Another Bronco?!

[load_nikon]

Time to post this beatch. I've been lurking here for a while. Been thinking for a while that this is what I want to do. If I ever figure out I have no way of pre-running or racing, then at least my build went in the right direction! I've had my 91 Bronco for almost a year now and been on fullsizebronco for longer than that, just trying to learn something new everyday. I'm an EMT / Firefighter for Union City, Ohio Fire & Rescue. And the Broko is my daily driver. You know, public service + DD that gets 10MPG = bleak savings.

I was for days contemplating the SAS on it and was so clueless. My only input IRL is a neighbor who runs his mouth a lot and swears by lift blocks. But he at least told me the TTB front end is a blessing in disguise. I didn't realize that til' I found the go-fast stuff. I've been on here and WebWheeler and RDC and FSB lurking and seeing what everyone else with broncos and f150s have been up to and I think I have my build pretty well planned out. It's a budget build........... okay, I know you know what that means. I suppose my first project should be the suspension. I've got some questions there. Blanco's told me about Fantelli Motorsports and I think I'll be getting some hardware there, but I don't know where to get the Cut & Turned TTB and what Bilstein's and How to do the rear. 2 link, 3 link? I want to keep it class 3 legal just in case someday I ever get to race.

The truck is bone-stock with the 5.8L engine, E4OD trans, and Borg-Warner 1356 transfer. Power windows don't move under power, nor does the rear. Typical rust for a truck from Ohio. Only thing I've changed on it is a new short-block from a 93 F-150 with no tach and it's on 33s now. I don't have any current pics of it because my drive that holds all that fried. The best I can do is the pic of when I took it home.

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/496087/fullsize/front-right.jpg
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/496089/fullsize/rear-right.jpg
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/496088/fullsize/rear-left.jpg
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/496086/fullsize/front-left.jpg
and it didn't fit into the garage where I lived at the time...
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/496093/fullsize/small-garage.jpg
Now it doesn't fit into the garage at all because some idiot put a 6'6" tall door in and only the bike fits in but I gotta duck......

Sofar, I'm in about $4,000 and have a spare short-block. I know this is going to keep going and going until someday I'll realize I'm still renting and want a house. But enough of that for now.... Hi all!

[straightaxle]

Welcom to the board!

You have a good start with your Bronco. I would highly recommend going in stages and concentrate on getting some good shocks on it early in the build. They are the single biggest improvement you will make. Look at the Blanco rig, it does not have all the items on the list yet, but it is still a pretty decent runner. You really have to commit to go all out with the parts and money when you start cutting and extending the beams; custom axles, headaches keeping them in the pumpkin, big fenders, etc, etc.

[Blanco]

Welcom to the board!

You have a good start with your Bronco. I would highly recommend going in stages and concentrate on getting some good shocks on it early in the build. They are the single biggest improvement you will make. Look at the Blanco rig, it does not have all the items on the list yet, but it is still a pretty decent runner. You really have to commit to go all out with the parts and money when you start cutting and extending the beams; custom axles, headaches keeping them in the pumpkin, big fenders, etc, etc.
I must say Dons 100% right!
I've never been able to commit & due to that suffer suspension issues that could be solved if I just made the commitment.

Don't get me wrong, the Bronco handles well, But compared to a racer, it sucks! :(

When money is available I plan to spend the money for longer shocks going through the floor up into the bed of it & will cover them up with sheet metal etc....
& I'm sure I'll be much happier. :D
I'd like to run it as hard as the race rig's will run. So I 1st prep myself for racing & also so that we can get the best idea of how to mark the GPS notes for how the racer will handle the course. :cool:

[AngerIssues]

My opinion, don't cut and turn OR bend or build new TTBs (etc). Look for pics of Yikes' Camburg drop-down brackets and radius arms. I was impressed. Probably not cheap, but nice and burley and changing the angles of the beams is not for the budget-minded either.

there is so much more you can do for the money.

I'm going to be starting over next year on a mid-80's Bronco as a chase car/pre-runner... so I see two options....

1) gut it, cage it, and tie it all together to the front and rear mounts. Then go from there. This is a major commitment but done once and done right. You can cut corners on other stuff to get it back on the road (non-race-quality shocks, stock gas tank, oem seats, you can even mount the old dash back in if you do it right. Stock axles, stock rear-end, stock exhaust, and the list goes ON. This will be the method I will go with. You have a safe, fun truck with unlimited potential.

2) piece-by-piece. Doing what you can afford as you get the $. But... buying better shocks is tough, because they won't be the length you eventually go with, unless you get "hoops" made. Those are tough to build and reinforce without a cage for strength. The rear shocks are REALLY tough to do this way (see Cam's post). How about some 50 dollar ranchos - ha ha (that is NOT what Cam has, btw). You CAN start getting into the fun stuff, race seats, fuel cell, exhaust, motor upgrades, etc... without a cage; but try to avoid buying stuff that you will have just replace later (like short shocks). In my example above, the cheaper shocks (let's say you go with no by-pass 14 inch shocks)... once you have the right length, those shocks can become secondary shocks, or moved to other locations (or as spares or used on the next project).

I can safely say when I bring home my 82, 83, or whatever it ends up being... I'm gutting it first, chopping off the top, removing the rear top, and doing the cage with the shock mounts to match my race truck. Then my pre-runner/chase shocks become spares for the race truck. After that, I'll start working towards the important stuff... the stereo, and the amps, and the woofers... who needs seats???

Ken

[Blanco]

My Sammy Cant wait for me to move up in shocks on the Bronco.
Because they'll end up on the Sammy when ever I can afford to move up. http://www.thewebwheeler.com/forums/images/smilies/ewg.gif

[AngerIssues]

My Sammy Cant wait for me to move up in shocks on the Bronco.
Because they'll end up on the Sammy when ever I can afford to move up. http://www.thewebwheeler.com/forums/images/smilies/ewg.gif

And just as evidence... the triple-bypass 10 inch:eek: shocks I took off my race truck from the "first" build, had to find a home. They ended up on the "truggy" you saw in Vegas cam. I think they hate me for it.

It's all about trying to find a way to make every purchase count for the long-run. It's tough.

[Blanco]

And just as evidence... the triple-bypass 10 inch:eek: shocks I took off my race truck from the "first" build, had to find a home. They ended up on the "truggy" you saw in Vegas cam. I think they hate me for it.

It's all about trying to find a way to make every purchase count for the long-run. It's tough.
Yeah I remember that bad ass truggy! :D
& I find it easier to justify moving up with the Bronco if I know I can pass down the stuff to the next rig. :cool:

I'm sure I'll have to re-valve them though....

[retroblazer]

Glad to have you aboard. We all have budgets and time constraints. Never what we want them to be. Since you live in Ohio, you might as well have fun driving there, than building for high speed desert. If you want to race it, you don't have to go any farther than Crandon, Wi., which is about six hours north of Chicago, for one of the absolute wildest short course tracks in the country. There are three tracks within two or three hours away. The cost to build is significantly less than running a true class 3. l If you are going to use it as a daily driver and need to get some mileage, the 33's are a good tire. The Formula 4x4 rules use that as the tire limit in fact. Longer radius arms, a good shock and fronts coils will have big impact. Race-dez classifieds can be a good source for shocks and on occasion, radius arms. I know a full size anything in the woods is a challenge, so nerf or tree bars are good place to start learning to fab. After that making longer front shock mounts should be easy. Depending what is inside your diffs, a traction device would be money well spent early, starting with the rear.Most of us that race run a spool in the rear and an open front diff. This is totally impractical for wet Midwestern winters, so anything but a spool in the rear. Thats my start.