I thought I'd do a write up on this conversion as it seems to get a lot of questions (many from myself). A little background: I am in the process of the world's slowest resto-mod (confirmed by Guinness). This was due to three main reasons, time, money and changing my mind (see 1 & 2). Early on when I rebuilt the axle I had decided that I wanted to go with a TRO conversion and thus installed a Kiser riser bracket on the D44 for the trac bar. The Kiser riser is excellent quality and fit perfectly. The Bronco has a 3.5" suspension lift too.
After much thought, research, question asking and general himming and hawing, I decided to go with Extreme Custom Fabrication's 1 ton conversion kit. It appears to be excellent quality, was shipped fast and was a good price. I cannot comment on the TRE's that came with the kit as there are no brand names stamped in them or anything to otherwise ID whose ends they are but they seem to be quality. The parts/tools I bought for this are:
http://extremecustomparts.com/i-361167-tie-rod-drag-link-dana-44-1976-1977-bronco-1-1-2-d-o-m.html
http://www.amazon.com/Yankee-Taper-...&qid=1450531208&sr=8-1&keywords=Yankee+reamer
The reamer is made in the USA and still looks new after the four required cuts for this conversion. It will likely sit in my toolbox until I need to replace the right TRE which requires reaming but I know I will have it.
Since the Bronco isn't done, I hadn't installed the pitman yet so I started by reaming that first. This is the only cut that was in the same direction of taper as the original taper. I put the pitman arm in the vise, used plenty of cutting oil, went slow with the reamer in my drill and stopped frequently to test fit the drag link end. You can see the before and after reaming of the pitman arm. Also, the pitman arm took the longest to ream.
After much thought, research, question asking and general himming and hawing, I decided to go with Extreme Custom Fabrication's 1 ton conversion kit. It appears to be excellent quality, was shipped fast and was a good price. I cannot comment on the TRE's that came with the kit as there are no brand names stamped in them or anything to otherwise ID whose ends they are but they seem to be quality. The parts/tools I bought for this are:
http://extremecustomparts.com/i-361167-tie-rod-drag-link-dana-44-1976-1977-bronco-1-1-2-d-o-m.html
http://www.amazon.com/Yankee-Taper-...&qid=1450531208&sr=8-1&keywords=Yankee+reamer
The reamer is made in the USA and still looks new after the four required cuts for this conversion. It will likely sit in my toolbox until I need to replace the right TRE which requires reaming but I know I will have it.
Since the Bronco isn't done, I hadn't installed the pitman yet so I started by reaming that first. This is the only cut that was in the same direction of taper as the original taper. I put the pitman arm in the vise, used plenty of cutting oil, went slow with the reamer in my drill and stopped frequently to test fit the drag link end. You can see the before and after reaming of the pitman arm. Also, the pitman arm took the longest to ream.
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