Bronco Restoration Tips?

Hi All,

I have a 77 bronco that I want to restore. I'm looking to build it up for general off roading and daily (winter in western MA) driving. I basically want it to look nice but not be concerned with dings and scratches when I take it off roading.

I bought the truck basically stock about 5 years ago in WA. Since then I put a 3.5 lift, power brakes, and power steering into it... still has the 3 on the tree. About 2 years after buying it, somebody stole it and was running drugs with it in the woods in WA. The police recovered it about 9 months later and called me to pick it up. They hot wired it, rolled it, and crashed it into a tree.

At a minimum, I think it needs the frame restored, the shock mounts rewelded, definitely body work, new electrical system, door seals, interior work, tranmission upgrade, lockers, paint, and probably more.

I moved to MA and brought it with me and I'm seriously considering restoring it.

I'm looking for:
-- Checklist of things that are generally done for a restoration and in what order
-- cost estimates for common things that are done for restoration
-- Where in MA I may be able to get the frame and body work done

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I'm sorry to hear about your past experiences. Here in the south west (border towns) smugglers stole our govt survey rig at the hotel, painted it Forest Service green w/ decals and made many successful runs back and forth. We only found out it was ours when the VIN did not show up in the forest service database.
I reccomend starting from the drivetrain up. Stop in at your local driveline shop, estimates are free and the pros have seen these rigs for 40+years. The gurus on this site can walk you through the remove/repair/replace
Jed

Thanks.

I've done a bit of research in this forum. Some advice I found tells me to take care of the frame and shock mounts first.

I'm thinking about taking the restoration process in phases so that it is driveable between phases but I can minimize the amount of work that has to be redone while moving from one phase to the next:

1) Frame & Shocks - have it sand blasted and primed then weld the shock mounts (not sure what a reasonable price would be to have somebody do this and if I need to pull the engine, etc)
2) Make it Street Legal (In MA they have a mandatory inspection test for a sticker) - Major body flaws, brakes, new electrical, lights, emissions, horn, exhaust, bumpers, floor pans, seat belts, fuel tank, etc
3) Reliability - Engine & carberator (rebuilds)
4) Comfort & Cosmetics - Paint, Interior (rugs?, etc), heater, radio, window & door seals
5) Trail ready - new tranny (C4 or NP435), new transfer case, roll cage, lockers, bumpers, etc...

Wondering if the ordering of this approach makes sense.

Don't know what order others may take but my approach has always been that form follows function. Fix or upgrade the mechanicals first, i.e. make it dead on reliable,safe,and as close to bulletproof as your driving/intended purpose/budget allows. Then....tackle the cosmetics, creature comforts,etc.
But foremost is to be realistic and honest with yourself. You don't really need the hassle and expense of 38 inch tires and four wheel disc brakes with an atlas t-case if your only going to be doing light wheeling twice a year.
Hope this helps
Greg

Thanks.

I'm trying to get it street legal before the winter and I'm worried that I may be biting off more than I can chew in the time frame. Also, it starts and the engine seems to be ok - which is why I'm considering waiting a bit on that.

I'm actually not even sure if steps 1 & 2 are too aspirational prior to november.

Sucks to here that. I am on the corner of RI/CT, MA lines and am nearing "completion" after 3 years.
I do have pretty good documentation on costs and problems I ran into. I built mine to look nice but not too nice as I want to wheel it a bit.
You are more than welcome to take a drive and check it out and chat.
I had my frame and underside of tub blasted for about $400 and the job was less than stellar so I bought a little 80lb blaster and finished it off. Welded my own shock mounts and exhaust. Not as bad as I thought is was going to be and learned how to weld too.
Post some pics up if you get a chance.
Just remember, costs in NE are a LOT more than other parts of the country.

Thanks for the offer - I'll send a private message to exchange info.

here are some pics - for some reason, they painted white spots after they crashed it... lucky me

http://rockstarexpress.com/photo(2).jpg
http://rockstarexpress.com/photo(3).jpg
http://rockstarexpress.com/photo(5).jpg
http://rockstarexpress.com/photo.jpg

If serious and ample funds to do it right, I'd be pleased to meet with you. Am in Southern VT and in the process of a complete, body-off build. Intent being to build the finest, Bronco doable for my purposes. Have been dicking with this crap over 35 years and pleased to help you avoid some pit falls. First being, a pristine, steel body Bronco wont last more then 3 or 4 years winter driving around here.

We do restos. All, part or free advice. Give us a call or E-mail