[91FordGuy]

Alright here is how the journey began.. I had a 1991 Bronco with a 351 and e40d. It was a great truck and the only problem that I had with it was that the electronic braking system in the rear, it always was a little funny from the day I bought it.

I constantly am watching craigslist for parts, trucks, etc.. you never know what you are gonna find! So I was checking around Phoenix, Arizona for anything bronco related and there was this 1981 Ford Bronco Custom for $2500. Instead of an Arizona city.. It said 'California'. I thought this was odd so I clicked on it and up came this. (This was taken the day I picked it up and went straight to camp for a night to give her an idea of how her new life will be spent.)

The previous owner had the Bronco under covers for 20 years in a barn on his property. He was the second owner and raised his family in this truck and it was a part of their family. Lets just say he was not happy I was buying his rig.. His reason for selling (and why it was placed in AZ craigslist) was because he had completely built up the 4.9 and could not pass smog! He said it was just a waste sitting in the barn since he could not drive it on the street.

When I got the Bronco, the transmission and engine were dialed in. He used it as his tow rig and swapped in a t-19 transmission to replace the 3 speed w/ overdrive that was in it from factory. He decided to put in the t-19(synchro 1st gear) instead of the t-18(non-synchro) so that when he was towing he was able to use the first gear on the street. He had pulled the factory 300 and completely built it.
-Bored .30 over
-Chevy Rocker Arms and Lifters
-Offenhauser Dual Port Intake
-Holley 390 4bbl
-EFI exhaust manifolds from junkyard

(I have replaced that cheap valve cover cap with a good one that does not allow condensation through the top hole)




.......And this is how it began!!

 

[91FordGuy]

Here is my interior as it sits today. I fit the dual gauge cluster into the open space in the dash and mounted the cb up under the ash tray. Other than that, the dash is completely original.

 

[91FordGuy]

I forgot to mention that I am from Ventura, California and not Grand Junction, Colorado. I picked the truck up an hour away from my house (which is why its so crazy I found it on AZ craigslist) and drove it for two years while I went to junior college. I ended up getting a scholarship to play football in Colorado in Grand Junction. I could not turn down the offer and packed up the Bronco for the 1,200 mile journey. Here are some shots of the rig when I first moved to Colorado. I had installed a set of 33x12.50x15 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs with a set of black wheels with chrome lips I found online before I left California.

(Notice my brothers '78 Chevy shortbed, regular cab and my dads '91 Ramcharger with a 318 and 4 speed)

This picture was taken at my a cabin that my great grandpa built in Estes Park, Colorado. He owned a bicycle shop in town and the inside of the cabin used bike crates as the walls. It was built in the 1920's and my grand parents spent most of their time there. When they passed away, it was too hard to maintain the cabin and we had to sell it. I drove the truck up for a weekend before it sold.

 

[91FordGuy]

After two years of stock height and rubbing the hell out of my 33's on just about anything you could possibly rub on.. it was time for a lift! I searched on here a bunch and ended up going with the JBG 4 inch lift with full rear springs and the extended radius arms. I wish I would have been more camera friendly with the installation but here is how it sat with a 4 inch lift and 33's.

Here's a pic of my Dad and I installing a factory rollbar I found at the junkyard for 40$.

 

[91FordGuy]

So I am randomly driving along this backroad in Colorado and I see this little junkyard with a bronco in it. It looked lifted from what I could see and it looked more like a rig that somebody drove, rather than was parting out. So I pulled over (you never know what you'll find!) and found an '89 with a d44 sas, Broncoair OBA kit, front winch bumper, rock sliders and custom rear bumper with tire carrier. I could not believe it! The old man that owned the junkyard said that somebody basically just gave him the rig.

So for $150 I got myself a custom rear bumper with tire carrier.

Then I just welded two bolts on the backside of the carrier and used a Hi-Jack mounting bracket in the center to secure the jack.

Finally, I cleaned up the bumper and painted it. The bumper had two flat platforms on either side of the spare and I was wanting to put a Jerry Can back there but was not sure where to mount it. I looked around and found a universal mount that Smittybilt makes. It was perfect. I drilled four holes, bolted it down and got myself a new can. Oh, and I just bolted an L bracket to the top of the tire carrier and re-installed my CB antenna.

-Bumper: $150
-Jack Mount: $50
-Smittybilt jerry can mount: $25
-Jerry can: $25

Total: $250 for completely custom rear bumper

 

[91FordGuy]

This is gonna be fun! Great rigs guys, looking forward to this month

 

[91FordGuy]

After I ran the 4 inch lift with 33's for about two years, it was time for some new tires. The 33's were great and I still had plenty of power with the built 300 but I really wanted to run 35's. I went to the tire shop and had them mount one 35x12.50x15 on a wheel to make sure they would fit and luckily they were perfect.

 

[91FordGuy]

Next project on the truck was to find a new front bumper. I am really picky on appearance and like to keep the rig looking 'age appropriate'. For $40 I could not pass up this Smittybilt tube bumper. I cut off the existing brackets and welded two new brackets that sandwich the frame for added strength. Then I cut some steel for a winch plate and bolted it directly to the frame. Next, I am going to plate the opening between the winch plate and bumper so the winch can sit in an enclosed area.

Then I was got myself a set of tow hooks from a 97-03 F-150 for $5 and mounted one bolt through the frame and winch plate and the other bolt just through the winch plate.

I just picked up a Warn Hawse Fairlead and I'm going to mount it so that the opening matches up with the space between the tubes. It is the exact same size!

 

[91FordGuy]

FOTM is great because it makes you finish projects that you have been putting off! haha

Last week I had a chance to go to the junkyard and pull a dual battery tray from an early 80's diesel. I sanded down the parts, primed and painted them to prevent and further corrosion. Instead of using the big goofy coolant overflow, I used Dorman product 603-001 and used three L brackets to mount it where the existing overflow was. It worked out perfectly using the new wiper fluid container because my old would leak if it was filled over half way. I also replaced all the bolts with grade 8 hardware.

 

[91FordGuy]

After taking my top on and off all summer, I lost a few bolts. Whatever bolts I had were beginning to strip and the top was constantly squeaking and driving me crazy. I went to the hardware store and got beefier clips and real bolts. $15 for everything. All I had to do was open up the holes slightly so that the clip would sit flush. This modification is highly recommended.

And here is my helper! He will sit in the bronco all day while I work on it.

 

[91FordGuy]

Just thought I'd show off these. I have been searching EVERYWHERE to find a donor truck for the gaskets and I've called just about glass shop within 100 miles of me. If anybody wants to help a FOTM contestant out... that would be great! haha

 

[91FordGuy]

Awesome, thanks @379sinvb! The 78/79 are different so looks like back to the junkyard search:cry

 

[91FordGuy]

Alright here are my sliders. I am going to do the outer tube soon but for now they protect the rockers and I can jack up off of them.

This is a picture I sent to my Dad to rub it in since he just smashed his rocker panel on his ramcharger:goodfinge

 

[91FordGuy]

And here is just a cool picture I found of the rear end of the rig when I had to borrow a friends garage to take cover from a rainstorm when the top was off. (gives you a good idea of the ground clearance:thumbup)

 

[91FordGuy]

Alright finally some trail shots! With me going to school in Colorado and my dad back in California, we do not get a lot of chances to wheel together. This past summer we did Miller Jeep Trail in Lockwood, CA. It is one of the more difficult trails around and I did not have to try an obstacle twice.

Here is a shot of my Dad completely ruining one of his wheels. We were about 1 mile from the top of the trail and the last 2 miles are supposed to be the most difficult. It began to rain and it was getting dark. He really pushed it to the top.:histerica (lets just say that a few guys that were camped at the top with $50,000 Jeeps said that they could not believe that a stock ramcharger made it up)

 

[91FordGuy]

Here's a video of when we did Miller Jeep Trail. You guys can watch other youtube videos of the trail to get an idea how technical the hard parts are and how our trucks handled it. Overall, it was a fun trail.

0:30-1:05 and 2:27-2:38 are just the Bronco. You guys can get an idea of what my 300 sounds like:thumbup (efi exhaust manifolds to a single 2.5 pipe with a Flowmaster Super 44 muffler that dumps behind the rear tire)

 

[91FordGuy]

After I moved up to 35's, I never got a matching spare. I just had the 33 on there just incase of emergency. Finally picked up a matching spare and got a license plate mount for center of the wheel. (much better than zip tied to the jerry can:brownbag)

 

[91FordGuy]

Man, you guys are swapping axles and I'm putting carpet dash pads in:brownbag

 

[91FordGuy]

Oh and this is ready to be hooked up. I got a tach that only goes to 4,000 because the 4.9's make all their power on the low end. I thought it would be cool to have the needle to a full sweep when shifting through the gears!

 

[91FordGuy]

Did a little bumper work today. Found a generic fairlead mounting bracket and cut it so that I could weld it to the front of the bumper.