Biggest Regret on Your Build?

[BLAZEOFGLORY]

2 regrets should have put new wiring harness in when had all apart and when I replaced the engine should have went with New Crate 351W motor instead of rebuilding the 302 with 351W heads could saved a lot of Money and a lot of head banging

 

[Local Boy]

Honestly, mine is building my own motors when I didn't have the technical knowledge (specs, clearances, etc...) to do it right.... It ran... for a little while.... than BOOM! oil everywhere... First one was a bored out .30 302...I considered that one as my test mule. The second one was a 8K 331 crate that I installed and added a roots blower....crank pulley was out of center and thus had a slight wobble in it... I was wondering why I kept throwing the blower belt... on the 1-2 up shift...It ended up destroying the crank and took everything with it... wasted big $$$$ on that lesson...

Needless to say.... I don't build my own motors anymore...

Every man must know his limits...

Aloha

 

[Cooper]

Not getting a tetanus shot the day I got it home.

 

[Timmy390]

Not having the internet in the early years of ownership. You know, back when you had to order parts via phone or snail mail. When all you had was a Haynes manual or MAYBE you were lucky enough to know a guy who knew someone someplace that had a shop manual. Back when buying a bronco meant looking through the classifieds of the local paper.

I don't think the younger generation understands how hard it was to get technical information on these rigs (any rig really) back in the early 90's. You just had to "feel" your way through it.

Learned a bunch of do's and don'ts back then. Like the transfer case is HEAVY

Tim

 

[duffymahoney]

1. Buying the bronco I did. Getting screwed, not being smart enough to see it.

2. Not just buying a new body.

3. First body/ paint guy.

4. Not going explorer ecm.

 

[Jamie Chriss]

Wasting months trying to salvage an old tub that was never ever going to look right. Eventually I got smart and scrapped the whole thing and started new with everything. I took me two months to completely build a new tube vs the 3 months I spent trying to tie in new and old metal.

 

[tmaddux911]

My biggest regret is that I didn't take the body off the frame during paint.

 

[sykanr0ng]

or buying smalls (switches, knobs, pigtails) only to find out the box/bucket of parts that came with the Bronco had what you needed

Buy a decent used tail light bucket then find a NOS still in the box tail light bucket in the tub of parts that came with the Bronco?
Check that one off the list. %)

 

[Howard2x4x4]

For those of us that have built a Bronco and "finished" it what is your biggest regret?

Mine has to be that i didn't do any sound or heat insulation on my tub when I had the body off the frame. It is like riding in a hair dryer in the summer once everything gets heat soaked. I plan to go back and fix it but it would have been much easier before I put it together.

What about you?

Willtel, how do you plan to fix it? Great, fun thread, btw! Howard in beautiful west Michigan

 

[76BroncoPete]

Not getting a tetanus shot the day I got it home.

Hilarious, but true

 

[5001craig]

Haven't really thought I have any regrets yet but I would like to have a Top Loader. Something about banging gears on a toy.

And I would have gone with a Dart Block.

And I would have gone with a Race Case Atlas so I could put a planetary in front of it.

And I wish I had a new body (not mine--on the EB but mine needs some work).

And I wish I would have had more time when I was all-over working on this thing.

And I wish I was more electrically inclined.

But I really like her. ;D

Oh, and I would really like to have fuel injection.

 

[73azbronco]

Taking too long.

Too many new products came on market during build that I've morphed the goal over and over.

 

[Nevadasmith]

Second biggest regret was cheaping out on my mufflers and putting Turbos on instead of spending a little more money on Flowmaster/Magnaflow. I love a good exhaust note as much as the next guy, but my turbos are entirely too loud once you past about half throttle.

That's funny to me as I absolutely hate my flowmaster 40 series, to much volume, and too much drone, especially when I have the top off, I've been looking at glass packs or tubo mufflers to replace my flowmaster!!!

 

[blubuckaroo]

I want to have my cake (power/torque)
And
Eat it (gears) too

I get that, but I have a '77.
Sure here in WA where a ten year old vehicle isn't smog tested. But the market for Broncos is going crazy in CA.
Keeping it 50 state emissions compliant is important for the vehicle's value.

 

[bronconut73]

That's funny to me as I absolutely hate my flowmaster 40 series, to much volume, and too much drone, especially when I have the top off, I've been looking at glass packs or tubo mufflers to replace my flowmaster!!!

Flowmaster Delta series mufflers get rid of the drone inside.

Flowmaster Delta 50 and 70's are almost too quiet.

Don't know about Delta 40's.....but regular 40's do drone soooo bad though....

 

[jim3326]

Not coating the body in certain places with rust inhibitor before putting it back together. Now I have rust runs. I'm going to try and get some in those places but don't have much hope. Other one is putting the screws in the dash while the windshield was down. Worked way to hard to get the top sealed as good as it is to take it off again.

 

[1strodeo]

That's funny to me as I absolutely hate my flowmaster 40 series, to much volume, and too much drone, especially when I have the top off, I've been looking at glass packs or tubo mufflers to replace my flowmaster!!!

Don’t mean to turn this into an exhaust thread but I have stock manifolds and glass packs, no mufflers, and it sounds perfect! Then again I’ve not had it to highway speed yet %)

 

[AFLtCol]

- Buying parts and then realizing that's not the look I want....i.e. Logan winch bumper/tire carrier, 17" wheels, shocks, etc...
- Not driving the bronco more before sending off to be taken apart
- Going overboard on some things, but that's what I do
- Not buying 2 back when prices were much cheaper
- Not realizing how long a complete off-frame resto can take
- Not realizing how much a complete off-frame resto can cost

 

[Chief Master Sergeant]

Rhino Lining over the bed rails. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB! Now, in order to repaint the truck, I'll have to remove it. Not looking forward to that mess.

 

[NC_Pinz]

- Buying parts and then realizing that's not the look I want....i.e. Logan winch bumper/tire carrier, 17" wheels, shocks, etc...
- Not driving the bronco more before sending off to be taken apart
- Going overboard on some things, but that's what I do
- Not buying 2 back when prices were much cheaper
- Not realizing how long a complete off-frame resto can take
- Not realizing how much a complete off-frame resto can cost

#2 and #5 scare me. Maybe that is why I'm currently treating it as a survivor and driving the heck out of it despite the faded original paint and other flaws.

I do love this thread and hearing lessons that others have learned.