5_oh_bronco
Jr. Member
So I've been working on building a 1970 uncut Bronco.
This is my first build, so it is moving along slowly, but moving. I started with a pretty clean, mostly complete, running bronco last July. While most of it was there, the interior was in pretty rough shape. It appeared to have been rolled, and repaired. Repairs included fixing dents along both upper outside corners of the hard top, straightening (sort of) the core support, replacing both fenders, and brazing a few broken spot welds along the inner fenders. Rear quarters are in great shape, as is the bed, firewall, transmission tunnel, and dash. Rust was found in the usual areas: bottom of the a-pillars, one rocker, bottom of the tailgate, the double layered portion of the inner fender immediately ahead of the firewall, and of course, the floor pans.
The plan: the original 302 is being replaced with a fuel injected, computer controlled 5.0 out of a '95 mustang. The original 3-on-the-tree tranny is being swapped for the WCT5 5-speed, also from the mustang. This is being mated to the original dana 20 with an adapter of my own design and fabrication. Maximum lift will be about 1-1/2 to 2 inches, depending on how much the extra weight of the 5.0 causes 2 inch lift springs to sag. Tires will be a 30 x 9.5 riding on the original rims with original hub caps. Drum brakes will be swapped for discs at all four corners, powered by an astro-hydraboost conversion. Power steering will replace the original unassisted unit. Ideally, this thing will look basically original until you pop the hood. Under the hood it should look like a stock '95 mustang.
Current status:
Body: all rust has been repaired, and brazed spots have been cleaned and re-welded. New floor pans were fabricated and welded in place. The poorly straightened sections of the core support have been less poorly straightened.
Chassis: The chassis has been stripped bare, blasted, and painted.
Drive train: All drive train components have been removed. The original 302 has been removed and is sitting on a stand, 5.0 is ready to be installed. The WCT5 tranny has been torn down and inspected. The main shaft still needs to be shortened before it will be ready to be mated to the adapter. The adapter has been designed, and will be fabricated shortly. Both axles have been torn down. Housing have been blasted and painted. I haven't touched the rear axle shafts yet, but will be doing so soon. I'm about 75% done with the front disc conversion. My conversion includes spindles, hubs, caliper brackets, and calipers from a '79 Ford F-150. I've modified the spindles to fit the Dana 30 knuckles. I've also modified the Dana 30 king pins by adding a grease zirk.
It's a long road ahead, but I'll update this post with pictures and progress reports as I go. As soon as I organize the pictures I already have, I'll post a few of them.
I started a thread a few months back to ask some questions pertaining to the engine swap I'm doing. There are a few pictures there. The following link should take you to that thread:
http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248267
Of course, any comments are welcome.
Hope you enjoy the show!
This is my first build, so it is moving along slowly, but moving. I started with a pretty clean, mostly complete, running bronco last July. While most of it was there, the interior was in pretty rough shape. It appeared to have been rolled, and repaired. Repairs included fixing dents along both upper outside corners of the hard top, straightening (sort of) the core support, replacing both fenders, and brazing a few broken spot welds along the inner fenders. Rear quarters are in great shape, as is the bed, firewall, transmission tunnel, and dash. Rust was found in the usual areas: bottom of the a-pillars, one rocker, bottom of the tailgate, the double layered portion of the inner fender immediately ahead of the firewall, and of course, the floor pans.
The plan: the original 302 is being replaced with a fuel injected, computer controlled 5.0 out of a '95 mustang. The original 3-on-the-tree tranny is being swapped for the WCT5 5-speed, also from the mustang. This is being mated to the original dana 20 with an adapter of my own design and fabrication. Maximum lift will be about 1-1/2 to 2 inches, depending on how much the extra weight of the 5.0 causes 2 inch lift springs to sag. Tires will be a 30 x 9.5 riding on the original rims with original hub caps. Drum brakes will be swapped for discs at all four corners, powered by an astro-hydraboost conversion. Power steering will replace the original unassisted unit. Ideally, this thing will look basically original until you pop the hood. Under the hood it should look like a stock '95 mustang.
Current status:
Body: all rust has been repaired, and brazed spots have been cleaned and re-welded. New floor pans were fabricated and welded in place. The poorly straightened sections of the core support have been less poorly straightened.
Chassis: The chassis has been stripped bare, blasted, and painted.
Drive train: All drive train components have been removed. The original 302 has been removed and is sitting on a stand, 5.0 is ready to be installed. The WCT5 tranny has been torn down and inspected. The main shaft still needs to be shortened before it will be ready to be mated to the adapter. The adapter has been designed, and will be fabricated shortly. Both axles have been torn down. Housing have been blasted and painted. I haven't touched the rear axle shafts yet, but will be doing so soon. I'm about 75% done with the front disc conversion. My conversion includes spindles, hubs, caliper brackets, and calipers from a '79 Ford F-150. I've modified the spindles to fit the Dana 30 knuckles. I've also modified the Dana 30 king pins by adding a grease zirk.
It's a long road ahead, but I'll update this post with pictures and progress reports as I go. As soon as I organize the pictures I already have, I'll post a few of them.
I started a thread a few months back to ask some questions pertaining to the engine swap I'm doing. There are a few pictures there. The following link should take you to that thread:
http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248267
Of course, any comments are welcome.
Hope you enjoy the show!