1974 Bronco Build - I’m Back!

[Heus33]

Don’t get me wrong guys I’m actually loving every minute of this!

There is a solution to every problem. And I’ve come to the realization that the last time worked on a bronco was 10 years ago. This bronco has been sitting for at least that long, so of course things are bound to come up. Of course wires are bound to get corroded connections, broken hoses, dry rotted, etc. etc.

My desire to jump in and drive is extremely high. No worries, I’m gonna keep on plugging away!

Rear seat bolted in yesterday too. Still need to put in the seatbelts.

Replaced the accelerator pump on the carb and that’s good now

I’m still having trouble with my fuel pump, though. I’m gonna order a small electrical in-line pump to help it out. I have a feeling this new fuel pump probably had been sitting on the parts shelf for a while and is likely not keeping suction.


There’s a lot of comfort in knowing that everything will be enhanced or replaced on this so I should have a really nice reliable vehicle when I’m done.

And the weather has been terrible, so there’s no driving it anytime soon!

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[JeepGuy]

Yeah I'm pretty sure we are living the same life at the moment Your quote for post #28 here "End goal is completely reliable transportation that works like new underneath. I plan on making the interior very nice, keeping the exterior in its current condition." is the literal phrase I have used to describe my intentions with my project. You wouldn't happen to be a middle-aged white guy with a receding hairline, fit dad bod physique, and shockingly good looks would you? If so, we are definitely twins.

Tips for what is to come. Don't trust the new fuel pump to work. My first brand new one lived a very short life of idling in the garage before it gave up the goat. Second on needed some help priming but is now going strong about 3-4 weeks into its life span. I'm crossing my fingers is makes it to two whole months.

Fuel sending unit... Yeah, first brand new on had a pin hole right at the base of the wire connectors. I fell for the "It's new, what could be wrong" theory, and installed it without inspection. That cost me a gasoline shower removing the tank and unit and about a weeks worth of build time. Second one was totally awesome, until I put enough gas in it to reach the electrical connections... and then it started leaking again. Well, this time I had learned me sumthin so I used the ol' syphon method and just drainded the tank in place instead of dropping it out completely. Used some decade old gas tank plug putty and put a nice brand-new coat around the base of all the fittings coming out of my brand new sending unit. It's held for about two weeks with no leaks... Yeeeeaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! Oh, but between the Brand New Sending Unit, Brand New Painless wiring harness, and Brand New Fuel gauge, I still don't know how much gas in it.

Brakes... Oh boy here we go. I have a thread going on with my brake issues but I'll give you the short of it here. Just go ahead and replace the rear wheel cylinders now. Make sure you check if the brakes are 10" or 11". 11" can easily be sourced at most parts stores, the 10"s all had to be ordered. And oh.... don't bother spending money on the fancy pre bent stainless sets. Just go with the jungle website kit that comes with 25 ft of tube, bender, cutter, and fittings. You will save yourself a ton of headaches. Plan on bleeding it at least another 4 times before you are done.

Have you had issue with a body bolt that you installed a couple weeks ago seizing up as if it's been in place for 50 years and stripping the head off as you attempt to remove it yet?

 

[Heus33]

Yeah I'm pretty sure we are living the same life at the moment Your quote for post #28 here "End goal is completely reliable transportation that works like new underneath. I plan on making the interior very nice, keeping the exterior in its current condition." is the literal phrase I have used to describe my intentions with my project. You wouldn't happen to be a middle-aged white guy with a receding hairline, fit dad bod physique, and shockingly good looks would you? If so, we are definitely twins.

Tips for what is to come. Don't trust the new fuel pump to work. My first brand new one lived a very short life of idling in the garage before it gave up the goat. Second on needed some help priming but is now going strong about 3-4 weeks into its life span. I'm crossing my fingers is makes it to two whole months.

Fuel sending unit... Yeah, first brand new on had a pin hole right at the base of the wire connectors. I fell for the "It's new, what could be wrong" theory, and installed it without inspection. That cost me a gasoline shower removing the tank and unit and about a weeks worth of build time. Second one was totally awesome, until I put enough gas in it to reach the electrical connections... and then it started leaking again. Well, this time I had learned me sumthin so I used the ol' syphon method and just drainded the tank in place instead of dropping it out completely. Used some decade old gas tank plug putty and put a nice brand-new coat around the base of all the fittings coming out of my brand new sending unit. It's held for about two weeks with no leaks... Yeeeeaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! Oh, but between the Brand New Sending Unit, Brand New Painless wiring harness, and Brand New Fuel gauge, I still don't know how much gas in it.

Brakes... Oh boy here we go. I have a thread going on with my brake issues but I'll give you the short of it here. Just go ahead and replace the rear wheel cylinders now. Make sure you check if the brakes are 10" or 11". 11" can easily be sourced at most parts stores, the 10"s all had to be ordered. And oh.... don't bother spending money on the fancy pre bent stainless sets. Just go with the jungle website kit that comes with 25 ft of tube, bender, cutter, and fittings. You will save yourself a ton of headaches. Plan on bleeding it at least another 4 times before you are done.

Have you had issue with a body bolt that you installed a couple weeks ago seizing up as if it's been in place for 50 years and stripping the head off as you attempt to remove it yet?

Guilty as charged! Thanks for the laugh!!

I think the electric fuel pump should help me out here, its a cheap way to test it too so Im happy to try that out.

My brakes seem to be great right now. Pete (the PO) did all the lines, calipers, rotors and pads (4 wheel discs) so I should be in good shape there. No emergency brake though but I'll cross that bridge if NY gives me a hard time at inspection.

My body mounts consist of DOM tubing welded to the frame - makes for a nice body lift too. Something done 2-3 owners ago. Not pretty but it has to be stronger than stock.

 

[Heus33]

Today I buttoned up a bunch of little stuff.

Swapped out the accelerator pump gasket on the new carb and that is now fixed. Still need to wait for the new electric fuel pump to come in.

Finished bolting in the Tuffy glove box

Made some adjustments to the blower motor, Pete put in a new upgraded motor and squirrel cage, but it’s a little too large so I have to space it out so it doesn’t squeal. Needs a better ground too.

Installed an overflow tank for the radiator

More wiring gremlins chased down.

Carb rebuild kit came today so I may work on that tomorrow if I decide not to keep the new carb

Cleaned up some rust and threw a quick coat of paint on the rockers.

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[Heus33]

Got most of the cage bolted back in today.
Electric fuel pump just arrived, so I’ll try to get that installed tomorrow and may be able to running up and down the driveway if everything goes smoothly.

Also fixed the linkage on the transmission to better match up with the GM column

Started painting the inserts. I’m going for a patina paint job to try and match the rest of the yellow. This is faded yellow paint and I have no clue what code it is, but I found something pretty close.

My plan is to do a base coat of black primer over the fiberglass followed by red oxide primer, then lots of yellow. Then I’ll go in and scuff up and slightly sand away some of the yellow to expose a little bit of the red and the black, making it look like it’s fading out closer to what the rest of the body looks like. I should be able to feather it in so it looks good from 10 feet away.


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[Heus33]

Not much to report today. Got the electric pump installed but I’m still not getting gas to the carb.

I’m about to throw a boat tank on this thing!!!


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[JeepGuy]

Not much to report today. Got the electric pump installed but I’m still not getting gas to the carb.

I’m about to throw a boat tank on this thing!!!


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Maybe I missed it. Did you drop the tank or remove the sending unit? On the boat tank note... I used a mobile gas tank with a hose routed to it for bit until I worked around my brand new junk sending unit issues. Told you we were twins.

 

[Heus33]

Maybe I missed it. Did you drop the tank or remove the sending unit? On the boat tank note... I used a mobile gas tank with a hose routed to it for bit until I worked around my brand new junk sending unit issues. Told you we were twins.

Ha! So educate me on the sending unit - I thought that was just for the fuel level. The Aero tank has the outlets welded to the tank so I dont think the sending unit does anything other than tell me how much gas is inside. Am I wrong here?

 

[Yeller]

This issue screams leak in the pick up tube inside the tank to me. Could be a collapsed or clogged pick up screen too. I’d be pulling the tank and digging into that since you have done all the fuel lines and filters.

 

[JeepGuy]

Ha! So educate me on the sending unit - I thought that was just for the fuel level. The Aero tank has the outlets welded to the tank so I dont think the sending unit does anything other than tell me how much gas is inside. Am I wrong here?

I missed the part of you having an Aero tank in there. Not familiar with the internals of that specific tank... But I am familiar with having to drop a tank to deal with fuels issues as discussed in post #62.

Before dropping the tank, I would double check the pump. Just run a rubber line to it from a portable gas tank and see if it is in fact pumping gas. Good luck.

 

[Heus33]

I didn’t get too much done. Finished painting the inserts and installed them. I got a pretty close match.
I polished a portion of the quarter panel it’s super close.

I’ll probably polish the rest of the truck and then let it fade out together

I also decided to order brand new fuel lines There is a local company that makes stainless steel lines custom bent, so I’m gonna do that from the tank all the way up to the carb.

Got the rest of the road cage bolted in, and I am nearly done with the three-point harnesses for the rear seats

Also started messing around with the winch and getting that ready to mount

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[Heus33]

Picked up my stainless lines today. These look great! Classic tube is a local company, but they ship all over the place. They make fuel lines and brake lines, if anyone’s interested, here’s their contact info.

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[tasker]

nice! I always give their info out but have not used personally....keep us informed!

 

[Heus33]

Spend some time polishing the paint. This was probably the most fun I’ve had polishing a vehicle because there’s really no screwing it up when it’s this bad!

Here’s a quick shot where the fender is polished, but the hood is not. Went from a chalky yellow to a semi gloss yellow.

More closely matches the inserts now. The inserts are slightly more orange. Once I get it out in the sun, I’ll see if I need to blend the panel in. It should be easy to do if necessary

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[Heus33]

Not bad!!

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[Speedrdr]

Made way more difference in before vs after than I would have expected.

 

[Heus33]

Made way more difference in before vs after than I would have expected.

Single stage paint, heavily oxidized. It was very chalky.

I just used a heavy cut compound with a garbage pad and it cleaned up nicely.

Next, I’ll put a layer of pentrol over it to kind of seal it in.
I’ll wait on doing that until I’m happy with the blend of the inserts though


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[JeepGuy]

Keep it coming dude. Your thread and a couple other similar ones are what get me up off my ass and into the garage.

 

[Heus33]

Haven’t provided any updates in a while because I’m giving up on this project.

I have at least 150 hours into this thing and it still will not pump gas

I’m sure it’s probably the sending unit because everything else has been replaced. New mechanical pump all new stainless lines. It runs great off of gravity fed gas can, but it will not pump any gas.

I’m just fed up and tired of trying. I am not going to drop the tank.

I really want a bronco with doors anyways and this one has inserts so if someone else is interested in taking on this project, it’s gotta be 95% of the way there. I’ll put up a post in the classified section.


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