Fireball's '76 build thread - "Piece by Piece" - PAINTED, ASSEMBLED & ON THE ROAD!

Fireball's '76 build thread - "Piece by Piece" - PAINTED, ASSEMBLED & ON THE ROAD!

Greeting all,

Now that I got my camera working and have some photos, I thought it was time for a formal introduction. On Thursday evening I took delivery of a '76 Bronco, shipped from San Antonio, TX to York, PA.

Here was the photo I spent all week staring at, loaded up in San Antonio on Monday afternoon:




This is my first ever Bronco, first ever time owning a car built before 1989 and first time buying a vehicle sight unseen. Exciting and nervous times to say the least! Many of you will recognize the vehicle from fellow EB enthusiast and forum member texastreasures. It's a relatively stock, uncut, generally unmolested and mostly rust free '76. 302 v8, PS, PB. http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214561

Vehicle was picked up on Monday, and I had to wait until Thursday evening for its arrival. In the meantime, I was able to clean out the garage and get it all ready:



And also added some nice decorations to our front porch!



Embarrassing but true story: I have also never driven a column shifter. Nor had the driver of the car hauler, who put the vehicle in neutral and let it roll down off the back of the rig and left it sitting there for me! So, at 8pm on Thursday night, in the gas station parking lot, I got a crash course on how to work a 36year old 3 speed column shifter. Probably not the ideal setup, but hey, fortune favors the bold, and I decided to jump right in! ;D

I've had a few Jeeps, and about 2 months ago decided to sell a really nice 4R and start looking for an EB. Luckily I found this site with lots of great information and a great group of folks who have been more than willing to answer my questions so far. I've got a small garage and limited mechanical ability, but luckily have a good friend who's recently retired, a former EB owner, and ace mechanic and fabricator who's going to be helping me out. I'll apologize in advance for all my dumb questions that will no doubt come!

Heeding the advice of the folks on the board here, I spent most of my budget buying as nice a vehicle as I could find, which leaves little left for mods and upgrades. Current plan is to just get it roadworthy, new tires, new BC broncos exhaust, and a budget interior spruce up.

Would love to hear any thoughts or opinions or things I need to look out for. Would especially like advice on how to proceed with the body rust. The truck looks pretty good from 10' away, and a full paint job is some time and $$ away, so I'd like to stop the rust while still keeping it decent looking. Also, anyone identify my seats? Looks like the driver is the proper original one, but the passenger is a mis-match.

Thanks!

Ben

Now for the photos:

Some engine photos, and closeups of rust on hood:

And a few of the undercarriage:

Congradulations and welcome to a life long addiction. Once you've owned an EB, it never leaves your blood. Looks like you found a very solid truck. I did the same as you, spent a little more $, to find the best that I could afford. That I could trust as a daily driver. So far for me it's worked out well. And welcome to the 76 club!;D Mine is a 76 as well, check out my garage. Don't be afraid to ask questions. This forum has been my best source of information and the folks here are A+ individuals. No matter how dumb the question. Once again welcome and good looking Bronco!

Good luck

Fred

Nice way to start. Welcome to the site. Most of us have asked goofy questions or answered wrong, it part of owning a Bronco and learning.

great looking rig! perfect starter for someone that's learning.

Welcome to the site and the 76 owner club!! You have a nice rig. Keep the picture updates coming. We all like to see progress. What tires did you decide on?

Also... What's the paint code on it? I really like the color.

Welcome to the Bronco Brotherhood.;D

That's a great looking Bronco. Be sure to post more pictures as you do your upgrades.

Welcome Bronco Brother!!! Good looking Bronco!! You should find this is the best place for bronco info,Just ask. RUST is the normal condition in the northeast.
Tom D.

As a Noob myself - Not in a position to offer advice,... But let me say - Congrats!

Love the color.

Cheers!
~CLK

Just a guess here,but that pass seat looks like early 60's T-bird??

ps Noticed the heater hoses to the core are not hooked up..gonna get cold on ya up there.

And your fuel line charcoal canister is missing...

Congrats. Going to have to join MEB. I live in Delaware across the PA line. We go up to Harrisburg/Lewistown area on some weekends.

half cab said:

Just a guess here,but that pass seat looks like early 60's T-bird??

ps Noticed the heater hoses to the core are not hooked up..gonna get cold on ya up there.

And your fuel line charcoal canister is missing...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up on the charcoal canister - I did not realize that. PO informed me heater core was leaking. I've got a new core, seal kit, hoses, and chevy motor and cage ready to go. That might be next weekend's project, still sorting out a few little things to make it road-worthy.

Thanks for the kind words and the warm welcome. I do not know what the color is, but am hoping to track down the previous previous owner and hopefully find out. I want to be able to take care of some of the body rust and do some temporary spray paint with the body color. I know it won't look good, but it's better than letting it rust!

I had a pretty successful weekend - got the interior armrests, cups and door panels torn out and ready for new ones which should be coming this week. Was able to clean and lube and adjust the door latch mechanism so I can now open the doors from the outside! No more crawling through the tailgate to open the doors. Hooked up the gauge cluster (which unfortunately led to some other issues: http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215398) gave her a quick bath and cleaned her up.



Must say it looks pretty darn good. Lots of little things to track down, and a few leaks here and there, but we're moving forward. And then a little test drive and glamor shot:



Two quick questions from photos below. What is the light at the top of the gauge cluster for, and when is it supposed to illuminate? Also, am I correct is assuming the black switch to the left of the radio was cut in there, but that otherwise all switches are stock and it's an otherwise uncut dash?

Thanks!

High beam indicator.

That's exciting. I didn't know I had high beams. How do I turn them on?!

Push the little round foot switch up under the parking brake.

Also hold on the the old door panles..depending on where you bought new ones you will need to use them kinda like a pattern on cutting out for the door paddle handle and cup..window crank..

I don't know of any of the vendors that sell them pre'cut,but I could be wrong.

That is if you got the ones like came in your Bronco.

Guys, thanks for the info. Can't wait to go try out the high beams!

The old door panels were in pretty sad shape, not even sure they'll make good templates. The old door cups crumbled like paper machete!