1976 LUBR build "Tina"

[Blue Bastard]

Love ketchup and mustard! Those inspired a few builds! I know it did for me!

Will you be clear coating the patina to help seal it or anything?


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[rguest3]

Fishinman78 - That SL lift and Body Lift combo will look great with a 31" tire. I would suggest a 4.11 or maybe 4.56 gear with the 4R70 trans.

 

[fishinman78]

Fishinman78 - That SL lift and Body Lift combo will look great with a 31" tire. I would suggest a 4.11 or maybe 4.56 gear with the 4R70 trans.

I have 4.56s and a soft locker with 31 spline axles ready to go in once I start on the lift!

I'm trying to decide if the stock front axles will be sufficient if I install new spicer joints.

I'm going to run a Truetrac as well.

 

[fishinman78]

Did some cleaning on the engine compartment before my Son's football game yesterday.

I think I scrapped a couple pounds of grease off of the drivers frame area and front cross member which I am pretty sure was attributed to a long time power steering leak

I think i'm going to try and polish the wheel wheels and the cowl to try and keep as much of this original as I can. I did a really quick job and it seems like its starting to shine. If I hit it with the buffer hopefully it will even be better

 

[JaxLax]

slow down man!

I, uh, rewired the radio this weekend? Priorities man.
You're getting after it though. Good work and can't wait to see the end results.

although you've now got me pondering a light sand and buff on the body (I'm negotiating a new to me/better condition hard top) and a single sealer coat too.

 

[fishinman78]

slow down man!

I, uh, rewired the radio this weekend? Priorities man.
You're getting after it though. Good work and can't wait to see the end results.

although you've now got me pondering a light sand and buff on the body (I'm negotiating a new to me/better condition hard top) and a single sealer coat too.

I would definitely give it a shot.

I am continually surprised how well old paint shines up with a little elbow greases

 

[JaxLax]

I would definitely give it a shot.

I am continually surprised how well old paint shines up with a little elbow greases

How did you do it?
I generally shy away from paint work.

 

[tirewater]

Which cleansers & tools are you using for the engine bay? I've been (slowly) cleaning the engine bay, primarily using Simple Green and paper towels. However that makes the nooks and crannies hard to get to, and it appears to take many applications of simple green & toweling before getting to the paint.

Did some cleaning on the engine compartment before my Son's football game yesterday.

I think I scrapped a couple pounds of grease off of the drivers frame area and front cross member which I am pretty sure was attributed to a long time power steering leak

I think i'm going to try and polish the wheel wheels and the cowl to try and keep as much of this original as I can. I did a really quick job and it seems like its starting to shine. If I hit it with the buffer hopefully it will even be better

 

[sprdv1]

Looking good for sure...

 

[fishinman78]

How did you do it?
I generally shy away from paint work.

I am by no way an expert and I am learning as I go.

I started with the outside and did a wet sand with 2000 grit and then I used my DA polisher with some Mequiar's Ultimate Polishing Compound. I have the front fenders looking really good but the quarters still have some haze form the sanding. I think I am going to get one if these and give it a try with their multi step process. It's my understanding the pad is just as important as the compound you use and this has matching pad/compound.

 

[fishinman78]

Which cleansers & tools are you using for the engine bay? I've been (slowly) cleaning the engine bay, primarily using Simple Green and paper towels. However that makes the nooks and crannies hard to get to, and it appears to take many applications of simple green & toweling before getting to the paint.

I used a product called oil eater and I diluted it 1:1 with water. I sprayed and soaked it for about an hour. Then I sprayed it again and hit the seams with a nylon brush and the big areas with a wash mitt. I finished it off with the power washer. The oil eater worked well and didn't discolor the paint. I have used Purple Power and Castrol Superclean in the past but it can stain the paint so I wanted to stay away from those products.

 

[fishinman78]

It's been a while since I updated this thread so I thought I better sit down tonight and get it caught up.

First of all I have to say at this point in time "Tina" is getting the best of me

It seems like everything I try and accomplish takes me two steps back.

I started a few weeks ago thinking I was going to install my 1" body lift... but when I pulled up the floor mat I found way more rust than I was led to believe existed as well as a cracked floor support. Frustrated, I began to do some more extensive inspection and found more rust, lots more rust. Door posts kick panels, inner and outer rockers... lots more than I was led to believe. I left the shop saying a few choice words under my breath...

I'm not a guy that can band-aid something or patch it together and be happy with it so I decided to start looking for someone able to do the repairs and do a quality job. I settled on NW Autofab in Albany. They are scheduled to do the work first thing in January.

A word of advice to anyone buying a Bronco online. Get as much info as possible. Pictures, videos, anything you can think of and when you think you have everything ask for more!!

 

[fishinman78]

Settled on the repair shop so I decided to move forward installing the body lift so everything lines up nice when the repairs are made.

That went pretty well until I decided to pull the front gas tank to get some more room to work. Found the top of the front gas tank rotten and cracked... I guess I am getting shoved towards that 23 gallon tank after all!

I decided to pull the rear tank while I was at it.

Finished up the body lift and I am happy with the results

Wildhorses makes a nice product!

I came across a great deal on a harness so I bought it. Pulled the dash for rewiring plus I figured it would make the rust repair easier

 

[fishinman78]

Started to get the lift installed last weekend

I pulled the front axle so I could get everything cleaned up.

Thought while I had the axle out I would do brakes and pack the bearings. I really needed to take it apart anyway in order to properly clean and paint it.

Pulled the hub and rotor and found a passenger spindle that was nearly purple.... pretty much toasted from getting hot.... now I am nervous about pulling the other side. I pulled the hub and surprise, surprise, the rotor and hub assembly wont come off the spindle. After much coercion I got the dumb thing off. The seal basically came out of the back of the hub assembly. The wheel bearing was welded to the spindle from heat...

Talked to the guys at Wildhorses and I have two new spindles on the way

 

[fishinman78]

This all brings me to today.

I spent the last couple evenings cleaning up the front end and the frame.

I spent a bunch of time cleaning and degreasing everything so it looks nice when it goes back together.

I painted everything with a rust reforming paint and then a black top coat. I am really happy with how this turned out.

Hopefully I will be able to get the front axle back under it this weekend and move on to the rear next week!

Before and after pictures attached

 

[ep67bro]

Looking good! It is amazing how a little project can snowball into a major one!

 

[904Bronco]

Looking good! It is amazing how a little project can snowball into a major one!

That is the nature of a Bronco theses days... A minor cleaning job turns into a rebuild ;D

But you are doing a great job, and you will know more about Broncos than you ever wanted to know!

 

[sprdv1]

Hang in there, just one thing at a time.. U got this

 

[fishinman78]

Frontend is back under Tina.

Front brakes up next!

 

[tirewater]

Looking nice! Makes me wonder if I should start working on my frame.