Bronco Forum - Full Size Ford Bronco Forum banner

My 1981 Resurrection

6K views 23 replies 8 participants last post by  war1ock 
#1 ·
Well, as some of you may or may not know i currently have a 1980 300I6 4 spd Bronco now. My original intentions were to fix it up but the more i looked at it the worse it got. So my search continued.
I came across a Bronco on CL for $800 that was a started project and they lost interest. It was complete minus the engine and seats. Went to look at it and $550 later it was on my trailer homebound.
Well its been sitting through the winter until it warms up so i can start working on it. Ive been collecting parts all winter in anticipation. Ive been putting off making this thread till it warms up and i can start to get going on it.
Well, its warming up! So i decided i would start the thread and get it going. It will be slow at first but once i get going should keep constant.
So here we go!

The Bronco already had a 4 inch sus. lift and 3 inch body lift when i bought it. The body lift will be coming out.
121,xxx miles
I ordered a set of 35x12.50x15 General Grabber Red Letters for tires.
Im doing all the good mods such as the 3G, Saginaw,Explorer console, Peel and seal insulation. All the good stuff.
I plan to black bedliner the removable top and paint the rest of the truck with a quality graphite grey single stage urethane paint.
The exhaust will be custom made by myself, y pipe from headers to an electric cutout(just for shits and giggles)to a Flowmaster muffler and 2.5 inch single out to factory exit location.
Im going to swap on 96 paddle style mirrors and weld and body work out the lower holes.
This is the poor girl the day we got her and where shes been sitting since. The PO had fixed 95% of the rust and bedlined the inside of the tub. The frame and suspension components have all been chassis blacked. The body is in black primer.Its in great shape considering,but I got alot of work ahead of me but im excited for it.


This is the 302 i bought for it. The casting number shows its from a 68 Fairlane or Torino. I tore it down to a short block and put new valve seals in, cleaned all the carbon off the valves, put all new gaskets in and put it back together. New fuel pump, water pump, all that stuff. The accesory drive is for a 76 f150, but its almost the same as an 81 so itll work. Got the saginaw pump and 3G mounted up. Im going to put this in it for now but after i tear down my 80 ill prolly regasket the 300 and may put that in.

Got these shorty headers from a guy on Ebay that had them on a 94 Bronco. Got them cheap so i went for em.

This console is from a 99 Silverado im guna swap in. I like the cupholder design and storage space. Im guna remove the ducting on the front and either make something cool there or just a filler piece.

Scored both these rear panels from a local guy for $45 for the two. I like the design and rear storage of these rather than the plain board looking ones ones from the factory. I plan to dye them black to match my interior color scheme.

Just your typical Explorer overhead. Got the temp sender with it as well. Dyed black.

This is a gauge cluster i got dirt cheap on ebay that im going to use for parts to put the tach in my current console.

This is a reman OEM torque converter i got from a vendor on Ebay

This is the new flexplate and engine rear plate. Along with ARP fasteners for the flexplate.

These seats are out of a 96 BKO i found at a u pull and pay. They are in excellent shape! The dark area on the left seat isnt staining its just shadowing.


Thats it for now. Hope you guys enjoy.
 
See less See more
11
#3 ·
Yea i wanted to have a parts stockpile so i was ready to go. Sad thing is thats really only about less than half the parts i need:uhoh3
I would like to have it done by June-ish. i should be able to go hard at it starting the next few weeks. But if not its not too big of a deal. No real deadline. Want to do everything right the first time and end up with a nice rig.
 
#11 ·
Well got it out of the yard and into the workshop. Got some better pictures now that its not all covered up! Im starting to not think it has a 4 inch lift. The blocks in the rear only measure about 2 inches. And, i found ot i have cruise control! I have the servo under the hood but i dont have the steering wheel buttons? Did they use some other type of switch to activate it?



 
#12 ·
you may still have 4 inch lift most kits are add a leaf and block so you mayb have 2 inch block and then an add a leaf for other 2 inches
 
#17 ·
Update. Got parts trickling in. Got the gauge cluster all squared away. Took my original cluster and added a tach, and refinished the needles.
THis is the paint i used. Got it for $6 off ebay. I was expecting it to be more orange and it ended up being more pinkish red but it looks killer.

Needles all painted up

Cluster all back together

I got some cool looking 302 fender badges off ebay. There chromed steel and use some quiknuts on the 2 studs on the back of them. There realllly nice except for someone painted the 302 red. Nothing a lil paint stripper cant handle. I should be able to strip them without damaging the chrome.
 
#20 ·
I think I paid right around $18 for the pair Plus shipping. It was a great deal!

Yea I made sure to drill the hole on the inner part and bolt it up. I did make a comment to myself about how flimsy they are without being bolted to the inner structure

Sent from my C771 using AutoGuide.Com Free App
 
#19 ·
That'll be a nice rig when your done! When you swapped the mirrors, did you use the support bar that bolts in to the inner door frame? Without it, the mirror will shake itself loose.
 
#21 ·
Busy day today.
Got the rear light and such harness run.
Got the holes drilled and the cab lights mounted. Wiring is yet to be run

Got the engine off the stand and the block plate and flexplate on. Used ARP fasteners and red loctite.

A concern that arose is the exhaust header exits awful close to where the starter will be. So i guess i will just have to see where that leads. Heres a pic.

Also, got the gauge cluster back in the truck. Im a little iffy that the speedo cable will stay on, it doesnt seem like it was attached all that well. But i guess that will be on the find out and see list. Also found out i have tilt steering too! Totally dont know how i missed it but im stoked i got it!:rockon
 
#22 ·
Big day today!
Got the motor in and bolted to the torque converter and bellhousing snugged on.

Took the trans pan off, drilled and hole and welded a nut on the inside and used a drain plug so i can remove fluid without pulling the pan. Gave it a fresh coat of paint and put a new gasket and filter on while i was in there.

Got the carb on. The linkages are FUBAR. Even though i rebuilt this one, im thinking ill have to just get a reman one.

Got the Grabbers mounted today. I attempted to balance them but as you can see they wanted alot of weights. I think im just going to get the bead balance bags and use those.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top