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Project "Farmhand" 1991 XLT

66K views 235 replies 44 participants last post by  AFBronco235 
#1 ·
Well, its been a year since I bought my 91' XLT and just realized that will all I've done to it, I should have a build thread on it. So this first post is just going to be all I've done to it in the past year.

I didn't really start out with any real direction in mind when I bought her. But my intent seems to be to turn her into the ultimate farm hand truck. I pretty much use her as a rolling shop.

When I first bought it:


She was very clean with I bought it. The only serious rust issue I had (still have actually) is the core support, passenger side is rusted through. I just need to get off my ass and get a donor one from the JY.


Anyways, the first thing I did was take it into the base hobby shop and change all the oils and filters and give her a real look over.
Replaced the radiator hose:

Why anyone would patch the hose instead of replacing it is beyond me.

Next, I fixed the tranny temp gauge the PO had installed. The temp sensor was just wired backwards, but the way the PO used a trailer light wiring harness just made me want to :banghead .


Next I pulled some roof bars off an explorer and mounted them to the shell as the start for a roof basket install, which I'm still working on.


I also picked up some tow points from an expedition in the JY and throw them on as well. I did have to trim the bumper a bit, but the fit is almost perfect now with no sag or tilt to the bumper.


I then began work on a custom forward center console. I kept the bucket console and just added to the front of it with some 1X12 pine boards. The console also houses some electronics for my lights and future projects, such as winch cutout and gauges.



Wired in the lights for front and rear.


Installed auxiliary reverse light.


I found this square tube grill at the JY on an F-150 and grabbed it up, since I have bad luck with breaking the plastic grills. Painted it up and mounted right in place. I've added newer lights since this pic was taken, but don't have any pics of them.



Finally got around to upgrading the exhaust over the summer. The original pipe where the two exhaust pipes connected had been broken and rewelded together and poorly at that.

I did have to tweak the new pipes a bit to make them fit, but it all worked out in the end. Sounds great and runs better!


I also had to replace the intake after the original developed a crack in the base. The old battery shelf since it had rusted through, and the passenger side window motor.

The last upgrade has been a tinkering project that turned into a nightmare. It started out as a simple axle seal replacement on the rear passenger wheel. Well, when I went to remove the axle, the screw that holds the spider gear shaft in the differential had broken off and could not be drilled out or removed. So I had to go get a new diff housing, but I guess I screwed up the swap, since the gears were grinding. Not much, but just barely noticeable to me. So I finally decided I'd had enough, went to the JY to get a "new" ring and pinion gear and redo the whole job. I struck gold however and the donor truck had a limited slip diff in it. So I decided to just swap out the gears and the diff housing as one. Saved me a buttload of trouble with swapping out the ring gear. Anyways, new bushings, bearings and everything. I was not gonna let this one get screwed up. Got it shimmed just right, within specs and now it runs like new. Love the way the limited slip feels on the snow.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Okay. That was 2013 in a nutshell. This is what I have planned for 2014 and beyond so far.

Rear disk brake conversion
cold air intake Done(ish)
new tires (if the old ones wear out) DONE
new tow bar (the old one has issues from a bad install by the PO)
hidden bumper winch DONE
finish roof basket install DONE
more lights ( you can never have too many)
Auxiliary battery (for winch mainly) DONE
3G alternator DONE
seat covers from Coverking. Just waiting for them to arrive. DONE and DONE

What I'm thinking about right now:
LP or CNG injection (for towing)
roof ladder
Roof basket toolbox
Replace the door liners with sheet metal for cleaner look (Mine are cracked and broken anyways. The inside handle on the drivers side is falling apart.)
CB radio DONE
Snorkel (My home county floods all the time.)
New carpet (that's a ways down the road though)
 
#3 ·
So far so good! Like the console idea. Might steal that from you. Planned on doing something similiar and just covering it with carpet.
 
#5 ·
Just pulled the trigger on this spotlight I saw on EBAY today. I can't wait to get it. Now all I need is the mounting bracket for it.
Made by UNITY MFG. CO. CHICAGO USA MODEL. Anybody know what compatible mounting bracket I need to get?
 

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#6 ·
Okay, so a quick update. I've shelved the rear disk brake upgrade for now, since it seems I'm better off without it. Instead, I've begun working on my auxiliary battery install in preparation for the winch install I hope to do over the summer.

So far, I've gotten an aux. battery tray out of an old F-250 diesel, with the washer and coolant reservoirs included so I don't want to mess around with moving the stock reservoirs. I've also just purchased a 3G 150 amp alt to keep both my batteries charged. Now I just need to pick out a wiring kit. I'm thinking of going with the isolator with a three-way switch.

 
#7 ·
Auxiliary Battery Tray install

Got around to installing my auxiliary battery tray today.

Step #1: Remove washer fluid and coolant reservoirs and mounting brackets along with the stock air filter box. (Note: I will be replacing the stock filter at a later date with a K&N cone filter.)


Step #2: Install mounting bracket to core support. No drilling required.

Step #3: Install base plates for battery. This is a direct bolt in tray from an F-250 so its really easy. Just make sure that you keep the original mounting hardware from the donor truck.

Step #4: Install the donor reservoirs in the new battery tray frame. When you remove the washer reservoir, make sure you grab the washer pump plug with as much of the wire as you can get. The bronco plug will not have enough wire to reach the new pump location so you'll need to cut and splice in the donor plug. You can get away with splicing in new wire, but its easier to just use the donor truck wiring.

Step #5: Move on to installing battery and wiring.
 

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#8 ·
Additional pictures.

Until I get the K&N filter to replace the stock filter, I'm just leaving the stock filter in the battery tray. I did have to remove the intake from the core support, but I plan on doing something to replace it later on.
 

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#9 ·
very nice so far. The custom forward console is well done.
 
#11 ·
Its time to go with a little luxury. I picked up this roof console from a Navigator at the PAP yard this morning. I'm removing the climate controls and digital screen and replacing them with gauge clusters. At least two of them will be for my dual batteries. I'm also replacing the stock rocker switches, since they won't fit with the install. I'm not sure what I'll replace them with. Maybe an internal winch control switch?
 

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#12 ·
A little more luxury. I scored big time at the JY today. All I was going for was a pushbutton switch and mounting plate for the above roof console and light. I found that, and this as well! Now to figure out how to wire it all up. Should be fun on camping trips with the GF. Oh, and find a DVD player to go with it. The one in the donor van I pulled it out of was covered in something unidentifiable.
 

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#13 ·
Lookey what came in the mail today!!!
:toothless :toothless :toothless :toothless :toothless :toothless

A remaned 150 amp 3G alternator and the spotlight with mounting hardware. I'm going to be busy this weekend! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
 

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#15 ·
Have fun man.
 
#16 ·
Got the battery Isolator!:rockon
 

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#17 ·
Got the spotlight and air intake done.

The spotlight was pretty easy. The instructions from unity on installing the bracket were easy to follow and well written. Went in easy. I just need to chase down some electrical gremlins now in the light itself. It will turn on, but if I try turning or moving it, it goes out. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I'm thinking all the contacts just need cleaned and regreesed, so I'll be doing that tomorrow. And as you can see, I did have a minor oops moment with my transmission temp gage. All well, I got it fixed so no worries.

I also finished 2-into-1 intake. Went to the junkyard to pick up the 2-1 adapter, the store for a 3 inch exhaust couple pipe and the filter, so my total cost for this is just under $35. K&N systems would go for around $200 for the same thing and it probably wouldn't fit my application. I do need to fabricate a mounting bracket of some kind, but that's where the exhaust pipe comes in.

Okay, I first removed all the old intake stuff but saved the two rubber ducts from the filter box to the intake. I then laid out how I wanted the filter and ducting to go. I placed the filter next to the brake master cylinder and routed the 3 inch duct under it. I then mocked up the two rubber hose intakes, measures where they would meet up with the adapter and cut them to size. A couple of hose clamps and I was in business. However, the 3 inch duct did not mate up with the filter I had chosen. This is where the 3 inch exhaust pipe comes in. I used it to connect the ducting to the filter. Clamped it all down and viola, a $200 intake for $35. :thumbup
 

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#23 ·
Don't know about the wattage, but it puts out a fair about of heat and light. Almost as bright as my headlights. I'm thinking about swapping in a LED lamp instead. We'll see how it goes. Still trying to track down some electrical gremlins, but I've got it going most of the time.
 
#19 ·
Reclocked my new Alt after I tried to install it and discovered it was clocked wrong.
 

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#20 ·
The rest of the reclocking.
 

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#22 ·
Thanks. I got it from Steve's Wholesale Tools here in OKC. It was the only workbench that could fit in my apartment. It was originally $150, but they knocked the price down to $75. It wasn't damaged or anything. They'd just had it for so long. I think they still have one left. ;)
 
#24 ·
Got the new remaned alternator put in this morning. Such nice weather out, I took it for a spin. Turns out, the old alt was also a 3G, however, I don't know what the output is. I took it to Autozone, hoping their tester could tell me, but no luck.

Anybody know an easy way to check an alternator's output?
 
#25 ·
Comment on the Rad support replacement you mentioned. I just did it (in the midst of everything else) and a word of advice is to just avoid a JY piece altogether as most of them would be already on their way to rotting anyway. I got one from Bronco Graveyard for i Think around $189. It's a big job so you might only want to do it once....

Just my $0.02... But otherwise I am following with interest!
 
#26 ·
Pulled the trigger on a Smittybilt 8000 lb. winch today. I've found a guy on Ebay who's willing to make a custom mount for it behind the stock bumper. He sells custom winch bumpers he makes from scratch and he's gotten excellent reviews. I just have to send him the plans since he makes his bumpers using a jig and not an actual truck frame. As soon as I get the winch in, I can figure out how I need to make this work.
 
#27 ·
Look what came in the mail!!!!
:goodfinge
 

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#29 ·
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