1st rebuild

Well I'm underway on my first rebuild I have ever done. I'm excited. I have had my bronco for five years now, since I was 18, and had always planned on rebuilding her but since she was my only vehical and I was in school all the time I never got around to it. Just fixed what went wrong here and there and replaced a motor and tranny. Oh yeah and the interior.....twice.

Well I just got back from Afghanistan and have plenty of money sitting around for just such a project. Plus I'm not starting back into school till the fall so I figured what the hell. I'm going to do what I have always wanted to do and just get the job done. The plan changed a tiny bit because I picked up a 77 off of this web site actually, and now the new bronco is getting rebuild while my old baby has to just sit back and watch for now.

Well anyway I'm just writing this because I am excited about the whole thing. I have big plans for this bronco and I'm going to be doing a lot of custom work to it. I just got back last week so I'm not too far along, but the pace is picking up now and by sunday the body should be off and I can start tearing into the frame.

I picked up my plasma cutter today so my fabrication times just got cut in half. No more taking hours and many many band saw blades to cut my diamond plating. No more sawzalls in ridiculously tight places. I am ready to go.

I've probably typed enough. Nobody wants to read a novel, especially since I havn't really said anything. I am going to cronical the whole thing on my myspace blog because everyone does there buildups here and I don't think you guys need another one. I will document some things. I'm going to pick-n-pull and finding a more modern heating system because the origional bronco system well...... doesn't work. Ok it does but it is obsolete and inefficient so I'm putting real vents in and a more attractive system than a giant box just sitting out in the open. I'll make sure to keep everyone informed of how that is going.

I'll also document to painting on here because a know a lot of people have questions about painting and I've been painting custom bikes as a hobby for a couple years so I'll write it all down for future reference for someone.

Ok, I'll stop wasteing everyone's time.............for now.

Good Luck and post lots of pics. I'm also just starting my first re-build and will be putting up pics soon.

Good Luck and keep us updated. I like reading about build ups and am sharing info on mine: The Obsession Begins. If some of the members aren't interested they will just skip your post. Don't forget to post plenty of pics! ;D

Got body off

Got the body off yesterday. Now the real work can begin.

I gathered a bunch of friends but my grandpa in his old man wisdom came up with the idea of usind some skylift jacks. Worked great.


Here I get soaked with fuel when I disconnect a fuel line I had forgotten.


Then we just jacked her up, stabalized it, and rolled the frame out from underneath.

I figured I'de post a picture of how she looked when I first got her since I havn't done that yet.

It sure is nice having that many friends around to help you with that. I only had four show up for my body removal. But, we didn't have the front clip attached, so it was a bit smaller and not so awkward to muscle around.

Lookin' good. Keep the pics coming. I like seeing build-up stories. ;D

Ok while I have the frame out in the open I'm installing shock hoops front and rear. Making a radiator support. putting in a wrap trap from wildhorses. I thought there were some other things I was going to do but I can't think of them right now.

Does anyone have any other suggestions of what else to do to the frame while the body is off? Anything you wish you would have done while it is nice and easy to get to and before it is painted.

rellimgneb said:

Does anyone have any other suggestions of what else to do to the frame while the body is off? Anything you wish you would have done while it is nice and easy to get to and before it is painted.

Click to expand...

You can beef up the frame around the power steering box area (see this thread: http://www.classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74892&highlight=steering+frame+box )

rellimgneb said:

Ok while I have the frame out in the open I'm installing shock hoops front and rear. Making a radiator support. putting in a wrap trap from wildhorses. I thought there were some other things I was going to do but I can't think of them right now.

Does anyone have any other suggestions of what else to do to the frame while the body is off? Anything you wish you would have done while it is nice and easy to get to and before it is painted.

Click to expand...

Take a day and grind off all the factory weld spatter. Makes a big difference.

No matter what, you will have thought of something else to be done after the frame has been painted

[QUOTE
Does anyone have any other suggestions of what else to do to the frame while the body is off? Anything you wish you would have done while it is nice and easy to get to and before it is painted.[/QUOTE]

I'm in the midst of doing the exact same thing (first rebuild). Wish I would have thought about the hi-lifts when I pulled my body off %) , oh well. I don't know how much wheeling you plan to do, or what else your build entails, but I'm stretching my wheel base out a few inches while I have everything apart. I personally didn't like the stance of mine with 5.5" and
2"bl. So I swapped full widths and am going to stretch my wheel base out 7". Just a couple thougths you might want to consider. Keep it coming, cool to see someone in the same stage I'm in.

Mike

Don't know which rear shock hoops you have, but if you have the Wild Horses 1440, you may consider exchanging it for the 1410. With the 1410 you don't have to cut you inner fender wells or drill new holes for the rear seat and seat belts. Plus, you'll have less welding to do for your lower shock mounts. I'm pretty sure you'll get just as much travel out of the 1410 also. I went w/ the 1440 and I like the ride and all of the flex, but if I had to do it again, I'd go with the 1410.

I don't mind cutting the inner fenders. The seat mounts to my roll bar so I'll just slide it back a couple of inches. I do have to cut part of the roll bar out and bend some new pipe to clear the covers for the shock hoops inside, but oh well. cutting and welding and bending is fun.

I'm not sure of which hoops they are. They came with the bronco when I bought it. It's the one I believe from wildhorse that goes all the way across the frame.

Rear stretch and shackle flip

I just finished moving my rear axle back about 4 1/2" and flipped the shackle. Something to consider. Here is the post: The Obsession Begins Post 15

So If I flip my shackles and move my front leaf mounts back about three inches. Do I need to move the rear mounts back or just make some longer shackles?

I'm just bumping my post to the top because it makes me feel important. I'm ordering some new parts right now. I'm tearing into my d20 to rebuild it and I'm thinking.... why the hell not just do it right and put in some lower gears while I'm at it. I just got my tax refund. Why not waste it on something I can brag about instead of something practical like mortgage or school expenses?

rellimgneb said:

So If I flip my shackles and move my front leaf mounts back about three inches. Do I need to move the rear mounts back or just make some longer shackles?

Click to expand...

I moved the front mount back about 4 1/2" and mounted it as high as possible while still having good access to the shackle nut. To get the shackle length and leaf height I wanted, I ended up moving the rear shackle 'FORWARD' and up. If you look closely at my pictures, the rear measurements are on the frame and the center line for the front shackle is also marked. The height of the front was set by placing an impact socket on the bolt and then a 1/8" plate between the socket and the frame.

Hope this helps

rellimgneb said:

I'm just bumping my post to the top because it makes me feel important. I'm ordering some new parts right now. I'm tearing into my d20 to rebuild it and I'm thinking.... why the hell not just do it right and put in some lower gears while I'm at it. I just got my tax refund. Why not waste it on something I can brag about instead of something practical like mortgage or school expenses?

Click to expand...

Don't forget a stronger rear output shaft ;D ;D

69Bronc said:

It sure is nice having that many friends around to help you with that. I only had four show up for my body removal. But, we didn't have the front clip attached, so it was a bit smaller and not so awkward to muscle around.

Lookin' good. Keep the pics coming. I like seeing build-up stories. ;D

Click to expand...

That would be nice the first time I took the body off the frame I was by my self, I tied some rope to the rafters of the garage lifted one end tied it up then did the other end when I had enough clearens I rolled the frame out.
Good luck on your project looks fun.

Ok just a quik question or two. Sorry I havn't posted any more pictures but my lap top took a crap and I need to install my camera software on a different computer.....if I can find it.

Anyway, I decided not to move my axle back because with my shock hoops it would put my rear seat too far back and I would like to have at least a little storage room. SO I just bought some 3 1/2 leafs and now I need to do my shackle flip. Not exactly sure where I need to locate the mounts when I flip them, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

My question is, I extended my radius arms 12 inches and I need to know where to locate the mount brackets for them. If I'm not mistaken I need to move them back 10.25 inches from the .5" mount bolt. Should I angle them down a little while I am at it? I figured I would just cut them off, then slap in a bolt and tack them on for now and when I get my front end together I can angle them down to where they need to be. I did buy the 7 degree bushing kit for them and I'm not sure if I even need to angle the brackets down at all. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you, I'll get some more pictures posted in the next couple days.

Ok I havn't posted anything in a while but I will take some more pictures tomorrow and get back on track. I have my front shock hoops welded on. My frame ends are boxed in. I ground all the factory weld splatter off. Welded up all the holes on outside of the frame that I am not going to be using.

I still need to brace my steering box mount. I will do that tomorrow along with some other welding to get finnished on the frame. I need to move my radius arm brackets back and angle them down, and I still need to flip my shackles. Then the frame will be ready for paint.

I'm building inboard shock mounts because I scored a rear seat from a mitsubiti montero that, "fold and tumbles" so I can't cut through my wheel wells with the rear hoops I was going to use. I will hopefully finnish that tomorrow and get some pictures with my hoops all welded on.

For now heres a picture of the frame stripped down and the unused holes welded up.