69 Tonka Bronco Half Cab Build

[acropilot]

Here's my 69 bronco half cab that i bought about 18 yrs. ago.It was a POS hunting rig when i bought it.This is the second redo that i've done on it and finished it up this time around a few years ago.Here are some specs.
2 1/2" lift with the progressive style coil and leaf springs that actually gives it a pretty smooth ride.
A Hellwig front sway bar was one of the best mods i did as it rails curves with confidence.
I fabricated the bumpers to give that Baja racer style look.
Dana 44 upfront and 9" in the rear.
Disc brake conversion up front.
Running a Wilwood 7/8" bore MC which gives me a good pedal feel,adequate braking and a clean look under the hood.
33x12.50-15 Bf Goodrich A/T's on mag wheels.
Got it tweaked to were it drives and rides great which makes it fun and a pleasure to drive!
Here are a few pics.

 

[acropilot]

Drivetrain specs

302 SBF
10.1 compression ratio
aluminum heads
long tube headers
edelbrock performer intake and carb
pertronix ignition

AX15 trans conversion kit with the B&M short throw shift tower
Twin stick for the Dana 20

 

[acropilot]

Interior specs
Still running the stock seats as i find them plenty comfortable enough (I'm 5'10 and 180lbs)
Short center console from wildhorses
In the bed i put a Harbor Freight tool box designed for trailers to store my tools and other gear and also mounted a farm jack on the wheel well.

 

[bfoldy]

Looks fun and thanks for sharing! I think I've seen it on the calendar photo submissions the last few years, but haven't seen much of it otherwise.

Quick question on the B&M short throw shifter. Did you drive it much with the stock shifter before switching over? How does the experience compare to the stock setup it came with? Is the improvement mostly about shorter shift distances, or is there more to it in terms of feel and precision?

 

[acropilot]

The short shift tower feels more sporty when driving…I also cut and shortened the shifter rod.When I first built my bronco it had a 3spd manual with the shifter on the column.The ax15 has been a great improvement in the fun factor!

 

[ared77]

Cool build!

 

[Stutsmo]

Nice looking Build!

 

[Speedrdr]

Love the half cab and the way the stripes set off the paint job. Hope mine looks half that good when it’s done.

 

[acropilot]

Thanks Guy's....a couple of other things I'll mention is when i first built the truck many years ago i put bed liner on the floor and in the summer months down here in the south it was like an oven from the exhaust and drive line heat.I bought one of the molded rubber floor liners and laid down some of those peel and stick sound deadening/heat barrier pieces (dynamat) on the floor,firewall,bulkhead and inside the doors then laid the molded rubber floor on top.It's got a texture that looks like bed liner for a clean look. It was a huge improvement in noise and keeping the heat out.I also installed a Lares 4 turn power steering box coming up on 3yrs and 3,600 miles now and it is still working great with zero issues.

 

[Scoop]

Great looking half cab. But I'm not getting the Tonka connection??

 

[acropilot]

If you look at the stripe on the side and below the Ford on the tailgate I added some Tonka decals to give it that toy like look…no connection just something I thought would look cool and different.

 

[acropilot]

Cruising the coast Bronco style!

 

[Scoop]

If you look at the stripe on the side and below the Ford on the tailgate I added some Tonka decals to give it that toy like look…no connection just something I thought would look cool and different.

I saw the Tonka decals. Just thought there may be more to the story!

 

[eb-nutt1]

The short shift tower feels more sporty when driving…I also cut and shortened the shifter rod.When I first built my bronco it had a 3spd manual with the shifter on the column.The ax15 has been a great improvement in the fun factor!

I recently rebuilt my 69 half cab uncut back to as it was when my uncle had it in the 70's/80's and used it as his DD, hunting rig, etc, still rocking the column 3 spd...can definitely say it is neither sporty or fun, lol...the ax15 is on the short list of next mods to do! Where in the south are you located? Central Al here.

 

[acropilot]

I'm in south Louisiana...I go to Cruisin the Coast every year and they always have a lot of nice broncos running around out there along with everything else you can imagine.It's like a car show and vacation at the same time along the Gulf coast.

 

[acropilot]

For you guys on here that's into aircraft too here's a shot of my bronco with my ultimate biplane that i built from blueprints and first flew it in 1992.