well, now i finally started on the bronco. had to finish the econoline first, that is now roadworthy.
removed the rear axle today:
underside all looks like this, muddy and some slight rust - but all in all a fairly solid condition:
but the downside to it is this, i broke the shock mount on the driver side. do i fix or replace it? if it can be fixed, how? have a new stud machined, weld it in? but then again, i could weld in new mounts anyway. will that be possible with the tank dropped but the body still on?
plan for the next two weeks: totally rebuild the leaky brake system with new parts, rebuild the rearend as it is leaking badly (through the splines of the yoke, never had that before).
i will try to post some pictures of the progress.