My 1977 bronco

[77BroncoDude]

New here. Bought a 1977 bronco from my uncle last year. It had been parked since 1993 but he claimed the motor ran. It had been parked at my house till 2 weeks ago I sold my 66 mustang coupe to fund the bronco. After a full tune up, fuel pump, Edelbrock 600, ignition module, ignition switch, and splicing in a wire to the ignition switch that had broken off (reason why it wouldn't run for him and why he parked it...) it started up and runs smooth and great. After being parked over 20 years I got to drive it yesterday! Still have a lot to do, fix some lights, new brakes and etc. but it runs! I want to put a lift kit on it but not sure what the best route would be. I'd like to run 35s. I want to be able to drive it around and take it hunting. But not sure what lift would be best. Any info or advice helps, thanks!

Not sure how to post pics on here

 

[nickgp]

35s on mostly stock rig is going to tax steering, gearing, trans, brakes and engine. For a rig you can drive to the hunting area, 31 to 33 inch tall tires are a more logical choice with mild lift of 2 to 3 inches.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Hey 77BroncoDude,

Welcome to CBs and congrats on getting the Bronco running. You have come to the right place. These guys are a wealth of knowledge and helped me out more times then I can count.

As far your lift, if you are set on 35's we have to assume your fenders are cut. If their not you're in for some feedback to keep the fenders stock.

Personally I like a 3.5" lift with a 1"-2" body lift to fit 35s. Going above 3.5" SL starts getting into more modifications and possibly sacrificing ride quality IMHO but others with much more experience with chime in here.

You can use the search link above to view pics of different combinations of SL and BL with wheel size, just take a little time.

To post pics, you need to become a contributor for $12/yr. A small price to pay for the benefits.

Again, welcome and good luck with your build and keep us posted with your progress.

 

[jlylec]

Congrats man...that's a great feeling! If you really want to lift it I would suggest only putting a small lift (no more than 3.5" suspension lift) and I would suggest keeping the tires to 33". Only because the higher you go and the bigger your tires the more other issues and upgrades you'll need. At a minimum go kinda slow. If you go over 3.5" on the suspension lift you run a big risk of causing your steering to never be the same (good). If you go over 33" tires you'll likely want/need to upgrade the steering box. You've got a pretty capable truck already for hunting. I had a '69 with 31" tires and otherwise stock and I took it MANY places I shouldn't have. My '76 now has a 3.5" SL with 2" BL (lowered from 5.5" SL the previous owner put on it) and 35" tires and I've barely had a chance to take it off road in the past year trying to get everything else done to it to get it right again! Whatever you do enjoy it, but if it's running well and drives straight I'd be real cautious about doing too much! Certainly do one thing at a time so you can tell what's happening and know what the cause of any potential issues is. I tried to do everything at once (completely new underneath essentially in one fell swoop) and it's impossible now to know what is causing what issue when something comes up. I was just telling a buddy on Saturday I wished I had done one thing at a time...gotten it perfect before moving to the next. Good luck and have fun!

 

[77BroncoDude]

yes the rear fenders are cut. id prefer to have 35s but dont have to. a guy told me he had a 3 inch body lift and 35s on his 70 bronco. so did he do a lot of cutting to fit them under there or did they just rub like crazy? from the research ive done wildhorses makes a great 3.5 sl. anyone have issues with their lifts? thanks for the help guys

 

[Ol'Blue]

yes the rear fenders are cut. id prefer to have 35s but dont have to. a guy told me he had a 3 inch body lift and 35s on his 70 bronco. so did he do a lot of cutting to fit them under there or did they just rub like crazy? from the research ive done wildhorses makes a great 3.5 sl. anyone have issues with their lifts? thanks for the help guys

I had the 3.5 WH lift and wanted a little more up front so went to WH 4.5 in front and 3.5 in the rear. The ride is great, customer service and product knowledge are excellent. I have 33" tires and have plenty of room and have considered 35" but after looking into gear changes, taxing the trans and other parts and possibly sacrificing ride, I think I will stick with the 33s. They have gotten me where I wanted to go.

As far as fitting 35s under 3.5" lift, I guess its possible and there are many factors (tire width, fender cuts, etc) but someone who has this set up should comment.

 

[jlylec]

35x12.50s fit fine under a 3.5" lift. I have a 2" body lift also but I don't think you'd need it. I forgot about the gears. That's something else you probably want to consider. From what I read on here 4.56s are good for 35" tires so that's what I did.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Nice rig jlylec.

Here is mine 4.5"WH front and 3.5"WH Rear on 33's. When I was concidering 35s I planned on 1" BL.

 

[half cab]

You go above 2.5 on that '77 with the Y style rod n drag link you will run into lots of issues!! unless it's been changed to a T style?

BTW welcome to thr site.

 

[Rox Crusher]

I run 33" x 12.5" tires on WH 3.5" lift.

Rear fenders cut and rear axle moved back one inch, works great.

Front fenders uncut and the tires rub the lower front corner of the wheel well ever so often. I'm gonna go with 4.5" coils up front to counter this and the slight downward rake mine has.

I converted my steering to TRO as the inverted Y collapsed / bent during some "mild" %) wheeling !

 

[77BroncoDude]

I don't mind putting gears in it. I'm not looking to rock crawl it. Mostly street use. I've seen a lot of early broncos driving down the highway on 35s so it must not be too bad to drive. I have 15x10 aluminum wheels but can get 15x8s if it'll make a difference.

 

[77BroncoDude]

I'd like to run 35x12.50x15 Bfg km2s.

 

[half cab]

I don't mind putting gears in it. I'm not looking to rock crawl it. Mostly street use. I've seen a lot of early broncos driving down the highway on 35s so it must not be too bad to drive. I have 15x10 aluminum wheels but can get 15x8s if it'll make a difference.

'76 '77 came with the Y style because Ford change to front disc brakes. If you don't do the mod or change over to T style and you go more than 2.5 on SL then your asking for troubles.

 

[77BroncoDude]

What mod would I have to do exactly? What's the cost for the mod or swapping to t style?

 

[77BroncoDude]

What kind of problems would I be looking at going with a 3.5 sl?

 

[half cab]

WH sells a custom setup $250-$350.there are more vendors that sell kits to.And there is the TRO Rock Crusher mentioned (Tie Rod Over Knuckle)

I believe there is even a mod from the '78-79 Broncos n F-150's knuckles n rods .

 

[half cab]

What kind of problems would I be looking at going with a 3.5 sl?

The inverted Y is great up to a 2.5 SL and up to about 33" tires after that because of it's weaker design and limited adjustability thus falls short for lifted or large tire EB's

 

[Ol'Blue]

What mod would I have to do exactly? What's the cost for the mod or swapping to t style?

I went with WH three way adjustable. Very strong and you can adjust at each end. I was able to sell my Y type to someone running stock suspension for $75.

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Tie_Rod_Drag_Link_3way_Adjustable_7677yr

Just check your clearance from the rim to the tie rod ends. Depending on your wheel backspacing these clearances get very close. I had to change my wheel wieghts to the in type that glue onto the inner wheel.

 

[skerrybronco]

What mod would I have to do exactly? What's the cost for the mod or swapping to t style?

Hi and welcome to CB, I still feel like a newbie here

When I bought my truck it came with 3.5" SL and 2" BL and 35" tires, Rockers and fenders cut,( love the stance ) all the aesthetics were done, but needed Maintenance

this is the first thing I tackled was the steering, it was finished, I replaced the Y to a T-style + adjustable track bar rebuilt the steering box and put in 7 degree bushings, and the truck drives great 2 finger steering.....

still need to re gear, as 35's with 3:50 gear ratio turns the truck into a paper weight..

 

[jlylec]

I'd like to run 35x12.50x15 Bfg km2s.

That's exactly what I have on mine. They are nice.