Project Furwagon - bout to cross the finish line

[Nightstick]

I changed my mind several times on what I wanted this rig to be when it was done, so some of the posts might be confusing and not match the end result.

I bought this '74 a few weeks ago. I wouldn't say I got a great deal, but not a bad one either. As you can see it's all original; the PO had it less than a year and the PO before him was the original owner. It has some rust, but overall is in good shape.

Here's a list of things I'm planning on doing.

-Engine is first... 351w EFI and Serp, Compcams RV cam, bored .30over, balanced
-I'm not gonna spend a lot of time on the body. It's pretty straight, and I'll be wheelin it so there's no reason to waste money there
-ZF/NP205
-Rebuild front and rear ends, 31 spline Detroit Lockers front and rear, 4.88 gears
-23gal gas tank
-Building my own front and rear bumpers
-Roll cage
-Rhino lined tub
-Corbeau Baja RS
-ZERO CHROME
-3 1/2" suspension and 2" body lift
-4x4x2 power steering and a Stonecrusher setup
-Front disc brakes

Let me just throw in a disclaimer of sorts. I've never rebuilt a Bronco and the extent of my mechanic related experience is 7 1/2 years I spent in the USMC (They don't have Broncos). Fortunately this site is a great resource for us FNGs. I anticipate this build taking 2-3 years and I'll keep posting pics when I've accomplished something.

 

[Scoop]

OK let me be the first to ask - are you going to cut it?? ;D

Looks like in nice solid shape and a great start for a frame off. But I think you're being a bit optimistic thinking you can complete it in 2-3 years. Many have tried and most have failed!! Just kidding, but seriously there are quite a few 6 to 8 year builds on here.

Good luck and keep us posted with lots of pics.

 

[DonsBolt]

Looks like a great rig to turn into anything you want. My first question what do you want your truck to be when it is all done. Do you want a show rig, a nice dailly driver, or a off road machine?? What size tires, and lift do you want??

Before you do anything, give it a real good cleaning, especially the engine compartment. You may find that the frame off can wait a year or so down the road.

Before you go and rip the truck apart for a complete frame off, learn about these trucks. What condition are the engine, trans and axles. I would do the mechanical work without ripping the whole truck apart. Go and meet the local bronco guys in your area. With there help, learn about your truck. Invite them over to your place, have a cookout, wrenching party, you will be surprised how quick you can get things done. Trust me they love to work on these trucks, so invite them over. When they need help, offer your time on there rig.

So get it running, learn about your truck, and take it one step at a time. If next winter, or a year down the road, you want to pull the body, then go for it then, as you will then have a idea what you need to do

 

[Nightstick]

Initially I had planned on doing all this work and taking it muddin... I've rethought it and decided to make it a nice daily driver. If I had purchased one in worse shape I'd just make it a trail truck, but since this one is in pretty good shape I don't wanna butcher it too much. I'm not 100% sure on the lift and tires yet; I'd like to see a few with different systems to find out what stance I like. And yes, I will be cutting it ... I might take your advice though and do one thing at a time instead of all at once. If I do all the drivetrain work, drive it around some, and leave the body work till later it might keep me from getting tired of the "neverending" project.

 

[airbur]

Nice looking rig! Looks very similar to mine when I got it. Are you going to cut her? I plan to when it's time for paint.

 

[EagertoLearn]

I think you have a great start. Have fun with it. If mine was in as good of shape as yours I would have driven it awhile then decided what needed to be done!

 

[66fora69er]

Dont cut it!

 

[Nightstick]

I have a few holes from a whip antenna the PO put on it and I'm getting rid of the aux tank... depending on how my sheetmetal welding skills progress I might just get new rear QPs. Maybe I'll lift it and see what it looks like uncut and go from there. I don't think the tires I want will fit under the uncut fenders though. As I mentioned this is my first Bronco project so I'm sure my plans will change along the way. I can't promise you I won't though

 

[70EB]

Sounds like a great start. You will like the ZF. Small bodylift is your friend for the swap though. Good luck. For me, building it is the majority of the fun.

 

[Smokeater11]

I'm with Don on this one, don't rip it apart to start with. That rig is in too good a shape to really need a complete frame off yet. I say pressure wash it from top to bottom and you'll see a huge difference in it's overall apperance. Nothing that I can see looks like it's anything you can fix with it intact and if you keep it intact you'll be driving it and enjoying it sooooooo much faster. I did exactly what you are thinking about when I got my rig. I tore it down almost immediately, partly because I HAD to(frame had to be replaced) and partly becuase I was over ambitious. I so wish I had just left it together and had someone fix the frame and just rebuilt the motor that was in it. My build took over 4 years to get it back on the road and it's still not "done". Save yourself a lot of greif and money and just fix it as you go. A frame off resto will snowball on you faster than you can ever imagine..........ask me how I know!!!

P.S. I love the no chrome idea!! This is a sticker that is on my rig.

Search "Gunny Highway" in chat and you'll find my build thread, I think you'll enjoy it. It'll also give you a better idea of what you'll find yourself up against if you do decide to go frame off.

 

[sprdv1]

Dang, another one victimized.. ;D LOL, good luck w/the build, Very Nice Rig!!

 

[Nightstick]

Because of a shortage of funds I haven't made much progress so far. (Gotta sell the bike, anyone looking for an '06 Soft tail night train?) I'm almost ready to pull the motor and I've decided to go with a 347 Stroker... Because I have plenty of time to ponder the different things I'd like to do to it I've had many ideas. I'm planning on doing a custom dash starting with a blank one from BCB. Question is has anyone used any other type of wiper, heater, etc controls other than stock Bronco? In other words has anyone used controls from a newer model vehicle that look and function better? If you have what did you use and pics would be great, thanks.

 

[Pa PITT]

Night stick since your in DFW area there was a member here 79Broncodriver or maybe just 79driver He lives here in Stephenville He had a rotisserie forsale and it fit his Bronco. I'M afraid he's sold it already but it would save you some time or the guy he's sold it to may be through with it ..

 

[Nightstick]

I found him and sent a PM, thx

 

[HoosierDaddy]

First off ... Semper Fi .

Secondly , WOW , nice looking starter rig , they don't look like that up here anymore , the salt has turned too many of them to dust.

I think getting the truck fairly well set up first is a good idea before doing a frame off.
Get your new shock and other suspension mounts worked out first , instead of having to adjust stuff on a newly finished project.

As someone told me when I was starting out , make it stop and go right first , then start making it look pretty .... not the other way around.

 

[Nightstick]

Can someone give me a rough estimate of the cost for someone to sandblast and prime the entire body.. I realize the cost can vary, but I don't wanna get robbed

 

[fungus]

Mine started out 6 yrs ago as a bone stock '69. I drove it & wheeled it in stock form for about 6 months to see where I wanted to go w/ it. Mine too was very clean, minimal rust and uncut and I was overly impressed w/ the wheeling capabilities as is. Since then it's gone through some serious upgrades and I'm loving the results! As far as cutting, if you wanna nice look, try splicing some front fender welting into the rear quarters. Looks stock but has the functionality of clearing much larger tires. I've got 33s on mine now w/ 3.5" SL and 2" BL and plan to go up to 35s on the next tire purchase.

 

[Baja71]

Can someone give me a rough estimate of the cost for someone to sandblast and prime the entire body.. I realize the cost can vary, but I don't wanna get robbed

I would not do sand. Too abrasive. I did sand on the chassis parts. I paid about 2500 to plastic bead blast the dismantled parts. Hard top, doors, fenders, grill, tailgate, tub, hood, and a few extra parts like the swingaway, evap bottle cover, etc. You still need to hand scrape/pick out the old seam sealer.

 

[farnorthdan]

As someone told me when I was starting out , make it stop and go right first , then start making it look pretty .... not the other way around.

This is sound advise, these rigs can be a real drain on the ol bank account. Theres so much i want to do to my 73'. started out gangbusters, real fast like, spent almost twice what i paid for it just getting on the road. I decided to slow it down a little and really start thinking about the direction i want to go and taking smaller bites out of the project and not go into debt trying to achive my vision.....


dan

 

[Nightstick]

Hey Baja, since you're in Dallas, where did you take it?