The Saga Begins

[The Far Side]

Good Morning, soon to be friends. I bought my 1973 Bronco from a friend/coworker about a year ago. Got it home and into my shop near Houston and began to research and investigate. Well, a couple of months in, life got in the way with a daughter and grandchild in the house plus Hurricane Harvey, a pool install, and a wedding. With all of that behind me, I am now ready to get my shop back in order and continue the quest.

I have ghosted the forums since buying my Bronco and I must say that although I am not a mechanical newbie, you guys really have given me so much information to plan for my build. I hope in the coming months that I can become more of a contributor instead of the sucking sound you hear in the background....LOL.

My bronco began life in New Mexico which is probably why it has not rusted away like so many in my area. It moved to Lafayette, LA and looks to have been a daily driver for someone for awhile. Looks to have had at least 3 wrecks although only one (driver front) looks to have done any large damage. One of my coworkers bought it from the guy in Lafayette and promptly put it in his garage in Beaumont, TX for 5yrs. I bugged him about it for years until he finally sold it to me. I moved it into my shop and have been disassembling it for a year while doing careful bagging, inspection, and research.

I have reached the point to begin the body work. Need to replace some of the sheet metal up front, the cowl, front floor pan, and the rear passenger quarter area. The floor pans and quarter area and the most needed but since I have it all apart, I might as well make it right as I can before putting it back together.

At 57, this is a vehicle that I plan to keep. I want to know it is safe, reliable, and done right. Looking forward to making new friends in the Houston area for help, support, and most of all reference. My 73 has been greatly modified like most and would like to have someone near to see what "right" actually looks like.

Thanks again for letting me join and hope this will be a long, cathartic, and fulfilling string of posts......as The Saga Begins!

PS.....went to post pics and wondering what the trick is?

 

[Apogee]

Welcome aboard! Can't wait to see the work in progress. The trick to pics is that you either need to be a contributor (well worth it IMO), or you need to use a third party picture hosting site.

 

[Scoop]

Welcome from another Texan! Sounds like a good start with a Bronco with good bones - minimal rust! There is a big "support group" in the Houston area of Lonestar Early Bronco Club members. What kind of build are you doing? Full stock restoration? Street modified or restomod? Any trail expectations?

BTW, joining LEBC will provide 3rd party photo hosting on the website. But I do recommend becoming a member here too - Jon provides a great Bronco community and we need to support him.

 

[904Bronco]

Welcome from the Left Coast.
I look forward to watching your build, looks like you will have Local support, and you have had plenty of direction in the above posts, regarding posting pictures.

Never be afraid to ask questions... Seems the best way is to do a search on Classic is to use Google to find previous posts on what you are working on.

 

[TX SS]

Welcome. I’m in Houston as well and am working on putting a 1973 back together to go along with another mostly original 1973 I have. If you want to come see my original truck for reference let me know and we can find a time.

 

[sanndmann3]

Welcome to the sickness... soon the sucking sound will be coming from your wallet lol
We all love picks so do the contributor thing and post away. By the end of the project, you will have an awesome Bronco and have "Bronco Guru" status to boot

 

[1strodeo]

Welcome, it does become a bit of an obsession, I've purchased 2 in a little over 2 years now %) But obsession is a good thing in your situation...it will help you stay on task and not let another Bronco project sit in a garage! Just two bits of advice, become a contributor as mentioned, best $1/month you'll spend, and 2) don't buy parts until you're ready to install them.

Very cool that TX SS is nearby with a stock 73!! that will be a very valuable resource. -jeff

 

[Pa PITT]

the Far Side. & the Joke is on whom.
Welcome to TEXAS .. Lot of members in Houston & all across Texas . Scoop is correct join the LoneStar group . They host several events. I wish I had time to get to the events.
Also the LoneStar bunch gets together about twice a year just for a meet & greet at some restaurant in you area. So those let you meet up with other Bronco Guys & Fillys.
........ I didn't quite understand . Do you also have a 73.
.... Welcome to THE CLASSIC Bronco.

 

[rydog1130]

welcome, becoming a contributor basically $1/month lets you post pics and get great advice in return! good luck!

 

[sprdv1]

Welcome, welcome... Good to have you and good luck along the way

 

[sprdv1]

Most of us just become a contributor... Great site worth helping out

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34373

PS.....went to post pics and wondering what the trick is?

 

[DirtDonk]

Good Morning, soon to be friends...

Pretty much said it all right there as far as I'm concerned!
Welcome and you're in a great place to own a Bronco. That is, unless you don't like other like-minded people camping out in your driveway using your barbecue grille to make good stuff for you, all while watching you work and handing out their best advice and pointing to what you should do next on the Bronco!;D

Hey, it's happened before. Good times yet to come.

Paul

 

[The Far Side]

Thanks all!

Guess I should read the nice instruction that they sent when I registered! Will be sending the check tomorrow so hopefully can catch everyone up in a week or so.

This isn't my first rodeo. Hotrodded in my 20's. Got a good base in mechanicals and performance by rebuilding the engine and hopping up a 73 Z28/type LT 4speed Cameron. Then restored a 65 Mustang where I did some body and paint work. I hate paying someone to do something I can do or learn to do.

Got a bit of work done today. Started removing old cowl. Never used a spot removal tool before. Can't believe how well it works. Had debated replacing the cowl but once I got the Drive side up, I found some rust on the support brace that runs the length of the cowl. Probably should not have been surprised since those 60's and 70's fords all had cowl rust issues. Anyway, should have it out next weekend and will see if I remember how to weld.....lol. Was a welders helper through college but the old welder I worked for always called my welds "gorilla welds". Will practice a lot in the coming week to see where I am at.

Thanks again guys!

 

[Justafordguy]

Welcome, can't wait to see some pictures of that 73.

 

[The Far Side]

Update

Good Morning Guys,

Well as they say......"the check's in the mail", so should be posting pics next week. I show some in my info so you can start there.

Scoop......this will be steet modified to resto mod. I will do mostly street cruzing but plan on taking it to Galveston a few times a year and for hunting on property I have near Austin. Have friends that visit Utah and other friends in AZ and in Mexico on the Baja 1000 trail so will build for some of that too.
I need to do a bit of a conversion on it because after the wreck to Drive front and subsequent body repairs, someone put a fiberglass front on (hood, fenders, windshield frame, radiator support, and grill......which I am selling). I plan to go back steel. I like the stance and critical pieces so will just fix, freshen, or update the rest. The main change will be going from a 3sp to a 4sp or 5sp manual. In researching the threads for months now, I see no real clear cut choice for me. More on that in later threads as I work the build and catch you guys up on the last year.

Donk......have read quite a few of your responses to threads and will definitely be pinging you down the road. Am sure there are many others as well. I have 5acres so you guys can come camp and cook all you want.

Pa Pitt.......Yes, I have a 73 Bronco. Have always loved them since I was a kid and watched one kick butt in some mud races when I was growing up in Louisiana.

TX SS......you are my new BEST friend LOL. Really need to get some good measurements on the front end to make sure I put the inner fender supports and radiator support in the right place. Should be doing that in January sometime. I am on the SW side in Sienna Plantation area.

904 Bronco.......I lived on the left coast in both NorCal and SoCal for a few years each. There are some great places to go offroad and some great rigs out there for sure. Loved living there but a bit of a culture shock for a Louisiana country boy.

1st Rodeo.......Thanks for the advice. Signing up as a contributor and will be focused on the body this winter. Get it down to the frame by summer and begin building it back up next fall and winter. Have tried to only buy parts I need so am focused on body parts for now. Picked up a dash blank yesterday since mine is chopped to pieces.

Thanks to everyone that responded. Definitely will look up the Lone Star Early Bronco group. Need a support group to keep me motivated since life DOES have a tendency to get in the way of fun.......or as someone else called it....."sickness". LOL

 

[Bferrari]

Welcome! Be prepped for a fun ride of the unexpected when you tear into this thing. I initially thought my 73 was solid but shortly after digging in found many other areas that needed attention. It was fun work and the end result was definately worth it. Good luck and look forward to seeing your progress.

 

[1strodeo]

Good Morning Guys,

Well as they say......"the check's in the mail", so should be posting pics next week.

This reminded me the other day I taught my 19 yo son to write a check 1) because he needs to know and 2) because he owes me money

 

[The Far Side]

12/27/18 Saga Update

Good afternoon guys,

Well it took awhile for me to get turned on as a contributor so let's see how this goes.

So quite a bit of progress over the past month. Got things stripped down to assess and more mechanicals removed. That's the good news. The bad news is the finding of a bit more rust than expected. Since I am not as familiar with the bronco's rust issues, it was a surprise when I dug under the cowl and saw the structural rust.

So know I need to pick your brains due to some things I am seeing between the front and rear door posts. Quite a few dents that are difficult to fix without access. So below is my plan.

- first is brace the body. Have done a bunch of measurements and looks like the body is slightly bowed (up) in between the door jams. Top measurement is about 3/4" too large. Was not planning on doors but might someday.

- second is remove engine, trans, and transfer case.

- third is weld up sheet metal in front of firewall. Inner fenders, fender wells, radiator support and associated brackets.

- fourth is to replace driver firewall and "adjust" the bad inner fender and kick panel on driver side.

- fifth is to replace windshield cowl and cowl panel.

- sixth, I can start replacing the 5 floor panels OR start on rocker panels. I think I want to leave rockers and do what I can to smooth out and just replace floor pans.

- I do have a rear quarter to replace but that is separate.

I have attached pics. Let me know what you think.

 

[rydog1130]

I'm sure it will look better once you blast it or take a wire wheel to it. The area of your support channel under your cowel where your steering column bolts looks roached. Depending on how bad the rest of that piece is you may want to weigh your options on the time to patch it if that's possible versus replacing it...

 

[The Far Side]

Rydog........I thought about that and yes, it is pretty chewed up. Just concerned I would fix it but might be back in there in 5yrs if I don't stop it from coming back. I am leaning to replacing but it will be taxing my body repair skills for sure!