Thanks for the heads up on that one, since I have no idea! Why would someone remove it?
1985 Eddie Bauer build
4
So, as some of you know, my '81 was rear ended a few months ago.
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum...ronco-wheeling-related/474274-built-last.html
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum...ng-related/476545-sad-day-but-undeterred.html
I found myself a nice '85 while I was visiting friends in Seattle. It was in nice shape, but just a little rough. I could just tell it was very solid (doors clicked closed nicely, no rips or tears in the interior), just some cosmetic stuff that needed work, like a broken wing window, cracked windshield, some body rust, etc. Bought it for $1800 and drove it 500 miles home. It has 50,000 on the odometer and I'm imagining considering it's condition, that it's probably 150k. It also hasn't been registered since 2011.
Over the next few months, all of the goodies from my '81 will be going into the new '85. My family tells me I should call it the Phoenix since it'll be bringing the other back to life.
Time for a build thread!
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It's a 1985 Eddie Bauer edition with all the bells and whistles. I had looked at several other Broncos, and found a few I liked, but despite the issues it had, this one stood out. I also like that it has a tan interior, which is about the only other color aside from the awesome black interior of my '81 that I could stand. (I even passed up some nicer Broncos because I knew I couldn't stomach the pimp red interior for the next who knows how many years. :toothless)
Another set of pictures I took half way home from Seattle. Had to stop and commemorate the new Bronco. I'm hoping the original Ford Bronco tire cover will fit over 32" tires, but I have my doubts.
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Here it is sitting next to my '81
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I just finished building my 300 in April, so it'll definitely be going in in the near future. It currently has an EFI 302 and an AOD. I'm debating between the NP435 I have in the '81 or getting a ZF5. The 3.00 worked great with the NP435 but the 3.55s in the '85 might be a bit much on the highway. An overdrive is much needed.
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum...builds-only/408513-performance-300-build.html
I'll also be keeping the EFI pump and installing a fuel injection kit of some kind. I think I'm checked out on carbs.
Immediate things I knew it needed
Tachometer is all screwed up. Just sort of flops around and points wherever.
AOD shifts hard
Cracked windshield
Rust in the body panels and rotted tailgate
Fuel gauge doesn't work
Headliner sagging
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum...ronco-wheeling-related/474274-built-last.html
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum...ng-related/476545-sad-day-but-undeterred.html
I found myself a nice '85 while I was visiting friends in Seattle. It was in nice shape, but just a little rough. I could just tell it was very solid (doors clicked closed nicely, no rips or tears in the interior), just some cosmetic stuff that needed work, like a broken wing window, cracked windshield, some body rust, etc. Bought it for $1800 and drove it 500 miles home. It has 50,000 on the odometer and I'm imagining considering it's condition, that it's probably 150k. It also hasn't been registered since 2011.
Over the next few months, all of the goodies from my '81 will be going into the new '85. My family tells me I should call it the Phoenix since it'll be bringing the other back to life.
Time for a build thread!
It's a 1985 Eddie Bauer edition with all the bells and whistles. I had looked at several other Broncos, and found a few I liked, but despite the issues it had, this one stood out. I also like that it has a tan interior, which is about the only other color aside from the awesome black interior of my '81 that I could stand. (I even passed up some nicer Broncos because I knew I couldn't stomach the pimp red interior for the next who knows how many years. :toothless)
Another set of pictures I took half way home from Seattle. Had to stop and commemorate the new Bronco. I'm hoping the original Ford Bronco tire cover will fit over 32" tires, but I have my doubts.
Here it is sitting next to my '81
I just finished building my 300 in April, so it'll definitely be going in in the near future. It currently has an EFI 302 and an AOD. I'm debating between the NP435 I have in the '81 or getting a ZF5. The 3.00 worked great with the NP435 but the 3.55s in the '85 might be a bit much on the highway. An overdrive is much needed.
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum...builds-only/408513-performance-300-build.html
I'll also be keeping the EFI pump and installing a fuel injection kit of some kind. I think I'm checked out on carbs.
Immediate things I knew it needed
Tachometer is all screwed up. Just sort of flops around and points wherever.
AOD shifts hard
Cracked windshield
Rust in the body panels and rotted tailgate
Fuel gauge doesn't work
Headliner sagging
21 - 40 of 407 Posts
3
Not sure which trim you guys are referring to. Are you meaning like screw in, bolt on trim?
Either way, the only chrome trim on this one was the plate on the tailgate.
I was actually down at the shop today and decided to give him a hand on a few things for a few hours. Mostly on the tailgate. I measured and drilled the holes for that plate, as well as the ones for the spare tire rack on the tailgate.
I was also really happy with the color. In the pics he sent me (the ones I posted above), it kind of had a purple burgundy look, and while I didn't hate it, I didn't like it. Turns out it was just the florescent lights. 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. Either way, he said he way under quoted me and would never do it again. A similar job that he just took on was about $3000 more than mine. I got all of this for a steal.
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Either way, the only chrome trim on this one was the plate on the tailgate.
I was actually down at the shop today and decided to give him a hand on a few things for a few hours. Mostly on the tailgate. I measured and drilled the holes for that plate, as well as the ones for the spare tire rack on the tailgate.
I was also really happy with the color. In the pics he sent me (the ones I posted above), it kind of had a purple burgundy look, and while I didn't hate it, I didn't like it. Turns out it was just the florescent lights. 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. Either way, he said he way under quoted me and would never do it again. A similar job that he just took on was about $3000 more than mine. I got all of this for a steal.
3
Well, I finally picked it up and brought it home! 
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The bodywork is done well, as is the paint. It's not perfect, but it's very nice. I think a lot of it has to do with that I didn't get a clear coat on top (the clear coat was mixed in with the paint). That was considerably more expensive. But, 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.
The bodywork is done well, as is the paint. It's not perfect, but it's very nice. I think a lot of it has to do with that I didn't get a clear coat on top (the clear coat was mixed in with the paint). That was considerably more expensive. But, 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.
10
About a week or two before it was done, I had an idea about using the emblems off of my '81 instead of the "Eddie Bauer" emblems that came on it (which were nothing exciting). So, I popped them off and drove down there and gave them to him. I'm so glad I did, I thought it was a great way to customize it.
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Next, I've never been a fan of the Ford oval on the grill. I had thought maybe to use the FORD letters from the hood of my '81, but didn't want to overdo it. So, I swapped out the grill. I think it gives it a nice clean front end and, again, personalizes it.
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I also don't like the faux wood grain. I've seen some in other vehicles that look nice but I don't think Ford got it quite right and it looks too fake. I got a black one off of eBay in really nice condition and swapped it in (wasn't easy finding one with A/C vents in black). I still need to do the radio one, but that will require some cutting since it still has the knob holes. I'll leave that for another project.
I also used the chrome knobs from my '81 instead of the black ones it came with.
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The dome light was also missing, so I got the upgraded LED bulb off of LMC Truck along with the scatter lens and installed it. It's bright.
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Lastly, the door panels are sun rotted, so I bought some replacements.
Unfortunately, Bronco Graveyard's "light brown" isn't all that close. I'm not 100% sure what to do. Maybe find some interior paint and recolor them. Anyone recommend a brand and/or color for "Saddle"? (The name of the interior color).
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Either way, the start of many projects to come! I'm glad it's finally home.
Next, I've never been a fan of the Ford oval on the grill. I had thought maybe to use the FORD letters from the hood of my '81, but didn't want to overdo it. So, I swapped out the grill. I think it gives it a nice clean front end and, again, personalizes it.
I also don't like the faux wood grain. I've seen some in other vehicles that look nice but I don't think Ford got it quite right and it looks too fake. I got a black one off of eBay in really nice condition and swapped it in (wasn't easy finding one with A/C vents in black). I still need to do the radio one, but that will require some cutting since it still has the knob holes. I'll leave that for another project.
I also used the chrome knobs from my '81 instead of the black ones it came with.
The dome light was also missing, so I got the upgraded LED bulb off of LMC Truck along with the scatter lens and installed it. It's bright.
Lastly, the door panels are sun rotted, so I bought some replacements.
Unfortunately, Bronco Graveyard's "light brown" isn't all that close. I'm not 100% sure what to do. Maybe find some interior paint and recolor them. Anyone recommend a brand and/or color for "Saddle"? (The name of the interior color).
Either way, the start of many projects to come! I'm glad it's finally home.
That's kind of what I was thinking on the paint. Thanks for the advice! That'd be cool.
As far as wet sanding, is that something I can do? Or is that something you need professional equipment for? I don't mind paying someone as I would hate to bugger it up myself.
With the FORD letters on the hood, I was meaning overdoing making it look like my '81. The emblems are a nice touch.
Definitely thrilled to have it home. Now the work begins.
In the mean time, I still need it to drive nicely and be reliable, so I did a tuneup on the 302 in it.
It's the first time I've ever even worked on a V engine! I've never had one before. I've had four inline 6s (a '57 Chevrolet 150, an '87 Toyota Supra, and two Broncos with the 300), and three 4cyls.
I gotta say... I never want to do the spark plugs on this engine again! I bet, in all honesty, that I could swap out the spark plugs on my 300 about 15 - 20 times in the time it took me to change them on this engine. Bleh!
Still, it was nice to pop the hood and get my hands dirty. Full oil change, spark plugs, air filter, timing, etc. Seems to run a bit nicer.
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I'll look into SEM for some paint. What's the best way to match to what I have? I've never done this before.
As far as wet sanding, is that something I can do? Or is that something you need professional equipment for? I don't mind paying someone as I would hate to bugger it up myself.
With the FORD letters on the hood, I was meaning overdoing making it look like my '81. The emblems are a nice touch.
Definitely thrilled to have it home. Now the work begins.
In the mean time, I still need it to drive nicely and be reliable, so I did a tuneup on the 302 in it.
It's the first time I've ever even worked on a V engine! I've never had one before. I've had four inline 6s (a '57 Chevrolet 150, an '87 Toyota Supra, and two Broncos with the 300), and three 4cyls.
I gotta say... I never want to do the spark plugs on this engine again! I bet, in all honesty, that I could swap out the spark plugs on my 300 about 15 - 20 times in the time it took me to change them on this engine. Bleh!
Still, it was nice to pop the hood and get my hands dirty. Full oil change, spark plugs, air filter, timing, etc. Seems to run a bit nicer.
I'll look into SEM for some paint. What's the best way to match to what I have? I've never done this before.
2
Sounds good, and time consuming!
I do have a buffing wheel, so that'd definitely help. I don't think it'd be too bad. A weekend or something. And the results would be huge. It's just that it's inconsistent. Some areas are pretty smooth, others a little more rough, so it'd just be nice to have it all uniform.Heh, yes. For sure. The 6 is so easy to work on. I'm used to THIS when doing spark plugs:
The '81 had the FORD on the tailgate as well. I liked it:
This one has the large chrome panel, so it'd a bit different. I thought about leaving it off but my wife liked it, so I put it on for her.
Either way, I think I've customized it how I like it. Enough of how it originally was, and enough of my own. :thumbup
They really did. I originally went in with the intent of just having the body work done and painted to match. They offered to paint the whole thing since it would be easier than trying to get new and old paint to all look good together.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.
And yeah, I told myself before I started getting it painted that I had to accept it's going to get scratched. I'm not going to stop using it how I use it. I plan to have it way up in mountains this summer with the top off. It deserves it. (And so do I)
My wife and I had driven out to Seattle to visit some friends. We had been looking for a while all over the whole west coast for one and I decided on a whim to look locally while we were there. This one had been listed about 4 hours prior so I called the guy and we drove out and looked at it, liked it, bought it, and then drove it back. After the weekend visit was over, we drove in tandem back to Boise. It was fun.
12
So, got one of my big projects done this weekend.
The '81 had a brand new steering rack with MOOG components, as well as a Redhead Steering Box.
So, I dropped both steering systems and swapped them.
It was nice to see that the steering rack on the Eddie Bauer was in decent shape (and there was still grease under the dust boots, so it definitely had been serviced) and the steering box is actually nice and tight. But, it still had some age on it, so it was a worthwhile swap (and the Redhead is still a nice upgrade). The steering was nice before, but now it's so solid and tight it feels like a new vehicle.
For starters, I put my '81 in the garage. Sadly, probably the last time it'll move under its own power.
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Popped off the tie rod ends (easier said than done without damaging the boots) and then unbolted the steering box. Heavy, but manageable.
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Next, I repeated the same process on the new one.
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Lastly, I bolted up the Redhead and steering rack into the EB.
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For reference, the steering box is very easy to remove. It's just these 3 bolts on the frame.
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Last step was swapping my 32" BFG KO2s over to the new Bronco. SO much quieter on the road than the MTs that were on it. Nothing against MTs. :toothless
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Oh, and the first snow on the new Bronco. Gotta love it.
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The '81 had a brand new steering rack with MOOG components, as well as a Redhead Steering Box.
So, I dropped both steering systems and swapped them.
It was nice to see that the steering rack on the Eddie Bauer was in decent shape (and there was still grease under the dust boots, so it definitely had been serviced) and the steering box is actually nice and tight. But, it still had some age on it, so it was a worthwhile swap (and the Redhead is still a nice upgrade). The steering was nice before, but now it's so solid and tight it feels like a new vehicle.
For starters, I put my '81 in the garage. Sadly, probably the last time it'll move under its own power.
Popped off the tie rod ends (easier said than done without damaging the boots) and then unbolted the steering box. Heavy, but manageable.
Next, I repeated the same process on the new one.
Lastly, I bolted up the Redhead and steering rack into the EB.
For reference, the steering box is very easy to remove. It's just these 3 bolts on the frame.
Last step was swapping my 32" BFG KO2s over to the new Bronco. SO much quieter on the road than the MTs that were on it. Nothing against MTs. :toothless
Oh, and the first snow on the new Bronco. Gotta love it.
4
Next on the list. The headlights on this were pretty bad. I don't know if it was something like a bad ground somewhere, but they didn't offer very much light and driving at night was not fun. So, last night after work I pulled the heavy duty headlight harness from my '81 as well as the H4 bulb conversion headlights I had installed.
http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum...o-graveyard-heavy-duty-headlight-harness.html
Before the install:
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Since I was running wires and such, I found it easier to just remove the chome trim, since it allowed me a bit more room to work.
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Installed and lit up. Granted, it's a lot darker than when I started, but still. Nice and bright!
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Now, one thing I'm curious about is the positive post on the starter relay. Man was this thing packed with wires. The two red wires on the left are the power for the headlights, but most all of the other ones look stock. Is this normal? I don't think there was room for any more.
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http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum...o-graveyard-heavy-duty-headlight-harness.html
Before the install:
Since I was running wires and such, I found it easier to just remove the chome trim, since it allowed me a bit more room to work.
Installed and lit up. Granted, it's a lot darker than when I started, but still. Nice and bright!
Now, one thing I'm curious about is the positive post on the starter relay. Man was this thing packed with wires. The two red wires on the left are the power for the headlights, but most all of the other ones look stock. Is this normal? I don't think there was room for any more.
Yeah, it sends power through the switch itself so they had to limit how much juice they got. The new wiring takes it straight from the battery to the headlights and uses the original headlight plug as an on/off for the relay. I love it.
As for the bulbs, yes, I fixed that right away. That was just cheap bulbs that came with the kit. I bought a new set and swapped them out and they've been great ever since.
Got one in my 81!Also, would you want to see the under hood toolbox from the 81?
My brother found it for me in a junk yard and I swapped it in long ago. I love it and use it constantly. Filled with carb tuning stuff, roadside tools, etc. They're awesome, especially since they bolt right in. Bummer that you didn't pull the one you had, I've NEVER seen another one.
That's what my brother uses in his. It's pretty slick. It's just cool to have something that's stock (and rare)
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.
But yeah, it's an EFI model, which is pretty cool. I know I have a lot of experience and fun with carbs over the years, but darn if it isn't a dream to drive in comparison. Every press of the throttle is crisp and perfect. *sigh* However, it just doesn't have the power my 300 does. Not even close. (which makes me happy)
And yeah, the whole setup is still factory. Basically looks like this:
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Which is why I plan on swapping to EFI when I put in my 300. At least, if nothing else, something like a Holley Sniper or the like. The high pressure fuel system is already in place.
But yeah, it's an EFI model, which is pretty cool. I know I have a lot of experience and fun with carbs over the years, but darn if it isn't a dream to drive in comparison. Every press of the throttle is crisp and perfect. *sigh* However, it just doesn't have the power my 300 does. Not even close. (which makes me happy
)And yeah, the whole setup is still factory. Basically looks like this:
Which is why I plan on swapping to EFI when I put in my 300. At least, if nothing else, something like a Holley Sniper or the like. The high pressure fuel system is already in place.
Oh cool, good to know. I wonder what the internal design differences are.
I do like the idea of the remote positive power source like that. Going to look into that some more. I'm at my limit right now, and I know there's probably more things I'd like to tap into.
The big issue I'm facing right now (which was exacerbated by going to my 32" tires) is the power steering pump is near dead. It doesn't even work if the vehicle isn't moving. I miss my Saginaw, where I can 1 finger it fully side to side while sitting in the driveway. I'll probably just deal with it for the time being until I can swap the 300 in. The bracket I have is for the 300, so I couldn't mount it to this engine, and I'm not a big fan of buying a replacement part (stock pump) I'm not going to be using for the long term. But ugh, in the mean time, power steering only works above 5 mph.
I wonder what the internal design differences are.I do like the idea of the remote positive power source like that. Going to look into that some more. I'm at my limit right now, and I know there's probably more things I'd like to tap into.
The big issue I'm facing right now (which was exacerbated by going to my 32" tires) is the power steering pump is near dead. It doesn't even work if the vehicle isn't moving. I miss my Saginaw, where I can 1 finger it fully side to side while sitting in the driveway. I'll probably just deal with it for the time being until I can swap the 300 in. The bracket I have is for the 300, so I couldn't mount it to this engine, and I'm not a big fan of buying a replacement part (stock pump) I'm not going to be using for the long term. But ugh, in the mean time, power steering only works above 5 mph.
Haha, very true. :thumbup
No worries. It's something that I'll need to look into, as I hooked up another power source to it last night, and it's just about topped out. I had to press to get the threads started.
I imagine something like this would be handy:
Power Distribution Terminal Bus Bar - 4 Point Positive
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