Landsharks 69er Build and Tune

[landshark99]

Well had a bit of an opps this last weekend..

all in all damage wasn't too bad - fender. door frame, BC top. Important thing was no injuries. Cage did its job!

Pulled the plugs, cycled the engine and off I went, pulled out the door frame and top with a winch to get the door and window to open and close. Drove it home on Monday 120 miles no issues.

I already have another fender and will swap doors here soon. Called BC and will replace the one metal frame side and should be good to go.

 

[bax]

well that just sucks but glad all is OK might not of rolled if you just went faster.

 

[landshark99]

well that just sucks but glad all is OK might not of rolled if you just went faster.

Maybe not, but its allot steeper than it looks plus the bottom is a boulder field...

 

[bax]

im telling Devin.

 

[Devin]

Hey! The cage looks like it did good! My brother-in-law did the real welding on that for me (he's a pro welder). Glad nobody was hurt. Also glad to see the EB getting a workout.

 

[thorgan]

well after about 4000 or so miles the throw out bearing finally gave up the ghost and barfed its bearings out at the bottom of the inspection plate. I will have to pull the transmission off to see what caused it but i suspect its engaged just a bit too far and finally gave up.

I guess my two options are to cut and weld the fork so it angles back just a bit... or put a spring on the other end of the fork to pull it back off the clutch pressure plate. I am favoring the cut and weld option right now.

Any other ideas? The dodge bearing which i used (i think), seems like its the better option of the two to try as its thinner. I will check it against the other throw out bearing I bought...

Other than the throw out bearing its been a great swap so far. Consistently getting 14+ MPG, easier shifting and much easier on me and the Bronco when driving long distances.

I was about to pull it into the garage to fix the rear ARB as its leaking and suspect that its the seal housing or seals... have a feeling the line was installed short and not allowing the seal housing to move - which i guess its supposed to so will kill two birds with one stone

Hey I'm curious what kind of fuel economy you were getting with the NP435. I've got a 427 Windsor running through a NP435 out to 4.88:1 gears and 37" tires and I recently did a drive where, while towing a trailer weighing approximately 1500 lbs, I got almost 15 mpg. Granted, most of that was downhill and I rarely went over 55 mph but it's definitely got me wondering.

I'm working on a theory that today's trucks are so choked off by emissions equipment and so loaded down by the weight of electronic gadgets that the improvements in fuel injection and aerodynamics just make it a wash.

I'm also in the middle of a swap to a 4R70W and would like to know what kind of fuel economy I might expect with that overdrive.

Very nice rig, by the way!

 

[landshark99]

Starting to prep the rig for the Baja bronco adventure and correct some stuff that needed attention.

First thing iam doing is getting rid of the riser bracket and going with a longer drag link so I get a bit more up travel and stop walloping the frame, worked in it today a bit.

Got a bunch done even though I had to go out for a few things mid day. I will have to find a 8" 3/4 grade bolt for the frame heim as the 6" bolt is short. Other than that everything clears. Angle wise iam about 2.8 degrees off at ride height between the track bar and drag link. Don't want to drop the frame bracket so will see how it drives as is. If I need to I can change to a heim on the pitman arm and gain at least 2 degrees.

Anyway everything is tacked. Will weld and brace everything tomorrow and cut off the old riser.

Next iam going to build some heat shields for the shocks and measure for air bumps, might do what digger did as iam running out of room

 

[bax]

Good to see you working on it again

 

[landshark99]

Have a little more welding to do but it should hold just fine. Now I just need to find a 8" grade 8 bolt.

 

[garberz]

That looks great! I've bought those bolts at my local Catapillar dealer.

Mark

 

[landshark99]

Thanks. Picked up the bolt just down the street at fastenal. Hopefully get it wrapped up here this week. Need flex it out again to get final measurements for airbumps.

 

[landshark99]

Off to repaint and rust treatment!

 

[broncobsession]

Looks great.

 

[landshark99]

Bronco has been repainted and sitting while I finish my garage build. Final inspection should be done this week but I snuck in and started working on stuff for the Baja bronco adventure in may.

Swapping in a new to me dash, cut out the speaker and ashtray, filled In stock radio and dash light holes.

A bit more grinding then fill and paint. Moving the speakers in the current dash into some fiber glass door panels.

I am way behind in prepping the bronco for Baja so hopefully have it in the new garage next week.

 

[landshark99]

So it been a while, finally finished final inspection on my new garage and was able to get prepping the bronco for Mexico. Replaced dash, rewired some of the stuff throughout the bronco. Replaced one side of of the rear axle bearings, replaced front driveshaft and had the rear refreshed. Cut the cup holders off the console and moved it forward to stop hitting my elbow and be able to see the stereo. Rebuilt the steering column and grant horn and replaced the wiring in the column and a bunch of other stuff that needed attention!

Next up, large PS Cooler, braided brake lines and then grill back on

 

[landshark99]

Well she’s drivable, will shake it down for the next two weeks and finish the little stuff.