Pistola... West Texas Bronco Buildup

[markperry]

Keith, looks and sounds great!

 

[BucknEB]

Congratulations! It sounds great!!!! That Silver paint looks sweet also! Makes me want to repair and repaint mine again.

 

[akb3]

I have new sending units on both my new gas tanks. I have an original fuel tank selector switch on the dash, and a newly rebuilt gauge cluster that has been tested and is good. Has anyone seen those switches stop working?

 

[gnpenning]

Good to hear it running Keith. Nice job. Now go have some fun. You earned it.

 

[broncoitis]

SAH-WEEEEEET! Sounds really healthy Keith. Now GIT-R-Done!!!! ;D

That is gonna turn some heads fo sho!

 

[akb3]

[youtube]XlAGb4rqCbg[/youtube]

Here's a better video of the truck running. Not the greatest, but at least you can hear the exhaust a little better. The MSD E Curve distributor is really cool. I need to do some fine tuning on it to get it just right.

 

[akb3]

Got a couple of problems you guys might be able to identify. When both the transfer case is in neutral and I put the transmission in neutral I hear a horrible grinding noise. What's that all about?

2nd problem. When I put the locking hubs on lock and put engage the front differential, I hear a ratcheting sound and see the driver's side short shaft u joint rotating although the wheels do not spin. ???

 

[akb3]

OK. Figured out the 2 problems mentioned on the previous post. I guess I should just troubleshoot things before putting out info on here. Anyway, If you've got both ends of the tcase in neutral and you move the gear selector through Reverse, then you'll hear grinding. Just shut down the engine, get to either P or N and restart. Or get the thing in gear, then move the gear selector to P or N. 2nd problem got figured out when I remembered my dad's jeep from the 80's. I forgot you had to lock out the hubs by rolling backwards a bit after turning the hubs. Did that and everything works great. Problems are starting go away bit by bit. Many are due to user error. Learn as I go. Long way to go yet. I'm going to try and fit the doors next. That ought to only take me a couple of months.

 

[BroncoBernie]

Bronco

Good to see your Bronco up and running. Don't blame ya after all the work and trouble shooting you did with the motor, thinking now what is going on? Glad it was an easy fix. Very nice Bronco. ;D

 

[akb3]

Thanks BroncoBernie. I got the doors on today. Well, that means they're bolted on. Not completely fitted. Still need some guru guidance on that one. Test fitted the hood. Not bad. Should look nice. Picture quality from my Blackberry sucks. Sorry.

 

[akb3]

Time to redo my wires. I have some nice MSD wires that are cut to fit, although I've never done them before. Here is a rough look on what they'll look like.

 

[broncoitis]

Ohhh, that is gonna look really nice!

 

[akb3]

Installed my wires today. A word of advice to anyone installing the MSD wires. Go ahead and buy a good ratcheting cutter/crimper to do this job. The tool they send with the wires seems like it may work, but the plier type tool is worth the money. Piece of cake and great crimps. With the firing order of Fords, I couldn't get the wires perfect, but I tried to get them to look descent. Kind of wish I would have gone with red now, but the black ones kind of go with my whole "thing" there. Need to hook up my distributor wiring and I'll be set engine wise.

 

[BorderBronco]

Looks great. Can't wait to see you cruise around town.

 

[fordfan]

I have been admiring your build, Keith,....beautiful engine! What are the specs of the engine? I see the E-street heads...how do they do?

 

[akb3]

Sure appreciate the compliments. Mucho work to get this far. Fordfan - As for the engine, I'm not sure about hp at this point and I don't have access to a dyno. I just know that it's got enough. Parts include, stock reground crank, reconditioned caps and connecting rods, new hypereutectic pistons (flat top), EDL 2122 camshaft, EDL 5023 Estreet heads (valves and springs come installed), hydraulic lifters, hardened pushrods, Summit roller rockers, EDL 2121 intake manifold, EDL 1405 600 cfm carb with electric choke kit, K&N air cleaner, MSD 8503 E Curve distributor, MSD Super Conductor wires, MSD 8222 High vibration coil, and a mechanical Edelbrock fuel pump. I like the heads so far. There are some forums, such as a Mustang forum that I've seen that bashes the Estreet heads pretty bad. From what I've read and seen online, the people that are bashing them are running a higher lift cam and pushing the valve springs beyond their limits. The engine has great throttle response and a throaty sound with the Magnaflow muffler.

 

[akb3]

Hard top or Soft top

I'm having a hard time deciding what to do with the top. I really like Chuck's soft top and the fact that you can just roll the sides up when you want some free A/C but still have sun protection. Although I have a real nice hard top that just needs some paint and a headliner. What are y'alls thoughts on the matter? Thanks. FYI, if I go with Chuck's top, it'll either be a darker grey or a light beige. If I go with the hard top, I'll go pearl white.

 

[BorderBronco]

If and when I finally find another Bronco(want to find a red with white top with a 302 like we used to have when I was a kid) I will have a cage with a family bikini top. I just like the way they look. That's just me... I think the dark gray would look good on Pistola.

 

[fordfan]

Thanks for the info. I also have a set of those heads that I purchased for a future build, and was just wondering..... You are right, the negatives I have read about them, have to do with running a really big cam. I really like the stance of your bronco!! ...and the color!!

 

[akb3]

Sure appreciate it! Here's a couple of videos I recorded today. Top one is a walkaround, the second focuses on the engine sound now that the knocking is gone.

[youtube]cI8eB6TGaO0[/youtube]

[youtube]QJNyHYrHosI[/youtube]