NP435 with a NP205 tcase many people use this combo in a bronco. You can also use the T-18 or T-19 common in pickups basically the same swap as the NP435. There are a lot of other swaps but they tend to start costing big $$. The C-4 auto tends to be hard to comeby it was only availible in EB's but they can be found usually in the $500 price range. The C-6 in pickups and full sized broncos wont work as it has a big block bolt pattern.
If your in no big hurry to do this you can watch the classifieds here it may take a while for stuff to show up thats close enough to you but it will sooner or later and you may endup getting the parts you want fairly cheap.
 

MikeEB

Sr. Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2005
Messages
414
Loc.
Grand Junction, CO
I think the short answer to your question Imagator is there are several vehicles that us Bronco owners swipe parts from. There isn't really one vehicle out there that you can pick up that will cover everything you need, most vehicles will have pro's and con's. The best vehicle will be a later model 76-77 bronco because you can pick up the 44 with discs and the power steering. If bronco's are difficult to come by, then your second best bet is to find a decent salvage yard in your area and pull from there. You can always search post or put up posts on here and people are more than willing to help you with what vehicle will be best for what. Buying an entire parts vehicle can often back fire since you run into the same problems that you mentioned about the reliability of the parts that you get on it. I would highly recommend getting in good with your local salvage yard and going from there.

P.S: Out here swooning your local salvage yard guy is like trying to train an alligator to be a pet, but maybe you will have better luck. ;D
 

trailpsycho

Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 11, 2003
Messages
4,856
I think your bes bet is to just be patient and wait...there are guys parting out vehicles/chasis all the time in the southeast. It may require you rent a trailer and drive somewhere like Atlanta, but if you can score the axles, tranny, TC and other heavy parts at one time, then its probably worth the road trip. I have seen alot of parts become available in AL too. Most of the time, people are probably willing to hold an item, provided you pay ahead for it, until you can make it through. Dont be afraid to ask. We are all on here trying-more-or less-to do the same thing, so hang in there. Best of luck.

I know I have seen other posts where people have the better part of a chasis available. When you find someone with that sort of deal, ask them to arrange the heavy stuff on a pallet, secure it and freight ship it to you. There is always a way...I prefer a road trip.

John
 
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