raleigh
New Member
So I figure I'd start a thread for your enjoyment!
A few years ago I decided it was time to build my 79 Bronco, it was a beauty. Basically a show rig, I drove it around town, to show, and mild trails.
Then about 9 months ago I got the itch to start running some better trails and had a blast with it!
I built it with Superduty axles, long arm suspension, locked front and rear and had been making changes to the Bronco which include bumpers, sliders, quarter protection, twin stick and had plans for a full cage in a couple weeks.
So obviously the direction of the Bronco had been evolving and I have been enjoying wheeling it pretty hard.
Well Father's Day in Moab the unthinkable happened
Poor thing looks like it had a stroke...
I was able to drive it home from Moab to Vegas with no major issues.
Once I got home I mulled over just a simple body swap and lowering it a few inches but decided I wanted something smaller, lighter and easier to get down the trail.
My buddy Jesse in Texas scouted around and found a body and some spare parts for me, so Crossbreed began to take shape.
An Early Bronco body on a Full Size one ton Bronco chassis! From my research I have not found one that has been done, I am sure it has been, just haven't found one yet lol
The body is pretty rotted, floors are toast, front door supports are wasted, rockers were trash as well.
The cargo area floor is in decent shape and the quarters are also in decent shape, definitely a workable starting point.
Once the body arrived I started right away, I want to have this driving by mid-October and ready for my club's annual event, the Hump & Bump the first week of November.
Mocked up the body on the frame to get an idea of where the axle needed to be. Relocated the front and rear spring hangers, front will be staying where it is. The wheelbase is currently at 98", I am happy with that.
Started making new floor supports to get ready for the new floors as well as the body mounts that need to be fabbed or relocated (more on this later)
Cut 18" off the frame in the rear and will be cutting 6" off the front soon.
The inner rockers were also rotter, the front floor support had been hacked out by the PO and the inner rocker was paper thin from the rot.
Cut it all out and tacked in the start of the new rockers/sliders. The floor supports are welding to these also. They are 3"x6" .120 wall tube, the front is left long since I am not 100% where the fender will end up, I won't be using these fiberglass fenders I have.
While at it I checked to make sure the door openings were square, they are, whew!
Since I will be using my drivetrain which is a moderately built 408 with TBI injection, NP435 and NP205 I needed to check clearance for the radiator, it's tight, real tight.
The FSB radiator is way too tall so I ordered a 31" wide x 18" tall aluminum radiator for it and a low profile twin 12" electric fan set, I will have ~ 3/4" clearance between the fans and engine!
Check out the difference in width! Damn I am excited to drive this thing!
The 79 was no slouch when I got on the skinny pedal but this will be about 1500 lbs. lighter, it should be a beast!
I am working on this pretty much daily when I can stand the horrible heat in Vegas, this is an aggressive time frame so every little step helps!
A few years ago I decided it was time to build my 79 Bronco, it was a beauty. Basically a show rig, I drove it around town, to show, and mild trails.
Then about 9 months ago I got the itch to start running some better trails and had a blast with it!
I built it with Superduty axles, long arm suspension, locked front and rear and had been making changes to the Bronco which include bumpers, sliders, quarter protection, twin stick and had plans for a full cage in a couple weeks.
So obviously the direction of the Bronco had been evolving and I have been enjoying wheeling it pretty hard.
Well Father's Day in Moab the unthinkable happened
Poor thing looks like it had a stroke...
I was able to drive it home from Moab to Vegas with no major issues.
Once I got home I mulled over just a simple body swap and lowering it a few inches but decided I wanted something smaller, lighter and easier to get down the trail.
My buddy Jesse in Texas scouted around and found a body and some spare parts for me, so Crossbreed began to take shape.
An Early Bronco body on a Full Size one ton Bronco chassis! From my research I have not found one that has been done, I am sure it has been, just haven't found one yet lol
The body is pretty rotted, floors are toast, front door supports are wasted, rockers were trash as well.
The cargo area floor is in decent shape and the quarters are also in decent shape, definitely a workable starting point.
Once the body arrived I started right away, I want to have this driving by mid-October and ready for my club's annual event, the Hump & Bump the first week of November.
Mocked up the body on the frame to get an idea of where the axle needed to be. Relocated the front and rear spring hangers, front will be staying where it is. The wheelbase is currently at 98", I am happy with that.
Started making new floor supports to get ready for the new floors as well as the body mounts that need to be fabbed or relocated (more on this later)
Cut 18" off the frame in the rear and will be cutting 6" off the front soon.
The inner rockers were also rotter, the front floor support had been hacked out by the PO and the inner rocker was paper thin from the rot.
Cut it all out and tacked in the start of the new rockers/sliders. The floor supports are welding to these also. They are 3"x6" .120 wall tube, the front is left long since I am not 100% where the fender will end up, I won't be using these fiberglass fenders I have.
While at it I checked to make sure the door openings were square, they are, whew!
Since I will be using my drivetrain which is a moderately built 408 with TBI injection, NP435 and NP205 I needed to check clearance for the radiator, it's tight, real tight.
The FSB radiator is way too tall so I ordered a 31" wide x 18" tall aluminum radiator for it and a low profile twin 12" electric fan set, I will have ~ 3/4" clearance between the fans and engine!
Check out the difference in width! Damn I am excited to drive this thing!
The 79 was no slouch when I got on the skinny pedal but this will be about 1500 lbs. lighter, it should be a beast!
I am working on this pretty much daily when I can stand the horrible heat in Vegas, this is an aggressive time frame so every little step helps!
