Mr. Tarkanian
New Member
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2012
- Messages
- 80
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Central KY
- Vehicle Year
- 1989
- Engine Size
- 2.9L
- Transmission
- Manual
Ok guys, I guess it's time to start a build thread. I've been lurking on this forum for going on 10 years or so, and have never really contributed much. So here we go.
I plan on using this as basically a database for my pictures, progress, screw-ups and tricks I learn on the way. Hopefully it will help out in the future, both for myself and for others. Feel free to give constructive criticism and recommendations (but please remember, I'm NOT a mechanic, so take it easy!). I actually started this build around a year ago, and it has been slow-going. I work 55+ hours a week, and have a 3 week old son at home now, so things may be sporadic: please be patient. I'm also no photographer, with only a crappy phone-camera, but I'll do my best.
My dad gave me this bronco when I was 15 (wow, 11 years ago!!). I have been in love with it ever since. The past few years I've noticed it really going downhill, lots of rust, the interior is looking BAD (not to mention SMELLING bad). Most of my friends and family were urging me to sell it, or even scrap it. I got tired of the negativity, and set out to fix it up.
Here are some specs to start out with. It's an 89 XLT, 2.9, A4LD, Electric tcase, D28/7.5, front split bench, power windows/locks (don't work), cruise, AC (doesn't work). I'm really more interested in a having a reliable, capable daily driver that I can use around the farm and take on road trips, than I am in having a full-on rock crawler. Reliability and Fuel economy are paramount in this build, with capability and simplicity being very important as well. Overlanding has always been an interest of mine as well, and 4x4Junkie's BII is probably my favorite ever. If you read this Junkie, just know that your ride has really inspired most of my ideas! Here are some of my plans:
-Total body restore, rust repair, paint (ford midnight blue metallic)
-Ditch the defunct AC system. I want the truck to look like it never came with AC to start with.
-Convert to manual windows/locks
-5 speed conversion
-4.0L clutch
-D35 conversion
-explorer bucket seat swap
-Brake rebuild
-Detail clean the interior, pressure wash carpet, new headliner
-New sound system, most of my factory speakers are busted
-2-3 inch lift, nothing extreme
-30x9.5 all terrains, MAYBE 31x10.5's if I can get away with it
-tow hooks
-Trailer hitch/wiring
-4.10 gears (maybe a pipe dream)
-window tint
-probably more, but that's plenty for now
Not much to look at. The first order of business, my front drip rails were in pretty bad shape. Rusted completely through, no wonder my carpet stayed wet all the time!! So, I FULLY stripped the interior, everything except the dash. It took many hours of grinding, and lots of trail and error. I tried welding and brazing, neither worked well. I finally settled on fiberglass (tiger hair, for all you geezers out there ). This wasn't the route I wanted to take, but it finally came out solid. Oh well. You can tell in the pics were I had been working on it. They came out pretty good. Keep in mind, this was a full year ago. I tinkered around with the drip rails, some of the body work, and the floorboards for a while, until last winter things jumped into overdrive. More to come.
I plan on using this as basically a database for my pictures, progress, screw-ups and tricks I learn on the way. Hopefully it will help out in the future, both for myself and for others. Feel free to give constructive criticism and recommendations (but please remember, I'm NOT a mechanic, so take it easy!). I actually started this build around a year ago, and it has been slow-going. I work 55+ hours a week, and have a 3 week old son at home now, so things may be sporadic: please be patient. I'm also no photographer, with only a crappy phone-camera, but I'll do my best.
My dad gave me this bronco when I was 15 (wow, 11 years ago!!). I have been in love with it ever since. The past few years I've noticed it really going downhill, lots of rust, the interior is looking BAD (not to mention SMELLING bad). Most of my friends and family were urging me to sell it, or even scrap it. I got tired of the negativity, and set out to fix it up.
Here are some specs to start out with. It's an 89 XLT, 2.9, A4LD, Electric tcase, D28/7.5, front split bench, power windows/locks (don't work), cruise, AC (doesn't work). I'm really more interested in a having a reliable, capable daily driver that I can use around the farm and take on road trips, than I am in having a full-on rock crawler. Reliability and Fuel economy are paramount in this build, with capability and simplicity being very important as well. Overlanding has always been an interest of mine as well, and 4x4Junkie's BII is probably my favorite ever. If you read this Junkie, just know that your ride has really inspired most of my ideas! Here are some of my plans:
-Total body restore, rust repair, paint (ford midnight blue metallic)
-Ditch the defunct AC system. I want the truck to look like it never came with AC to start with.
-Convert to manual windows/locks
-5 speed conversion
-4.0L clutch
-D35 conversion
-explorer bucket seat swap
-Brake rebuild
-Detail clean the interior, pressure wash carpet, new headliner
-New sound system, most of my factory speakers are busted
-2-3 inch lift, nothing extreme
-30x9.5 all terrains, MAYBE 31x10.5's if I can get away with it
-tow hooks
-Trailer hitch/wiring
-4.10 gears (maybe a pipe dream)
-window tint
-probably more, but that's plenty for now
Not much to look at. The first order of business, my front drip rails were in pretty bad shape. Rusted completely through, no wonder my carpet stayed wet all the time!! So, I FULLY stripped the interior, everything except the dash. It took many hours of grinding, and lots of trail and error. I tried welding and brazing, neither worked well. I finally settled on fiberglass (tiger hair, for all you geezers out there ). This wasn't the route I wanted to take, but it finally came out solid. Oh well. You can tell in the pics were I had been working on it. They came out pretty good. Keep in mind, this was a full year ago. I tinkered around with the drip rails, some of the body work, and the floorboards for a while, until last winter things jumped into overdrive. More to come.
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