New to me 67 bronco. Tons of Questions.

[Adam7118]

Hey all. I'm excited to say that I bought a 67 Bronco. I am going to separate the body from the frame and work on the guts. I have a TON of questions.

I'd like to swap out the front end for a Dana 44. Can I use any dana 44? or does it have to be year specific/vehicle specific?

I am considering throwing in a fuel injected 5.0 motor with a 5 speed trans. I was told to go late 80s early 90s mustang or ford explorer. What is the better option in terms of mounts, placement, pulleys... Also, If I go fuel injected, what happens with the ECU? Thinking out loud here, I assume a newer motor throws codes and requires O2 sensors and whatnot. Carborated is probably the easier option but fuel injected would be nice.

I'm sure these issues have already been address but I'm new to the forum and any guidance is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Hammer6672]

dana 44 from 72-77 will work but keep in mind 76-77 had disc brakes which is a plus

 

[DirtDonk]

Hey Adam, welcome! I’m sure you get a lot of answers here.
Hopefully most of them are usable even!

What are your intended uses of the bronco? Are you sure the Dana 30 that’s in there isn’t perfectly good for what you need it for?
There are still plenty of them running around after all.
Bigger tires and harder use pretty much dictate that you go to a 44, or even bigger if needed. But light cruising and on road use don’t indicate the extra work to find a 44 at this point I would not think.
Or at least keep your eyes open and get one in the future, but for now, you can work out all the details.

Good luck.
And when you get a chance, post some pics of your new rig.
Is it a basket case, or are you starting with something fairly solid?

 

[Adam7118]

Thanks! The body is junk but the frame is solid and the vins match. I plan to go with bigger tires and keep it mostly on the road. I’m going to order a new body in the next few weeks and hopefully working on the frame and suspension in the meantime.

 

[904Bronco]

Welcome...

EFI - Mustang EFI is simpler, problem is ECU's can be hard to come by and folks seem to ask good $$ for them. Explorer front dress is the way to go. Great clearance, big fan, big output Alt, PS pump works well but has limits depending on tire sizes that you run. Explorer EFI would be the next choice, more complicated, but EFI Guy here on the site, can help with that.

 

[Adam7118]

Oh great! Who is the efi guy? I might be able to grab a 5.0 with 5 Spd and ecu. I was told 87-93. Is that right?

 

[Adam7118]

Also what year explorer front end?

 

[904Bronco]

Also what year explorer front end?

1996-2001 5.0L

 

[904Bronco]

Oh great! Who is the efi guy? I might be able to grab a 5.0 with 5 Spd and ecu. I was told 87-93. Is that right?

1987 - 1993 5.0L Fox body mustang... Early 87 could be a speed density motor, need to make sure it is a mass air car.

EFI Guy, Garry, Located in Colorado. There have been a number of threads about him, suggest yo do a search. U-Tube videos on how to do harness mods if you have some skills.

 

[.94 OR]

I believe all the Explorer/Mountaineers with the 5.0 came with an automatic. A manual 5 speed would need to be sourced from another vehicle, most likely a 4WD so an adapter to the T-case can happen easily.

 

[Adam7118]

 

[Adam7118]

Here she is! Already got the body off of the frame. The body was toast. I've already ordered a new one. My plan is to get the frame sorted out, drop a 5.0 from a 1990 mustang in it with a 5 speed and build a clean rig. I have a few body mounts to replace at this point and I'm hunting down the motor now. Very mad at myself at the moment for snapping my rear shock mount bolt this afternoon. Probably going with 35s, so Im trying to sort out which lift to run. I also want to convert to disk brakes. I've heard about the "knuckle conversion" so Im exploring that option now. ordered a new fuel tank and a few other odds and ends but I'm hoping to have the chassis, suspension, drivetrain and so on sorted out before mid July when the body arrives.

 

[DirtDonk]

Progress already! A good sign.
Remember the knuckle conversion for disc brakes only works on the 44. So figure out which way you're going.
If you do the Dana 30 brake conversion, that will cross over to a new 44 if you get one down the road. But if you use the Ford brakes with the knuckle-out conversion, you are limited to a Dana 44 with ball-joints.
I don't remember if it was answered already, but yes, the 44 has to be a Bronco 44 only.
If you want to convert any other model 44 to use in your Bronco, you really do have to "convert" it. Axle tube lengths, high-pinion or low-pinion, etc.
Finding one from a '71-'77 Bronco puts you ahead of the game no matter what you end up doing with the brakes.

Remember too, if you are toying with the idea of going with aftermarket brakes like Wilwood, check their applications first. You want to make sure that whatever model/year Dana setup you have is compatible with the kits they offer.

Paul