[SRWillis]

First off, I can't believe I've missed this build thread! I've been wondering how it was going with your new Bullnose.

It'd be an afternoon job...

That seems to be the way the work on mine goes too

After I took off the skid plate, I was astounded with how much rust there was...

I found that when I dropped my tank too. Not quite as bad, but I thought I just had surface rust but when I put the wire wheel to it I found pinholes. I think it's the same thing that gets the quarters and tailgates; essentially exposed to mud all the time.

I wanted to go with a plastic tank, but it was about $220 shipped and a steel one was about $85 on Amazon Prime. I couldn't justify the plastic one.

Same reason I went back with steel again. I like the skid plate, looks very heavy duty.

 

[SRWillis]

The rear left has some surface rust that they're going to just patch up.

I know it's been with them a while, and I know you are (understandably so) getting impatient, but I would have them check both sides real good in this area. The support comes down right there and it is prone to rust for the same reason the wheel wells do.

Mine came from the desert and the only rust through on the outside of the body was where the paint was bubbling where the rectangle is cut out in the pic. You can see the support through the hole.

BTW, while telling them you want it done ASAP, also make sure to tell them you still want it done right: that's a lot of work they are doing, you don't want them tempted to cut corners to get it back to you quicker.

Lookin' forward to seeing her all painted up! :twotu::twotu::twotu:

 

[SRWillis]

I really like it.

It's not quite ready yet, they need to let the paint harden a bit more and then buff/polish it. So, I should be able to pick it up in a few days.

I do too! So, you have it back home now?

 

[SRWillis]

I was also really happy with the color...I really like it.

The bodywork is done well, as is the paint. It's not perfect, but it's very nice.

...for $2000 out the door with all the body work, rust repair, AND paint, I got one heck of a deal. He said he way under quoted me and would never do it again for that price.

On that note, the paint is a touch rough. I don't know if that's just the nature of not having a clear coat on top, or if after the paint is fully cured, can it be polished?

Either way, both my wife and I were saying that we're both glad it's not completely immaculate, or we'd feel bad about taking it camping and off roading.

It looks great!:twotu: And, you got a steal on the price. They did a lot of work for that price.

If it were me, I wouldn't worry about sanding and buffing. That way, like you say, you won't feel so bad when you get a scratch or dent or three. At least that's the rationale I went with.:shrug

 

[SRWillis]

She's coming along nicely!

That's the first time I've seen that solenoid. It might just be an off-brand someone replaced it with. The posts are usually on the sides on the ones I'm used to seeing.

That's a later style one (later than our 81s, can't remember what year they started using it) and supposed to be a better design, but I had trouble with the 1st one I put on from NAPA. I put a Motorcraft on mine and it's been fine.

It sounds like @I6-Kid has a better plan, but this is what I did. I added an extra lug with 3 fused leads to the output side of the megafuse block. I'm only using 1 right now (for the headlights), but put a couple extra on there for future use.

 

[SRWillis]

@AbandonedBronco and @SRWillis, here's my amateur drawing of my plan. The only diff should be the positions of the starter leads, as they're for the later starters that get full battery power at all times

From what I remember from when I did my 3G, it was highly recommended to run at least 2ga wire from the alternator to a megafuse, then to the solenoid in case the regulator stopped regulating. Without the megafuse, there's a fire hazard.

 

[SRWillis]

Glad you're feelin' better. Nice work, as always!

 

[SRWillis]

I didn't realize the floor vents would be so easy, maybe that's an idea for another mod...:toothless

I didn't either. I had seen the plates, even took the driver's side off, but it didn't even cross my mind that the passageway could be used for air flow. Will be lookin' for kick panels with vents!

The interior panels look great!

+1!

 

[SRWillis]

After having it for 15 years, and a ton of memories, it's sad to know that it's fully gone for good.

Sad day indeed...but remember the good times, no one can take them away!:twotu:

...so it's time to get moving forward on projects.

Little out of context, but that's the thing to do to move on. Keep up the good work, the 85 is lookin' great!:thumbup:rockon

 

[SRWillis]

Great Job! ...Want to come rebuild my 96 front end?? .

I 2nd that and will take 2nd place in line!:thumbup

I need to do this to mine, but am dreading it...:banghead

 

[SRWillis]

A few things I've never dealt with, like A/C and the like, but it shouldn't be too bad.

You probably know it already, but you can take the complete A/C system out w/o breaking the lines and opening the system up if you want. I don't know if you plan on using it or if you have or can source brackets to mount your current compressor on the Big Six or not...

 

[SRWillis]

Making great progress. Those rivets are a pain. I ran into that on the crossmember behind the gas tank when I was putting on my hitch. Thought it would be simple to remove the rivets and use the holes to bolt the hitch on...:banghead

Thanks for showing the difference in how the dash is set up for the V8 vs 6 cyl, I hadn't seen that before.:twotu:

And for documenting the differences in the brake pedals; glad you had the parts on hand to set it up.:clap

 

[SRWillis]

Fortunately, my stamina is nearly endless (or so I've heard... )

Bragger!:notworthy Oh, to be young again! "I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once, as I ever was":thumbup Sounds like a line in a song...

Anyway, keep up the good work, she's movin' right along!

 

[SRWillis]

Lots of fine work there AB!:twotu: Good advice on the shifter arm. Sorry to hear about the oil leak...bummer. The kind of thing that makes you want to:banghead

 

[SRWillis]

Congrats on a successful major completed project!:beer

I know you were thrilled to get to drive it again.:thumbup

Glad your clutch pedal and transfer case linkage problems turned out to be relatively simple fixes.

 

[SRWillis]

Finally decided on plan B. Called my Dad, who has a car hauler and had him come get us and bring us the rest of the way. Then called my brother, who lives just a mile or two from my house and told him how to get into the garage and had him get the BW-1345 that I had been trying to sell, along with a few tools I needed and some bottles of transfer case fluid.

But fun times! And that's why it pays to carry around a spare transfer case, like anyone should.

Sounds like plan B was the right call. Thank the Lord you could call on family for help! Definitely a memorable Christmas to be remembered for years to come! :ford

Keep us updated on what you find.

 

[SRWillis]

Good spot for it, looks like it belongs there.:twotu:

I know we're not supposed to covet another man's 5 speed, but every time I see that ZF5 stick I'm envious!:ford

 

[SRWillis]

The 3G dropped in very easily with no modification (I'd read in some writeups there was grinding needed to get it to go into the bracket, but I had no such issues).

The heavy gauge wire from the Windstar was really long. So, it was plenty to work with.

I'd read where you want to put in a 175amp fuse, but this one has a built in fuse into the wire, so for now I'll leave it at that.

And, although it's hard to see in the pic, now the alternator has 2 belts, the A/C uses the front groove of the water pump pulley and the power steering uses the front groove of the harmonic balancer!

Good to know a couple differences on the alternators. Mine came off a Taurus and I had to do some clearance grinding on the bracket and the wiring wasn't that long, so those are both pluses. I don't think it had a fuse either, at least I didn't notice one.

That's a great solution on the belts. I hadn't caught it in the other thread that you set it up so that the AC and the PS were using different pulleys. Glad it worked out for you, that 3G should serve you well.

One thing I didn't see you mention, was whether you disconnected your stock ammeter. I've read where the 3G puts out to much amperage for them and could cause problems. You don't need your stock one anyway.

Good work and write-up. Thanks for sharing:twotu:

 

[SRWillis]

Lastly, as nice as the ZF5 shifter is, and I've already put money into it, like the dust boot, hold down clamps, etc. that are really nice, it's rather out of place in the '85. It's look just doesn't fit the era of Bronco. Another option would be to make a custom shifter for the transmission that looks more era specific, but that'd require a bit of work. I'd have to take a shifter and cut and weld it to the arm that bolts to the ZF5. I'd also have to find a dust boot that fits, since the dust boot hole for the ZF5 shifter is a much bigger opening for the fat shifter of the ZF5.



Any ideas on this? No approach seems particularly simple.

I'm not fond of the ZF5 shifter in our gen Broncos either. I would like to graft a shifter similar (maybe just a little shorter) to the T18 to the piece that bolts to the ZF5 stub.

Here's one option:

18" shifter, boot and shift knob for the ford ZF-5 Speed truck transmission.

 

[SRWillis]

that's a pretty cool kit, but I think then the boot wouldn't fit. It looks like it's cloth, and would be pretty different than the transfer case boot.

Yeah, the boot wouldn't match. Mine was in bad shape, so I got this one and it worked out for me.

All we really need is the attachment piece, get some round stock welded to it and bend it the way we want, or not :thumbup