TX SS – 1973 Ford Bronco Build

[Whoaa]

I love the fact that you're taking such good care of this machine!

And enjoy reading the thought [methodical choices] process of each decision you make.

Inspirational.

 

[smokinjoe]

Very sweet!!!

And a thousand thumbs up for keeping it original

 

[tcb-1]

I removed the drivers side fender to get to that little area. I tried to cut as straight as possible so it would be easier to stitch a new piece of metal in. Also tried to cut along existing body creases so any repair panel would be less noticeable. The, match the existing paint tone, and viola! It was depressing that the area had rust, because the rest of the truck was soooo stinking clean.

I am more than happy you are carrying on in virtually every upgrade I would have done if it remained in my garage! Show season is coming. Oh, I still own you all of the original FOMOCO boxes for the nos parts I put on it. I'll try to get that down to you sometime.

Give Suzie-Q a hug from me...

 

[WheelHorse]

Weld in a patch of appropriate thickness, little filler, primer and blend in a bit of body color and she'll be as good as new.

 

[TX SS]

Finished cleaning passenger side of engine compartment.

(Photos deleted)

 

[TX SS]

Found a few more NOS chrome pieces to add to the truck. Still need the door handles.

 

[Bronco Sully]

I might have enough primer, paint, and clear to cover those wheels. Wimbledon white.

Just remember my ordeal when I got the tires put on after i painted mine...find a place where the folks actually care about your wheels.

 

[TX SS]

I might have enough primer, paint, and clear to cover those wheels. Wimbledon white.

Just remember my ordeal when I got the tires put on after i painted mine...find a place where the folks actually care about your wheels.

Thanks. Not sure what I'm going to do for paint yet. I'm going to run hubcaps so not much of the rim will be visible. I recently used a tire guy in the Heights at one of those mom and pop shops and he did a great job. Thinking about going back to him with these as I plan to buy the tires online.

 

[TX SS]

I borrowed a friend's Go Pro camera and threw it in the Bronco for a short drive this morning. The video is pretty boring but thought I'd share it anyway. I drove through the historic Glenwood Cemetery in Houston which my house backs up to. The cemetery was established in 1871 and is where Howard Hughes is buried (the family plot can be seen at about 2:22 in the video to the right, where the silver car is) as well as many other famous Houstonians. When the cemetery was established this was a rural area. Today this is the middle of Houston and you can see its location in relation to downtown Houston at about 3:10 in the video. More about the cemetery can be found here - http://www.glenwoodcemetery.org/about/ . I tried to make a full loop of the property but ran out of memory before I got back to the front. And not sure why the quality of the video dropped so much when posted to you tube.

[youtube]i43TKH-eGcY[/youtube]

 

[bsquared]

Hey Scott,
Not sure how many I still have in the attic, but I know I have a couple of decent rims that were powder coated by Allied here in town. Would at least make a spare rim. (you'll have to check straightness) You're welcome to what I have if you need a single as a spare. (sold my others w/ last set of tires)

If you didn't see the post, car show in Clear Lake March 7th. Hope you can show! B2

 

[TX SS]

Got my new 235/75/15 BFG Mud Terrains in about a couple of weeks ago. Trying to wait to put them on until I can replace front bushings and get an alignment.

(Pictures deleted)

 

[TX SS]

Got the new BFGs put on last week and am very satisfied with look and ride. Much more comfortable than the bias ply m&s tires I pulled off.

Also found a NOS antenna recently. Still looking for the door handles and tailgate hatch handle.

 

[ford man]

Looks good I really like this bronco.

 

[TX SS]

Found the last NOS parts I needed to complete replacing all the exterior chrome trim. The exterior door handles proved to be the most expensive probably because of competing with the Mustang crowd. For anyone looking for NOS parts ebay is a good source but not always the best. Shop around and be patient because the parts will pop up somewhere sooner or later. Hope to get the Bronco cleaned up next weekend and out for some new pictures.

 

[syndicate1]

Great looking Bronco! Nice work with the NOS parts.

 

[JT3357]

Finished cleaning passenger side of engine compartment.

I'm going to revive your old thread. What did you use to clean up the paint in your engine bay and inner fender? I want to do that to mine when the weather cools off a little more.

 

[TX SS]

I'm going to revive your old thread. What did you use to clean up the paint in your engine bay and inner fender? I want to do that to mine when the weather cools off a little more.

I used Adam's Paint Correcting Polish with their 4" microfiber cutting pad on a corded drill. Where I couldn't reach with the drill I did it by hand with Adam's Revive Hand Polish. Doesn't take too much effort just some time.

 

[TX SS]

Got the first pieces for my brake upgrade in yesterday. Can't wait to get the rest of the parts and get everything installed.

 

[TX SS]

Finally completed the next round of upgrades and got the Bronco back on the road this week. Still need to get it aligned but it is back to driver status. Over the course of the last two months I've done the following:

Front 14 piece bushings kit
Upper and lower ball joints
Axle u-joints
Inner & outer bearings and seals
Spindle bearings
Steering stabilizer
Oil pan gasket
Valve cover gaskets
Fuel lines

and last but not least

Power brake kit with Wilwood MC
Wilwood combination/proportioning valve
Wilwood dynapro 6 piston big brake front disc brake kit
Front and rear steel braided center brake hoses
Hard lines

Most of what I replaced was original equipment from 1973 so was time for the new parts. The majority of my time was spent cleaning up the parts and the Bronco. I'm not painting anything so its a tedious process brushing and scrubbing things while trying not to remove the original coating on the parts. I still have a ways to go on this but it's looking much better.

Probably the more interesting part of the install, the brake kit. I noticed Wilwood released their big brake kit for use with original rims and original locking hubs so I was immediately interested because I wanted to keep everything looking stock on the outside. I researched what I could but didn't find anyone else running this kit for the Bronco at the time I ordered it back in July. I bought it from Jegs with a 10% off price match and free shipping for $900. The only negative of this was the kit was backordered and it took over 2 months to get here. In the end it was worth the wait. Here is what you get in the kit and how it installs. And here are some pictures from my install.

The power brake kit came from Wildhorses. Prop valve came from Wilwood directly but only because they sell the MC mount with it as a package and they are the only one that had it in stock. Wildhorses sells the prop valve too if you want to go that route. Yes I spent more going with the Wilwood MC and prop valve but to have a fully matched system with a nice mount for the prop valve I felt it was worth the extra money. Everything installed very easily and no modifications were required because something didn't fit right. The only thing I don't like is having to run a 1/4" spacer to run the factory rims. This is disclosed in the Wilwood instructions but not included in the kit.

 

[ford man]

I always enjoy looking at your bronco nice upgrades too. I am sure you have already listed it but I am lazy and don't want to go back and look what size tire's are those and I assume that it is stock lift ?