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Doing some updates to my '75


blksn8k2

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2 hours ago, ice-capades said:

Are you keeping a log of all the time and expenses involved in this project? It would be interesting to know what the totals add up to when you're done. 


Agreed. I also wanted to add that it is impressive what you have been able to accomplish just working out of your garage.  It proves that you don’t need a special setup to achieve a goal. 

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12 hours ago, ice-capades said:

Are you keeping a log of all the time and expenses involved in this project? It would be interesting to know what the totals add up to when you're done. 

 

I've kept just about all of the receipts for parts (I think) but I couldn't even begin to guess the amount of time I have spent on it. To be fair I would need to include all of the costs incurred on this years ago when I did the drivetrain and suspension changes, among other things.

 

Bottom line though is doing this kind of stuff truly is one of my favorite hobbies and if I kept track of all the expenses I would probably be disappointed in the end result and that is not the goal. I have friends who started out building project cars for their own use but eventually started building them just to sell and make a profit. Just my personal opinion but at that point it would become too much of a business (i.e. job) and would no longer be as enjoyable for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm also not into spending (or wasting) unlimited amounts of money that I don't have anyway.

 

One of the things I enjoy most about these projects is finding the parts I want for the best price. Sometimes you have to put some sweat equity into making them useable but for me that's a big part of the fun. The roll bar is a perfect example of that . I got it as part of the deal when I bought my '70 Mach 1. I have spent an ungodly amount of time cutting it down and cleaning it up. I could have just bought a brand new rollbar and bolted it in but would not have gotten the same satisfaction. 

 

BTW, that storm that came through here yesterday dropped 21" of snow in about 14 hours.

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On 12/17/2020 at 8:21 AM, tbone said:

Those steps look significantly better. My Raptor running boards basically have a textured bed liner type coating on them which has been very durable and offers plenty of traction.  I think you would be happy with that type of coating.  

 

I considered using the bed liner type paint on the rollbar as well. So far I have used the same semi-gloss black as I did on the interior side of the doors.

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I found another source for the rock sliders, James Duff Inc. which is also where I bought the hood strut kit. These are very similar to the Wild Horses design with one major difference, these are also attached at the pinch weld between the inner and outer rocker panels. They are made from your choice of either 1/8" or 1/4" thick steel plate and come with a 3/16" thick plate that mounts on the inside of the inner rocker. In addition to being bolted to the outer face of the rocker they are also bolted through the pinch weld and the 3/16" plate which adds enough strength that the manufacturer says it is okay to use these as steps. As you can see from the photo, their simple solution is to use anti-skid tape on the pipe. They also come with nutserts for the outer bolts and an installation tool for the nutserts. Their price is a little higher than any of the others of this design but because they are located in Tenn and not on the west coast the shipping cost is less which makes the overall price competitive, especially considering the extra features and tools.

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It's amazing how time flies. I was just looking at the title for the Bronco and was shocked to see that I bought this thing 17 years ago! 

 

I was even more shocked by the current prices of 1st gen Broncos for sale on the 'net. 

 

I finished the outside of the passenger side door today. I still need to find a missing clip for the lock cylinder before I can put the interior trim on the door.

 

That's pretty much it for the body for now. 

 

I added Autometer fuel level and battery voltage gauges under the dash but I haven't wired them yet. It already had matching Autometer tach, oil pressure and water temp gauges.

 

I plan to change the oil in the next couple of days so hopefully I can fire it up and get that Holley carb functioning properly again. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/20/2020 at 12:41 AM, tbone said:

Those look really nice. I like the way they mount. It looks clean.  

 

I think I will try spraying them body color first since they come unpainted. If I don't like that look I can always do something different later.

 

I changed the oil a few days ago but haven't fired it up yet. I want to pull the plugs and shoot a little oil in each cylinder and turn it over by hand before actually starting it.

 

 

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13 hours ago, blksn8k2 said:

 

I think I will try spraying them body color first since they come unpainted. If I don't like that look I can always do something different later.

 

I changed the oil a few days ago but haven't fired it up yet. I want to pull the plugs and shoot a little oil in each cylinder and turn it over by hand before actually starting it.

 

 

Based on the way the sliders mount, my first thought would be body color would look the best.  We need a video of this thing rolling once your done.  

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I pulled all of the spark plugs yesterday and cranked the engine over by hand. It turned over pretty easily for not having been started for at least five years. I still need to drain what little fuel is in the tank and replace that with some fresh 93 octane before I try starting it. I did put a battery in it today and cranked it over a couple of turns just to make sure the starter was okay.

Having a battery in it also allows me to start chasing some wiring issues like adding a ground wire for the taillights since they were originally grounded through the taillight housings to the steel body. Doesn't work so well when they are mounted to fiberglass. After adding the ground wire all of the lights are now working with the exception of the backup lights. I need to get a pigtail for the reverse light switch on the NV3550 trans so I can connect it to the wiring harness for the backup lights.

And I still need to wire the new volt and fuel gauges. That will include extending the lead for the fuel gauge since it originally plugged into the back of the instrument cluster but will now need to go to the new Autometer gauge under the dash.

Then I need to figure out why the horn doesn't work. I'm guessing that whoever put the aftermarket steering wheel on it before I got it either didn't install the horn button correctly or didn't bother to wire it. I honestly don't recall ever actually trying to use the horn since I bought the truck seventeen years ago. LOL

Other than those few minor issues all of the other electrical stuff seems to work surprisingly well for a 45 year old vehicle. I was even surprised that the wipers work correctly after I had to flip the motor and alter the linkage so it would sit in a lowered position that clears the soft top.

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I got sidetracked for a few days while I installed a new garage heater. This one is a Mr Heater 50k BTU ceiling mounted natural gas unit. Works great! The old heater was one of those wall mounted, unvented, open flame CO generators. In other words, a death trap. 

 

Anyway, I finally got around to pressure washing the engine bay and wiring the back-up lights. I had to buy a pigtail for the back-up light switch on the NV3550 5-speed transmission. Then I had to figure out where the old wires were and how to tap into them.

 

What I discovered was that when a previous owner converted the original 3-speed to a floor shifter they also replaced the steering column with one out of another Ford vehicle that had a floor shifter which meant they got rid of all the shift linkage that would have been on the old column. That was a good thing except for the fact that they also got rid of the column mounted back-up light switch which explains why the back-up lights have never worked since I bought it. Not a big deal with the NV3550 other than finding the old wires and connecting them to the new back-up switch located on the side of the NV3550. Other than some more grounding issues in the taillight housings it was actually easier than I thought. They only come on when the shifter is in reverse and the ignition is in the RUN position which is exactly the way it should be.

 

I have also been fooling around with the horn. What I discovered was that whoever installed the aftermarket steering wheel didn't wire the horn button correctly which resulted in lots of sparks and a melted connection on the horn button. I have a new button ordered.

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Edited by blksn8k2
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Thanks tbone. I need all the encouragement I can get.

 

And thank God for small victories. After fooling around with the doggone horn off and on for days I finally got it working again. As I mentioned before, I had ordered a new horn button for the steering wheel. I did that because I was able to get the horn to blow at least once by touching the two wires inside the steering column together which told me the horn itself was not the problem, or so I thought. The new horn button came today so I installed it and .......nothing. WTH? I took the wheel back off and touched those same two wires together again and....silence. So I ran a jumper wire from the battery to the hot side of the horn and, again, nothing. Next I grabbed a new horn that I bought for the '70 Mach 1 that was still in the box and checked the resistance across both horns with a multi-meter. BINGO! The old horn showed zero resistance while new one read about 14 OHMs. After installing the new horn and the steering wheel with the new button the horn works like it's supposed to. That should be the final item I need for PA state inspection, although I do plan to disassemble both front hubs and re-grease the wheel bearings.

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I find it interesting and entertaining to watch some of the auto related "reality shows" on TV but I hope everyone realizes that is far from the real world. Not everyone can afford what those shops charge and a lot of what you see is made for TV ratings drama. And it would be great to have the Garage Squad show up at your doorstep ready to finish your neglected project in three days but odds are that's not going to happen either. When you don't have a ten man professional crew things take a lot longer to finish and the results will probably not be as good. But for me there is a real sense of accomplishment in learning how to do this stuff myself. And if the results aren't what I expected then I have no one to blame but myself. Putting it out here for everyone to see can be intimidating but it has also kept me on track and was definitely an incentive to do it as well as I could. I also appreciate the fact that BOF is more civilized than the typical anti-social media. With all the other issues going on these days I just hope this has given others an incentive to do something similar and maybe provided a little distraction from some of the more unpleasant things we all have to deal with.

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20 hours ago, tbone said:

Hopefully your inspection goes off without a hitch.  

 

Speaking of inspections, my nephew who is a Pennsylvania State Trooper stopped by today. When I was showing him the progress on the Bronco I mentioned that I was just about ready to get it registered and inspected. He told me that if I register it as an antique vehicle it does not need to be inspected. There are some restrictions on usage of antique vehicles but nothing I couldn't live with. I'm not totally convinced that is the best choice but it is something to consider. I could also register it as a classic since it is more than fifteen years old. That would still require an annual inspection but would not have the same driving restrictions as the antique option. The advantage of either of those two options is a one-time registration fee that never needs to be renewed and classics can be converted to antiques once they reach the twenty-five year age category. The Bronco obviously qualifies for either option. 

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Those appear to be two good options, and since you probably won’t use it as a daily driver, should be workable.  
 

I do appreciate what you have shown can be done without having a full shop full of equipment and personnel.  My son and I want to get a project of some kind to do together once I have a the space to keep a vehicle, which should be soon hopefully. 

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11 hours ago, tbone said:

Those appear to be two good options, and since you probably won’t use it as a daily driver, should be workable.  
 

I do appreciate what you have shown can be done without having a full shop full of equipment and personnel.  My son and I want to get a project of some kind to do together once I have a the space to keep a vehicle, which should be soon hopefully. 


Well said. I've been wanting to find an old Packard that I can tinker around on with my son. I'm definitely feeling inspired to do it ASAP but I need to move first. 

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6 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said:


Well said. I've been wanting to find an old Packard that I can tinker around on with my son. I'm definitely feeling inspired to do it ASAP but I need to move first. 

 

I know exactly what you guys are saying, especially about having the time and space. Most of my projects started years ago in an unheated 2 1/2 car garage behind my house in Ohio. Before I retired I bought this property near my old hometown in PA and then added the 40x50 shop so first and foremost I would have a place to keep all my junk under roof and out of the weather. That didn't happen overnight which meant that I spent more time putting up the building, moving everything from Ohio, getting the house in Ohio ready to sell and then improving the attached garage here than I did working on any of my car projects. Most people downsize when they retire. I guess I'm not most people. ?

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