New project and build thread——-Hot Mess

[mp]

I want to take the family on a high country Colorado trail trip. Neither of my currrent stable were up to the task. My stock, uncut 76 Ranger does not have the trail capabilities and is carbed. My 73 crawler is definitely capable, but no heater, doors, and the narrowed body won’t accept a top. Heater and the capability to hold the heat in (soft top) are two requirements in order for my wife and kiddo to join me.

Plan A: So my first inclination was to build up an old tub I have with spare parts, find an Explorer donor, and call it a day. So I started gathering the missing parts, and started rust repair. Donor tub is solid, other than driver and passenger floorboards, AND the seat platform. I have replaced floor pans before, but seat platform is new territory. I won’t get to far into this work, as I quickly realized that with the available time and work space available, this was going to take a long time.

Plan B: Find something farther along and tweak to my needs. Take the family to Colorado, and then pass the Mountain Bronco on to someone else. In case you have not noticed, EB prices have gone insane. As luck would have it, a local LEBC member had a project for sale, and I bought it. And I emphasize PROJECT.

The Good:
Clean title
Local to me-I have wheeled with it in same group in the past
Mustang 5.0 EFI
700R4 transmission
Atlas 4 t-case
Full width D44, disc brakes, ARB, RCV axles, ram assist
Duff long arms
Full width 9 inch, 35 spline, strange nodular center section and axles, ARB, four linked suspension, BCB disc brakes
Narrowed front, but full width from cowl back
Stock heater, although not operational
BC Broncos rear quarter guards and upper quarter panel guards
Stretched wheelbase, front and rear
RJM EFI harness
Centech wiring harness
Hydroboost

The Bad:
Rusted out and tweaked driver front door post—needs replaced
Dents and broken welds—narrowed front end needs reworked
Motor smokes
No gauges work—wiring is a nightmare of rats nests and separate runs
Transmission never had TV cable set up—driven on and off trailer, and around block, but scared to go much farther until I get it sorted.
4 point cage that is not going to work
Missing or blown shocks
Crap seats
Plastic boat fuel cell, halfway buried in rear bed

In a nutshell, it’s a pile of good parts with questionable execution and installation. I introduce the Hot Mess.

 

[mp]

I realize I don’t really have a good side profile shot before I started blowing it apart. Sorry. I was not planning on documenting the build/refresh. Goal is to have truck ready for July 2021 mountain run.

The Plan:
Fix/replace door posts, fiberglass inserts, soft doors, soft top
Figure out 700R4. Might be the perfect auto transmission for the mountain bronco.
New 6 point cage for tall people but will fit under soft top/hard top
Mojave heater with defrost capabilities
Tube engine cage for narrowed front end
Redo rear inner wheel wells
Replace current fuel cell in bed with custom under truck gas tank
Working speedo, oil pressure, engine temp, fuel level, and transmission temp guages
Engine refresh—hopefully not a rebuild
Heated seats front, and new rear seat in effort to maximize cargo space

 

[mp]

Once I got it home, I started blowing it apart, identifying needed parts, and doing research.

Removed seats, cage, front clip, and weird aluminum panels riveted to floorboards and seat platform. I am trying to keep it running and driving in case I need to move it, so some of the fixes may appear to be out of order of what would be common sense.

Truck had two fuel pumps—a Carter pump on frame rail near rear cell that pushed to an E2000 mounted in the engine compartment. Why? We will never know. I should also mention that even though the Centech harness drops a Fuel Pump lead right at the rear driver frame, the previous owner had run separate standalone wires to each pump. And the high pressure line was various pieces of non-EFI rated soft hose.

Ripped it all out and moved the E2000 pusher to where the carter was located. Bought the longest length of 5/16 brake line I could find at the auto parts store, and used the provided Centech fuel line hook up. Success.

 

[mp]

700R4 is a complete mystery to me. I like the idea of having OD to get me to the trailhead, and it seems to have a good first gear. I knew the TV cable adjustment was important, so I had a sick feeling looking at it flopping around in the engine compartment, not attached to anything.

Asked some knowledgeable folks running this transmission, and quickly learned the only option for Mustang 5.0 EFI to 700R4 is a kit from Bowtie Overdrive out of Hesperian, CA. Ordered a kit and it arrived in short order. Kit requires you to drop the pan, and install the new cable. The rest of the kit bolts on to the throttle body swing arm, and then it is time to hook up a guage and check pressures.

Since I am trying to keep the truck mobile, I decided to tackle the throttle body portion first until I have a block of time long enough to drop the pan. Hot Mess came with a BC Bronco EFI throttle cable kit that pulls off the front of the intake. The Bow tie kit pulls from the rear. Rather than be the test dummy to see if I could get the opposing pulls to work, I decided to change out the throttle cable to the Lokar kit from Duff. I made an extension for the Lokar bracket for the TV cable, since Lokar doesn’t offer the extension alone without the purchase of their kick down kit. Starting with 1.4 inch separation for the two cables.

 

[mp]

EGR was plugged off, so I pulled the EGR and installed a delete plate. Noticed the throttle cable exits the cowl and runs straight into the intake. The fiberglass hood that came with the truck has plenty of room, so I decided to buy a 1 inch intake spacer to try and buy some room for the new routing. Found a $50 kit on EBay, and hope that does the trick. If I need more room, I will look at installing the extreme motor mounts down the road.

While intake was off, I simplified the vacuum lines and routing (I hate replacing cheap caps that start rotting the minute they are installed). No vacuum tree, EGR, or purge canister, so I removed the eagle claw from under the intake and replaced with a single port for the fuel pressure regulator.

Painted intake dark Ford Blue and mounted a spare 5.0 plate I had in my spare parts.

 

[Howard2x4x4]

I like what yur doin'! Keep the ball rollin'!

 

[Scoop]

Sounds like a good plan!

What are planning for the CO trip? Where and how long? Overlanding? Trailer? Roof top tent? Hotels along the way? Pick a central location and day trips? Or are you planning on attending the LEBC Mountain Ride next year?

 

[toddz69]

Loving this re-furb too! I've had the 700R4 in my rig for 14 years now - love it. The Bowtie TV setup works really well once it's installed and dialed in. There's a lot of good stuff on that rig - looks like it was just thrown together without any kind of finishing done.

Todd Z.

 

[sprdv1]

Nice... nothing but best wishes for it..

Gonna be a good one sir

 

[mp]

Sounds like a good plan!

What are planning for the CO trip? Where and how long? Overlanding? Trailer? Roof top tent? Hotels along the way? Pick a central location and day trips? Or are you planning on attending the LEBC Mountain Ride next year?

Shooting for LEBC run. Do you recognize the rig, or was it before your time?

 

[mp]

Today I worked on the passenger door post. The middle threaded weld nut had disappeared, and the front portion of the door post was rotten on the bottom 6 inches. Since there was no other damage, I bought the front portion of the post from JBG—as far as I know, they are the only one carrying this particular patch panel. Trimmed up until I could reach the hole, modified a new threaded weld nut to fit, and burned it in.

My next steps will be to POR-15 the inside as much as possible. I will usually tape a ruler to one of those cheap foam brushes, and liberally coat anything my extended paint brush will reach. Finally I will cut the patch panel down, and weld in place. Looking forward to trying out my new to me 240v spot welder for the outer edge.

The driver door post will be more work, and will likely require a full post replacement (which is on back order).

 

[mp]

I also got the intake mounted today, and several un-used holes in the firewall plugged up. Clearances are perfect now, and Lokar throttle cable routes right under the intake without any kinks. When I got it, the master cylinder was rubbing the edge of the intake. I made a spacer out of a piece of 1/8 flat steel and mounted it under the passenger side bolt. This kicked the hydroboost and MC over so no more rubbing.

 

[bulletpruf]

Interesting build. In for updates.

 

[marjama]

Glad to see your build thread on here Matt! Looks like that rig had some really good parts to start with on it. I think you'll like the 700r4 once you get it sorted out. Should be a great platform to start with!

 

[JeffG]

I certainly recognize the rig! Has the rear main seal been replaced yet? Last time I wheeled with this one, a few quarts of oil dotted the trail.

 

[Sporto]

Truck had two fuel pumps—a Carter pump on frame rail near rear cell that pushed to an E2000 mounted in the engine compartment. Why? We will never know.

I have seen this approach used many times, and it has been working for me flawlessly for the past 8 years of EFI driving since I did the conversion. Adding the low pressure Carter pump as a feeder to the frame mounted E2000 is a common and reliable way to keep steady fuel supply to the fuel rail. It is in lieu of using an accumulator as a means to keep fuel supply constant, and it also allows for the E2000 to be mounted closer to the rail and thus reduce the length of HP line needed.

Some say it is overkill, and that the E2000 on its own will work just fine, but it was an inexpensive and simple way to add a little more reliability to the fuel system.

Rich

 

[mp]

I have seen this approach used many times, and it has been working for me flawlessly for the past 8 years of EFI driving since I did the conversion. Adding the low pressure Carter pump as a feeder to the frame mounted E2000 is a common and reliable way to keep steady fuel supply to the fuel rail. It is in lieu of using an accumulator as a means to keep fuel supply constant, and it also allows for the E2000 to be mounted closer to the rail and thus reduce the length of HP line needed.

Some say it is overkill, and that the E2000 on its own will work just fine, but it was an inexpensive and simple way to add a little more reliability to the fuel system.

Rich

Rich-

I too remember the days of the pusher pump, puller pump, and accumulator. But it’s been proven to be unnecessary and redundant, and I like the simplistic approach. Ford ran the E2000 for years in a stock solo application. If I have problems, I will revisit.

 

[mp]

Today I slightly modified and installed the front bumper. I built this bumper almost 20 years ago—copied the Stealth bumper design. Sold it (and the rest of my bronco) just before I deployed to Afghanistan. Looking back, that was my favorite bronco and I wish i had just stored it. In fact, it woukd have been a great base for a Mountain Bronco. Oh well. Bumper went through a couple owners, got narrowed, and powder coated along the way, and I was able to track it down and reclaim it. Works perfect on this narrowed front end.

I could never understand why bumpers cost so much money, so I decided to build my own. Problem was at the time, I could not weld.....not that I am much better today. Fortunately I found a local bronco owner (and welder) and convinced him to help me out. Over a period of two months, after work and on evenings, I would drive the 30 minutes each way to his house to work on it.

I didn’t know squat about metal and what was suitable. Local metal place sold me some 2x5 but it was 3/8. This bumper is beefy. No plasma cutter, no chop saw. Just a bunch of cut off wheels, grinding wheels, and sweat. That was the last technical bumper I ever built, and now I know why they cost so much.

The steering box on Hot Mess was moved forward with the wheelbase stretch, so I had to modify one of the three frame contact points due to interference with the front steering box bolt. Chopped it off, and will add the third mount a little further forward, but for now it fits.

Threw the grill on just so it would look more like the finished product.

 

[mp]

I also started messing around with the “almost rust free” tailgate I recently purchased. Super straight, but much damage hidden underneath.

This tailgate was like a 7 layer dip. Paint over truck bed liner, over bondo,, over rust, over foam. Cut off the bottom cap and fitted a replacement lower tailgate cap that a fellow LEBC member brought back for me from a trip to Tom’s Bronco Parts.

Short of slopping POR15 inside, and weld through primer on the welded bits, this is as far as I go. Will leave it to a pro to weld, prep, and primer.

 

[toddz69]

Stealth bumpers - now there's something I haven't heard of in awhile!

Todd Z.