- Joined
- May 12, 2022
- Messages
- 75
Hello,
I am in the process of performing a frame off custom build of my '66 Bronco and yes that is me in profile picture in the late 90s as a kid "working" on the hunting rig. It was torn apart 15 years ago and is finally going back together. FYI, I am just a normal guy in Central Texas with a business, a young family, and a two car garage. I have been active on here for a while and some of you may have seen my posts. I am at a point in my build where I have quite a few questions and am looking for input on part selection, methods, advice etc. Feel free to chime in on any part of this post as all input is welcome. I am building a mostly street bronco with some light offroad use from time to time, hoping to take it over the rockies at some point. The plan is to have a full sized hard top, AC, 4 wheel power disc, power steering, power windows, EFI etc. Below is a list of what has been done so far with some pictures and then a list will follow with all of my questions. Thanks for your time and support from the classicbroncos community.
Completed so far:
- Frame has been repaired, straightened, and powder coated
- V6 motor saddles were swapped out for v8 ones
- I have installed the entire James Duff 2.5" Duck Tuff suspension with torque tamer
- I plan to install a 1" body lift
- I built the ford 9" rear end with 4:11s, eaton true tracs, and wild horses disc brakes.
- I had a dana 44 front axle built with disc brakes and 4:11 tru tracs, got rid of the dana 30 mine came with.
- I have a TBP steering box on order
- The tub/body is at a body shop undergoing mild/moderate rust repairs and all new fenders, quarters, hood, and grill are on order from dennis carpenter.
- I have a blueprint 347 stroker long block on order as well as an edelbrock pro flo 4 fuel injection system.
- I have installed the Wild horse M1A1 stainless tank along with stainless braided fuel lines
- I have also installed stainless brake lines
- I ordered method racing standard 301s and plan to put some roller tires on them in the meantime
- My dana 20 will be dropped off to a gear shop soon to be rebuilt.
- I plan to order a complete Ax-15 conversion kit from either WH or JBG
- Once the motor and transmission arrive (around march), I will install the drivetrain and take it to the nearly complete body for paint and body to be completed.
Below are my questions moving forward:
- What is the best wiring harness? Painless appears to be pretty popular so that is the current plan. I plan to run it inside the fenders to reduce wires in the engine bay (Does that make sense?). I want the fuse box to have space/support a winch, stereo, vintage air, power windows and amp steps.
- What about all of the switches on the dashboard? Mine are original and need to be replaced. Does anyone sell a complete kit for the restomod I am building? I know the vintage air kit will take care of the AC knobs but what about the rest?
- What is the best billet/chrome steering column? I am going with a floor shifted manual ax15
- I plan to go with a hydroboost system. Looking at the moab 2 or maybe duff generic one. Thoughts?
- Will my factory clutch and pedal assembly work or do I need to order a new one? Reminder I am switching from a factor straight 6 to blueprint 347 with fuel injection.
- My dana 20 will be rebuilt soon. Is it worth upgrading the output assembly to heavy duty, looks like WH sells a kit. It is expensive and I am not building a crawler or anything. However, it will be 400 hp. Seems like as long as I don't put it under a full load pulling something heavy or crawling it wont be a problem. Reminder I am not going with any tire size larger than 35's. Probably closer to 295/70/17s
- Is the twin stick upgrade actually useful? I can't think of a scenario where independently controlling the front from the rear would be helpful on or offroad. Am I missing something?
- I am looking at the vintage air front drive but man it is expensive. If I want an explorer what is the best way to go about it? Order the bracket kit from a guy on the forums and then just order the components individually? A kit sure seems convenient.
- Best windshield wiper motors and mechanism?
- Has anyone tried TBP seats? They seemed to be well priced. Any other recommendations on seats? I don't need heat or power but want to make sure it is adjustable and comfortable. I like the stitched leather look but they are really pricy, worth it? Other options?
- What is the best option for adding a decent stereo system to the bronco. Do I need to get door panels that support speakers as well as rear side panels? I plan to carpet the floor but wasn't sure what I should do with the insides of the tub walls aside from bedliner.
- Should I powdercoat the roll bar or should the paint guy just paint it? Anyone had bad luck with painted roll bars getting scratched up? Going with a full sized kincer or protofab
- Which electric radiator setup is the best? I am either going with a vintage air front runner or explorer setup. Trying to minimize space and maximize cooling.
- At this point, I am kind if regretting not going with 4:56 gears so I can more comfortably run 35's. I am not wanting to change the gearing at this point so I am leaning toward 33's. However, I do not like 15 x 10 wheels and want to go with 17 x 9s. Should I run 35's anyway with the the AX15 and 400hp without problems or should I stick to something closer to 33's, such as 295/70s or 305/70s. 285/70s on 17's don't look big enough in my opinion.
- Did I run my brake lines and fuel lines in an acceptable manor? I put the brake lines higher than original to give me room on the frame rail to run the supply and return fuel lines. Ran them over the transmission/transfer case crossmember? Seems the body mounts with a 1" body lift will allow for clearance.
- Do I need to install a charcoal canister to the vent line instead of capping it off like I did? Seems some may complain about raw fuel smell.
- Should I order driveshafts now or should I wait until it is all together and take measurements before ordering? Tom Woods?
- Seems like no one is painting the TBP impact bumpers but I would like to so they color match the body. Is this a mistake?
- I plan to go with Sanderson shorty headers and would like no cats, an x-pipe, and flowmaster 50 series. Is there any sort of kit I should look at? I know magnaflow makes one but I don't like the fiberglass muffler sound. At this point, I am going to bolt the headers on and take it to an exhaust shop to have a custom exhaust built.
- It looks like my bump stops are going to smash the rear brake lines and u bolts for the rear sway bar. Think this will actually every become a problem?
Again, all input is welcome and I can handle criticism. This is my first time building anything from the ground up, much less an early bronco. Cheers! It is so nice having the support of this community, I have already learned so much from everyone else's posts.
- Colby
I am in the process of performing a frame off custom build of my '66 Bronco and yes that is me in profile picture in the late 90s as a kid "working" on the hunting rig. It was torn apart 15 years ago and is finally going back together. FYI, I am just a normal guy in Central Texas with a business, a young family, and a two car garage. I have been active on here for a while and some of you may have seen my posts. I am at a point in my build where I have quite a few questions and am looking for input on part selection, methods, advice etc. Feel free to chime in on any part of this post as all input is welcome. I am building a mostly street bronco with some light offroad use from time to time, hoping to take it over the rockies at some point. The plan is to have a full sized hard top, AC, 4 wheel power disc, power steering, power windows, EFI etc. Below is a list of what has been done so far with some pictures and then a list will follow with all of my questions. Thanks for your time and support from the classicbroncos community.
Completed so far:
- Frame has been repaired, straightened, and powder coated
- V6 motor saddles were swapped out for v8 ones
- I have installed the entire James Duff 2.5" Duck Tuff suspension with torque tamer
- I plan to install a 1" body lift
- I built the ford 9" rear end with 4:11s, eaton true tracs, and wild horses disc brakes.
- I had a dana 44 front axle built with disc brakes and 4:11 tru tracs, got rid of the dana 30 mine came with.
- I have a TBP steering box on order
- The tub/body is at a body shop undergoing mild/moderate rust repairs and all new fenders, quarters, hood, and grill are on order from dennis carpenter.
- I have a blueprint 347 stroker long block on order as well as an edelbrock pro flo 4 fuel injection system.
- I have installed the Wild horse M1A1 stainless tank along with stainless braided fuel lines
- I have also installed stainless brake lines
- I ordered method racing standard 301s and plan to put some roller tires on them in the meantime
- My dana 20 will be dropped off to a gear shop soon to be rebuilt.
- I plan to order a complete Ax-15 conversion kit from either WH or JBG
- Once the motor and transmission arrive (around march), I will install the drivetrain and take it to the nearly complete body for paint and body to be completed.
Below are my questions moving forward:
- What is the best wiring harness? Painless appears to be pretty popular so that is the current plan. I plan to run it inside the fenders to reduce wires in the engine bay (Does that make sense?). I want the fuse box to have space/support a winch, stereo, vintage air, power windows and amp steps.
- What about all of the switches on the dashboard? Mine are original and need to be replaced. Does anyone sell a complete kit for the restomod I am building? I know the vintage air kit will take care of the AC knobs but what about the rest?
- What is the best billet/chrome steering column? I am going with a floor shifted manual ax15
- I plan to go with a hydroboost system. Looking at the moab 2 or maybe duff generic one. Thoughts?
- Will my factory clutch and pedal assembly work or do I need to order a new one? Reminder I am switching from a factor straight 6 to blueprint 347 with fuel injection.
- My dana 20 will be rebuilt soon. Is it worth upgrading the output assembly to heavy duty, looks like WH sells a kit. It is expensive and I am not building a crawler or anything. However, it will be 400 hp. Seems like as long as I don't put it under a full load pulling something heavy or crawling it wont be a problem. Reminder I am not going with any tire size larger than 35's. Probably closer to 295/70/17s
- Is the twin stick upgrade actually useful? I can't think of a scenario where independently controlling the front from the rear would be helpful on or offroad. Am I missing something?
- I am looking at the vintage air front drive but man it is expensive. If I want an explorer what is the best way to go about it? Order the bracket kit from a guy on the forums and then just order the components individually? A kit sure seems convenient.
- Best windshield wiper motors and mechanism?
- Has anyone tried TBP seats? They seemed to be well priced. Any other recommendations on seats? I don't need heat or power but want to make sure it is adjustable and comfortable. I like the stitched leather look but they are really pricy, worth it? Other options?
- What is the best option for adding a decent stereo system to the bronco. Do I need to get door panels that support speakers as well as rear side panels? I plan to carpet the floor but wasn't sure what I should do with the insides of the tub walls aside from bedliner.
- Should I powdercoat the roll bar or should the paint guy just paint it? Anyone had bad luck with painted roll bars getting scratched up? Going with a full sized kincer or protofab
- Which electric radiator setup is the best? I am either going with a vintage air front runner or explorer setup. Trying to minimize space and maximize cooling.
- At this point, I am kind if regretting not going with 4:56 gears so I can more comfortably run 35's. I am not wanting to change the gearing at this point so I am leaning toward 33's. However, I do not like 15 x 10 wheels and want to go with 17 x 9s. Should I run 35's anyway with the the AX15 and 400hp without problems or should I stick to something closer to 33's, such as 295/70s or 305/70s. 285/70s on 17's don't look big enough in my opinion.
- Did I run my brake lines and fuel lines in an acceptable manor? I put the brake lines higher than original to give me room on the frame rail to run the supply and return fuel lines. Ran them over the transmission/transfer case crossmember? Seems the body mounts with a 1" body lift will allow for clearance.
- Do I need to install a charcoal canister to the vent line instead of capping it off like I did? Seems some may complain about raw fuel smell.
- Should I order driveshafts now or should I wait until it is all together and take measurements before ordering? Tom Woods?
- Seems like no one is painting the TBP impact bumpers but I would like to so they color match the body. Is this a mistake?
- I plan to go with Sanderson shorty headers and would like no cats, an x-pipe, and flowmaster 50 series. Is there any sort of kit I should look at? I know magnaflow makes one but I don't like the fiberglass muffler sound. At this point, I am going to bolt the headers on and take it to an exhaust shop to have a custom exhaust built.
- It looks like my bump stops are going to smash the rear brake lines and u bolts for the rear sway bar. Think this will actually every become a problem?
Again, all input is welcome and I can handle criticism. This is my first time building anything from the ground up, much less an early bronco. Cheers! It is so nice having the support of this community, I have already learned so much from everyone else's posts.
- Colby
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