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Vote for your May 2019 Full Size of the Month !!!!!!!

  • allcruisen

    Votes: 6 12.5%
  • ANGELO

    Votes: 11 22.9%
  • CrazyBRONCOguy

    Votes: 3 6.3%
  • AbandonedBronco

    Votes: 26 54.2%
  • nedceifus

    Votes: 2 4.2%

May Full Size of the Month 2019 Vote Here!!!

13K views 114 replies 13 participants last post by  BubbasRide 
#1 ·
Here are your CONTESTANTS for May 2019 FULLSIZE OF THE MONTH !!!

1- @allcruisen



2: @ANGELO



3: @CrazyBRONCOguy



4: @AbandonedBronco



5: @nedceifus





Want to chat with one of the CONTESTANTS on an upgrade or anything else ?

Post up here: Chat with the CONTESTANTS

This is going to be a GOOD ONE !!! :chili: ibtl

Let the games begin!!!:duel

 
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5
#56 ·
As with any used, but new-to-me vehicle, one of the first things on my to-do list is fresh brakes. They could have been done a month prior to me buying it, and it's still getting fresh brakes.

I learned this lesson the easy way (I was fortunate) when I got my wife her '84 Bronco. Didn't redo the brakes, or even check them, and after a few weeks of driving, the brake pad ripped off since it was down to the rivets. The rears were also leaking brake fluid so bad that there was basically brake fluid mud between the shoes and the drums, so they were useless. I happened to be driving through a neighborhood doing only 15mph when they went, so there was just enough left to get it to stop. Any faster and it'd've been chaos!

So, fresh brakes.



These weren't too bad, as they looked like they had been done somewhat recently. However, by the slant on the pad, I could tell that the caliper wasn't moving smoothly.



I could also tell that it had been sitting for a long time since the calipers were filled with spider nests. When I got it in 2017, the last registration sticker on the license plate was 2011.









The rotors were beyond spec, so I had to punch the studs out to change them.



Doubled up nuts make a great striking surface for the hammer.







Might as well put fresh wheel bearings in there while I'm at it.





Where things got difficult was getting the studs seated back in. I don't have air tools, so it came down to good old fashioned brawn. I put the rotor/hub into a tire so that I had some grip on it.



Then, one at a time, twisted the tire and breaker bar until the lug was fully seated.



After 10 studs, I was exhausted. But, it worked.



Next, one of the things that almost kept me from originally buying the Bronco was the parking brake cable, which was rusted. I put the parking brake on at the seller's house, and it seized. No way I can drive a Bronco 700 miles home with a seized parking brake! But, we were able to release it.
My '81 had new cables, so I pulled them off and swapped them out.



As with the fronts, the rears were pretty decent.



But, all new hoses, pads, cylinders, and hardware either way.





The next bit of frustration was the parking brake pedal itself. This had tons of surface rust and would barely move. So, I pulled it out to give it some love and R&R.



There are about 4 or 5 pivot points that all needed some work. Sprayed it liberally with WD-40 and worked each joint. It drained red slush for a while.



It was pretty fun to do, since it worked so smoothly afterward.
 
#57 ·
Meanwhile, a little teaser of what's to come.

I had dealt with carburetors for years, and had gone through a good handful of 4bbl carbs on the engine.

I started out by putting a 4bbl intake on it and a Holley 390.



Then, I tried a Holley 600cfm.



Next was Holley's Quadrajet replacement.





Then a Holley 465cfm (one of my favorites).



Last, but not least, was QuickFuel's 450cfm 4bbl. Due to the insane amount of tuneability this carburetor had, I thought this would be the end all, be all.



However, each of these had it's own problems, and was a pain in its own right. Some had horrible gas mileage (the 390cfm and the Quadrajet replacement in particular), and some had poor driving manners. Either way, I was DONE with carburetors.

Since the '85 had the 302 and was already fuel injected, I decided I wanted to keep it that way! The high pressure fuel system was already plumbed in.

So, I did some research and settled on Holley's 2bbl Sniper. It was rated up to 350hp, so it was plenty for my engine. The smaller size would also give it a lot tighter control at lower RPM and airflow as well.

It had arrived, along with my new intake (the old one only worked with a 4bbl carburetor), so I gave it a test fit.







I was extremely excited to get the engine in and get this thing installed.
 
#58 ·
From a few years ago, didn't have headers on it. Stock arms and just off the shelve shocks

@ 5 min mark is a full pull in 4lo, ~58mph
 
#59 ·
the front has: dever coils, bilstein 5125s,i built the shock towers, duff lower coil pads, wild horses 4x4 adjustable trac bar, tom wood drive shafts, modified tran crossmember for the front drive shaft, and all the hoses and lines extened.

20171216_152619 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20171203_155526 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20171203_172055 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr
this was with just the shackle flip in the rear. i put blocks on afterwards

for the front shock towers i used obs f250 towers. but they were to short and didnt have the same holes as the originals so i cut the originals and welded them to the 250 towers

20180101_114531 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20171231_132438 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20171231_132446 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180101_110034 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180101_111442 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

also while i was working on the suspension i did the front brakes, bearings and warn standard hubs

20180101_142219 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180203_115229 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180203_115242 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180203_165237 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

even at max suspension travel i still have plenty of clearance
 
#60 ·
After a few months of planning my engine and transmission swap, I ran into a stroke of luck. Our lease was coming up on our Ford Focus, so we brought it in to see what else they had. We decided to get an Escape, but since we were a month early, they asked if we wanted to just turn in the Focus, or if we wanted to keep it for another month and pay for the final payment. We quickly decided to keep it for another month, since that would give us three vehicles. With the extra vehicle, I could park the Bronco for the month, and dive in and get to work on the swaps. Remember, this is my daily driver!

So, after getting back from the dealership on a Sunday afternoon, I backed the Bronco into the garage and got to work ASAP.



First task was getting the exhaust off. I had removed the exhaust from my other Bronco and was going to reuse it, so this whole setup could go to the recycle center.
After cutting the cat off, I could tell it had had a lot of miles on it.





There were some very tight spaces that made removing it a real bear, so it came out in a lot of pieces.



BW-1345 pulled out and set aside. It worked great, so it makes for a nice spare.



Pulled the AOD cross member out and set it aside.



Since I was converting from an automatic to a manual, there was a lot of shifter linkage that needed to be disconnected and removed.



Next to come out was the AOD. One thing I will say about an automatic is there's less to remove to get it out.



I'd never really dealt with an automatic before, but man. SO MUCH FLUID. Everything I did leaked more fluid. I drained the whole thing first, and even then, every time I moved it, more fluid! I was tired of ATF.



AOD was out, and it looked like I had killed someone in here.






The first big project was the pedal assembly. I had pulled the manual pedal bracket from my '81, so fortunately it was a direct swap. But, I needed a lot of room to work. Out with the seats!







The floor pan also needed to be swapped out. It needed a hole for the shifter, and the ZF5 is a MUCH MUCH taller transmission, so it needs a taller tunnel.





On a side note, I was happy to see how nice and pristine the floor was. It was in much better shape than the floor my '81 had.







So many little details, such as the gauge cluster needing the shifter selector delete installed.



And the shifter and cable.















It's the little things.



I was also converting from an 8 cylinder to a 6 cylinder, so I removed the ground for the tachometer that made the switch.




On to the pedal brackets.



My 81 didn't have cruise, so I had to drill and install the brake pedal cancel switch.





Ford had a major oversight when they converted their clutches from mechanical linkage to hydraulic in '84. The firewall was not reinforced for the extra flex that that master cylinder would put on it, so they eventually fatigue and crack. This was fixed in the '92 - 96 bodystyle, but for the earlier years they made a reinforcement plate. It's been discontinued by Ford, but BroncoGraveyard fortunately still sells them.



To install it, the steering column has to come out.





At this point, I was getting a bit mentally strained. I had SO much pulled apart, and as per my usual method of operation, nothing was marked as I usually just kept it memorized. However, this was a LOT pulled apart with lots of nuts and bolts!

The reinforcement plate in place.





At this point, it'd been 7 days straight of nights after I got home from work, and full weekends. The clock was ticking and tons more to do.
More next time!
 
#62 ·
Back to it.

The '84+ firewall was kind enough to supply tiny divots to mark where the hydraulic master cylinder mounted.



Time to cut through!





Unfortunately, the M5OD/ZF5 master cylinder uses a different bolt pattern than the earlier era. So, I wasn't able to use the kindly provided markers. Time to make my own.





Studs in place, and solidly mounted!



Pulled it back out to finish mounting the brace. Time to drill the holes for the brace.



Once the holes were drilled, I had to remove the cowl to get to the upper holes.







Engine bay mounting bolts:



Manual bracket and pedals put into place.





I wanted to keep the tilt steering in the '85, so I didn't reuse the manual transmission steering column from my '81. So, I just pulled the shift lever out.




With the reinforcement plate installed, pedal bracket in place, and the master cylinder mounted, I could put the dash together. It'd been 8 straight days of pulling more and more things apart, so being able to put something back together felt really good!!





Next, the ZF5 was fully rebuilt and home. So now to get it in.

 
#63 ·
#64 · (Edited)
Inspired by some home ads and other car ads, thought sure why not.

I present the VR tour of my 78, shot from in first person, feel like your actually here checking out my truck. If you have 2 minutes to spare. No real sound track just me almost falling out, and some Indiana Native Birds.


Soon will have some more stuff to post
 
#65 · (Edited)
Before I could put the ZF5 in, I had to get the 300 in. I've found it to be much easier to install a transmission and mount it with an engine that's in place, than it is to install an engine and connect to a transmission.

Getting rid of the 302 radiator and transmission cooler.







*pluck*





A nice, running EFI 302 should sell nicely.



An open canvas.



These were a PAIN. I had to swap out the engine perches from the V8 to the I6 varietal.
The I6 perches just bolt right in. However, the V8 ones had some very odd design decisions. The passenger side bolts in, but the driver's side used half bolts and have rivets. :banghead Thanks random Ford engineer.







The rivets are tucked up underneath, so it took a good amount of work to try to squeeze a cutter up to get them. Once I got them ground down low enough, I used a crowbar to bust and the snap the rest off.





Ground them flat and covered them with some local grease, so they'd blend in. :histerica



300 perches in place.





I acquired a new intake for the fuel injection system, and it needed to be painted to match the engine.









Lining up all the ports so they match exactly.





Those are some pretty ports.





Resting in its new home!!






The ZF5 is one big, tall transmission. I originally had it up on the transmission jack, but even with my floor lift jack lifting the Bronco as high as it would go, there was no way it was going under. The frame even sits about 4 - 5" lower than the sill below the door, so the Bronco would have nearly hit the ceiling of the garage, before the ZF5 would slide under while still on the jack.



Once I took the transmission back off of the jack, I was able to slide it under.



Next step was getting it back up on the jack. Fun job with a 200 lb transmission while under the Bronco.



Honestly, sometimes I feel the only reason I go to the gym anymore is so I can properly work on the Bronco :muscle071







And they're mated for life. :kiss











Did I mention how tall the ZF5 is?



At this point, I was at day 17 of non-stop nights and weekends on this swap. This was a really, really good point to be at.
 
#66 ·
Before I could put the ZF5 in, I had to get the 300 in. I've found it to be much easier to install a transmission and mount it with an engine that's in place, than it is to install an engine and connect to a transmission.








And they're mated for life. :kiss











Did I mention how tall the ZF5 is?



At this point, I was at day 17 of non-stop nights and weekends on this swap. This was a really, really good point to be at.
wow. the small blocks have so much more room. i just did the zf in my 250 a month ago for the clutch and it took a couple hours to get it to fit back in its place. it pretty much sits on the firewall, and less then half a inch away from the downpipe and up pipe ended up having to pry the exhaust over and forcing the trans in place. that much space would have been awesome
 
#67 ·
In this case, it looks like a lot of room because the engine isn't bolted down and is free to tip. With absolutely nothing connected to it, it can tip a LOT. :D Made for a good amount of room.

I had 3 jacks I was using to raise and lower different parts of the engine and transmission to get different pitches on them until they finally lined up. I can see how it would have been pretty tight otherwise.
 
#68 ·
right after the lift was finished, my t case started to leak so twin sticked it and resealed
20180211_172358 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180217_181501 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

that is one heavy transfercase! I usually pick the 1565s up on my back so i dont need a jack. not doing it with this one!

20180223_111318 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr


finished it just in time to bring it to hardrock offroad. it used to be a limestone mine so theres no traction when wet and it has extremely steep hills.

20180224_150338 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180224_131746 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

of corse hill are hard to show the angle off but you can just barely see the ruts to the right of my truck, thats one of the hill climbs

20180224_112836 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180224_111643 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180224_115644 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

and some videos

20180224_133154 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

i probably could have made it all the way up, but i was having carb problems, the quardajet wasn't adjusted right. going backwards down the hills without power steering and brakes was really sketchy, and i wasnt in a good position to do that on this hill, so i just got winched the rest of the way up. the lower passenger side of the body was also stuck on a root. this was before sliders

i have more videos i just have to find them.
 
#69 · (Edited)
The crossmember for the ZF5 was fortunately really straight forward. It curves backward to accommodate the extra length of the transmission, the drop brackets are curved back, so that it can still utilize the upper bolt holes, and only needs to have the bottom hole moved an inch back. The later year trucks have both bolt holes just for this.



ZF5 on top, original underneath.





I had to put the exhaust back in that I had cut out of my other Bronco, since it has to go above the crossmember. I originally had to cut it in half since there is no way to get it unwrapped from around the axle. I welded the tailpipe back on later.







New hole drilled:





Mounted and solid!




Now the transfer case can go in.



Since again, this is by myself, I just benched it up and got it hooked on the output shaft, and then could spin it into place. Not a bad way to do it.






One of the biggest obstacles I ran into with the ZF5 was the transfer case shifter. The later year Broncos/trucks came with transfer case shifters that enter the cab from the side of the transmission tunnel hump, instead of through the tunnel cover.

This isn't the best picture, but this is how the later years are set up. You can see how the transfer case shifter is down low on the left and comes out of the side of the tunnel, instead of the top.



http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/70363838.jpg

I didn't want to replicate this, since I didn't want to cut into my floor and risk issues with it stressing and cracking. I imagine Ford bolstered this area up when they decided to go this route in later years. So, I needed to figure out a way to utilize my original shift linkage.

You can see the original linkage on the ZF here:



Both the ZF5 shifter bracket and NP-435 bracket used the same kind of setup, and utilized a big shoulder bolt to rotate on. However, the ZF5 bolt was metric and the NP-435 standard, and the diameters' of them were just a hair different, so they couldn't be used interchangeably. So, I had to cut the nut off of the ZF5 bracket and get a new bolt to attach the NP-435 arm I had.

The nut was welded on, so I rested a cutting wheel against the surface and slid it across. Made for a beautiful cut. :D





Now I could use a locking nut to put the NP-435 shifter arm on.



Before:



After!



Now that it was in place, it hit the side of the opening.





A little cutting never hurt.



Now it can move!





Since the ZF cover doesn't have a hole for the transfer case, I had to make one.





Next, I had to make my own custom length shift lever. The original had a peg that an arm would clip on, so I had to drill it out.



I used some heim joints and threaded rod, which did the trick nicely.





Carpet finally going back!



*peek*





Looking like a Bronco again. Now with a manual shifter!



A little floor cleaning. It was pretty nasty.



Seats and center console back in!!





Last but not least, some custom length driveshafts.








The drivetrain is DONE.

Now that it's ready to rock, it was time to get it to roll. So, I needed to get the engine running with the new fuel injection system.

But that's another story for another day.
 
#71 · (Edited)
Im kind of out of it...
I do not have the desire to post my whole build thread here. Not saying anything wrong with those that do. Just not for me.
 
#74 · (Edited)
Happy Monday fellow Bronco lovers. Hope you had a great weekend!

Taking a break from the regularly scheduled program to share some more Moab pictures. :D Finally got the pics off of my wife's phone.









A rare picture of yours truly. :D





















Being able to drive my Bronco out here was one of the best birthday presents I've had in a long time.















 
#75 ·
On a side note, one of the laughs I got while in Moab is how whenever I asked about trails, I was asked how big my lift was.

I know everyone is always thinking "Jeeps", so this is what their question is in reference to.

My brother had to install a lift on his Jeep Cherokee so that he could put 31" tires on it. I have 32" tires without a lift. It isn't a 1:1 comparison. :toothless
 
#76 · (Edited)
Now that the engine and transmission were in, I needed to get my Sniper EFI installed and set up.

I had an easier job than most since the '85 302 was fuel injected, so I had a high pressure fuel system already in place with the needed 60psi fuel pressure, and a return line. All I needed to do was tie into it.


I decided to go with the 2300 two barrel style for my engine. It felt weird going from a 4bbl carburetor to a 2bbl style fuel injection system, but ultimately it made sense. It was either two 100 lb injectors or four 100 lb injectors. If they had made a 4bbl Sniper with smaller injectors, I would have gone with that. But the 4bbl styles were just too big for my engine. The 2bbl setup was rated to 350hp as it was, and flowed 580cfm, so it really was plenty (and honestly would be plenty for the 302 or 351).
Plus, the going with a smaller setup allowed for finer fuel control and precision. Win/win.

First thing I needed to do was fit the 2bbl style throttle body to the 4bbl intake. Mr. Gasket made a nice adapter, so I bought one and painted it up.



A little test fitting with my newly painted intake.





All bolted up to the engine.







The system needs a coolant temperature sensor mounted. Fortunately, I had a spare port for the heater core return line that had a threaded hole for a vacuum switch. It had the same thread pattern as the sensor, so I was able to put it there. I also found that this s where Ford mounted the EFI era coolant temp sensor in the '87+ trucks, so it worked great.

The upper port (the one with the large hex set screw in it) can't be used since it's temperature fluctuates with the thermostat, and is not the engine's operating temperature.







Next was figuring out the throttle cable. I wanted to use the original sheath, since I'd had terrible luck using aftermarket throttle cables before. The throttle cable exits the cab at about a 30° angle from the gas pedal, which is a nightmare for smooth operation, and keeping the cable from dragging. The stock cable was curved to accommodate this.









The Sniper system utilizes AN-6 fittings, so unless I wanted to run new fuel line all the way to the tank, I needed to figure out how to tie in with the original fuel lines. I ended up using a series of adapters that, while they look clunky, worked really well (and have been leak free for thousands of miles now).



I wanted to keep with the motif, so I went with black fuel lines.



Ran a 12v hot to the fuel pump to pressurize the system and check all the fittings. All good!



Next came the fun of all the wiring. In the end, fortunately, it was quite simple. Many of the wires weren't needed and were either for different ignition setups, or for auxiliary fans, etc.







Power! On to the initial setup.



Everything's hooked up and working. Now for some cleanup. I bundled all the wires together and then sleeved them in looms.











Last on the list, I wanted a mount for the digital display inside the cab, so I fabricated a bracket. I wanted it hook around the dash, and be tucked up and out of the way.



Bent up a piece of steel in the vice.









Tada:





First turn of the key and it fired to life! I couldn't have been more happy.





At this point, it had been 37 days of non-stop work. Every day after work until bed time, and full weekends. I was exhausted.
But, I finished it 3 days before we had to turn in our leased car, so I made it!

The Bronco finally buttoned back up. Engine swapped, converted to a manual ZF5, converted to fuel injection, exhaust installed, hoses install, wiring installed, hood back on, and running.



It was time for my first test drive. My wife and I hopped in and I put it into granny low and pulled out of the garage. I wasn't used to the tension on the gas pedal spring, so it spun the tires on the garage floor, and launched out of the garage. (I was proud).
For a first test drive, it couldn't have driven better. SO much work, and suddenly all worth it.

My '85 Bronco was now how I wanted it.

Out of the garage and back in the driveway!

 
#77 ·
20180317_184327 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

i turned my factory ac condenser into a trans cooler and added a powewrsteering cooler

20180317_184306 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr
jbg sag swap. didnt fit. i had to modify the bracket to fit the pump.. then had to get the pump warrantied

moved to a new house. the bronco fits perfect in the stable

20180530_153206 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

I got those skinny interco 37s, i needed street able tires and those were a good deal. not what i wanted but they were cheap

building my snorkel
20180706_143041 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180707_150956 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180707_150946 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

just relied i dont have any under hood pictures of the snorkel. this kinda showes it. im using a spectre inline filter

20190108_172440 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

20180721_103353 by Angelo Mehtala, on Flickr

it exhaust pipe so when i go to deeper water i can just slip a pipe over it to extend it. I decided on a short one because i couldnt figure out how to do a full length one that would still look good
 
#78 ·
A couple little, but much needed side projects for a nice daily driver.
The stock cup holders are more of a "suggestion" than an actual cup holder. I'd never consider setting anything here while the Bronco was moving.



Fortunately, some boat sleeve cup holders work great!



Time to get out my power tools.



The cutting gets pretty hot, so there was a lot of plastic slag.









They look nice and original, and the black offsets nicely with the black dash I installed.



Sometimes it really is the little things that make the difference.


Another side project was swapping out the early era fuel hose. The 86 and prior had an air vent tube to vent the gas tank. This could easily get kinked if you moved anything around, which would make it extremely difficult to fill. It also caused the engine to stall after long periods of driving, since the vacuum in the tank would overcome the pull of the fuel pump.

The later era used the outer portion of the tube as the air vent (plenty), and an inner hose for the fuel flow. A simple redesign, but significantly better.





It also allows for newer style gas caps, such as this locking specimen.




I also failed to mention that, along with my 300, I swapped in my Saginaw pump. This is a highly recommended upgrade!





Last but not least, one thing I thought was fun about the Holley Sniper on my 300 is that I got to leave this on the tailgate. :toothless

 
#79 · (Edited)
Hello Boys and Girls, SORRY For being MIA. I had to fly down to Florida for Drs. appointment, Yes my Drs. are for the most part down in Florida.


My dumb fone won't let me upload any thing. :banghead Just view the forum.

These are some of the lights that have caused the Bronco to be named "THE UFO" :rofl:









Why the heck those SM uploads my pix sideways ? :shrug

Allcruisen :usa
 
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