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1978 Ford Bronco XLT - renewal

2K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  78_shorthorn 
#1 ·
First of all I want to tell the users of this forum that I appreciate all the tips and ideas i have gained from reading all these years. I have been a casual user since joining, but I figured I should start showing all of you what I have been up to.

I found this 1978 Bronco locally. Father handed it to son, son did not want to spend the time working on it. As son as I saw it, I grabbed her.

Its been a few years since I have started this project, and I have taken alot of pics.
I will build this thread as close to a time line as I can remember.

1978 Ford Bronco XLT
400 / C6
NP203








 

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#9 ·
Truth be told this project is my first large scale rebuild. Messed around with an old 65 Galaxie while in the Army. Then a 68 Buick. But nothing to this extent. So these pictures were taken roughly in August of 2011. As I mentioned I started breaking her down as soon as I got here in the driveway. She had all the basics. Good engine, decent C6, NP-203, the interior did not matter because I had plans. Am I alone in my obsession and manic use of notes and notebooks. I have three composition books filled with ideas, measurements, "journal entries"...

I have gone back and forth on what I wanted this build to represent when complete. One side of me said keep her stock. No lift, no oversized tires/wheel combos, get the seats stitched with the original fabric and vinyl. But then the other side of me said lets have a little fun with her. Maybe a 2" lift with 31" tires on 16" wheels. Full roll cage. Fabricate a "quick release system for the targa top, build a stroker 400 beast mode powerplant... So many ideas

I am 99.99 % set on a stock rebuild. Take her back to 78 but make her better, stronger, nicer.













 

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#10 ·
This past thanksgiving was the 'anniversary' of separating the body from the frame. Mind you this was done solo, late night as it took most of the day to set up. I grabbed the idea from a previous thread. It all went well enough...

That is until my detailed nature took over my process. See, I used large ratchet straps attached to eye bolts attached to the rafters of my garage ceiling. This in itself is no big deal. I installed four eye bolts, lifted the body off the frame with the floor jack and a piece of 6x6. Once I had enough clearance I slipped the strap under the body and attached it to the adjacent eye bolt. Crank it up a little at a time, making sure i kept the body as level as possible. I had not removed the drivetrain so I needed this additional clearance. It all worked great.

Slide the chassis to the other side of the garage and now we are cookin with bacon fat. Damn that looks cool. And I did that! It is roughly midnight on thanksgiving eve now. The wife upstairs out like a light. Wait a second, what is that? A crooked strap, I cant have a crooked strap. All I need to do is loosen this up just a little and i can straighten this up. KABLAMO!

In a nano-second, the rear of the body dropped 18"! Stopped short (2") of slamming onto the floor. the entire house shook. So much that the next sound i hear is my wife tearing across the house , down the stairs and now she is at the door to the garage. WHAT THE $&@##$ ARE YOU DOING IN HERE....OH MY GOD!

So a little minor hysterics, regain composure, level the straps and secure the body with mobile home jacks. :doh0715:


Now we are getting somewhere...











 

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#16 · (Edited)
Its been a while since i sat down and added to this post. Life works its own magic, and that is that. so where do i go from here. alot of time has passed with this project and going back a few years gets a bit cumbersome. Ill try and keep this thread heavy on pictures and light on the prose. im sure you all can follow along without too much detailed narrative.

After cleaning the chassis, i started to tear it down to the frame. the plan has been to refresh everything. 400, C6, NP203, Dana 44 up front, Ford 9" in the rear. keep it simple and make it clean.
 

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#17 ·
Managing the posts takes a good amount of time. i will make a point to keep this as fresh as i can.
thanks for looking.
 

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#18 ·
Very nice work and thanks for bringing back the updates so we can live vicariously through your project!
 
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#22 ·
its been a while. Body is at shop getting color. 400 has been rebuilt. Should be pretty stout. Found some Aussie Heads and got them all cleaned up with some porting. Right now, engine is mated to transmission and im doing as much as i can do to prepare for the body.

We had some severe hail damage in late may. this backed my body guy up (we were making great progress...) We expect a mid July date of delivery. plan is to get a few arms, mount the body, then we will take the time to set the panel gaps at the doors and the fender/hood. then hes leaving me with body and radiator support and will be taking the inner fenders, fenders, hood and targa top back to the shop for paint. targa top will be smoothed and painted my accent color. Ill drop a few pics.
 

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