[Dazman]

The proximity sensor works well in my Bronco, and will chirp if someone tries looking in the side windows. Anyhow, Broncos are technically hard top convertibles :ford

Funny, the guy told me there were a nightmare to setup and would not reach outside the truck. I'll have to look into this a bit more.

 

[TXtriple]

Personally I like the look of the older Warn and Ramsey winch bumpers, but they're hard to find and missing a few of the features on my wish list.

Is this the one?

 

[d_rock]

Is this the one?

Yeah, without that huge bull bar

 

[d_rock]

Steering update

Still not done the Saginaw pump upgrade, but here's where I'm at:

• Mounting bracket cleaned and painted
• New stock '78 return line ready to go on
• Russell Powerflex hose, -6AN fittings, and adapters on order
• Saginaw pump completely stripped down for paint and reassembly

The details:
Removed the pulley from the Saginaw pump, and compared to the stock '94 F150 pump that I hung on to. I'm currently running my original '78 pump (or at least what my Bronco had when I got it), which has the exact same housing as the '94 pump, but different pressure fittings.

Mounting bracket from the 1990 E-150 got a thorough scrubbing with dish soap, dried, and sandblasted. POR-15 Metal Prep to etch and promote paint adhesion. Not shown is the coat of gloss aluminum Tremclad Professional that went on. Here are a couple markings I noted on the E-series bracket.

My Saginaw pump seems to be an oddball, being that the second reservoir retaining bolt is not present, nor is there a hole in the reservoir for it. The reservoir resisted removal for a few minutes, but came off cleanly. The magnet on the pump housing sure collected a lot of junk over the years.

Markings on the pump body:

There was no o-ring installed where the hole is missing in the reservoir, but the hole in the pump housing is indeed threaded. On the flip side, this hole was not used for mounting, and shows a bit of rust.

Checking for the "X" per the instructions in my Gates rebuild kit. Not present, so I should use the thinner square-cut O-rings. I will measure new vs old to double check during assembly.

Removing the valve assembly, and o-ring:

The retaining ring needs to be rotated to put one of the ends near the through-hole in the housing. A flat screwdriver works for this, but because of the spring inside the pump it may be difficult to turn. Apply some pressure to the retaining plate with a thumb while rotating the retaining ring. A small punch, or in my case a convenient finishing nail, can be used to pop the end of the ring out of the groove from the outside.

Be careful when dumping out the guts not to lose anything, and keep track of how it came apart, so you know how to put it back together:

The shaft seal came out easily with the claw end of a hammer. To remove the bushing I quickly turned a tool on the lathe, and used the shop press.

The shaft cleaned up pretty well on the felt wheel with some polishing compound:

Noted a marking on the reservoir, as well as some damage around the retaining bolt hole. A minute on the press put things mostly back into shape, then I washed and sandblasted it. Gouges still remain on the inside. Since the can seems to be brazed together, I'm considering TIG brazing to fill the gouges (never tried this before but I can use my Lincoln TIG 200 at my parents' place next time I'm there). Alternatively, one of my co-workers is familiar with silver soldering for this kind of thing, so I may have a try with that first.

 

[d_rock]

This past weekend, I dusted off a couple of backburner projects...

Rear side panels
These are simple plywood replacement panels that I started making about... 8 years ago? Dang.

When I got the Bronco, the originals were on their last legs, and I continued to use them until the accident. After the snow got to them, then pretty well fell apart. Well, I took some time to make a few holes and install the plywood replacements. Right now its just the rear armrest holding them in, and I will pick up some new/longer push pins to secure them better shortly. I've included a 6.5" hole near the front of each for my remaining speakers. The 4.5" hole near the back provided access for me to mark out the holes by pencil from behind, so that I could drill in the right spot. Or course I didn't reach all the holes, but I think I got enough for now. Temporary sound deadening is courtesy of some old burlap coffee bean bags.

Future plans for the side panels include:

• Drink holders for the rear seat
• Recessed pockets for the rear seat
• Large recessed pocket in very back on one side
• Single 10" subwoofer in very back on the other side, with a compact (powersports) amp (possibly recessed)

In the meantime, I will mark out and fine tune my plans on the plywood panels.

Factory roll bar

The factory optional roll bar that I scored after the wipeout is finally in. It almost needs to be painted again after sitting outside for a couple years, but with the weather off it, it should hold up fine now. I know this pales in comparison to the proper cage kits that are available, but its better than nothing, and gives me a good place to mount the GoPro, and my fire extinguisher.

 

[newageroman]

Ohh great... another zombie post by d rock to make our normally "scrape and spray and pray" rebuild projects to feel like sheet...

thanks man! At least your still rocking those bitchin plywood side panels. We're looking forward to you delaminating them, correcting and realigning the grain structure for proper stock specs and refinish and reinstall them with about 75 supermotors pics...

but seriously dude, your killing it...

As far as the side panels, I just dove into that on my build. I am going with 3/4" walnut planks and nutserts all the way around. It took a while to get the nutsert process, but after getting used to it, I can not express in words how satisfying it is for interior trim panel bolts to find a pocket, and then find threads... and the look of American walnut under PTO finish should be noticeable. I'll tell you this, those boards are STOUT!

 

[d_rock]

Ohh great... another zombie post by d rock to make our normally "scrape and spray and pray" rebuild projects to feel like sheet...

thanks man! At least your still rocking those bitchin plywood side panels. We're looking forward to you delaminating them, correcting and realigning the grain structure for proper stock specs and refinish and reinstall them with about 75 supermotors pics...

but seriously dude, your killing it...

As far as the side panels, I just dove into that on my build. I am going with 3/4" walnut planks and nutserts all the way around. It took a while to get the nutsert process, but after getting used to it, I can not express in words how satisfying it is for interior trim panel bolts to find a pocket, and then find threads... and the look of American walnut under PTO finish should be noticeable. I'll tell you this, those boards are STOUT!

Thanks man!
What do you mean by zombie post? Is that because my west-coast-midnight-posts show up during the early hours for you?
Just took a look at your thread... that's a neat look using the planks, and awesome that everything bolts on so easy with the nutserts. How much weight does it add?

 

[d_rock]

BTW @newageroman I'm comfortable with the existing structure of the plywood, so I'll have to let you down on that particular overhaul :histerica
I may go with plywood on the final panels, or plastic sheet (ABS or PVC) if I can find a big enough piece for a decent price. Ripping a 4'x8' sheet in half doesn't quite cover the hole. Whatever the case, I plan to cover mine with brown vinyl to match everything else.



Steering pump

I washed, plugged/masked, and sandblasted the Saginaw pump housing, and treated it with Metal Prep. Next week will be my earliest chance to execute the reservoir repair and then paint the housing and reservoir. In the meantime, its protected from flash rust.

Interior

Since I don't smoke (and don't allow smoking in my Bronco), I have no need for an ashtray. A while back, I hade replaced it with a simple switch panel for front bumper lights and backup light override, but I never did replace that switch panel during the rebuild, knowing that I wanted to change up my switch situation. So I had an empty spot there for a while. Today I cleaned up an old ashtray and cut off the smoke rest thing, so that I can use it as a storage pocket. I'm still undecided whether I want to make a nicer switch panel for this spot, or hide the switches inside the pullout. For now its nice having somewhere to throw things like my garage fob while driving, so I have less dangling off my ignition key (climbing carabiner works nicely for quick removal).

 

[d_rock]

After work today I picked up some parts for the Bronco. First stop, 4WP for my remaining two front shocks, which were backordered from Rancho. I'll be bolting these on in the morning before I head in to work.

Then I cruised south across the border to Blaine to pick up a few packages from Summit Racing. I filled up my gas tank down there too.

The goods from Summit:

• Russell Powerflex steering hose and a pair of 90 degree Endura fittings, plus spare ferrules
• -6AN to 1/2"-20 adapter for the steering box
• -6AN to 16x1.5mm O-ring adapter for the Saginaw pump
• Extended -3AN brake lines from Russell for front and rear (21" for both), plus inverted flare adapters
• Fragola 7/16" banjo to -3AN flex lines for a T-bird front caliper swap, plus banjo bolts and spare crush washers
• 3/16" bake line tube nuts
• Earls inverted flare brake line tees

I'm not necessarily partial to the brands shown here, in fact I've never worked with building flex lines before. But the one thing, beside rushing, that I've seen people do that causes leaks is to mix and match brands within a system. The QC team at Company A almost certainly does not communicate with the QC team at Company B, so even if they follow the same standard small variations in their processes can cause problems. So I've tried to limit the brands I'm using to fairly big names (Fragola, Russell) and make most of those cross-brand interactions via the inverted flare connections.

 

[newageroman]

yeah, I imagined you doing all this fab work while we are all sleeping - hence the zombie thing.

I'm headed back to the lumber yard tomorrow for more planks. I'm hoping they can rip some larger planks for me but we will see. They are 3/4" thick, so they do add a bit of weight, but I'm not concerned with that too much. I may get them planed down to 1/2" when everything is settled. I can't wait to throw some tung oil on them.

I have dreams of running it next summer as a fully wooded fastback, no top, tailgate or benchseat.. we will see..

 

[AbandonedBronco]

Then I cruised south across the border to Blaine to pick up a few packages from Summit Racing. I filled up my gas tank down there too.

A stack of boxes like that from Summit is always a recipe for a full, but fun weekend. :thumbup

 

[CrazyBRONCOguy]

cool buid, really like the orange.
The saginaws are good pumps, but there are a few tricks you can to do them. Especially since yours is still apart. If you want a bit more out of yours.
Modifying your Power Steering Pump - GM Truck Central

 

[d_rock]

A stack of boxes like that from Summit is always a recipe for a full, but fun weekend. :thumbup

Yeah, its not often I order from them, so when I do it gets a bit out of hand. The steering parts are all I really needed right now, but it was a good opportunity to load up on the brake parts also... Realistically, I won't get to use those until the new year.

cool buid, really like the orange.
The saginaws are good pumps, but there are a few tricks you can to do them. Especially since yours is still apart. If you want a bit more out of yours.
Modifying your Power Steering Pump - GM Truck Central

Thanks!
I just measured the orifice on the fitting to be ~3.73mm (a 3.72- mm pin gauge will barely slide through, but a 3.74- mm one will not even start to fit). Much bigger than the 5/32" in the article, and it appears to be a factory finish. So I'm pretty good on that front. The end cap on my piston has no spacers, just a small gap and thread locker, so possibly in the 1100-1200 psi range. My new steering hose is rated up to 2500 psi, so its plenty safe for me to run as-is, or even make the end cap flush. If I start doing trails hard enough to justify a steering ram, then I may consider spacers under the spring, but that can likely wait a few years. Not sure if I'll stretch the spring at this point. Thanks for the info though, always nice to consider performance tweaks before things go together.

 

[d_rock]

I got my auxiliary shocks mounted up front last week, and I'm sure enjoying them. The time I spent digging into shock dimensions paid off, because I have about equal travel both ways with these installed. We spent this past (Canadian Thanksgiving) long weekend up in Whistler, and the ride was smooth the whole way there and back along the twisting-turning Sea to Sky Highway. I know, we're not here for road stories, but good road manners means we can reach more trails next year for camping/hiking/biking.

From the Peak to Peak gondola at Whistler about a month ago: not the greatest weather, but pretty good view.

From the Peak to Peak gondola at Whistler this past weekend: again, not the greatest weather, but pretty good view.

 

[d_rock]

Got some silver solder on the Saginaw reservoir after work today... ran out of oxy so had to switch to MAP, but it worked well enough. I put a little more heat into it than I would have liked, but it stands a better chance of sealing now than it did before. While I was at it, I brazed a washer to the outside to reinforce the retaining bolt hole since there were some small cracks. Need to finish sanding down the excess, sandblast and paint, then reassemble the whole deal. I'm about sick of topping up the fluid in my old pump.

 

[d_rock]

Still getting used to the new layout here... Also, a bunch of my Supermotors pictures (but not all) don't seem to be showing up... likely a Supermotors issue though.

Steering upgrade update

Filled, blasted, and sanded down the gouges on the Saginaw reservoir: Like I mentioned in my last post, I put more heat into it than I would have liked too, but the end result is good enough. I melted some of the excess silver solder on the inside, then polished smooth with a small surface prep disc on a Dremel. I would have rather used my die grinder, but its back at my parents' place, and gets too much particulate airbourne to be acceptable at my work.



The bushing has a spiral groove in it with a notch at each end, for lubrication of the shaft. I first marked the notch offset from one end of the bushing to the other using a Sharpie, aligned that mark to the lubrication hole on the pump housing, and pressed it into place. The shaft seal got pressed in next.



Then I ran out of room for pictures on this post... I guess there's a limit of 10 per post for direct uploads, so stay tuned.

 

[d_rock]

Steering upgrade update

Installed the:

1. Alignment dowels and shaft/rotor/thrust plate assembly (didn't bother taking this apart further, its just a loose-fit spline and a retaining ring)
2. The cam ring
3. Vanes. Note the wear marks that sweep across... For those who can't easily tell which edge is the more rounded one (contacts the cam ring), the wider scraped portion on the left goes back into the rotor, with the narrow region on the right towards the cam ring.
4. Remainder of the vanes installed.
5. Pressure plate, o-rings (x2), spring, and end cover. I used a clamp to hold it all down while installing the retaining ring.

My flow control piston/valve was already set up for fairly high pressure, per @CrazyBRONCOguy's link, so I did not modify or disassemble it further. The outward-facing end was a little bit roughed up from the fitting going being turned against it numerous time over the years, so I wet-sanded that end with 1500 grit smooth it out. Sandblasted the brace and pulley, etched everything, and coated with POR-15. The pressure union/fitting got treated as well, and I checked that both cross holes were free from obstructions using old drill bits. Its got a huge orifice compared to the suggested upgrade, so no modification necessary there.

 

[d_rock]

Steering upgrade update

On the weekend I started to assemble my new high pressure line for the pump... Basically just put one end on. I need to double check length before trimming the 3ft piece of hose down. It was my first time making one of these braided connections, but I think it went worked... time will tell. The hardest part for me was getting the ferrule onto the PTFE tube. I had a couple extra ferrules on hand just in case I messed up, but didn't need them. I hope to carry that trend on when I do the other end.

I got the pump sealed today, now that the reservoir is painted and cured. Then I mounted it to the bracket. All bolts are also painted, and coated with anti-seize. They have serrated flanges on them, so I'm not concerned about them backing off. Getting close to installing this now.

 

[d_rock]

Interior

Correction on the rear panels: they are less than 2ft high. I re-measured this weekend for vinyl to cover the panels with. Ended up getting enough dark brown vinyl for both sides, and to cover the front headliner that I haven't bought yet. Planning to either buy the plain ABS one (overpriced) or possibly make one from 1/8" hardboard. I used the lunchroom tables at work to lay out the sheet and trim into pieces for both sides plus the headliner. Also got some fibrous foam stuff that will get sandwiched between the vinyl and plywood in the back panels as padding.

 

[d_rock]

Seeing as Supermotors has defecated in the sleeping place, I'm going back and updating pictures on some of my early posts...