70 Sport resto/mod

[Spaceburger]

Hey Tony,
I remember you said you had a 5.5 lift that you were going to "make work" but your preference was still a 3.5
Curious what progress you have made. I am still debating that subject since I have the 5.5 and 1/2 of a 3.5 lift ready to go. What to do?

[CityHick]

I've been looking at various options for more flexible joints. At this point it makes the most sense for me to make what I have work. Tom Woods and High Angle Drivelines offer (albeit expensive) solutions that could help me make this work - but the real solution is a high-pinion front axle. I am hesitant to buy a HP D44 and narrow it as full width axles are tempting, however that little devil on my shoulder keeps saying "full-width D60 front". This quickly opens a can of worms that I'm not quite ready for budget-wise. I have a fair chunk of change invested in my D44 front end (the PO ran it on a 5.5" lift, and it is low-pinion, so it is obviously doable). To be honest I have not been giving it much thought lately as I've been more focused on making the thing run, steer, and stop... I will likely get my rear drive shaft lengthened sooner and drive it as a 2x4 until I decide what I'm doing up front.

[Spaceburger]

......as I've been more focused on making the thing run, steer, and stop... .

Ya I was wondering what you are doing to the 5.5 to try and keep the thing as low as possible. The whole off angle low pinion D44 has me worried too especially since mine has a spool making drive line loads will be much higher. I think it was earlybronco72 who re-welded his D44 pumpkin to change the angle, smart move I think..if you can't afford a HP or D60.

What shock configuration are you using front and rear?

I am concentrating on just putting mine back together! I will post pics on ORANGE Crush when our site comes back on line fast.

[CityHick]

My shock configuration is as follows: F250 mounts up front (single shocks), Cross Enterprises rear inboard hoop out back, also single shocks. I have cheapo shocks in there right now but I will upgrade later. I plan on getting a pair of Cage radius arms before too much longer but as I said, the focus right now is to get it running. Once the weather gets to be reliably nice the Bronco is going back to my side yard and under a cover for a week or so, and the rest of the pieces will get painted inside, then final assembly will begin.

The engine firing party may happen the weekend after this. I'm closing in on it.

[earlybronco72]

I think it was earlybronco72 who re-welded his D44 pumpkin to change the angle, smart move I think..if you can't afford a HP or D60.

Nope wasn't me, but I remember seeing that post, and it is a great idea.
Jack Covert actually raises the D20, and this eases the angle at the transfer case some.

[CityHick]

Is it just me or is the forum responding better now?
If it keeps up, I'll post up some pictures soon - my Bronco is starting to look like something again. I have been spending (probably too much) time on my wiring harness and it seems like I've cut a mile's length of wire out of the kit, I'm putting weatherpacks everywhere and getting stuff routed as cleanly as possible.

It may be a little premature but I'm thinking the engine may get fired this weekend. I'll post up later this week and may have a little engine-firing party at my place on Saturday or Sunday.

I need to get my upper radiator hose barb modified a little and I've got a low-profile electric fan on the way (couldn't make my Taurus fan fit without major rework). Once it runs, I'll make the steering and brakes work and hook up the drive shafts and I'll finally be able to move my rig without the assistance of my pickup... Then comes the rest of the paint, wheels and tires, and final assembly. There is light at the end of the tunnel, hopefully its not from an oncoming train!

[seahawkfan]

Awesome! Man your flying through the build. I'm soooo jealous. Good luck on getting it running.

[CityHick]

Flying? I feel like I'm crawling through my build... but this springtime weather has really lit the fire. I missed an entire summer last year because I decided my rig needed paint, which snowballed into a million other little tasks I hadn't planned on, but in retrospect this approach is better than trying to do all this while keeping it running.

[highlander]

Flying? I feel like I'm crawling through my build... but this springtime weather has really lit the fire. I missed an entire summer last year because I decided my rig needed paint, which snowballed into a million other little tasks I hadn't planned on, but in retrospect this approach is better than trying to do all this while keeping it running.

I know that feeling, one day I decided I was going to fix a small dent in the front fender and maybe rattle can over the previous owners rattle can job by that weekend, I had the whole tub dissembled and off the frame for media blasting. It's amazing how many things you find you want to replace or upgrade when you start putting it back together.

[seahawkfan]

Flying? I feel like I'm crawling through my build... but this springtime weather has really lit the fire. I missed an entire summer last year because I decided my rig needed paint, which snowballed into a million other little tasks I hadn't planned on, but in retrospect this approach is better than trying to do all this while keeping it running.

OK maybe flying isn't the right word. How about making really good progress? Specially compared to someone like me who's been building his for 3+ years. Maybe 4+ years, I can't remember.

[CityHick]

It keeps getting dark before I think to get the camera to take pictures... but I'll get some up soon. Last night I got to a point where my wiring harness was about as clean as it was going to get without actually installing my dash, so I decided to hook up the battery and see if the starter would crank. After checking all my connections, the solenoid just went "click". I checked the battery - after a couple days on a charger its still just reading about 10 volts... time for a new battery I guess, not that one wasn't already in the plan.

If I can get my radiator modified by the weekend, its quite possible that the cam will get broken in on Saturday or Sunday. I keep getting home from work too late to get to the radiator shop, so we'll see.

[Chips67]

i have friday off from work, if you need help dropping off the radiator to a shop let me know, ill be glad to pick it up and drop it off to a shop in livermore for ya on friday.

[CityHick]

I should be able to get it taken care of on Friday. I work from home on fridays and the shop I had in mind is close by. The Bronco gods are conspiring againt me in the form of sabotaging my daily driver... I had a flat after work today (first day I'd left on time in a long time) and a royal PITA ensued with just getting my spare mounted while at work. Its a long story for a really simple problem - funny how a series of stupid little events can compound.

I may however have a workaround to my radiator hose problem that does not require modification to the radiator. Either way, things are heading in the right direction. Again, daylight faded before I had the chance to snap pictures (or even get home tonight...)

More to come soon, I promise...

[CityHick]

Fire in the hole, baby!

Well, almost...
My wiring harnes job is nearing completion and I now have a working ignition switch and the gauges look like they're going to work too. Been thinking maybe this coming weekend will be the long-awaited cam break-in party. We'll see.

I'm just happy to have NCB back! Now back to my never ending quest for Bronco information...

[CityHick]

Wiring, etc

The electrical gremlins are making me crazy but I've found most of them. I guess some of this is to be expected when one has never rewired a vehicle before...

Anyway - here are a few progress pictures... I've got the dash almost completely wired, the engine is ready to roar to life once I finish the gauge wiring (I may get that done tonight), and as soon as the weather starts to cooperate, I should be able to paint the rest of the pieces. I've got a few more expensive hurdles in front of me but it is getting there. The little stuff I've been working on sure does not look like much in pictures...