Bronco Forum - Full Size Ford Bronco Forum banner

budget 84 i6 daily driver. Thread being fixed. Thanks photobucket

29K views 204 replies 24 participants last post by  disturbio 
#1 ·
I got an 84 i6 4x4 because that's what I wanted. My search for the right rig with the 4.9 and Ac ... well it was exhaustive, I don't know if they had automatic transmission with the 4.9 but I didn't want it. I didn't want anything too nice because I will tow with it, camp, do some trailing but nothing too crazy. I wanted a base model bullnose. After months of not finding what I wanted this beat old white bronco popped up and I overpaid for it but it literally was exactly what I wanted


Fairly shot interior, hardly any clear coat and dirty. Every accessory I wouldn't want was on her but she was the right girl in the wrong dress.





I bought her in March. Slowly I have been doing little things to her that she needed, I'll post some pics of my steps thus far but she has a ways to go. I've put 3k on her without a hiccup thus far but there are some issues to address.

Interior- The panels are present but beat and need reconditioned. The rubber floor is shot. The windows need tinting and it needs a headliner. Im in AZ and it's hot. Needs stereo, needs dash but I'm sporting a very 80s oxblood dash mat now to improve my view while driving.
It needs a new steering wheel and front seats. It needs a glove box lock and center console repaired. My windshield doesn't leak but it's all ****ed up around the seal and outer bezel.

Mechanical - I need an exhaust of some sort. The stock one has hot spo ts and stinks. I have either a small rear main or oil pan leak. The source of which I can't determine. She doesn't really eat much oil, but, over the course of a few minutes parked I'll see the first of a slow drip until she cools and pressures down. My stock head lights are super weak, the air filter and breather are a strange set up, I don't know what they look like stock but mines missing a bunch of stuff. The feedback carb stuff is removed I guess. The computer is all unplugged and the distributor is aftermarket. I don't have any real frame of reference as to what the previous owner had done to her, but she runs well enough so other than some maintenance and sanitary type things I'm not sure I'll mess with it too much. I have a power steering leak but not bad,

Looks wise I don't want anything too aggressive. I need tires and have 31 Yokohama geolanders now and want 33s but I think they are too wide for my stock 7 inch wheels. 32s maybe I dunno. It's got a lift. I see it says super lift but I don't know how high it is. Anybody with familiarity can chime in. I don't know.

I probably won't paint her. It's a truck. It's a driver

So I'm not a mechanic and don't have anything radical in mind but would like to tackle some of this stuff.....oh and I'm cheap so it's all going to be cheap too.
 
See less See more
2
#76 ·
Would love it if you posted the details on the install of the insulation as well as some comparison temp numbers. Would love to get rid of the "4th ring of hell" feeling of driving in the summer.
 
#77 ·
*** historical Edit - photobucket stole the photos

Well I did a before and after that I think is pretty close. It was 119 when I started, I took great stuff and took 3 of the plastic straw things that the foam comes out of, spliced it all together so I could get to the edges of the roof and filled in the gap. The temp when I started was 119 deg. The roof was 129


After I gave it an hour or so to fill up and dry, the outside temp dropped to 118. The roof temp was 122 on the inside. Safe to say that dropped 5- 6 degrees.





So still 118 outside I put three layers of the thermo king stuff on which went up easy....very sticky, easy to cut with my fiskar work scissors. Maybe 20 mins start to finish. It also didn't mind binding to the hot surface.










I immediately felts the difference. 118 outside. 105 on roof. 13 deg.

So now I gave it a bit to cool down, today 115 outside and 94 inside. 22 degree difference for 50 bucks.... Now I just gotta cover it with something aesthetically pleasing. Only bummer is the foil backing has some sort of light oil to it. I'm not sure what will stick. Open to suggestions
 
#193 ·
So still 118 outside I put three layers of the thermo king stuff on which went up easy....very sticky, easy to cut with my fiskar work scissors. Maybe 20 mins start to finish. It also didn't mind binding to the hot surface.
So, did the Frost King stuff stay stuck through the hot summer? Considering using it on my roof too.
 
#78 ·
I am going to user a foam sheet for the shell in the back. I need to suspendit in a way that it doesn't look like ass, and willhave a bit if a gap for air to be between the top and the foam. That gap is what actually gives any RValue
 
#80 ·
That's fantastic results! I appreciate you sharing the process. I know it can be a pain in the ass to snap pics in 100+ heat :)

I've been following a build thread on another forum and he's using this same material on the floor, but he's using a peel and stick foil backed roll intended for seam sealing on roofs from Lowe's first against the metal then placing the Frost King on top. It's appealing only because my feet feel like baked potatoes after rides longer than 20 minutes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: disturbio
#85 ·
Well got the one barrel non feedback. I ordered a 1978 carb. It is running like a top.
Where did you get it? Please let us know what kind of MPG you are getting after you get it dialed in.

She's lookin' good!
 
  • Like
Reactions: disturbio
#84 ·




I bought the clear side markers on eBay because mine were so weathered they were brittle and nearly lost all the amber coloring

I felt like it was too much chrome and white with no contrast so I plasti-dipped the grill black.



I also became one of those dickheadz that put lawn edge on their trucks for flares... Only to beat a ticket . It's temporary. So I think the grill kinda broke up all the white too.


 
#87 ·
Thanks, I'll check 'em out. I could live with 18, I think I'm at about 11.
 
  • Like
Reactions: disturbio
#88 ·
nice looking rig with the "perfect combo" I6 and manual. 'same' as my F150 but with computer crap still.

Its your rig but I do miss the egg crate grill over the tube style you have now. I think it really defined the style of that era rig.

Looks great with the bigger 33's and nice touch with the painting interior.
Would like to have some of that southern heat here right now.

edit:
AZ cops are that big of DHs? I know here there is no need for flares unless the tread part of the tire (road hitting surface) sticks beyond the furthest point of the fender lip. Doesn't look like yours make it to that point...? A buddy of mine hauls a copy of the regulation in his truck as most cops don't know it well enough to enforce it properly. Has saved him a couple tickets having it in print on him over the officers guess. Still gets a seatbelt ticket though as he doesn't wear it as a habit. go figure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: disturbio
#93 ·
So...Baby steps. In the spirit of cheap I had put rubber coat over all the crappy spots the had worn through and painted it red. The fix was like 6 or 8 bucks. It was wasted. It lasted 6 months before cracking.



I am eyeing the jeff bronco rubber kit but it be 300 bucks, so in the mean time I cut up our old rubber mats at work and heated them to shape of the trans tunnel hump and arc of firewall and such.

Cost was again 6 or 8 bucks and a half a Saturday to do it. It doesn't look great, but it doesn't look bad and I can still just hose it off if it gets too muddy.

 
#97 ·
So...Baby steps. In the spirit of cheap I had put rubber coat over all the crappy spots the had worn through and painted it red. The fix was like 6 or 8 bucks. It was wasted. It lasted 6 months before cracking.

I am eyeing the jeff bronco rubber kit but it be 300 bucks, so in the mean time I cut up our old rubber mats at work and heated them to shape of the trans tunnel hump and arc of firewall and suck.

Cost was again 6 or 8 bucks and a half a Saturday to do it. It doesn't look great, but it doesn't look bad and I can still just hose it off if it gets too muddy.

Ignore my map pocket laying there! I'm not good at remembering to take pics
 
#94 · (Edited)
We shall see how it holds up. Anyone got experience with the rubber kits?


Got my scratch headliner up. It's a 3/4 styrofoam sheet with several 5/8 long dowls I cut down and glued to the top. That gives it a pocket between the fiberglass and my foam. That's what really helps R value. There isn't much to bite to on these tops so the metal strips suspending the sheet are barely dug into top. There are a couple long molds on fiber glass that I think we're intended to hold up a headliner.... But I'm not sure because I haven't seen one that had one.



I used two urethane moldings that I could bend to the curves of the back and front of caps to hold the sheet. The top is still removable that way. They were something like this I found a scrap of long enuff to fit the bill

https://www.google.com/search?q=pol...&ved=0ahUKEwj2p_b54MrRAhUSwmMKHb2KD1YQgTYImAQ

Ignore the bunch by the back window. I just tucked it in. I'm covering the whole thing in dirt cheap vinyl I got on Amazon that's close to the porno red OG interior

Can't touch the price on the vinyl
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0046VFQO4/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_CnUFybAEHWF7T
 
#95 · (Edited)
I started lining the hollow ass doors with fake dynamat too



It's the left overs from the headliner I did in cab. The inside of the doors was super dirty so I had to scrub em with denatured alcohol to clean em enough for the insulation to stick. I got pics coming of the completion hopefully by this weekend it's done
 
#100 ·
So I have the headliners in... Just gotta vinyl wrap the rear on (shell) I repainted my junkyard console flat black and put a lil arm rest since I have he low back base model seats. I used a piece of foam that I shaped and wrapped a piece of foam around. I can't see so I cut a piece of wood for the bottom and wrapped the vinyl over it using a staple gun.

[emoji50]
I decide not to attach the console back to the floor because I can move it in and out for more room. If I go wheeling I'll just pull it out.

I am also going to run a house outlet and all the iPod crap as well as a 4 port USB through an opening in the bottom so I can still move it out but all is hidden
 
#101 ·
I have a rarified Saturday alone this weekend. I plan on buffing out the chrome... Anyone have a favorite product or techniques? I always use that white diamond crap with a battery operated drill and a cone attachment but maybe I'm missing the boat??



I hit the bumpers on the bronco and it cuts....It cleans but not like on the other cars I've done.
 
#103 ·
I have a rarified Saturday alone this weekend. I plan on buffing out the chrome... Anyone have a favorite product or techniques? I always use that white diamond crap with a battery operated drill and a cone attachment but maybe I'm missing the boat??

I hit the bumpers on the bronco and it cuts....It cleans but not like on the other cars I've done.
They came out OK. I used a plug in Milwaukee drill. I burned through the chrome in one place




. That one was up to the bolt head. Made alot of difference
 
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