Project...WCB Inspired Mod Motored Pre-Runner

I have a few posts in various places but I thought I would document my buildup of the 4.6 mod motored pre-runner. The intention is to run Colorado trails exploring, no heavy rock crawling, jump a couple curbs at the local mall and drive to work on those days I want to keep the Shelby's at home.
In any case here we go.

It frankly started out with this, the old RockNHorse Bronco John Bundy built. Narrowed 8 inches cage, coilovers, etc, etc.

I liked it but I thought it would be cool if it had a little more room for the family and dogs (close to 300lbs of Newfoundlands), had pre-runner fenders, was a bit more streetable, had one of those mod motors I read about, it would be nice to have doors and a hard top in case I can pull off talking the wife into one of the new GT500s so I can drive the Bronco in the winter, and instead of the C6 I really would like to try the NV3550.

Hmm, maybe this calls for a do-over....

Enter Craigslist,
I JUMPED on a near rust free 1969 Sport with every bit of Chrome they have ever put on an early Bronco, plus most of a 1974 the guy parted out for PS and other later model options. The truck came with so much I actually felt like I ripped him off as I was driving home, but I did give him full asking price.

I have seen hundreds if not thousands of Bronco's since childhood. My dad loves them, has 4 of them right now and as much as they say rust free, ALL Bronco's have rust. It may be hidden very well, but somewhere in a crack or crevice is a little bit of cancer brewing even on the nicest Bronco.

That being said I decided to pro actively hit a couple spots on the inner fenders and take out the Drivers floor board.

My plan is to DIY liner the interior and engine compartment body color and DIY liner the underside black.
I was pretty hot on doing a Sand Camo wrap after visiting SEMA but that has cooled down to at best a Green digital camo wrap or just paint the body a nice Green in the stock 74 range or Olive drab Green. There was a pretty cool color wasted on a heep that caught my eye at Sema.

In the mean time I started to amass parts,
NV3550, thanks Craigslist
98 MarkVIII 4.6 via ebay, sub 100k mile motor from a good source.
5.5 complete Monster lift, thanks Duffs!
35x15 Mud Terrain KM, thanks Craigslist
Buckaroo hood and 1inch body lift Thanks Wildhorses
NV3550 adapter kit thanks Duffs
EFI fuel Tank, thanks BC Broncos
Tinted rear sliding windows thanks Duffs
WCB Prerunner fenders thanks Ebay
4 15x8 steel wheels thanks Craigslist
Complete Cobra top end conversion for the MarkIII from SVTperformance forums.

***Incedentally this last purchase I realized paypal is a very dangerous tool for online transactions. For one, anything purchased outside of ebay is not covered by paypal. This means they will ask nicely for the two of you two come to an agreement but will do nothing to anyone if there can be no resolution. In my case the buyer packed my stuff in the cardboard equivalent of a paper bag. By the time it got from California to my house most the injectors and parts i bought were either lost out of the tears in the box or smashed due to no packing material. BE VERY WEARY OF USING PAYPAL OUTSIDE OF EBAY!!!**********


There are several other purchases I made I am sure, I have already been to the hardware store 50 times for bolts but that is part of the fun of the project.

The other nice thing about all the parts I have bought is the money I have made selling the stuff I did not want. It has funded most of the extra stuff I bought outside of the big parts (suspension kit etc.)

BTW,
I know several members here have rolled over seeing this or will roll over seeing this but the once stock rear has been cut. The truck suffered two minor fender benders over time, one crushing the drivers fender, the other crushing the passenger rear quarter. Frankly with as easy as it would be to put quarters on an EB, its no big deal. Skip to the next post or cover your eyes for these pictures...

Then after being bored with body work, I welded angle Iron in the passenger compartment with the new Miller 180 Autoset I bought (GREAT 220 welder) My welds look awesome compared to what I did with my old Lincoln 110 unit. Not awesome by professional welder standards but great for the garage mechanic. I pulled the top, windshield glass, doors, tailgate and every part I could off the tub to prepare for removal.

I then hit a point I have never, luckily, been at before. The first time I have rolled a Bronco!%)









Well, it was just on its side, and I layed the kids 3 inch thick foam toboggan under the quarters. I used rachet straps to hoist the body up to the I beam in my garage, pulled the chassis out and slowly lowered the body down on its side. It worked great. Tubs are alot lighter than I had thought. This allowed me to strip the frame and wash, wire, and sand in preparation for both the weld on Duff raidus brackets and the extended shock mounts. I also got the NV3550 4.6 and frame together for the first time to see how it worked together. I realized that the rear crossmember would have to be moved. The engine and tranny combo moved the rear crossmember forward about 1.5 inches. I also realized I will need custom headers and had major problems with the starter unless I found alternatives. I also had to remove the AC unit as it would not clear the frame, if I left the frame stock.
I did find a starter that is clockable, got over having no AC and finalized my welds for the remaining brackets.

I unfortunately realized that I have no pictures of the prep or painting of the frame. Suffice to say I sanded and brushed for ever, power washed, sanded more, degreased, POR15'd the frame and then topcoated the entire thing with black hammerite. I was going to powder coat the frame but a buddy talked me out of it as I have already have new plans to change the shock mounts so that I can keep the 1 inch body lift and not go with 2 inches or better. The truck is surprisingly tall. I always wanted more than a 3.5 inch lift but I really wish I would have kept it at 3.5 to 4.5. Once I get it off the dollys it will drop 3 inches, plus loading a full cage bumpers and other gear into it should drop it another 1-2 inches.

I then reversed my tub removal process and lowered the tub back into place to see fitment. This is the point that caused me to rethink my shock mount strategy. Now I can simply grind and re-POR15 the spots. There is alot of fender well showing in the front and those 15x8 wheels I bought way back when are not going to work. I need more offset as even the rears with the Gorrilla flares will not stick out enough.
I could pretty easily run full width axles but both the 77 rear housing with 31sp axles and the 44 up front are all rebuilt (minus the ring and pinion) and have Aussie lockers in each. I really don't want to do that so I will keep scouring my favorite source Craigslist for some wheels.

Ok, my last post for tonight.

I still really want the 4.6 mod motor, I have to say though this is not a mod for the faint of heart. All things being equal, with a nice 351w I should be able to get this thing running by summer easily. As you will see below though there are some new twists to the process that will slow me down. The firewall and drivers valve cover are in direct conflict for the factory Master Cylinder holes. I also find that the IMRC controls which typically mount to the back of the engine will not fit. This means either relocate them or run without. (for those who do not know the mod lingo, the early 4.6 DOHC motors ran an intake manifold runner control that basically made it a sohc motor at low rpm and a dohc at high rpm this gave a better torque curve) This was proving to be a challenge anyway as the early DOHC motors ran IMRCs but no COP (Coil on plug) while the later engines ran COP but no IMRC. I like the cleanliness of the COP motors, no plug wires visible etc. Given the 97 and 98 MarkVIII motor was the only one to blend both finding aftermarket engine managment systems was proving to be difficult. (plus having no distributor or plug wires gave a little more justification for the ARB snorkle I kept off my old Defender 90 %) ) (I know that last part will catch me some flack but come on guys, its my truck, I am building it the way I want it, and there can be some hellatiously deep puddles around the local mall!!)

All that being said, I am a little frustrated with the 4.6 right now and would probably take a nice 351w in trade for the whole mess but I will persevere as once its done it will be a pretty cool power plant.

Here are the remaining pictures showing the engine at home in the frame, with the body on. I really need to recheck my engine angle as I have a rear slope at about 6 degrees. From what I can tell, at least in the hotrod world the preferred would be 1-3 but that is also for a carbureted engine?

Any input on the last point would be appreciated!
Thanks and good night!
Dennis

Dennis,

That has changed alot in the time since I saw it when I picked up the frame. Looking good!!!! I sent you a pm.

Take Care,

John

Great Thread, keep it going you are doing a great job.;D

Wow! Great progress. Keep up the good work.

Awesome Detail Dennis... Keep up the good work

Thanks guys, I need the encouragement as my momentum has stalled out.

Hopefully I can get some stuff done this weekend.

Here is a picture I forgot to add last night, its my end goal a flared out wide body prerunner of sorts. The guys at TCP (mustang suspension vendor) took a 66 mustang and made it into a road race car with heavily flared wheel wells. Instead of doing it like Lou from Muscle car though they cut the top of the fenders and used a bottle jack to stretch them out a couple inches. They then welded in a couple pieces of steel to fill the space and it looked great. I think thats what I like best about the WCB fenders is the flare plus the original body lines are kept. I had intentions of doing that to the rear quarters but I think I will get it driving before I jump into that!

Nice job! Can't wait to see what the flared rear quarters look like when you're done. Keep up the good work.

Well I spent a few days on my truck over the last few weekends. Have the following done.
1. Clutch mounted, bellhousing on, clutch linkage figured out.
2. Transmission connected floor cut to clear the NV3550.
3. Transfer case resealed painted and installed on.
4. Full width axles are built. I am running front rotors mounted to the back of the axle wheel mounting flange. I will weld the calipers on once I get the truck loaded to ride weight so I can rotate my pinion accordingly. Front axles is completely rebuilt, new everything except housing.
5. Cut the dash out and welded in steel so I can redo it the way I want.
6. Decided to go tube front clip, so I cut out my inner fender structure and bent tubing up.
7. Old Tailgate was bowed and I could not get it back right so I found a new one patched it and stripped it for paint.
8. Mounted the BC fuel/brake line aluminum mounts.
9. Found a nice plate steel bumper off Craigslist for 100 bucks. Its never been mounted and looks like a Hanson or similar unit.
10. Decided I needed that last Hanson front bumper to match!
11. Found a tilt column from the junk yard. Dissassembled it cut the auto stuff off and am almost done smoothing the shift collar for manual use.
(I dont have pictures but while pulling the steering wheel, I busted 1/3 of my front tooth off OUCH
12. While pulling the column, noticed the 79 had front and rear sway bars. Got those and the brackets for CHEAP at the U-pull.
13. While walking down the main isle I noticed an Astro with the elusive angled bracket. snatched that up while I was there.
14. Ordered two kits of SEM tintable bedliner for the underside and inside of the tub. THis should be enough since there is no inner fenders to do.
15. Floor pan on the DS has been finished.
16. Mounted my BC 23g fuel tank with integrated fuel pump in the frame.

I am sure I am forgetting something but I have been in analysis paralysis over the paint color. I think I am going to do the SEM in a medium dark grey and am looking at Grabber blue, orange, orange to the body chrome, white below....maybe going back to a wrap. I am basically all over the map on this topic and I think the family is tired of hearing, "what do you think of this color?" I figure all the times in 14 years of marriage I have had to answer my wife's questions of how does this dress/outfit/top look they owe me.

In any case here are a few pictures of the progress.

Sweet man.. That's a LOT of progress.. Good work..

+1 for Grabber Blue with the gray bedliner.

What do you think of those WCB Prerunner front fenders ? Hows the fit & finish ? Wanting a set but gagging at the price !

stevew said:

What do you think of those WCB Prerunner front fenders ? Hows the fit & finish ? Wanting a set but gagging at the price !

Click to expand...

They're awesome. Fit/finish is top notch. Now if they would only make matching bedsides....Hmmmm. (Hi Dusty)

$450 for a pair of custom fenders is a good price if you ask me....that's cheaper than you can get a pair of stock fiberglass fenders for and only ~$100 more than stock steel fenders.

Nice progress and nice GT500 there dnewman9...I got to drive a couple development vehicles back when I was working on the Mustang. That thing's an animal.