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Scoop's 72 Patina Build

Howard2x4x4

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I'm going to endurance test this Bronco today! 85 mile trip across the Texas Hill Country to BC Broncos to pick up some parts. It will be the farthest I've driven it. It's 20 degrees out there right now but I just fixed the heater. What could go wrong? %)

It is supposed to reach the 40's by mid day. My wife has agreed to go with me - I told to pack for the cold just in case and to bring some survival food! Just wish I had a flare gun . . .

Got a giggle out of that! I suppose a flare gun would be a good idea. You could shoot a "survival food" critter and cook it at the same time. Got any recipes?
 
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Scoop

Scoop

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We did not need the flare gun!

We left a little later than I originally planned so it had warmed up some when we left. The heater worked great. And it worked even better after I realized the driver side vent was open and blowing cold air in! We stayed warm until the trip home - I'll explain below.

The Bronco ran very well with the exception that it did not like going 70 mph or higher. We left the house and the road becomes 70 speed limit a few miles out of town. It ran fine at 70 for another couple of miles or so but then started backfiring and losing power. I turned around to swap vehicles and started driving slower toward home. It cleared up and ran great at 60-65 mph so I turned around again and headed back towards Kerrville. I stayed at 65 or below and it never missed a beat after that. I think I have a restricted fuel pickup or line and it simply can't keep up with fuel at 70 and above. Only other issue was the speedometer bounced around a lot and I think the cable needs lubricating. I was monitoring speed using the GPS anyway.

We had a good visit with Jason and Gretchen at BC. They are doing a lot to organize all their parts and their warehouse using barcoded storage locations. They also have a number of very cool projects going on. I had a long list of parts - new and used - I was looking for and I was able get almost everything I needed.

Here's the bed all packed with parts!

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Used steering wheel, almost new auxiliary tank, part of a tailgate I can get a patch panel off of, 2-belt pulleys for my power steering upgrade, used spare tire rack with Ranch Hand bracket, used but in good shape defroster hoses, new turn signal switch, new metal heater hose valve, an uncut dash. I made out well today! Thanks Jason!

So on the way home after eating lunch my wife closed the passenger door and Clunk! the window falls to bottom and won't crank up! We try driving with it down to the gas station to fill up and it became obvious that it's too cold to drive an hour and a half with the window down. Luckily I had brought tools enough to remove the door panel and get the window fixed. We stayed warm the rest of the ride home.

All in all a good shakedown cruise.
 

fordfan

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That sounds like fun!....except for trying to run 70mph! I don't mind it for a short distance, but for the whole trip?.... Wait.... Texas is different than Alabama... Texas equals flat and straight. Alabama equals hills and steep curves..

On the second thought, I might like driving 70 in Texas!
Good stuff from BC too!
 
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Scoop

Scoop

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HaHa!! Glad y'all had a good run!!! I've heard that "Clunk" several times before, kinda scares the crap out of ya' at first!!!;D;D;D
Good score!!!

It did scare the crap out her! She let out a squeal and said something I'm not going to repeat here!

That sounds like fun!....except for trying to run 70mph! I don't mind it for a short distance, but for the whole trip?.... Wait.... Texas is different than Alabama... Texas equals flat and straight. Alabama equals hills and steep curves..

On the second thought, I might like driving 70 in Texas!
Good stuff from BC too!

70 is not the highest speed limit in Texas. Much of the trip today was on 75 roads and a short distance on an 80 stretch. One of the toll roads near us has an 85 mph speed limit. Yes, much of Texas is flat but this trip was across the Texas "Hill Country". Lots of great curvy roads popular with sports car clubs and motorcycles. But we were not on any of the real curvy ones today.
 
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Scoop

Scoop

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Working on a few things the past few days - I should be able to wrap some of them up today.

I'm going to do another shake down run this weekend to Houston for the East Texas Meet & Greet. It's about 200 miles and it won't be that cold but there is a 70% chance of rain. So good windshield wipers are in order! The Cherokee wiper mod:

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I'm pretty sure the issue I had with backfiring and lack of power over 70 mph is due to fuel flow from the main tank. When I was emptying the tanks of old gas I used an electric fuel pump and the flow was significantly less from the main tank than it was from the aux tank using the same pump. But the aux tank was cracked and leaked so I removed it. So I am installing the one one I got from BC Broncos for this upcoming trip to see how it runs on the aux tank.

Here's the aux tank skid plate before being cleaned up for paint.

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I should get the wipers and tank installed today. Next will be working on the steering wheel.

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tasker

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nice work Scoop! glad you are getting some use out of it...
 
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Scoop

Scoop

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I did not get as much done as I wanted today. I did get the wiper arms installed. I shortened the arms 1/2" more than normal so I could get 13 inch blades.

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I got the skid plate painted.

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I got the tank prepped.

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And I cleaned up the label for the tank selector valve and got the valve reinstalled.

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Scoop

Scoop

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I got the aux tank installed. It went in pretty easy. I installed all new hoses except the main fill hose.

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Then I test drove it running on the aux tank only. I went about 5 miles at 70 + mph and then turned around thinking I had fixed the issue. Heading back at 70 it did it again. Not as noticeable but still there. I slowed down to 65 and it ran perfectly again. So I spent there rest of the day installing an electric fuel pump to see if that helps. I have not tested it yet. I will on the trip to Houston on Saturday.
 
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Scoop

Scoop

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I made it to Houston and back without much issue. The Cherokee wiper conversion worked very well and I was lucky to have done it before the trip. I did find I have a leaky drip rail and it dripped on my knee during the harder rain periods!! It was 175 miles one way. The trip out was great - with the new aux tank and the electric pump I drove much of the time at 70-75 mph without a miss. I ran the aux tank out (got about 100 miles on the full aux tank) and switched tanks. No problems. I filled up the aux tank but kept it on the main tank to see the range on the main tank. On the way home about 50 miles out of Houston it started missing at speed again. I slowed down and it smoothed out but then ran out of gas in another 10 miles or so. I filled up both tanks and ran a while on each - again at 70-75 mph - with no problems. ??? I think I've narrowed it down to restricted flow on the main tank. I need to order a new sending unit/pick up and see if that helps. But overall a great trip. This Bronco drives very nicely. Gas mileage checked out at 15 mpg.

The Meet & Greet was well attended with about 14 Broncos and probably 40 plus people. Here are a few pics.

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phred

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Hey Gary, is that a free wheeling edition parked beside you in that last photo? If so any info on it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Scoop

Scoop

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Yes, original Free Wheelin' Bronco. All original paint and stripes. Overall in pretty nice shape. He's had it a while and is not sure if he's going to restore it or keep it as is.

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More interesting is he recently picked up a project for his daughter. A Stroppe Baja with race history. Found it in a field north of Houston. He paid $3,000. But it needs work!
 

phred

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Very cool. Always wanted a free wheeling package truck. Guess I’ll keep looking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Scoop

Scoop

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The patina treatment on the tire carrier.

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I need to fix the tailgate before I can mount the carrier latch mechanism. The carrier I got from Jason at BC came with a "Ranch Hand" bracket to mount the spare on the side. I'm going to install it so I can secure the rack until I get the tailgate fixed. It's a cool addition. One problem is that they were not designed to be used with Wild Horses Gorilla War Flares! I'll need to space the rack out so it does not hit the flare. I may not get anymore done on this Bronco until I get back from our upcoming weekend trip to Big Bend. I hear the Bluebonnets are gorgeous this year!!
 
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Scoop

Scoop

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After a break to go to Big Bend I'm back on the Patina Bronco! I got the tire carrier and Ranch Hand bracket installed. I refurbished the tail gate latch but need to fix the tail gate before I reinstall it.

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I had to use a 1 inch space to hold the rack off the flare when it's in the Ranch Hand position.

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I'm still looking for the tire mounting hardware to actually hang a tire on it!

I also worked on refurbishing the stock steering wheel I picked up from BC Broncos. It was in poor shape with some cracks at the base of the spokes - but it was still the best out of a bunch I looked at!

I filled the cracks with a paintable silicone caulk, used black primer and then painted it in VHT "Black Pearl" paint. I then satin clear coated it.

Here it is cleaned up and ready for prime.

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Painted and clear coated.

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Next up I need to paint the steering column and mount the refurbished steering wheel.
 

JeffG

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Thanks for the tip on filling in the cracks on the steering wheel. I have a decent one with a few cracks that need to be taken care of.
 
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Scoop

Scoop

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Hopefully getting a roll bar installed today. We were going to do it last week but the Bronco started running very rough. It took me a few days to fix the problem. I first thought it was electrical and chased some electrical issues. Coil, bad wiring, timing, points, etc. Turned out to be the carb - a thorough cleaning and rebuild got it running like a top again. Tweaking the electrical issues helped some as well! I'm guessing it was one residual bad gas that gummed up the carb. I really thought I had flushed the fuel system pretty well . . . but I apparently did not.

A member here has bent up all the tube to look like a Stroppe roll bar and we are going to fit it up this evening.
 
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