Newbie looking for a running project

[jaymos]

Hello to you all.
I'm new to the forum and thought I would join to gain some knowledge about Broncos as I'm currently looking to buy my first ever.

I'm in Washington state and looking for a running ride that I can drive day one and start upgrading, repairing, mod'ing etc.

Looking for any guidance from the experts on here if you can help out.

I'm watching the local CraigsLists and Ebay. Looks like there are some sale threads on here which I imagine are better place to look?

I'm a tech geek with a passion for horsepower and as I sell my latest Baja beetle project I'm thinking getting into a 302 powered beast is more my speed.

Happy to have found this forum, valuable knowledge shared here which is truly a virtue.

Thanks,
Jaymos

 

[englewoodcowboy]

Welcome aboard and yes, def. check here in the for sale section first. I bought my EB from eBay and at the time I was armed with enough of what to look for but not the how. You can see my build that what I thought was solid turned out to be rot and I have been very busy repairing it. There are some good rides out there for the right price but you have to have the cash on hand ready and be willing to jump when you find it. Good luck in your adventure and again welcome to the addiction!

 

[jmeyer1971]

Be patient don't jump at the first or second or third eb that comes along. Most times what you think will take a few dollars and some know how will cost more than spending a little more for a solid rig. Plus you will be going down the road sooner. What are you looking for as a the end result? Rock crawler, mud truck, or just looking good

 

[lca'73]

Be patient don't jump at the first or second or third eb that comes along. Most times what you think will take a few dollars and some know how will cost more than spending a little more for a solid rig.

Agreed! I knew very little when I started looking but got most of my info from the forums and a couple of other articles on the web. I found out where to look for rust and what other major issues to look for. I decided what I could live with and what I would be prepared to fix and what was a deal killer. That being said...I bought the first truck I saw. I got REALLY lucky. Don't do what I did unless you're really sure it's a good deal. My Bronco had very little rust and there was still a ton of work to be done and I'm still going to pay a fortune to get what I want out of it.

Can't hurt to do a little research on the history. Have an understanding of what was offered and when. Decide on cut or uncut, or if you are going to give a few of us a heart attack and cut an uncut. There are lots of fun things to find out about them! Hope you enjoy the journey and welcome to the addiction!!

What are you looking for as the end result....or just looking good?

Well, that's pretty much a given in any Bronco, right??

 

[jaymos]

Thanks all.
Yeah I've done a frame off resto and not looking for that level of work right now. I want a runner that looks good and I can drive around up here in Seattle during the winters and keep my hotrod in the garage.
My budget is $10k which I think is reasonable looking at current EB's (I'm learning the lingo too...) out there for sale right now.

I think that after the newness wears off, I'd be into doing nice paint, interior, and an engine/drivetrain upgrade. Maybe something EFI that I can tune on...


Appreciate the feedback.

 

[sprdv1]

Welcome Jaymos... Good to have ya with us..

Key factor is to remain patient, ask questions from everyone on here when you find one.. IF there's noe too far away to check out, let someone local to it, go check it out for ya

Lots of great folks on here.

PS, Auto would be a good thing to have

 

[lca'73]

Yeah I've done a frame off resto and not looking for that level of work right now. I want a runner that looks good and I can drive around up here in Seattle during the winters and keep my hotrod in the garage.

Yeah, we completely understand....really we do. I didn't have any plans of doing a frame off. We're just warning you of the fine print. ;D It isn't meant to scare you off because working with these EB's is a lot of fun.

I had completely planned on driving mine until we cleaned it up and painted it. I had it for 6 months before I put it in the shop to "paint it" and do some of the upgrades I wanted. I'm now 3 months into my frame off. Oh and I only got to drive it about 100 miles during that original 6 months because we spent so much time chasing a fuel problem (that didn't appear during the 70 mile drive home the day I bought it...just the day after). Like I said they are a lot of fun, BUT they are never what you think they are going to be. So just be prepared, at least, for the possibility that the super solid, perfect looking and running truck that you end up buying, will give you a little more work than you originally expected.

That being said I'm sure there are plenty of fellas on here who can tell you their Bronco hasn't given them much trouble from day one and my guess is a lot of those will be untouched survivors that haven't been messed with very much, but have been kept up and clean. BUT, I'm still new at this myself as you will see if you look to the left at my sad little stats. So I wouldn't listen to me. ;D

 

[joshnjulie1]

I bought mine then found the forum.....Damn.
At least you are on the right track.

 

[SteveL]

I'm thinking getting into a 302 powered beast is more my speed.




302? aim higher. look for one with a 351 in it

 

[joshnjulie1]

From a Baja Beetle, a 302 is a powered beast.
Gotta start off easy and work your way up the CID food chain.
I had a 289 in my Mustang, so yeah, I am running a 302 powered beast now too.....

 

[jaymos]

From a Baja Beetle, a 302 is a powered beast.
Gotta start off easy and work your way up the CID food chain.
I had a 289 in my Mustang, so yeah, I am running a 302 powered beast now too.....

Yeah a 302 is bit different than an aircooled 1600cc 4 banger!

I do drive a '12 Challenger R/T with a 5.7L HEMI, so a 351w would be fine by me as well.

All good wisdom here from you guys. Thank you for helping. Hopefully I'll be able to contribute in the future.

J

 

[MPG_Bronco]

be patient...

I got my deal here on this forum.

the trick is to have the cash ready, call on those little higher priced than you have and offer cash. remember cash talks.

any v8 is really good, granted bigger is better.

now just think of everything you want into your truck, what type of axles, brakes, interior, trans, gears, height. the more you put together and plan for your type of truck, the better BASE you WILL get. and decide what you want to do yourself.

remember, more is less... the MORE you get initially in your bronco, the LESS money it will cost in the future.

Richard