Bronco Makeover, North Carolina Edition, Need a Crew! Saturday 4 December

[Young Army Vet]

All,

I'm just going to throw this out there and see what happens. Long story short, I need help putting my EB back together and I think, with the right people, we can do it in 1 DAY! Heck if a bunch a guys can rebuild a house in a day I think a bunch of EB owners can put some Army Vets retirement gift together. Who know's maybe ABC will want to hear our story and this build will make us all rich. Just a thought... Anyway, What I have so far:

Rebuilt 302 engine sitting on my garage floor
New Motor Mounts
Refurbished C4 and TC sitting on my garage floor
New 4 Barrell Carb
New Fuel Pump (on engine already)
New Water Pump (installed already)
New Headman Headers (in box)
New Painless Wiring Harness (older version but new in box)
New Gauge Cluster
New Radiator and brackets
New Hoses

Equipment I have:
71 Ford Bronco w/ 4 inch suspension lift
Garage
Craftsman tools
Two Jack stands
Engine Hoist
Engine Stand
Not so good floor jack


What I think needs done the most is slide the C4 and TC back in, put the motor in and hook up the wiring harness, slap the dash in place and put all the fuids back in. I'm sure there will be some trips to the Auto store but I believe we can do it all in 1 Day. I guess you can say I did a good job tearing everything down but I'm not so hot at putting everything back together.
If there are things I need to buy prior to the 4th please send your recommendations and I'll get what I can prior to then to eliminate time wasted running to the store.

What can I give to those who come:

Free all you can eat NC BBQ and all you can Drink. If you're mechanicaly savy and pull a lot of wrenches on my EB and live relativly close I can pay for your mileage ($.30 a mile) to and from my home in Whispering Pines, NC. Other than that I think it would be a good time for EB owners to get together throw a BonFire and tell war stories about their EB's.

So, If anyone is interested in helping out on that day please let me know. I look forward to any and all help.

Thanks so much,

Young Army Vet

 

[needabronco]

Well your only 1911 miles from my house, I figure that's about 30 hours or so drive time;D...


The drivetrain can be installed in a day for sure, the wiring would likely be a couple of days at a minimum to do a 'good' job installing it, although I'm sure it could be loosely thrown in in a day (but you 'get what you pay for')... Personally on a wiring job I think that's best done by one person from start to finish that way one style or train of thought is carried throughout the whole job, there's more than one way to do things especially when wiring a Bronco.

 

[tasker]

wish you were closer, i'd be in. Good luck with it!

 

[englewoodcowboy]

I am about 4 hours away, will have to make sure that day is free for me. I am new to the EB community but not new to wrenching. I think it would be a blast, what hotels are nearby or can we pitch a tent? I dont drink and drive and I def don't drive dead arse tired and I am thinking we will be a bunch of whooped pups ater a challenge like that... I think it can happen.

 

[NC-Fordguy]

Well........

I might be able to come lend a hand, I'll have to see how my work schedule looks

Now as far as getting this all done in one day??????????

Takes me a good weekend to put in a wiring harness and I've done several.

3 or 4 hours to get a tranny and t-case in

couple of hours on an engine then tune

It's been my experience that anything over 3 or 4 guys helping out is too many. Ya just cant crowd that many more folks around. Once you do, well the BSing and carrying on starts and it just seems more time is put into that than getting a project done

Any rate if I can make I got a floor jack and tranny jack I can bring but ya gotta come over and lend a hand on my junk and once done you gotta take your bronco to uwharrie and wheel it ;D

 

[Young Army Vet]

I am about 4 hours away, will have to make sure that day is free for me. I am new to the EB community but not new to wrenching. I think it would be a blast, what hotels are nearby or can we pitch a tent? I dont drink and drive and I def don't drive dead arse tired and I am thinking we will be a bunch of whooped pups ater a challenge like that... I think it can happen.

4 hours is a pretty long way... I appreciate the effort.

 

[Young Army Vet]

Well........

I might be able to come lend a hand, I'll have to see how my work schedule looks

Now as far as getting this all done in one day??????????

Takes me a good weekend to put in a wiring harness and I've done several.

3 or 4 hours to get a tranny and t-case in

couple of hours on an engine then tune

It's been my experience that anything over 3 or 4 guys helping out is too many. Ya just cant crowd that many more folks around. Once you do, well the BSing and carrying on starts and it just seems more time is put into that than getting a project done

Any rate if I can make I got a floor jack and tranny jack I can bring but ya gotta come over and lend a hand on my junk and once done you gotta take your bronco to uwharrie and wheel it ;D

Sounds like a plan, if you can make it. I think it would be a blast and I can do stuff prior to guys showing up.

 

[Young Army Vet]

wish you were closer, i'd be in. Good luck with it!

It's the thought that counts.. Ha, Ha... Thanks.. I will post pictures

 

[scbronco]

im in... tentatively... cant remember if i got work stuff going on that weekend, but ill check. if not, ill be there! thanks again for the hood tom, i got that tiny dent out, and now all it needs is paint!

 

[Smokeater11]

I think just about everything on your list except for the wiring can be done in a day especially if you have a couple of guys who really know what they're doing there to help. As long as you don't run into any major issues you guys should be able to have the motor, tranny and t-case in the truck in less than an hour. Another couple of hours doing the radiator, carb, belts and hoses, dizzy, fuel lines, etc.....I know this because I've done it myself with one helper (Revelation) this summer. It's all in the preperation on the days before. I spent 4-5 hours the day before Rev came over getting everything ready to be put on/in. Plus I've done probably a hundred motor changes over the years working on racecars. Here's a link to a thread from back in June when we put my motor back in. Think of it as motivation!!
http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163915&highlight=Gunny

I wish I was closer to you because just the NC BBQ would be enough to motivate me to come and help!!;D

 

[akafrankcastle]

It's been my experience that anything over 3 or 4 guys helping out is too many.

You're forgetting some of the most important duties required at a Bronco build.

1) Parts gopher
2) Alternate parts gopher. Because the first store you hit will NOT have the part you are looking for.
3) Grill master. Someone has to keep the crew fed.
4) Journalist/photographer/videographer. Because if this DOES go down and there are no pics, videos, or story for the next issue of Bronco Driver...well, you get the point.
5) Bouncer. Free drinks? Tools? Parts? Someone better keep that torch out of the hands of the guy with no pants on.
6) Supervisor. EVERYONE is going to want to be in charge and pick the next step to the build. Hours can be wasted when two guys are bickering of whether to finish the front dress or bolt up the steering. Nominate a guy and take the lead from him.

 

[ransil]

You violated rule #1 never disable the Bronco.. only do 1 upgrade at a time then start on the next one.

The wiring... having done wire jobs at each of the last 3 MEB wrench & roasts I can tell you it at least a 2 day job. usually there is 2 of us working on it the first day for 12-14 hours then it always needs 3 plus hours on the second day.

 

[Young Army Vet]

im in... tentatively... cant remember if i got work stuff going on that weekend, but ill check. if not, ill be there! thanks again for the hood tom, i got that tiny dent out, and now all it needs is paint!

Thanks man! Just let me know and if you can't make it I understand...

 

[Young Army Vet]

You violated rule #1 never disable the Bronco.. only do 1 upgrade at a time then start on the next one.

The wiring... having done wire jobs at each of the last 3 MEB wrench & roasts I can tell you it at least a 2 day job. usually there is 2 of us working on it the first day for 12-14 hours then it always needs 3 plus hours on the second day.

If we can atleast get the wiring connected I might be able to do the rest later in the week.
Thanks

 

[Young Army Vet]

You're forgetting some of the most important duties required at a Bronco build.

1) Parts gopher
2) Alternate parts gopher. Because the first store you hit will NOT have the part you are looking for.
3) Grill master. Someone has to keep the crew fed.
4) Journalist/photographer/videographer. Because if this DOES go down and there are no pics, videos, or story for the next issue of Bronco Driver...well, you get the point.
5) Bouncer. Free drinks? Tools? Parts? Someone better keep that torch out of the hands of the guy with no pants on.
6) Supervisor. EVERYONE is going to want to be in charge and pick the next step to the build. Hours can be wasted when two guys are bickering of whether to finish the front dress or bolt up the steering. Nominate a guy and take the lead from him.

All points taken! Being a retired military guy I think I'll get the Supervisor position. Parts gopher can be that guy that talks to much to everyone else, The Grill master will be me, because its my house and the Grill belongs to the MAN of the house, Photo guy will be all of us. Not sure who the Bouncer will be but I have enough firearms that I think I can get the position

 

[Young Army Vet]

I think just about everything on your list except for the wiring can be done in a day especially if you have a couple of guys who really know what they're doing there to help. As long as you don't run into any major issues you guys should be able to have the motor, tranny and t-case in the truck in less than an hour. Another couple of hours doing the radiator, carb, belts and hoses, dizzy, fuel lines, etc.....I know this because I've done it myself with one helper (Revelation) this summer. It's all in the preperation on the days before. I spent 4-5 hours the day before Rev came over getting everything ready to be put on/in. Plus I've done probably a hundred motor changes over the years working on racecars. Here's a link to a thread from back in June when we put my motor back in. Think of it as motivation!!
http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163915&highlight=Gunny

I wish I was closer to you because just the NC BBQ would be enough to motivate me to come and help!!;D

Hey Smokeeater11, Thanks for the thread and its for sure motivating! I'm sure we'll get my 71 running. My daughter calls the EB "Lucky" So, my 71 has a name, not as good as Gunny but when my 10 year old daughter say's jump I usually say how High!

What steps did you take to make the build go smooth? I'm a recently Retired Military guy so organization is in my tool box but I want to make sure I focus my prep in the right area!

Thanks for your time,
Tom

 

[Smokeater11]

The steps I took were to put out a large table and lay out everything that would need to be bolted on after the big pieces were bolted in. I made sure everything was already clean, the correct gaskets and bolts, nuts, and washers were placed with the part. I had all the sockets, ratchets and extensions layed out that were not the normal 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 7/16 that get used all the time. I pre-installed the plug wires on the dizzy cap, made sure I had all the correct hoses and clamps ready, and had all the fluids ready. Basically I sat on the stoll in my shop and thought my way through the install step by step and tried my hardest to make sure I had everything ready I would need for each step. There's always things you miss or forget but the more stuff you have ready and layed out where you can find it the smoother everything will go. Trust me there's nothing more frustrating than a bunch of guys standing around waiting on someone to find the bolts that go to the starter, or two guys laying on their backs with the tranny above their heads waiting for someone to find the bell housing bolts or the 5/8 socket to put them in with. In the past I've been the guy looking and the guy waiting and neither are any fun. If you'll put the time in on the days before, the day of will go smoother. You're a military man so just think of this like any military operation. Pre plan, prepare, and execute. It should be right up your alley.

 

[Young Army Vet]

Thanks Smokeeater! When I took everything apart I made sure the bolts were put into baggies and marked. I've already gone out and picked up some new ones and cleaned all the brackets and painted them. I agree with you that having everything layed out is key! I hope some guys can make it and the ones that know wiring can do wiring and the ones that wrench and lift heavy things will be engaged on the tranny and tc. Anyway, even if noone shows up I'll be drinking and eating a lot of food

 

[Smokeater11]

Well hopefully some of the guys close to you will have clear calendars and can come and help. With you supplying good food and beverages, I'm sure someone will show up.

 

[Young Army Vet]

One can only hope! Have a Great Thanksgiving .