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I like '80s Fords. I don't know why. I wish I didn't- but I guess everyone has their character flaws. So without further ado, meet my two shitheaps. First up is the newest addition to the garage, my '86 Bronco XLT. Built like a tank and weighing only slightly less than one, it is what I like to call my 'Don't Give a gently caress Truck'. I bought it from an old hippy who himself bought it for the expressed purpose of driving it 1,000 miles across the desert and into Texas. He lives in an early '70s Winnebego outside Waco now, and is pretty AI himself. His other truck is a diesel International Scout that I wish I'd gotten pictures of. Nice dude.  It rattles, squeaks, and ticks. It leaks oil from the valve covers. The radiator is full of stop-leak. It will stall sometimes going into reverse (it is an automatic). Bits of trim randomly fall off. It is at least three different colors, and the lovely champion battery has about had it. All of that said, it's loving awesome.    Even with all its flaws, I can't help but love the big stupid thing. The four wheel drive works perfectly, and while it's a 302 and not a 351, the engine still has plenty of pep. It'll do 75 all day without complaint. Hell, the air conditioner even works. In the short time I've owned it I've beat the utter poo poo out of it and the Ronco has continued on without complaint. What it Needs Mostly minor things related to inspection, which it is due for soon. -It needs a new turn indicator switch, which I've already ordered. -Also a horn switch, as that's broken too. -The brake booster has a vacuum leak. It still stops fine, it just hisses like a semi when it does. -New valve cover gaskets somewhere down the line. Not a priority. -Most of the exterior trim have broken fasteners. It shakes off chrome like a dog shakes off water. Think I'll just strip it all off. -It's an Arizona truck, so most of the bushings are dry rotted. Doubt I'll get around to this anytime soon. Future Plans -Quick and dirty black primer paint job, so it's at least the same color everywhere. -351w swap maybe?? Little brother to the Ronco is my '85 Mustang GT Hatchback that some of you may remember. It is much faster, much louder, and much less reliable.   The Mustang I've had for a couple of years now, and I mostly use it as my toy/strip car. It has a bored-over 302 with aluminum heads, a Ford 'X' cam, a forged bottom end, and a four barrel Holley 4150. It's also in the process of eating its second T5 just since I've owned it. I love it. I really do. But sometimes I want to send the loving thing to the shredder so I never have to look at it again. What it Needs: Hoo boy. -Transmission. The T-5 in it now is on the way out. The synchros in 2nd and 4th are shot and it leaks like a sieve. It needs to come out, but that leaves me with the question of what to replace it with. A stock t-5 is out and even the T-5z would be well out of its torque rating. A T-56 is well outside budget, and the TKO is not far behind it. Right now I'm leaning towards ditching the manual altogether and finding a junkyard C4 to be rebuilt. Full manual valve body and a trans brake? Hell yeah. -New rear end. 1985 was the last year of the god-awful 7.5. Luckily, 8.8s are cheap, plentiful, and a direct bolt-in. Oddly enough, the 7.5 in mine has a LSD, and I'm pretty sure they all had open-diffs from the factory. Who would throw money at a garbage rear end? -Brakes. They work fine, but drat I'm tired of the rear drums. -Electrical. The wiring in this car is a hate crime. It is really that bad. It's slightly less bad than it was, but still awful. It all needs to be ripped out and replaced. -Front suspension work. Back in March I rebuilt the rear suspension, and its the front's turn now. MM control arms and a bumpsteer kit are on the shopping list. I threw some cheapo coil-overs on the front from American Muscle and they work alright, so they'll stay for now. -Paint/body. Paintjob is awful. 10-footer for sure. Poor prep when painting has allowed two rust spots to form in the upper corners of the hatch. How bad at this do you have to be to get something to rust in Texas? Front bumper cover was damaged while flat-towing when the tow vehicle got a little over-eager and took off before I was even in the car. Rear bumper cover is sagging. Passenger fender has broken bolt holes, can maybe be repaired. Trim is warping. Future Plans -The Mustang is going to become a strip-only car so: Cage and safety stuff. Go-fast bits. New motor? Or just lots of nitrous? Comedy option: 8-71 blower. Rear tubs? I need to sit down and mock out a plan. What have I gotten myself into?
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Jul 28, 2014 18:01
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 18:53 |
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Decided to take the Ronco's top off today. Pulled off the inside trim covers and found this. The gently caress? Those tiny little 5/16s bolts and washers are definitely not factory.  Factory bolt-hole misaligned and missing a bolt. You can see where he drilled the new one.  Driver's side pillar missing a bolt completely.   Ended up finding two factory bolts. Quick comparison of what should've been there vs what was actually there.  Finished result. Looking good.   Bonus dog shot.
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Jul 28, 2014 18:52
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Nice pair of interesting vehicles from the '80s (which is a tough thing to have), nice dog, nice thread title.
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Jul 28, 2014 19:18
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EVERYWHERE 
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I'm willing to guess that between 90 and 100% of those Broncos have never had their tops off before. Good pair of old Fords; I have the same affliction but self-medicating with Subarus helps prevent me from acting on it.
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Jul 28, 2014 20:18
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Hell yeah. Love those seventh gens.
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Jul 28, 2014 20:42
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Gotta love the lack of effort to even blow off the dust caused by drilling the new holes.
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Jul 28, 2014 21:31
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In my experience too it's very rare to see the tops off the later Broncos. Was it actually intended to be removable by that point in the lineage, as you mention having to take trim off to do it, or was it just a sort of "undocumented feature" by that point? I do understand that they're impossibly heavy and have seen pictures of custom jigs to help taking them off. I've always had a soft spot for the fox-body Mustangs, they're so square and 80s. Shame to hear that yours is having troubles, hope you're able to clear it up.
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Jul 29, 2014 01:53
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Propaganda Bob posted:Decided to take the Ronco's top off today. This is truly a thing of beauty... I had no idea Broncos were so.... perfectly proportioned
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Jul 29, 2014 04:04
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Damnit now I need to convince my brother to take the top off of his 96 if only for a day.
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Jul 29, 2014 04:13
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Seat Safety Switch posted:I'm willing to guess that between 90 and 100% of those Broncos have never had their tops off before. Good pair of old Fords; I have the same affliction but self-medicating with Subarus helps prevent me from acting on it. A friend of mine had a 1st gen 4runner. He was cruising around with the top off and a guy with an identical Runner pulled up next to him at a light and asked him where he got the sweet convertible conversion done.
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Jul 29, 2014 04:47
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Red_October_7000 posted:In my experience too it's very rare to see the tops off the later Broncos. Was it actually intended to be removable by that point in the lineage, as you mention having to take trim off to do it, or was it just a sort of "undocumented feature" by that point? I do understand that they're impossibly heavy and have seen pictures of custom jigs to help taking them off. They're really not that hard to take off. There's a lip on the inside edge of the bed rails that makes it pretty easy to just slide it off the end. I managed to do it by myself with no problems, but sticking it back on is definitely a two person job. I don't know why they decided bolts were the best way to mount it instead of Wrangler-style latches, but hey. Ford. Shifting focus to the Mustang, its had a minor oil leak from the valve covers for a while now (surprise surprise) and I finally got around to digging out my new gasket set and throwing them on. Sorry for the poor quality phone pictures.    Driver's side valve cover off.  Little known fact: small block Fords double as grasshopper burial grounds.  Mmmm, rocker porn. 1.6 is actually the factory ratio on these engines.  Everything looks good. Went around the edge with a brakleen rag and a razor blade, but wasn't really necessary. The surface was pretty clean.  Mmm, carburetor porn. Carb is a 4150 Holley with mechanical secondaries. It flows 750cfm and has no choke.  Gasket out. Looks like the stud stretched out the gasket hole, that's probably where it's leaking from. Rest of it looked fine. Decided to clean the valve covers since I have them off. Before:   After:   Polished valve covers are hard to keep clean.   New gasket in.  Side by side. You can really tell the difference.  Passenger cover off.  Same story with the gasket on this side. I'm guessing someone tried to re-use gaskets not meant to be reusable.  Valve cover cleaned and back on with new gasket. Ugh, that plug wire routing. I don't know what I was thinking. Went back and fixed it after I did this. Here's a quick startup video with added squeaky belts. For all the headaches it gives me, she sure does sound sweet.
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Jul 29, 2014 18:44
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Red_October_7000 posted:In my experience too it's very rare to see the tops off the later Broncos. Was it actually intended to be removable by that point in the lineage, as you mention having to take trim off to do it, or was it just a sort of "undocumented feature" by that point? It was officially possible through the '91 model. The '92-96 (OJ) model had a third brake light and shoulder belts so removing the roof meant removing legally required safety equipment. It was still the same basic technique to remove it though, they just changed the hex bolts for tamper-proof Torx and removed the instructions from the owners manual.
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Jul 30, 2014 03:42
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Pricing automatic transmissions. Built C4s with manual valvebodies seem to be the cheapest option (not that that's saying much) but I really would like the overdrive gear the AOD offers, so at least there's an option of driving it on the street. 3 speed + 3.73s sounds like a recipe for 2500 rpm at 55. The overall cost of the swap doesn't seem too bad, both transmissions were offered in Fox bodies at some point (the c4 was offered in early fox bodies... to 82 I think and the AOD was the later option) so it's pretty easy altogether. Anyone have any experience with either transmission? Also, there were some new parts for the 'Stang and an indicator switch for the Ronco waiting for me when I got home yesterday. 
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Jul 30, 2014 16:38
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Very little experience with the AOD. As soon as we started putting power through it it started floating gears and shifting like poo poo. We removed it for a T5WC that hasn't had any issues. Less than ideal, but that's the info I have to offer.
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Jul 30, 2014 16:56
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If you go the AOD route I highly suggest at the very least throwing a shift kit into it. The weak points in the AOD are the clutch pack and the OD band. The aftermarket for the AOD is extensive and very inexpensive. If you throw a bit of money into it (less then $300 for shift kit, OD band and servo, and a better clutch pack) you can wind up with a stout transmission that will take a lot of abuse. I'm excited you posted this thread. I just got back into SBF's with a Bronco of my own so I'm excited to see what you do here.
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Jul 30, 2014 17:30
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Spoiler: This has been sitting in my garage for two months now, waiting. It was literally given to me by my crazy boat mechanic friend. Edit- The AOD route is looking better. I was really hoping for a manual shift, but I'd settle for just better shift points. I've never rebuilt a transmission before, much less an automatic, but it looks like I might have to learn to avoid spending a ton. Propaganda Bob fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Jul 30, 2014 |
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Jul 30, 2014 17:53
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Propaganda Bob posted:Spoiler: This has been sitting in my garage for two months now, waiting. It was literally given to me by my crazy boat mechanic friend. You can slap a ratchet shifter/manual valve body in with the AOD or go the manual transmission route. Broncos came with a manual option so it wouldn't be too hard to pick up a pedal box and all the other misc parts. A T5 WC would hold together pretty well.
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Jul 30, 2014 18:10
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wolrah posted:It was officially possible through the '91 model. The '92-96 (OJ) model had a third brake light and shoulder belts so removing the roof meant removing legally required safety equipment. As ive had a few broncos of the various years and in my youth removed the tops on all of them, it is a dumb thing to do if you value the vehicle at all as the longer you keep the topper of the more of a chance you will get stress fractures in the roof and corners from the flex the body goes through without the support of the top. It usually will end up with the topper not lining up properly back in the holes and as 80s 90s car are like to do rust will start in yet another place. It does look cool though and if I had a beater like the op's it would be topless.
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Jul 30, 2014 18:14
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Nice 86' there Bob. I too recently acquired a Craigslist 1996 5.0L XL. $800.  Fair condition, prior owner was an idiot and kinda hacked up parts of the wiring harness when it stopped running on him and he saw no spark. After running tests on it this week it appears the PCM is faulty. Rebuilt one is $250. Engine/Transmission is in good shape, and this model was the only production model to have a MAF outside of the late Californian models. Think this was also the only OBD II. Too bad this was the last year they were made. Make new Broncos, please Ford.
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Jul 31, 2014 05:23
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So I've spent the last few days working on the Bronco to get it ready for inspection, which it passed! First try no less! It is now registered and tagged, with Texas plates and all. It's gotten a new brake booster and indicator switch (which annoyingly was almost as expensive as a brake booster) and also, oddly enough, the tach has started working again all on its own. Guess I've bought the world's only self-repairing vehicle. I know a few Italians that would be interested in this technology. After that, I hit the pick n pull to check out a few late '80s Broncos they had in their inventory. There's an '89 5.0 4x4 with a 5 speed that I've got my eye on. Manual swap may be in the Bronco's future.  Besides that, I rigged a horn!  And visors!  New back seat!  You're in the wrong truck, buddy. The caddy seat buckle was affixed to the Bronco seat belt with duct tape   License plates! Not vanity plates, actually what they gave me. Fitting.  Self-repair feature excludes exterior trim.
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Aug 9, 2014 01:14
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I seriously love that Bronco. There's something about that generation that is just incredibly cool 
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Aug 9, 2014 01:25
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T1g4h posted:I seriously love that Bronco. There's something about that generation that is just incredibly cool I have serious nostalgia of my grandma hauling rear end through deep snow to get the grocery store in rural Canada with me in the passenger seat in a similar Bronco. It was a piece of poo poo but nothing stopped grandma from making a roast when she was behind the wheel of that beast.
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Aug 9, 2014 06:32
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T1g4h posted:I seriously love that Bronco. There's something about that generation that is just incredibly cool All trucks from
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Aug 9, 2014 07:58
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That Bronco is awesome. My grandad, and then my dad, had an '82 with the 300 and a 4-speed. In a similar blue-and-white to what yours has (had?), with the exact same interior. I loved riding in that thing. I bet it's still pulling stumps somewhere in eastern Washington.
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Aug 10, 2014 04:05
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quote:Here's a quick startup video with added squeaky belts. For all the headaches it gives me, she sure does sound sweet. Hnnnnnnnggg I got a semi.I love the way cammed out engines sound, they sound just like drag cars the way they hiccup when they idle. Been thinking about picking up a mustang myself for a possible missile car but not in a fox body. I like how they look too much. And the bronco! I have a 96 eddie bauer that has been parked for many moons. The transmission is jacked up and the 4x4 didn't work when we parked it. I've been thinking about fixing it recently but I've heard the transmissions in those are notorious for being terrible. Anyway awesome thread I'll be keeping up with it.
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Aug 10, 2014 04:30
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Jesus christ. Pulled into the driveway last night in the Bronco and turned it off and pulled out the key... and it didn't shut off. Pulled the coil wire off the distributor cap (very carefully with a pair of insulated pliers) to shut the engine off, and did a little bughunting. Tracked the problem to a stuck solenoid which was easily fixed- and then discovered the fuel pump was not shutting off. Turns out, the 12v power wire to the stupid aftermarket sub/amp (which was wired straight into the battery) was coming out of the amp and shorting on it. Constantly. The wire got so hot from always shorting it melted through the insulation where it comes through the firewall and then melted through the electric fuel pump power wire and started shorting on it, kicking it on.  I'm lucky I didn't loving die. Traced it all the way through the cabin and it's covered in melted vinyl carpet. Christ. Lesson for the future: if you buy a car with an aftermarket stereo already installed take a close loving look at it.
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Aug 10, 2014 18:55
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Cool Fords! I'm pretty sure all the 85 GTs came with posi. I know mine had it from the factory with (lol) 2.73s. That cam is pretty wild, sounds awesome.
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Aug 10, 2014 23:29
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Did they? Huh. I knew you could buy the Auburn difs for the 7.5 but it seemed like a waste of money when there are 8.8s for cheap in every junkyard in the country. There's another older video of it running on my youtube. Excuse me being an idiot and filming in portrait.
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Aug 11, 2014 02:18
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