[BigBlue 94]

Ladies and Gentlemen, its time for the May Fullsize of the Month competition!

Here are your contestants!

@Frkndave
@inlovewithsurfin
@dash_cam
@bow

Winner gets a one year premium FSB membership and a self written article in Bronco Driver Magazine. Winner is also entered in the FOTY at the end of the year.

Good luck to all! Heres to a good competition!

 

[Doosenberry]

 

[bow]

My bronco story begins when I was a kid and obsessed with old fords. I tried to talk my dad into buying a early bronco but he bought a cj7. He probably should have listened to me when nice early broncos where 5K. In 2007 I was 14 years old and this 78 bronco was parked by roadside near our house for sale. I talked my dad into stopping and looking at it. It took some more encouragement but after a few weeks we went back and bought it.

Bronco was in decent condition and had been taken care of with recent paint job and repairs. But a tree had fallen on it during hurricane Isabel. This smashed the fiber glass top and some dents in roof and hood. I started by removing top and stripping interior. After that I painted floor and started getting it road worthy.

 

[bow]

Some of the earliest pictures I have

 

[bow]

My dad worked near a napa store so he would stop in after work and pick up parts we needed. I remember replacing the power steering pump and hoses. We also preformed a tune up with new plugs wires hoses and fluids. The passenger exhaust manifold was cracked and leaking. My dad ordered me one from bronco graveyard, first of many orders from them.
Replacing the exhaust manifold was a big job with old rusty bolts and broken ones. I learned a lot during this time doing repairs to the bronco. Now that bronco was in good run condition I spent many hours cleaning and scrubbing. Lots of old dirt and grease bronco had 245000 miles when I got it. It came with a book documenting all the maintenance and miles.

 

[bow]

I spent that summer driving the bronco around the farm fields behind our house. That Christmas my dad bought me rubber floor kit from bronco graveyard. He also went and got tags and insurance so he could drive it around. He purchased some new wheels for his jeep so I got his old ones. We also patched broken top and painted it.

 

[BigBlue 94]

Love starting it off with pictures of actual physical pictures!

 

[bow]

I know hard to believe when you had to actually have a camera to take pictures. Then take them to drug store and have them printed.
I remember spending hours online reading forums like Project Bronco and BlueOval7879. Dreaming of all the cool stuff I was going to do to my bronco.

 

[bow]

The next Christmas my grandparents got me a leveling kit from jbg. I was also able to purchase ball joints. Me and my dad installed the leveling kit and new ball joints. We also repacked the wheel bearings and installed new brakes.

 

[dash_cam]

so this is my entry, the best model year bronco ever made (if you don't believe me, ask @miesk5 ). a 1996 eddie bauer edition, dark toreador red, 5.8L (351w), electric everything, the first ever side mirror turn signals...and very neglected in the maintenance department.

i know readers love pictures, and i'll try to keep the text to a minimum. but, i do love my bronco and can get a bit verbose when talking about it.

let's just start with a pic of where i started and where i am now.

when i brought it home.

and how it sits now:

*Edit - here's a slightly better picture

well...back in 1999 i had an 81 bronco. i loved it, but the 8mpg was too much for me on my measly budget. along with a tailgate window that worked when it wanted. shoot, had i known about forums or how to fix it, i might have kept it a bit longer. but i eventually sold it for the comforts of electric windows, fuel injection, and a functioning A/C.

fast forward to 2014. my daughter was getting to the age of being able to drive and we needed a 3rd vehicle. i'm not the type to buy my kids a vehicle, so i bought one for myself instead. i scoured the internet for months on end until i found this mostly stock gem in tucson. i promptly flew out and drove it home.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

Hello everyone! First off I am very honored to have been nominated! My current bronco is my third bronco I’ve owned… I’ve have an 88, 94 and now the current 93! I have always regretted getting rid of my past broncos so I decided I would build this one in a manner that would make it VERY hard for me to want to let it go haha…

1993, 5.0, 4.56 gears, e4od… both engine and trans have been rebuilt and trans was upgraded with superduty internals and a shift kit. Sag p/s swap and redhead steering box. That was basically the condition it was in when I bought it. All that work had been done so the truck had good bones to work off of! Everything else was a mess. Interior was just some seats, body has several rusted areas, body mounts shot, suspension was severely lacking…

pics the day I bought it

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

First under the knife was the body mounts… (no finished pictures) but I also under-coated the frame while underneath!

then I tackled the interior… sound mat underneath new carpet, sourced/installed missing trim pieces, cleaned up existing pieces.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

While waiting on back ordered parts and new rims to be powdercoated I started to upgrade the interior…

new steering wheel, stereo, midland 2way radio, and a power command center where the ash tray used to be

 

[bow]

Once I was old enough to get my license I drove bronco everywhere. I got a job at a local marina and had some cash to work with. I built a front bumper and purchased a set of Eddie Bauer seats. Bolted the seats in along with some floor repairs. Also installed new carpet.

 

[bow]

 

[bow]

I purchased a winch and installed it on my bumper a warn m8000. This is how I drove bronco all through high school. I found a new top on Craigslist, also purchased my first set of new tires 33x10.5 Bfg.

 

[Frkndave]

Hello Everyone! First and foremost congratulations to all of May's representatives.
When I bought my 93 5.8 XLT in April of '19, it was the wrong time in my life to buy such a beast. I knew I had to have her though.
I bought from someone who lives in Riverside County, CA and drove it home 45 miles. That was a very rough ride back😬. I took her straight to my shop back in Downey, CA. I initially replaced the gaskets, hoses, belts, whole brake system, master tune-up, power steering box, differentials serviced, and all fluids exchanged. I had her for about a year before I moved out to Colorado Springs in June of 2020.
I have been in the US Army for 18 years now (7 Active Duty and 11 in the Army Reserves). I am a Chief Warrant officer who works with satellite systems and my day job is operate those systems. It goes hand in hand for me.

 

[Frkndave]

Fast forward to the Springs and I realized that I lost about 20% of power at 6k elevation. I turned to a punisher valve body, jet chip, throttle body spacer, 4.10 gears and Detroit True Trac front/rear to help with the elevation. I soon joined Colorado Springs Christian 4 Wheelers (csc4w.com) and learned how to wheel on rocks and trails. I plan to install trail front/rear bumpers, sliders and body protection from rockymountainbroncos.com @RichyRich and finish off my rig with a cargo carrier. I really enjoy prime Rocky Mountain trails, crawling, the peace and scenery this beautiful state has to offer.

 

[Frkndave]

I had a 92 EB when I was 21. The night I bought it and came home, my wife told she was pregnant. I think that's why I have an attachment to them. I've always kept my vehicles clean. Maybe my dad passed that trait down to me when he constantly kept his 56 Bel Air just as clean. I plan to keep her as good looking as possible but capable to do just about any trail, rock (almost any) and dune that I come across. I'm happy to share a little about myself and my "Crazy Horse". Good luck to the others! Nice to meet all of you.

 

[bow]

Enjoyed driving my bronco to high school but with gas prices $3+ a gallon It was a challenge. I was getting ready to graduate and would be commuting farther distances. I had to put the bronco for sale and sold and purchased a ranger.

In it’s prime right before I sold it