1974 Ford Bronco Ranger Build Thread (My First!)

[IVIaverick]

I picked up my very first Early Bronco today and I actually had to tear myself away from it to come in the house cuz' it's late and cold. haha

First off, why didn't you guys tell me how freakin' AMAZING these things are. The descriptions and pictures don't do these things justice. I have never seen a vehicle that portrays what a true 4x4 should be like the Bronco. I had only seen one in person and it was in rough shape so I was in for a treat when mine rolled down the street into view. Don't get me wrong, it needs some work, but it still has its original, classic look and I've never been around a vehicle with the presence of this Bronco. To some people it's a big pile of metal and inanimate parts, but to the ones who truly understand, it touches a man's soul like nothing I've ever felt. My dad went with me since he loves the old cars and 4x4's as I do and he said he had never seen me smiling like I did when the Bronco rolled into view. I was literally almost to the point of excitement to jump up and down and run to meet it. haha I know this is a bit deep and excessive for buying a vehicle, but hopefully you guys understand what I mean. When I got home, I came inside and grabbed a bite to eat and ended up back in the Bronco just sitting there smiling and checking it all out for a solid few hours. lol It's incredible.

I'm done ranting and I'll tell you guys about the Bronco. (I'll post pics tomorrow when it's light out.) It's a 1974 Ford Bronco Ranger w/ the original 302 V8 and 3 on the tree transmission. (This along with the manual steering and brakes took a bit of acclimation but it didn't take me too long.) It has ALL of the original components including the Paint Job, Seats, Steering Wheel, tire carrier and spare, radio, hub caps, door inserts and quarter panel inserts, all dash knobs and dash pad, etc. It is truly a rare find. It also has a 6 point roll cage that I'm not crazy about and will most likely remove. The front bar is scrubbed loudly by the wiper arms as they turn and it gets in the way of getting into the vehicle, pushing the emergency brake, and opening the glove box. My main fear was the mechanical condition of the Bronco. However, once I heard it rumbling as it came down the road, those fears were quickly calmed. It sounds so powerful and rumbles beautifully. All 4 or 5 times I have cranked it, it roared to life instantly and never acted up. I went from a 3.2L V6 Chrysler Crossfire to my 5.0L 302 V8 Bronco and WOW!!!! is all I have to say. I never imagined it would have such power. A simple, quick depression of the gas pedal will raise the front end off of the road. I had to drive it an hour and a half back home (the PO drove it an hour and a half to meet me as well) and it ran strong and true the entire way. I ran around 55-60 and it cruised along better and smoother than the 2004 Jeep Wrangler Sahara that I used to have. (It was lifted and on 33's but still BEYOND impressive since the Bronco has a 2.5" Suspension and 1" Body Lift and is on 31's.)

We stopped at a gas station and a McDonald's on the way back and at both places, the stares and comments made it even more sweet. I saw a little boy and his dad walk by and the boy (probably 6 or 7) goes "Woah, Dad that is awesome!" and his dad almost smacked into a pay phone looking back at it. lol Then, a few teenage girls in a Honda pulled up as I was walking out of the store and they were getting out of the car to go in, I heard one say "wow, that is nice". Apparently, Kentucky women know what's up. haha

The guy I bought it from is a true Bronco guy. I could tell by how he looked at it and the way he acted how much he loved it and hated to sell it. He and I went for a drive in it and my dad said while we were gone, the guy's wife told him that she could not believe he sold it because he loved it but he told me that he didn't have enough time to work on it anymore and wanted to get one that was further along in the restoration. When he handed me the keys (I had told him that I planned to possibly modify the rear fenders in order to fit 35's on it) he said "the only thing I ask of you, please don't cut it" and I promised him I wouldn't. I didn't understand the true beauty of their originality until I finally saw one and now own one. My intentions are now to restore everything as it was originally and bring it back to its former glory.

The first few issues I am going to fix are the driver/passenger floor pans and door posts. They are the only bad areas on the Bronco and there is a friend of my dad's who said he will take care of it for a few hundred bucks. He also has another old friend who is talented with body work and paint who will take care of a repaint for me in an inexpensive manner. I had originally planned on repainting it Grabber Blue but once I saw the Bronco, I can't bring myself to do it. The Green/White Ranger Paint Scheme is gorgeous, even in its faded, chipped state and I want to make it beautiful once more.

The other few things I need to fix and need a little assistance with:

Turn Signals - The two signals in the grill are too large for the holes in the grill. Is that normal or are there others that would actually fit in there? The right signal works fine but the left signal does not. Should I just order new signals all around or is there something else I should check for first?

Fuel Gauge - It doesn't work and I think it's because the PO recently replaced the fuel tank. It has places for dual tanks, but he only installed a 12 gallon tank in the rear slot. I need to get the fuel gauge working and get a new tank for the front slot so definitely need help here.

Sound System - I need a little help here but mostly ideas. First off, what is the size of the speaker that originally came in the Dash of the Rangers? It has a slot for a speaker with 4 screws but the wires are hanging down and there's no speaker behind the dash. I will definitely install a speaker there. The Bronco has its original AM/FM Radio as I mentioned earlier and I really don't want to remove that. I thought about installing a console with a slot for the head unit in it, but I honestly enjoy the area between the seats and how easy it makes it to move around in the Bronco. If I decide to not go that route, are there any other options? I thought about mounting it maybe in the glove box, but I don't really want to put holes in that either since the dash is in great shape. I'm going to use my IPhone wirelessly for music instead of having to unlock it to insert cd's all the time so accessibility isn't too much of an issue. If the console is my only logical option, I will stick with that route.

My ideas so far for Speakers, Sub, and Amp are:

Speakers:
- 1x Speaker in Dash Slot
- BC Wiper Motor Cover w/ 2x 5.25" Speakers & IPod Mount
- Sound Bar w/ Speakers (Normally 2x 6" Woofers, 2x 2" Midrange, and 2x 1" Tweeters) and/or the (I think?) Marine Speakers that would mount to the roll bar
- Box under rear seat w/ Speakers and Subs or maybe just Subs?
- Anyone have other/better ideas?

Sub(s): If it will work in a console and I decide to go that way, One Sub in the Console and 1-2 in the box under the rear seat. If not, 2 in the box under the rear seat.

Amp: Maybe mounted under the passenger seat or where would be best?


That is all for right now. I will look it over more in the morning to see if there's anything else. My top priorities, of course, are the few rust problems and the turn signals & fuel gauge, but I do want to get my music up and running shortly after so I'm just trying to plan it out. I will have to wait until I get the flooring fixed and Rhino-Lined to mount a few of the things, but I will build it as I go.

Thanks for all of the advice and the help. I appreciate you guys showing me the light and leading me toward these amazing vehicles. I can't wait to get started!

 

[IVIaverick]

I couldn't sleep and I decided to go back out and check the speaker slot in the dash. I took the 4 screws out and lo and behold, look what I found!

Is this the original speaker from 1974? (Looks like it has been blown but still an interesting discovery.)

​

 

[Mountain Ram]

Congrats on the find. I have been following your other threads as I am looking for a bronco as well. I am over in Bristol and know how hard it can be to find a good one. I have been as far as Raleigh to look at one and am headed to Chattanooga next...

Can I ask how much you gave for it?

Tocc

 

[Scoop]

Sounds like a nice find. I also have 74 Ranger - they are, of course, one of my favorites! Your's sounds cool in green.

Turn Signals - The two signals in the grill are too large for the holes in the grill. Is that normal or are there others that would actually fit in there? The right signal works fine but the left signal does not. Should I just order new signals all around or is there something else I should check for first?

Ford went to larger turn signals in '69 to meet federal safety requirements for lighting and reflectors. But Ford never changed the grill for the bigger lights. You can retrofit the original 66-68 turn signal lenses into newer Broncos fairly easialy - just search for a tech article on doing it - but if your new plan is for a stock look, I would leave the correct ones on it.

 

[IVIaverick]

Congrats on the find. I have been following your other threads as I am looking for a bronco as well. I am over in Bristol and know how hard it can be to find a good one. I have been as far as Raleigh to look at one and am headed to Chattanooga next...

Can I ask how much you gave for it?

Tocc

It took me a while to locate one. I've only been searching extensively for 2-3 months but I've had my eye out for a year or so and this is the only one I've seen that fit my wants and needs. I figured that around here there would be a decent supply of them but it seems the ones that have been kept were put out in fields and left to rot which makes me sad.

I paid $3,000 for this one. I'm not sure if I got a good deal or not, but I'm beyond happy with it. It's sound mechanically, in decent shape otherwise, and came with all of its original parts.

Good Luck on your search and thanks for the congrats.

Sounds like a nice find. I also have 74 Ranger - they are, of course, one of my favorites! Your's sounds cool in green.

Ford went to larger turn signals in '69 to meet federal safety requirements for lighting and reflectors. But Ford never changed the grill for the bigger lights. You can retrofit the original 66-68 turn signal lenses into newer Broncos fairly easialy - just search for a tech article on doing it - but if your new plan is for a stock look, I would leave the correct ones on it.

I will post pics in just a bit. I stayed up till like 5 in the morning tinkering with things so I just woke up. haha These things are addicting.

I will, indeed, stick with the correct ones, then. I remembered reading about them swapping out the signals but I figured they would have adjusted the grill to accommodate them. I will have to check and see what is wrong with them. The right signals work fine but the left ones aren't lighting up. It's pretty obvious what I will be doing all day. haha I can't drive it until Monday morning because it doesn't have tags/inspection sticker/insurance yet which is killing me.

 

[IVIaverick]

Sorry for the delay, I've had a hectic few days trying to get everything taken care of.

I discovered something yesterday that made me extremely happy. My Bronco only has 40,000 original miles on it. I saw that the odometer said 40,000 when I hopped in to test drive it, but I figured it was 140,000 since it is a 38 year old truck. However, I checked the title which showed 40,000 as the actual mileage and checked with the previous owner for vehicle history which confirmed it as the original owner had it for 28 years and didn't drive it that much and then the owner before the guy I bought it from had a restoration shop where it mostly sat in for 8 years. It runs perfectly so I have no trouble believing it is low mileage.

Now, I need some help from you guys on a few repairs I need to make.


1) My parking brake does not work and if I park in slanted areas with the Bronco in gear, it rolls and it's a bit scary. haha I have to park where they have the blocks at the end of the parking space and and let the Bronco rest on that block before it will stay there. If the place is level, it's okay. But, many parking lots around here aren't level so I definitely need to fix it.

How do I fix that and what do I need to buy to make it work?


2) My turn signals are not working properly. The right signals work, but very slowly. I'm not sure if that is normal? There is at least 2-3 seconds between each blink. The left signals don't work at all. The lights all light up but do not blink. I am also missing the side marker light from the front right of the Bronco.

Any idea of how to fix these issues and can I pick any of this stuff up at Advance Auto or will I have to order it from a Bronco-specific website? Looking for the cheapest solution without sacrificing quality, of course.


3) My horn does not work. When I depress the horn button on the steering wheel (It is the original steering wheel with the horn ring) I can hear it click under the hood which means that the mechanical parts seem to be working but there's no sound coming out.

How do I fix this and is there anything I need to order?


4) I have the original seats that I want to reinstall, however, at some point in the Bronco's life, one of the owners removed the Bronco seats and welded their mounting brackets to some 1970's Porsche seats.

I will have to order new brackets, right? And can I get anything out of the Porsche seats if I sell them? lol I'm honestly not sure why anyone would have swapped them. The Bronco seats are much nicer and more comfortable and they're the original seats....


5) I need to order the Driver/Passenger Floor Pans and Door Locks and the Driver's Side Rear Wheel Well Housing. Where is the best/cheapest place to get the metal from? I have a friend to remove the current ones and install the new ones but I'm not sure where to get them from.


I think that's it for now. I will post more questions if I need more help.

Thanks!

 

[IVIaverick]

I'm no expert, but this is my horn, isn't it? lol I found it in a pile of "spare parts" that I received with the Bronco. Is there any way to reinstall it or test it?

​

 

[DirtDonk]

...2) My turn signals are not working properly. The right signals work, but very slowly. I'm not sure if that is normal? There is at least 2-3 seconds between each blink. The left signals don't work at all. The lights all light up but do not blink. I am also missing the side marker light from the front right of the Bronco.

Any idea of how to fix these issues and can I pick any of this stuff up at Advance Auto or will I have to order it from a Bronco-specific website? Looking for the cheapest solution without sacrificing quality, of course.

To get new sidemarker lights, your best bet is probably to start getting to know the Bronco vendors! I'm assuming that the parts are still available, since someone still manufactures them somewhere, but most of the normal auto parts chains won't necessarily carry them.

Check all of your bulbs first. A bad bulb can cause the blinkers to blink slowly.
Check/clean/repair/find/make the ground connections at each corner. The tail lights ground through their buckets to the body, but also have a small ground wire to the body near the tail gate. Make sure that rust is not causing issues.
The headlights and running lights/turn signals ground with wires to the core support and inner fender walls. These can get rusty, get loose, fall off, all sorts of things.
Also, the body parts themselves can become "disconnected" from each other with enough rust around the spot welds. Shouldn't really be possible, but it is. At least with Broncos!

And speaking of grounds... Make sure that your main battery ground goes to BOTH the engine block near the starter, AND the body at the fender.
Also, might as well add one (at least) from the engine to the firewall and engine to the frame.
You'll be amazed at how many existing and potential electrical issues that this will fix.

3) My horn does not work. When I depress the horn button on the steering wheel (It is the original steering wheel with the horn ring) I can hear it click under the hood which means that the mechanical parts seem to be working but there's no sound coming out.

Your '74 should have a horn relay, which is probably what you hear clicking. It will be mounted to the inner fender wall near the starter relay and battery and be powered by a heavy gauge Yellow wire from the starter relay directly. The case of the relay is grounded through it's mounting screw to the body, and the horn button energizes it.
The wire going out to the horn is either disconnected, the horn does not work any more, or the relay is not actually working. Most likely the horn is either dead or not grounded.
Look under the battery and/or under the windshield washer reservoir.
Hope that helps.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

I'm no expert, but this is my horn, isn't it? lol I found it in a pile of "spare parts" that I received with the Bronco. Is there any way to reinstall it or test it?

Well there 'ya go then! Yep, that's your horn. No wonder it doesn't work. ;D
You can test it with a wire from the positive side of the battery to the connector while you hold it against a good ground, like a bare bolt or something.
If you can't find a good grounding spot, simply hold it against the negative post, or use a second wire from the negative side of the battery to the case of the horn.
If that doesn't get it to work, you can mess with the adjusting screw, or just get a new pair of horns from the local auto parts store.
Most EB's came with only one horn, but there was a dual-horn option in some years.

If it works when tested, go ahead and bolt it back on. Look under the battery for an existing hole that looks like it had a bolt going through it and mount it up.

Good find. What else is in that pile-o-parts?

Paul

 

[IVIaverick]

Sorry for posting the other thread. I wasn't sure if many ppl would view this one since it is listed as a build thread and not asking for help. Just want to get it all taken care of so I can actually drive it.

I will definitely check everything in the morning. I've gotta wait until it's light out so I can see. Unfortunately, I live in an apartment so no garage to work in at night as the Bronco is sitting on the street.

I was extremely impressed with everything that was included. When he installed the roll cage, it got in a way of a lot of the parts so he removed them but kept them so I have basically everything that came on the Bronco originally. I believe most of what is included are the bolts and such from them.

 

[DrLathrop]

any pictures of your new ride?

 

[Explorer]

Go back to your profile and put in your location. I help some people out when they are close enough as do others. May be someone in your area willing to advise.

 

[DirtDonk]

Sorry for posting the other thread. I wasn't sure if many ppl would view this one since it is listed as a build thread and not asking for help. Just want to get it all taken care of so I can actually drive it.

Good point. Logical, and absolutely right to think so. Sorry I gave you a hard time about it then.
We try to keep the duplicate usage down when we can of course, but I can understand wanting to get answers as quick as possible to a problem. Been there...
And in a future search, a thread specifically about the problem would likely come up quicker and without as much searching. So good call.

Carry on!

Paul

 

[hardcharger]

just watch out they multiply, i went from 1 to 2 completely without realizing it