I know these topics have been beat to death but I'm a little overwhelmed and could use what probably amounts to a reality check.
My father passed away earlier this year leaving me a 1975 Bronco that has been sitting since 1997 after a minor car accident. being 9 years old at the time I begged him not to get rid of it and he never did. It was a "someday project" that never happened. I have kids now and I want to enjoy it with them so I'm pouring my resources into finishing it "for him".
We currently have the vehicle stripped down. The frame has been cleaned up and made solid again. The body is more or less completely gone so I have someone I trust rebuilding that.
Things that are decided on:
- My father had lifted it 2.5 inches and put it on 33s. Those are being cleaned up/updated but are staying as he set them.
- He left me a 4 speed toploader that he had sourced for it. I know it isnt what everyone is using now but he sourced it way back and this is mostly going to be a street vehicle. I'd like to keep it.
- 4.11 gears to correct for the larger tires and less than ideal 1st gear on the toploader.
- Keeping the 302
outside of that everything is up in the air. Vehicle is pretty much stock aside from the lift. This is a frame up restoration so everything is coming out and getting rebuilt.
Engine: I'm dealing with a lot of project creep in the engine department. The guy I have rebuilding it recommended EFI for "ease of use" which wasnt on my radar at all initially. I'm not a carb genius but i'm not afraid to learn. Additionally I've read a bunch on here about timing and cams and intakes and headers.. I just want to drive the darn thing and I want it to be reliable. I may end up towing a small row boat with it or something at some point as my kids are getting into fishing. It doesnt need to be a monster but it is my understanding that the way these were set from the factory is less than ideal. A little more torque wouldnt be a bad thing.
Should I be worried about the cooling system? I'm in New England.
Heater upgrades?
Power steering? This seems to be popular.
Exhaust?
Normally I'm in the "replace it when it fails" camp but basically everything needs to be gone through so I keep running into the "while we have it apart we might as well" thing a ton.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated! I'm in over my head a little bit!
-Nick
My father passed away earlier this year leaving me a 1975 Bronco that has been sitting since 1997 after a minor car accident. being 9 years old at the time I begged him not to get rid of it and he never did. It was a "someday project" that never happened. I have kids now and I want to enjoy it with them so I'm pouring my resources into finishing it "for him".
We currently have the vehicle stripped down. The frame has been cleaned up and made solid again. The body is more or less completely gone so I have someone I trust rebuilding that.
Things that are decided on:
- My father had lifted it 2.5 inches and put it on 33s. Those are being cleaned up/updated but are staying as he set them.
- He left me a 4 speed toploader that he had sourced for it. I know it isnt what everyone is using now but he sourced it way back and this is mostly going to be a street vehicle. I'd like to keep it.
- 4.11 gears to correct for the larger tires and less than ideal 1st gear on the toploader.
- Keeping the 302
outside of that everything is up in the air. Vehicle is pretty much stock aside from the lift. This is a frame up restoration so everything is coming out and getting rebuilt.
Engine: I'm dealing with a lot of project creep in the engine department. The guy I have rebuilding it recommended EFI for "ease of use" which wasnt on my radar at all initially. I'm not a carb genius but i'm not afraid to learn. Additionally I've read a bunch on here about timing and cams and intakes and headers.. I just want to drive the darn thing and I want it to be reliable. I may end up towing a small row boat with it or something at some point as my kids are getting into fishing. It doesnt need to be a monster but it is my understanding that the way these were set from the factory is less than ideal. A little more torque wouldnt be a bad thing.
Should I be worried about the cooling system? I'm in New England.
Heater upgrades?
Power steering? This seems to be popular.
Exhaust?
Normally I'm in the "replace it when it fails" camp but basically everything needs to be gone through so I keep running into the "while we have it apart we might as well" thing a ton.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated! I'm in over my head a little bit!
-Nick