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Whippin' the 78 Bronco into shape.

141K views 1K replies 48 participants last post by  Doosenberry 
#1 ·
I've been slacking hardcore. Ever since I started my new position at work about 1 1/2 years ago I've been wiped out during most of my time off when I'm at home during the day. 12-13 hour graveyard shifts suck bad. Anyway, I made some recent purchases for my Bronco to help motivate me to finish some plans. It's nothing impressive like I see a lot of guys doing on here with lots of bodywork and engine swaps, but my rig needs some things done here and there, so I'm going to use this as a way to document what I do as I go along. I'm also wanting to go to Moab in April/May with the others on here, so that'll be some extra motivation to get the Bronco in good enough shape where I feel it'd make the... roughly 450 mile trip there.

When I got the Bronco the rear window was non-functional. The previous owner had the glass propped up with two lengths of pvc pipe. Pretty ghetto, but it does manage to keep the glass nice and tight in the top. I think it'd be a much cooler ride, in more than one way, if I could get the window working again. For now it's a manual affair by removing the pvc pieces and slowly lowering it down by hand.

It took a while, mostly because I've never seen the inside of a Bronco tailgate and there aren't too many around in the JYs here for me to compare to, but I did manage to figure out what all was missing and what I need to do. Everything seems to be there in the tailgate, except for the window regulator and the tracks that attach to the window that the regulator uses to lift and lower it. Last year I managed to find another 78 Bronco in one of our local JYs, so I lucked out and was able to obtain those parts from that rig. They've been sitting in my back room with my stockpile of parts for my Bronco and my 77 F100. If I ever manage to stay awake, I'll get my backlog done.

Another thing that I noticed about the Bronco, and I"m just assuming here from observation, is that the tailgate is from a different rig. My Bronco is red, but this tailgate, under the access panel, is black. It's also got some black in spots where the red is chipped. Another thing I noticed, which just tickled me silly, is that the wiring for the tailgate that goes through the left side quarter panel has been cut. I'm just guessing that they cut it there to swap tailgates, because nothing else makes sense. So, that's where I decided to tackle this job today. I spent a couple hours before I left for work getting things set up and soldering those wires back together for the tailgate.

I am a 100% amateur solderer. I'm pretty embarrassed by the look of my soldered joints, but they always seem to hold and by god I'm gonna make it work.

I'll give an overview of what I did and then let the pictures speak for themselves.

I checked to make sure the wires still had power from the battery. My test light confirmed that one wire always had constant power regardless of key position. The other two did not, but I'm fairly sure that's because they're used for up/down on the switch which completes the circuit depending on which way you push the switch or turn the key in the gate. Then I disconnected the battery negative, so I didn't become a parable. I then stripped back the insulation on both sides of the wires, cleaned them with what I had available, attempted to tin them (lol), bent both ends into hooks and hooked them together, soldered the ends together, shrank the heat shrink tubing I put on the wires, wrapped each wire individually with black electrical tape, wrapped all three wires together with more electrical tape, cut the grommet that the wires go through into the tailgate and fitted it over the newly soldered wires. I would have kept the grommet on the wires before I soldered them, but there wasn't enough room with all the heat shrink and I think it'll function well enough for the job it's required to do with the way I put it on. Blah!























Next step will be bolting in the regulator and pop riveting on the tracks to the glass. I did check to make sure the wiring is functioning properly. I had about 10 minutes to spare before heading out to work, so I pulled out the regulator and rigged up the wiring real quick then hit the buttons for the window on the inside of the tailgate, the ones that move it when you turn the key in the gate. The regulator started moving, so I think it's a shoe in from here provided I don't crack the glass putting the rivets in. I think my regulator/motor might be OEM from 78. The Bronco I pulled it from was a 78 and the markings on the regulator motor indicate a 1977 manufacture. At least that's what I'm getting from it. Pretty neat that it all still works. I need to either find a matching connector to the one in my tailgate for my regulator or come up with two new ones of my own.
















Here are some more items I'll be addressing later on this week/next week. Some weather stripping for the top of the tailgate and the anti-rattlers for the doors. The rest seem to be pretty decent if not really good. I have a relay kit for the head lights. Metal "finger cups" for the door panels. New fuel filler hose since mine is cracked out and leaking when I fill it up. Some other tailgate innards. I have some new door panels on the way since mine were toast and some new LED headlights as well. I still need to get my fuel tank dropped, so I can add a fuel return line for EFI and I need to get my headers installed. I have a nice list of things I need to do that I haven't mentioned that's on my fridge. One thing at a time.






 
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#4 ·
Your tailgate could also be an aftermarket piece. They are typically black primer to start.

Whoever swapped it could have been lazy and just chopped the wires instead of taking the tail light out, but it would have been a pain to get the glass back up even just once. I've seen wires for the door harness that look like that in my '87 that just got old and cracked in half after being flexed countless times.
 
#6 ·
Thanks guys! I'm glad I got the wiring soldered before I started work this weekend. I got home this morning and fell asleep on my bed with all my clothes on. I don't think I'll be hitting the next step in my plan until Monday or Tuesday.

It could be that the wires broke on their own rather than being cut, but they were really pliable and didn't feel brittle at all other than the plastic covering over them. I think the previous owner was just comfortable with not fixing anything. There were several things wrong with it when I got it.
 
#7 ·
Made some progress yesterday and today. Didn't get as far as I wanted due to a lot of running around to gather parts/supplies.

I decided to wire wheel the brackets that go onto the rear glass and paint them black. I was tempted to just throw everything together, but I figured it was better to at least clean up these brackets since they'll have the regulator wheels rolling through them. The regulator itself is a different story. I didn't bother with cleaning it up. I managed to snap a picture before I got too far into things, so you can get a before an after, though for some reason I forgot to take a picture of the brackets painted black, so for now use your imagination. They look good though. lol




 
#8 ·
During my running around yesterday I was able to stop by a nearby JY and look for some connectors for my window regulator. I had been driving my F100 and it has the gauge cluster bezel currently removed, so I can see underneath the cluster. I noticed the same green connector that my Bronco has in the tailgate within the dash of my F100, so I figured I'd look in a dash in the JY since most of them are all tore up. The first thing I came across was the '78 Bronco I had previously raided and it's dash was completely barren, so I dug around and found a couple of usable items. I didn't have anything to cut them out with, so I just muscled them out. A couple of nice pop sounds and the wires gave. I'm gonna hold onto the brown connectors I found in case I need to use them for something else, but I did get a matching green connector for the regulator. The wires that were in the connector were significantly smaller than the regulator wires so I decided to crudely, like everything else I do, "un-crimped" the wires within the connector and solder on the regulator wires. Then I popped them back into the connector and we're golden.











 
#9 ·
I've hit a couple snags at this point with my tailgate repair though. I hooked up the regulator and it's not functioning. The key in the gate doesn't get it to move nor the switch in the dash. I double checked the regulator itself by hooking it up to my jump starter pack and operating it that way, so it's still good. I pulled out the left tail light and unhooked the tailgate harness to see if power was still coming to the tailgate and I am still getting power to the tailgate harness. SO... I'm assuming it's either the switch in the gate for the key or that little button thing by the latch release. I'll have to investigate some more. I hope it's not a bad tailgate switch because it's hardwired into the entire harness which would negate my amazing solder job. I'll have to see if that '78 Bronco in the JY still has the harness. I'm not sure it did when I pulled the regulator from it last year. We'll see.

On some more exciting news, I got my headlights in as well as my door panels. I would have gone ahead and worked on the headlights and the headlight relay kit, but I'm really wanting to get this tailgate squared away before anything else. It's a matter of principle at this point, I'm not gonna let the bass turd beat me.

I got the panels from dennis carpenter. I bought the second quality off colored panels, the ones that are created when they go from one color to the next and they obviously don't have the desired look people are after. I plan to have them wrapped in vinyl or something like that when I get the interior done, so it makes no difference to me. I was going to just get a couple mismatched panels from the JY, but it was pretty impossible to find even one still intact. I really wish I had an orange Bronco and had received matching orange door panels. I think the orange marble look of the one door panel looks pretty cool. My wife saw me pull them out of the box and was like wtf are you buying. lol






 
#10 ·
My Bronco is missing some fasteners in the top. Not the usual ones people are looking for though. They hold the metal channel that holds the upper weather stripping for the rear window to the fiberglass top. My metal channel kinda flops around as it is. I pulled the weather stripping from that JY '78 Bronco since it was nice and soft still and mine is hard and cracked out. That's when I noticed how that channel was attached to the top. I removed one in hopes of finding replacements, but quickly found out that no one seems to make them. The closest thing I was able to find the other day were some fasteners that are meant to hold side molding on cars/trucks. I'm gonna try to cut them with a grinder and they should be pretty dang close to what I need. Gotta be resourceful right?









 
#11 ·
Got the rear window operable on Sunday. I got a donor harness for the tailgate. Turned out my window switch in the tailgate was bad, so I got it swapped out. Got a bit ahead of myself and had to drill out the rivets I put in the window tracks 2 times. Yeah. First I put the tracks on the glass before sliding the glass into the tailgate. Then I put the tracks on upside down. It's like I don't know what I'm doing. lol. I need to quit watching videos from newer Broncos. On Broncos newer than mine the tracks that the regulator wheels roll in can unbolt from the rest of the bracket on the glass. Mine aren't like that, they're one piece, but I guess I skipped that part of a video I took a quick look at before my attempt. But it's done minus some little tweaking I'll need to do as well as routing the wiring a little better than I currently have it, so it doesn't end up getting eaten in the regulator gears.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, I popped out the weatherstripping in the tailgate and the opening looked big enough to slide everything through. It was about 1" wide and the glass with the tracks on with the rivets and spacers was about 1 1/4" wide. If you can unbolt the tracks from the bracket it'd slide right in even with them riveted on. I can see why they changed them for later years if my tracks are in fact an OEM set for 78/79. I think the scariest part of the whole rear window ordeal was putting the rivets on. Man those things require quite a bit of force and make a LOUD snap, I thought I was gonna break the glass every time I put one on. All 12 of them. lmao.
 
#14 ·
I'm getting my exhaust done this week, so hopefully I can start moving on my Holley Sniper install. Better late than never I guess. It's been sitting in my house for a looooong time. The only other thing I need to do, other than the exhaust (for the O2 bung), is drop my gas tank and get to work installing a fuel return line.

Now that I'm a bit more motivated to get things done the weather is starting to fudge with me. Right after I got my rear window fixed it poured rain for a couple days, then snowed a few inches. Yesterday it dropped about 4 inches of snow again, so I'm gonna have to be strategic about getting outside and dropping the tank before I get another good rain storm or snow dropped on me again. It's fortunately been warm/sunny enough to clear the roads off (which is where I work on this thing) within a day after the snow stops.

Anyone have advice on how to drop a tank? I've never dropped one before. I plan on running the tank out as much as I can before dropping it. I'm hoping it's as simple and unhooking the hoses/lines, unbolting it, then lowering it down with a floor jack.

While I wait to get the Bronco back from the exhaust shop I'm gonna work on those fasteners for the Bronco top. I have a super cheap Harbor Freight rotary tool, similar to a Dremel, that I'll put a cutoff wheel on and trim them up.
 
#16 ·
I'm getting my exhaust done this week, so hopefully I can start moving on my Holley Sniper install. Better late than never I guess. It's been sitting in my house for a looooong time. The only other thing I need to do, other than the exhaust (for the O2 bung), is drop my gas tank and get to work installing a fuel return line.

Now that I'm a bit more motivated to get things done the weather is starting to fudge with me. Right after I got my rear window fixed it poured rain for a couple days, then snowed a few inches. Yesterday it dropped about 4 inches of snow again, so I'm gonna have to be strategic about getting outside and dropping the tank before I get another good rain storm or snow dropped on me again. It's fortunately been warm/sunny enough to clear the roads off (which is where I work on this thing) within a day after the snow stops.

Anyone have advice on how to drop a tank? I've never dropped one before. I plan on running the tank out as much as I can before dropping it. I'm hoping it's as simple and unhooking the hoses/lines, unbolting it, then lowering it down with a floor jack.

While I wait to get the Bronco back from the exhaust shop I'm gonna work on those fasteners for the Bronco top. I have a super cheap Harbor Freight rotary tool, similar to a Dremel, that I'll put a cutoff wheel on and trim them up.
If you are not replacing or painting the tank, and only are dropping it to work on the fuel delivery/return system, consider cutting an access panel and accessing the fuel module from there.
Here's the write up by Steve83, it should be applicable to your truck, Good Luck
1983 Ford Bronco Bronco Fuel Pump Access Hole pictures, videos, and sounds | SuperMotors.net
 
#15 ·
If you haven’t finished putting the tailgate window assembly back together yet, (hoping), check out the thread here today about repairing a window motor. I think it is the same thing and you should do that before buttoning it all up. Also in the technical threads list there are discussions about improving the wiring and troubleshooting that rear window setup. Hope this helps. I admire your dedication and workmanship and am looking forward to more of your interesting and well written posts. Use white lithium grease on those rollers and rails.
 
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#17 ·
Thanks. I'm really using this Bronco as a learning experience and it's in the right shape that if I were to mess something up I wouldn't be upset about it.

No, it's not all buttoned up yet. I got it functioning, rolled it up, then let it sit once the rain hit hard. I still need to vacuum out the crud on the bottom of the gate, route the wires better, install the new bumpers for the window that go into the bottom of the gate, weatherstripping on the top of the gate, etc before I put the access panel on it. I may consider going through the motor before I call everything good and that's a great idea. It runs really well though, which makes me not want to touch it. That whole "don't fix it if it ain't broken" mantra.

Here's the motor in action after I had soldered the connectors onto the bare wires and before I had put it back into the regulator. I wish I had recorded it going in the other direction, because when I'd give it power in that direction the motor actually had enough torque that it'd make one end hop off the table once it was given power and it'd plop back down. I was like no wonder those EV's can go so fast with those giant electric motors.



 
#19 ·
On the Forum right now there is a discussion about putting relays in and making the flawed factory setup better. The factory wiring is too small so the voltage drops over one volt from front to back. Again I want say I admire your attitude and your work, just thinking if you are like me once you put it back together you might not be there again for a long time!?. Replace all the gaskets and seals and rubber stuff or water will get in and trash it all quickly. I repaired the rear window on my neighbor’s hunting bronco six months ago and now it doesn’t work again and now I OWN that bronco so I’m gonna fix it RIGHT this time, thanks to the wonderful Full Size Bronco Forum! (Yeah, Team!)
 
#20 ·
So, I got home this morning after working my three 12 hour graveyards this weekend and got a surprise. I had dropped my Bronco off at the exhaust shop mid last week when the weather was super crap and snowing, knowing I wouldn't be able to do anything with it in that weather and knowing I would be working fri-sun. I had them install my headers for me since I already had everything I needed for them and simply didn't have the time or the weather to get them on myself and I need a boost if I'm gonna meet my timeline for being done with everything by late April.

I'm kinda glad I didn't do it myself in the end, because it took them like half a day and that's in a fully equipped shop with the guy putting them on having a helper which I have neither of those. I guess they had to jack up the motor, remove the starter, and remove all of the clutch linkage in order to get them in. I didn't realize it was going to be that labor intensive considering I removed those headers from a JY Bronco by myself, however, that Bronco was an auto and not a manual and... I really beat the crap out of that engine compartment getting them out and it took forever (had to make two trips over two days) while having no regard for the headers as I was banging them against things as I moved them around. ANYWAY!

HO. LEE. SWEAR WORD. I have never run open headers before. I told them to not hook the stock exhaust back up to it since I was going to have it all replaced later once I made a final decision on the exhaust setup after I saw how the headers looked under the Bronco and chose a muffler with a sound I liked (watched a lot of youtube vids this weekend). I couldn't stop laughing out loud to myself once I turned the key and started it up when I picked it up this morning. Whoever actually runs open headers for anything other than racing or maybe a demolition derby is completely nuts. I'll have to record it running. It sounds like a pro stock dragster at idle and I haven't even taken it over like... maybe 2k rpm yet since I live about 2 blocks away from the shop and went nice and slow. Man, my '75 F150 has a mildly built 460 that was bumped up to 427hp and, before I killed it, it was pretty dang loud with dual exhaust and a couple glasspacks, but it's nothing to this. I can't get over how loud open headers are. It's wild.

I have to make two adjustments, because of the headers now. I need a new, longer positive battery cable for the starter, so I can reroute it away from the headers since the current cable is about 1/4" from the header primaries. No beuno. Second adjustment is that I need to figure out a new way to attach the dipstick tube to one of the header bolts. The tube was originally attached to the closest manifold bolt, but the little strip of metal attached to the tube doesn't reach that same bolt anymore due to the header primaries. Small issues, but they are there. Those headers look pretty decent though, we'll see how well this "high temp" powder coat holds up once I get a chance to run the engine for a bit.

Oh yeah, here's a before and after of my headers that I yanked from the JY since they're not on this thread for you to enjoy. I had them blasted and powder coated. Super sexy, no? I'll get a shot of them installed sometime later. Have a great Monday, guys!











 
#21 ·
Well I got some battery cables made. I needed the starter cable lengthened by about 1 1/2 feet, so I could route it under the engine perch on that side rather than right underneath the header primaries. I replaced the other cables and lengthened them a couple inches each, so I can have some slack and get them zip tied out of the way of anything. I went with 2 gauge cable instead of the 4 gauge that was on there just to make them a little more heavy duty. I am very glad I recently had the starter rebuilt, because I'm not sure I'll ever get it out again. It's a tight fit. Anyone who gets these particular headers, and probably any other headers for that matter, you'll definitely want to make sure your starter is tip top before you get it trapped in there. I'm assuming it'll be header removal whenever the time to replace it comes. Yay. I was kind of surprised, because my '75 F150 has headers on it's 460 and I can still get the starter in and out, but that's obviously a different truck and engine/trans configuration.

It snowed a few inches yet again today, so I worked on my fasteners for a little bit rather than working on my weatherstripping and lights like I had wanted. I think they'll work out. Wish I had a legit bench grinder, I'd like to take some more off the bolt head on the fasteners I'm modifying and it takes forever with what I have.



 
#22 ·
I've got some pictures to go along with this post, but I'll have to save them for when I go to work on Monday. My computer at home doesn't like my way of doing things apparently.

I made my strategic effort to get the gas tank off and was successful. I slept nearly all day Friday once I got off work in the morning, so I wasn't able to do anything until today. The road was clear enough and other than the temp being in the 20's I was set. The forecast said we'd get snow around 2pm, it started at about 11am. Oh well. I started at about 10:30am and had everything off by about noon. I don't know if the filler hose was the original one from the factory, but whoever put it on was an asshole. The clamps for it had the screws pointing up into the body so I wasn't able to reach them. I had to cut the hoses off with my finest Chinese steak knife. I'll make an attempt later to get the remnants off the filler neck, probably use a razor blade and try to slice it enough under the clamp to where I can turn it and get to the screws.

I noticed a couple of bad things once I got under the tank to take it off. At some point in this Broncos life it was rode hard and abused, which I've been noticing as I work on different areas. The skid plate, and the tank of course, have nice matching dents in them. I mean a huge dent. Like maybe 8-10" around and at least a couple inches deep. Must have been one heck of an impact on a rock. I guess this would make a good advertisement for a thicker skid plate, preferably not sheet metal and more like the one for the t-case. There are some areas of rust on the tank and it seems to be in spots where the skid plate sat against the tank. I'm going to try and wire wheel it off after hosing the tank off and hope it's nothing major. I'll probably paint up the tank and see if I can sandwich something between the tank and skid plate to prevent future rust. I popped off the retaining ring holding the sending unit in and begged to catch a break, please let it be clean. It was. It looks brand new on the inside, so I guess I dodged the biggest bullet out of the fuel tank woes. The sending unit looks great. I always see nasty stuff online when people take vids and pics of their tanks when working on them, so it was nice to see mine clean.

Now comes the point where I decide where to put in my fuel return for the Holley Sniper. I've seen people drill the tank. The instructions on the sniper suggest drilling the sending unit and putting it there if possible. I'll have to get the pieces for the return out of the box and see if the sending unit has enough room for the return. I'd much rather drill out the sending unit than to mess with the tank, but I'll do what I gotta do.
 
#23 ·
Oh yeah, I also learned that my fuel gauge is quite accurate. I let the Bronco idle in front of my house yesterday until it ran out of gas, which it did with the needle sitting just barely past the line for the E. I've kept the tank low, so it didn't take too long, maybe 15 minutes of running. Once I got the tank off there was maybe half a gallon of gas in it at most, just a little sloshing around. I know that's not a big deal, but I've heard some people with the 33 gallon tank complain that their trucks have quite a bit of gas in them when it hits E and they never really know when it would be close to running out of gas. Just thought it was nice to know that when mine is on E I better be pulling into a gas station or have a full gas can with me.
 
#24 ·
I've come to a crossroads. I was in the process of cleaning up my tank and discovered it has tiny holes in the bottom of it. I didn't bother to clean up the whole tank to find out how many are in it, but after cleaning a small portion and finding a couple that was enough for me to stop what I was doing.

I can either attempt to repair the holes or get a new tank. I don't really like the idea of repairing a tank that's already rusted enough to make holes. If it was a perfectly clean tank with a hole, maybe. Just sucks because it's a relatively small area that's badly rusted, the rest of the tank looked pretty dang good. If I get a new tank I'll have to pound out the skid plate as well and hope it's straight enough to not cause problems with the new tank.

Anyone got a recommendation on a tank? Rockauto lists a couple brands. I know JBG has some. I suppose I could get a new skid plate from JBG if I really wanted to drop the money on it. How much do I really like this Bronco?? lol
 
#25 ·
Here are some pics from my recent adventures. I'm sure a lot of guys here are very experienced wrench artists, but this was my first attempt at a fuel tank removal. My only jack, which is the finest 1.5 ton aluminum jack from Harbor Freight, can not reach the tank. Fortunately the tank doesn't weigh that much as I later found out. When I bought the jack I was using it for my '88 Civic, which needless to say, sits a lot closer to the ground and is much lighter than the Bronco. I do not recommend lifting the front end of your Bronco by the differential with this particular jack, it will cry tears of hydraulic fluid, so for the time being its one corner at a time. In the future, as soon as my needs demand it, I will up my game to a 3 ton jack and some nice and tall 12 ton jack stands specifically for this vehicle.

Look at that sweet dent. Long story short, there were some rough areas on the tank that I thought I'd be able to refurbish, but apparently whatever that material is that was in between the tank and the skid plate held in moisture and ate several small holes. It wasn't leaking whenever I actually drove the Bronco and I believe that was due to the pressure from the skid plate and when I removed everything I essentially ripped off a scab on this Bronco's skinned knee.

I currently have a new tank on the way and it should be here in a couple of days. I'm going to fab up my return for the tank and then I'll paint the tank to protect it. I'm not 100% on what I'll use to cushion between the tank and the skid plate to prevent future rust issues with the new tank, but I'm leaning towards cutting up an inner tube and using strips from that as a cushion/spacer. I'll probably hit up one of the tire shops that service semis and see if I can get something heavy duty from them. Hopefully I can get all of the fuel storage and delivery stuff out of the way by early next week. I have to work this whole weekend (fri-sun), so I'm hoping I can have everything prepped and ready for install on Monday.













 
#26 ·
I went and enjoyed the snow with my partners-in-crime the next day after it fell the night I took the tank off. I hope to be able to take them with me around in the Bronco this summer with the top off. They love going for rides.


 
#28 ·
Thanks!

Yeah, I was really surprised with the shape of the tank. The filler hose has leaked since I got the rig, so replacing that was on my to do list anyway. I knew it was a possibility the tank was trashed since I've seen lots of heavily corroded tanks from these older trucks on the forums I frequent. I just thought I got lucky until I really took a closer look. I mean, you can see how little issue there is with the top of the tank.

Had everything been salvageable I was going to, at the very least, replace the cushioning material that was there with something better and possibly add more drain holes to the skid plate to prevent moisture build up.
 
#29 ·
Got to work on the old sending unit. My goal was to install the fuel return bulkhead for the EFI into the sending unit rather than drilling the tank. It took a lot more modifying than I anticipated (you'll see what I mean lol), BUT I think what I ended up with will work. I loosely assembled the sending unit to take some pics and to test fit it in the old tank to make sure everything cleared, but took it all apart as I'll be painting the top of the sending unit before the final install. I can absolutely understand why people would rather just put a hole in the tank and be done with it, but like Sinatra said... I did it myyyyy waaaaaaay.

The tanque de gasolina arrived. Spectra Premium F8A. This is the tank without the hole for the evap line as mine is a '78 and not a California Bronco. It's nice and shiny, comes with the sending unit retaining ring and gasket, and made in Canada which is probably much better than made in China. I'm sure those hoseheads make a quality tank. They ship it with some sort of coating on it as it has an oily residue all over it that I'll have to wash off before I get to painting it. It was 19 degrees this morning when I took the kids to school and it didn't get too warm throughout the day, so painting it outside doesn't sound like such a hot idea. Not sure my wife would be thrilled with me painting it indoors, but I'll get it figured out. We're making progress in the right direction.
















 
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