Hey CB, thanks for the pics. They really help.
But thanks even more for becoming a contributor right off the bat too! Helps keep the site as good as it is now.
I see a large red hose in the front of the engine. The PO (previous owner) obviously decided to bypass the heater core with a loop of hose to the two locations that normally get the standard routing of the hoses.
As mentioned, one hose comes from the top of the intake manifold and runs to that "heater control valve" that is hanging by a control cable at the back of the engine. From the other end of the valve that molded hose with the bends in it will attach to the hose nipple/barb/fitting sticking out of the firewall towards the inside (right).
The other fitting sticking out of the firewall will have another hose running from there straight (well, quite curved usually!) over to the fitting on the water pump where the red hose is connected in it's loop.
The knob inside the truck on the dash marked "TEMP" is the one that controls the heater's temperature through that valve.
It's possible that the heater core (the part you can't see at the other end of those hose fittings on the firewall) was leaking, or that the control valve was not shutting the flow of coolant down enough and the Bronco was getting hot (or wet) inside in the summer.
Hence the bypass...
While the brake booster vacuum hose is not technically incorrect, the standard location for it to connect to the engine is at the fitting near the back of the intake that usually has other hoses attached as well. The PCV valve hose would normally go to a fitting at the base of the carb, such as the one now connected to the brake booster.
However you have an aftermarket 4-barrel carburetor instead of the original Ford 2-bbl carb. Looks like either an Edelbrock, or it's Carter predecessor.
The carb you have actually has two fittings available, one front and one back, so both of your hoses can stay where they are.
The PCV valve that is on the driver's side valve cover inserted into the oil filler cap should only be connected to the front (or back) of the carburetor. The secondary smaller hose is normally not utilized on a Bronco. Or most other Fords for that matter. They just happen to use the same PCV valve on multiple applications and some very few would have a need for that upper fitting on the valve.
Maybe there were Broncos using them, but I've never seen one. So I would remove the smaller hose and cap off the small fitting on the PCV valve AND the one at the back of the intake.
Can you post up some more pics of the top of the engine, only closer to that red hose and PCV valve and carburetor? Just like to see some more details.
One more observation. Maybe it's not a problem in your case, but MSD and practically every other ignition coil manufacturer recommends that their coils be mounted vertically/upright instead of lying down like yours is.
It's common practice to mount them lying down because that's how Ford did it originally. However our original Ford coils were designed and manufactured with that in mind, while most other coils expect you to mount them standing up so they don't have to be as diligent at filling them with the oil (for cooling) as Ford did.
If it never gives you any grief, then fine. But if you start having issues with overheating ignition coils, try to find a spot where you can mount them upright instead.
And post more pics of the whole Bronco when you can. You'll find we love pics here!
Paul
