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1985 "Trigger" the retired thourghbred

3K views 43 replies 13 participants last post by  evans2130 
#1 ·
I went through the introduction forum and am now going to start a build thread here. A little back history on "Ol' Trigger", my dad spotted him sitting in a driveway so I thought Id go check it out and see what was up and how much to buy. The elderly man was real nice and told me all about it. Hes a 1985 Bronco 4x4 XLT 302 with EFI, he says the truck runs good but the gas tank had rusted a hole in it, so he had his grandson take it off and get it fixed. He fixed the hole, had the tank lined and painted both tank and skid plate with undercoating of some sort. He had the tank, skid plate and sending unit, when his grandson took the tank off they had missed placed the bolts, top vent, and filler neck. He was the original owner and it had 97,000 +/- miles. So for $500 I vowed to bring Trigger back to health and have him running the track again one day. This is how he looked when I brought him home:










I immediately put a battery on it to make sure the motor turned over, checked the windows, lights, horn, etc. The motor turned over so I started gathering parts to put the fuel tank on. A trip to the junk yard and I had a filler neck in hand off of an 88 bronco. I then ordered the lock washer and seal, vent and gasket, and filler neck boot from JBY. I am going to clean the frame up as I work so I can get it cleaned up and everything looking good just in case I decide to do the body work in a few years and make a real nice ride out of it. Heres the frame at gas tank area before and after wire brushing, priming and painting:






(BTW I cleaned the rust off of the bodies undercarriage after this photo and painted as well)

 
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#35 ·
All 3 window motors are now here, thanks to RockAuto!! Got the door speakers on order and that will button up the doors. Got all new brakes on the front (minus rotors) with new lines. Took left rear wheel (driver) back off to make sure all was right with the new brakes, and took the right rear off and put all new there. So now we have new booster, new master, and all new brakes all the way around. Jumped in to fire it up to check brakes and no start. Hook up fresh battery and still nothing but a weird clicking noise. Didn't sound like bad starter, but the battery cables got real hot. So I will now be putting a new starter and solenoid (because why not for $21) on and hope that solves that issue. Also, I have the column tore apart to fix the ignition actuator! Hopefully one day I can drive Ol' trigger down the road safely and soundly!!!
 
#37 ·
Found a guy on FB that sold me both the passenger side(although not needed) and the drivers side window switches. Both windows now work properly. Completely new brakes all the way around now. Those are working great after I put a new starter on. Drove it home Saturday night from my parents. Ran great all the way up to 60 mph. Ol' Trigger got to gallop and he loved it. No smoke and no over heating! Little rough ideal, but a tune up should solve that I think. Ordering window seals (all 3 windows) and going to put door panels back on. Probably needs tie rod ends and ball joints as the steering has quite a hit of play. Also gotta put the rear window motor in and start pimping him out!!!
 
#38 ·
Sounds like you're making good progress! Keep up the good work.
 
#39 ·
I've been moving slow with it I feel like. I just spend a little here and there so as to not let my wife know, lol. I put new windshield wipers on today (one missing and the other was totally shot) and through in some coconut air freshener trees. It now smells like my Jeep Wrangler I had in high school. Maybe when I take my wife one out first date in Trigger she will revert back to our senior year ;).
 
#40 ·
Haha, should be better, it is a Bronco after all.:thumbup
 
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#41 ·
Got the rear tailgate window motor out. I had to do it with the tailgate up and was prepared for the window to fall/slide down, but it didn't. After some WD-40 and finally just shoving it down (must have been stuck), I could open the tailgate. I got the tail gate closing and opening nicely after greasing the lockers. Now the problem, I can not get the new window motor to work. I bought it from RockAuto, just a simple plug and play set up. I even closed the tailgate leaving the motor plugged and just laying in the bed area, it still wouldn't work. Thought ok the motor is bad, because the old motor was working just seconds before taking it out (the motor would just hummm and make a clicking noise, thats the reason for a new one). After the time of getting the window down, I realized the old motor probably wasn't bad, the window was just stuck, but I have already cut the wires. So I plugged the new motor into the driver door and it works flawlessly, plugged it into the tail gate and nothing. Even tried leaving the pins in the closed position with the tail gate down. Could the switch have went bad with in 15 minutes or so? Any ideas? I am so ready to get to the cosmetics and pimping my ride portion of this build!!!!
 
#42 ·
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#43 ·
Been moving slow on ol' Trigger here lately. I figured out the rear window motor issue. I mounted the new motor I had ordered but the bolt holes didn't line up and I didn't like the way it was fitting. I tore the old motor apart and found out the plastic bushings on the inside were virtually gone. So through some research, I used some nuts and made bushings. The window works like a dream now. I got it installed and went to roll it up but it stops about 1" from the top. So I figure new window molding will help solve most of that issue. Put a new battery on it and now when I go to crank it, the positive side will spark and then I loose all power until I remove and reattached the positive lead to the battery. I am thinking a new battery cable will solve that problem, because I can't get the old one to tight fully. Once I get that solved, I will be painting the door panels and installing sound/water proofing to the doors and putting on the panels. This thing has been a real head ache at times.
 
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