Bronco #2 The wheeler

[YJKrawlin]

Since we decided not to take our 86 to any serious wheeling we decided to pick up one of @NC-Fordguy 's broncos. This is a 1970 Bronco that I had worked on with him before he passed. We picked up a 77 dana 44 with disc brakes to go with it and an NP435/NP203/Dana 20 combo to go behind the 302. It ran before being taken apart by Ed and the engine has been wrapped up this entire time so i'm hoping that running some oil through it to clean it out of any potential dust and sealing it back up will be enough to have a halfway decent running setup. We replaced the floorpans and rockers in it and we were in the process of replacing the heater box supports (not certain what the real name of these is but they extend from the cab towards the front and the air box attaches to one side). It got a fresh 1" Body lift and a new fuel tank before Ed's last wreck and he was in no shape to continue. Plans as of right now are to strip it down to the frame and clean up the rust we weren't able to get to and that it has gained in the past few years of sitting outside. New brake lines and proportioning valve to go with the disc brake front end. Hoping to refresh the lift. Planning 3.5" Suspension to match the 1" Body lift and run 35" Tires. The wiring harness is questionable after 50 years, so I am planning to install a universal painless harness. While i've been stressed on my 1986 about getting it right. My main goal with this is to get it on the trails. It doesn't need to be perfect, just looking for safety (No wire fires, questionable brakes or fuel, no rust issues, etc.). Going to be alot of work, but nothing I haven't done before. And the new shop and lift will help make some of it much easier. Ordered a set of Corbeau Baja RS seats and brackets for black friday and got a Prime Weld 225 to learn TIG on. I'll have it for Stick welding in the meantime. Nothing pretty but plenty strong. My goal is Veterans day next year to be wheeling, but I'd love to be there sooner. Just trying to be realistic. I'll still be positing updates on the other thread as I work on it, but this will get a majority of my attention in the near future. I've missed wheeling too much. In the meantime, i've finished up the floors in the shop and installed my loft. Still some work on that front but it's in a place where I can start working on stuff once the floors cure. Threw some pictures below of everything.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Been working on my list for "get it wheeling" and it's not terrible.....yet. I know it will grow as these things do. Set my posts to reattach the fence after the building was put up. I'll probably work on that tomorrow or Wednesday depending on the weather. Pulled the Master Cylinder (the hoses crumbles as I detached it, no fluid in it at all.) Unhooked the harness and pulled the 3 nuts that were holding the body on (I'm amazed it stayed put on the way home after seeing that). But after that work, I got the body pulled off so I can take a better look at the frame. I found a spot that I will need to repair on a body mount surface on the body, but everything else looks solid. Sprayed it down with some PB and going to work on tearing it down to bare frame this week so I can get it sealed back up. I will say, the lift made pulling the body much easier than the homemade contraption I built when I did my 1986. Gotta keep plugging away at it.

 

[WARRIORWELDING]

Jelly, please for the love of all things Ford.....don't put a bowtie engine in this.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Jelly, please for the love of all things Ford.....don't put a bowtie engine in this.

As long as the 302 holds up, the plan is to keep it Ford haha.

 

[snipes243]

Cool build let me know if you need any parts.

Do you plan to stretch the rear since your going with the doubler?

 

[ghost]

In because I love seeing an EB brought back to life. And agree with WW! Keep it Ford!

 

[YJKrawlin]

Cool build let me know if you need any parts.

Do you plan to stretch the rear since your going with the doubler?

Hoping I shouldn’t have to, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. The range box section doesn’t look to be much longer than the np435 to Dana 20 adapter so I don’t imagine I’ll have too much issue.if you look at the photo, the crossmember bolts to the ears that that Dana 20 crossmember originally attached to, so it’s maybe an inch or two longer. If that.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Hoping I shouldn’t have to, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. The range box section doesn’t look to be much longer than the np435 to Dana 20 adapter so I don’t imagine I’ll have too much issue.if you look at the photo, the crossmember bolts to the ears that that Dana 20 crossmember originally attached to, so it’s maybe an inch or two longer. If that.

Doing a little more research into what I have, looks like this is the Wild Horses Super Crawler Doubler kit, Only adds 1 3/8" to the factory drivetrain length. I may have honestly found the listing where Ed bought ( SOLD - For sale: NP435/NP203/Dana20 doubler ) it so I have a little more detail on it. If it is the same one, sounds like I need to go ahead and replace the input and output seals on the Dana 20. No big issues there. I need to get into the axles and check gear ratios to see if anything needs to change. and calculate my ratios. Got the fence put up in the meantime today. Hoping to get back to work tomorrow.

 

[snipes243]

Doing a little more research into what I have, looks like this is the Wild Horses Super Crawler Doubler kit, Only adds 1 3/8" to the factory drivetrain length. I may have honestly found the listing where Ed bought ( SOLD - For sale: NP435/NP203/Dana20 doubler ) it so I have a little more detail on it. If it is the same one, sounds like I need to go ahead and replace the input and output seals on the Dana 20. No big issues there. I need to get into the axles and check gear ratios to see if anything needs to change. and calculate my ratios. Got the fence put up in the meantime today. Hoping to get back to work tomorrow.

1 3/8" you will be fine. You have till about 4-5" till you start having to mess with things get them to work.

 

[YJKrawlin]

1 3/8" you will be fine. You have till about 4-5" till you start having to mess with things get them to work.

Awesome! Been working on cleaning the frame up today, tore apart the suspension to make room for the 44. Starting to clean that rust off. Thankfully we rust treated most of the frame before Ed passed, but the top needs to be done and the front needs to be done still. Not much work but important either way. Hoping to get a used 3.5” lift to go with the 35s. Need to order new radius arm bushings in the meantime.

 

[paradisePWoffrd]

Awesome! Been working on cleaning the frame up today, tore apart the suspension to make room for the 44. Starting to clean that rust off. Thankfully we rust treated most of the frame before Ed passed, but the top needs to be done and the front needs to be done still. Not much work but important either way. Hoping to get a used 3.5” lift to go with the 35s. Need to order new radius arm bushings in the meantime.

It is maybe just me, but I would extend the radius arms and add heims to the end. It will give you more flex and better handling on the road. That is how my EB was running the HP44 & 36s, and it wheeled and flexed great.

 

[YJKrawlin]

It is maybe just me, but I would extend the radius arms and add heims to the end. It will give you more flex and better handling on the road. That is how my EB was running the HP44 & 36s, and it wheeled and flexed great.

I’m getting a used 3.5” lift because I would like to go with a long arm setup eventually. But I don’t want this build to go on 3 years before I can get a chance to wheel it.

 

[paradisePWoffrd]

I’m getting a used 3.5” lift because I would like to go with a long arm setup eventually. But I don’t want this build to go on 3 years before I can get a chance to wheel it.

I understand that. Many of the forums are dead, but extending the factory arms isnt much work. A friend has a 3.5" on his, otherwise stock, bronco, and you can feel the steepness in how it drives. Extending the arms is easy enough to do later, if you decide you want it.

 

[YJKrawlin]

I understand that. Many of the forums are dead, but extending the factory arms isnt much work. A friend has a 3.5" on his, otherwise stock, bronco, and you can feel the steepness in how it drives. Extending the arms is easy enough to do later, if you decide you want it.

Definitely! I know there will be some growth as I wheel it, but the main goal is getting out there again right now.

 

[YJKrawlin]

I have been working slowly on getting things done. Got the frame cleaned and swapped the Dana 44 in. Got the drivetrain in and found the intake manifold for the engine. Ordered a carb, fuel lines, pump, wiring harness, etc. Got the seat frames installed. Stripped the rest of the harness and got the body remounted to the frame. Still plenty of work to be done and I've taken a break from it for the holidays while my wife has been home during my normal wrenching time. My stepfather is supposed to be bringing me an air compressor so that I can use my new flange tool to repair the sheet metal for the front end. I cut the transmission tunnel enough to lift the body up without needing to disconnect the transfer case shifters. (It was too tight to get them lined up with the body in place) So I will be building a removable cover for the tunnel and practicing my TIG welding. Got my tires and wheels in and have been fighting to get the front bead seated on these Method bead grip wheels. Hoping to get a chance to work on getting them seated sometime this week. Plenty left to do, just need to get organized again and get started again.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Figured I would throw some of the photos from the past few weeks up.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Haven't put a ton of work in the past few weeks. Had to get my El Camino inside after a wind storm tore the shelter down. Got the first piece of sheet metal replaced on the Bronco. Still need to clean and finish filling the plug welds. Planning to buy a small HF sheet metal brake to help with bending the metal for the transmission tunnel cover but haven't found the time to buy it yet. Worked on getting my Gym walls up and got a door for it. Hoping to get some more of the shiplap boards this week to close it in and keep it clean. Still have one more side to replace on the bronco before I can start wiring it and plumbing it. And I still haven't seated the damn beads on these tires yet. Hoping I will have some time again in the coming weeks.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Spent this block of days off working on sheeting the walls for our gym and building stairs to make it easier to carry stuff above the loft. I wasn't looking forward to doing stairs because I didn't want to take up an extra 3 feet into one of the bays, but unfortunately I didn't have many other options that I could see. Still need to finish the railing and the backing for the treads but it's usable for now. Trying to get the gym finished and sealed up so it's more comfortable, then hoping to start on the other panel for the bronco after I get some general maintenance done on our DD's.

 

[paradisePWoffrd]

Spent this block of days off working on sheeting the walls for our gym and building stairs to make it easier to carry stuff above the loft. I wasn't looking forward to doing stairs because I didn't want to take up an extra 3 feet into one of the bays, but unfortunately I didn't have many other options that I could see. Still need to finish the railing and the backing for the treads but it's usable for now. Trying to get the gym finished and sealed up so it's more comfortable, then hoping to start on the other panel for the bronco after I get some general maintenance done on our DD's.

A friend was in a similar situation, so they mounted the top of the stairs to a large hinge, where it can be raised out of the way. He mounted a boat winch and pulley to pick it up and hold it. I think he he moved it once or twice to make sure it would work and hold, and ever since he just stores stuff underneath.

 

[YJKrawlin]

A friend was in a similar situation, so they mounted the top of the stairs to a large hinge, where it can be raised out of the way. He mounted a boat winch and pulley to pick it up and hold it. I think he he moved it once or twice to make sure it would work and hold, and ever since he just stores stuff underneath.

I was considering something like this, but ultimately, I ended up deciding that for the amount of work the net gain wouldn’t be enough for the extra cost and work. I was looking into either that style or something that would accordion flat against the wall. But I felt like I was over complicating something that wouldn’t gain me much extra space. I can still use underneath for storage and may eventually insulate and baffle it for a quiet room for an air compressor.

 

[ghost]

I'm glad this came up. I plan to have an office in my building and use the top for storage. Stuff to think about.

 

[paradisePWoffrd]

I was considering something like this, but ultimately, I ended up deciding that for the amount of work the net gain wouldn’t be enough for the extra cost and work. I was looking into either that style or something that would accordion flat against the wall. But I felt like I was over complicating something that wouldn’t gain me much extra space. I can still use underneath for storage and may eventually insulate and baffle it for a quiet room for an air compressor.

Another option could be, to move the stairs to the outside. Would require an additional door.

 

[YJKrawlin]

I'm glad this came up. I plan to have an office in my building and use the top for storage. Stuff to think about.

I’m glad it can help someone. Feel free to ask questions. I’m pretty sure it’s fairly overbuilt, granted I haven’t had anybody like @rockcity come out and tear apart my design so it may collapse at any moment . But until that happens I’m confident in it.

 

[rockcity]

I’m glad it can help someone. Feel free to ask questions. I’m pretty sure it’s fairly overbuilt, granted I haven’t had anybody like @rockcity come out and tear apart my design so it may collapse at any moment . But until that happens I’m confident in it.

Looks good!

 

[YJKrawlin]

Another option could be, to move the stairs to the outside. Would require an additional door.

That’s something I had not considered and would be a great alternative to have considered at the time. It would have allowed me to put the stairs in a spot where you don't have to avoid the rafter when coming to the top of the stairs. I can always take the stairs down in the future and relocate them if needed, but for now these will work fine I think.