Build Rep builds a bunch of old Fords

reptillikus · Aug 31, 2025

WaterH said:
Very nice work on the headers. Will you rap them?

I don think so. The wrap was a pain to deal with, held mud & water, and only lasted a year anyway. These are hedman's satin black ceramic coating, so we'll see how well it works, and ill reevaluate next summer if they need to be wrapped anyway.

WaterH · Aug 31, 2025

reptillikus said:
I don think so. The wrap was a pain to deal with, held mud & water, and only lasted a year anyway. These are hedman's satin black ceramic coating, so we'll see how well it works, and ill reevaluate next summer if they need to be wrapped anyway.

Do you have the little heat boots on the spark plug wires right at the plugs? If not, I would get some.

reptillikus · Aug 31, 2025

I havent gotten any yet, but theyre on order.

reptillikus · Aug 31, 2025

I made the terrible mistake of going on marketplace, where i found a soft top for a bronco, in great shape, for $200 :smokin:

No instructions and missing some hardware but i think we can figure it out, so yesterday me and the kiddo sorted it all out and got it installed.

Friday i pulled the half cab off

washed the mud out of the interior

and reinstalled the back half of the interior

So yesterday me & the kiddo started laying out the rails to figure out how it goes together

He was super excited about the project and started laying out parts

Bedside rails in. Bolt to original hard top captured nuts altho you have to drill a couple extra to hold it a little more secure

sorting out the top rails

they are supposed to be held in place with these stainless sheetmetal screws but im missing about half

fortunately i have a ton of oem body hardware, so i used some oem sheetmetal screws instead

top rails installed

working on the tailgate rail

It doesnt actually attach to the tailgate, it attaches to the siderails using studs & wingnuts (for easy removal). But it s supposed to have some kind of seal here

i had some random weatherstripping in the shed, thought it might work but its not big enough to fit over the lip

for now foam will have to do, ill have to reach out to Broncograveyard during the week to see if i can buy the correct seal

hit the pic limit, to be continued next post

reptillikus · Aug 31, 2025

sorting out the bows. The fabric sleeves for the bows are also missing, maybe i can get them too.

stretching out the top...

...and done!

I think i like the soft top the best of the three. Doesnt hurt that its the kiddo's favorite as well. So naturally we had to take it for a drive to get ice cream :grinpimp:

Provience · Aug 31, 2025

Pretty good for being a used buy :smokin:

reptillikus · Aug 31, 2025

Right?! I feel like i did pretty good on that deal. Fabric is in good shape, windows and zippers are in good shape, and it was less than half what it costs new.

WaterH · Aug 31, 2025

That looks pretty fine. I like it as a half cab too. Does it flap or make noise when driving fast?

reptillikus · Aug 31, 2025

I dont think so. If it does, i cant hear it over the tire hum :laughing:

reptillikus · Sep 2, 2025

Holy cow, when it rains it pours. Ive got a fleet of vehicles that decided they want attention, all at the same time!

So friday the green bronco popped a P0707, transmission range sensor. That's an easy one, order a new MLPS, which i just got and installed this morning after work. So that's one fixed.

So i was driving the diesel all weekend; well last night it decided to blow the temp probe for the pyro out of the manifold!

This is probably going to suck to fix. There is a little tiny set screw in the fitting that locks the temp probe in place, and after 15 years its pretty well seized in there. Got it soaking currently, hoping i can get it to free up and come off the probe. If not ill cut it off the probe and worst case replace the probe. We'll get back to this after a couple days of it soaking in penetrant.

So i drove the wife's 90 to work last night, and of course its running rich and popped a CEL

Pulled codes, all i got is a 42, system rich.
Swapped the MLPS on the green one while i waited for this one to cool off, then pulled the plugs. Yup, its runing rich!

Every plug is covered in soot, except for #4

Check fuel pressure (chart for reference)

KOEO - 40 PSI. KOER - 36 PSI. Unplugged FPR and it jumped to 42 like it should. No fuel in vacuum line, and the system doesnt bleed down.

Decided to look at the vacuum lines even tho theyre all new from a couple years ago; all good. I pulled the steel vacuum cannister off the bracket and spotted this

So either this was leaking the whole time, or i caused it when i took it off the bracket. Either way, i cant see why a vacuum leak in between the manifold and the EVR solenoid would cause a rich condition. And it never threw an EGR code anyway. Out of time for the day though, so will continue looking at it tomorrow.

reptillikus · Sep 3, 2025

Dont have a DMM that can test Hz so i couldnt test MAP function. But i figured id still test for power and ground. Power was good, but my ground reading was off a bit

I was caught so offguard by that i actually performed the test several times, with several meters :laughing:

Then i took everything apart and cleaned the ground. Much better:

This was one of the main harness grounds, so now im wondering if this was the problem the whole time. Tomorrow im going to clean & reinstall the spark plugs, and temporarily bypass the vacuum cannister since i dont have a good spare. Then maybe ill take it for a drive and see if anything changes.

WiscoF100 · Sep 3, 2025

I leave the store with those organizer bins all the time. Keep sorting out more and more stuff into them and cataloging new hardware and tools as well.

If you need or want a vacuum can, I might still have one.

Soft tops look great on broncos! Not sure about trucks….kinda want to try one for road trips/camping.

arse_sidewards · Sep 3, 2025

WiscoF100 said:
Soft tops look great on broncos! Not sure about trucks….kinda want to try one for road trips/camping.

Provience · Sep 3, 2025

I also have a vacuum can sitting in the drawer for no reason if needed.

Pretty wild the ground was corroded that bad

reptillikus · Sep 4, 2025

Yeah I wasn't expecting that at all!

We'll see how it runs in the morning.

WiscoF100 said:
I leave the store with those organizer bins all the time. Keep sorting out more and more stuff into them and cataloging new hardware and tools as well.

If you need or want a vacuum can, I might still have one.

Soft tops look great on broncos! Not sure about trucks….kinda want to try one for road trips/camping.

I'm getting a motor and some other parts next month from a truck BroncoJoe96 is parting out, maybe I can convince him to throw in the vacuum canister :grinpimp:

BroncoJoe96 · Sep 4, 2025

reptillikus said:
Yeah I wasn't expecting that at all!

We'll see how it runs in the morning.

I'm getting a motor and some other parts next month from a truck BroncoJoe96 is parting out, maybe I can convince him to throw in the vacuum canister

It's all yours!! Hopefully its one of the updated ones that is plastic, if not, I'm sure its probably a bit crusty too.

reptillikus · Sep 11, 2025

WiscoF100 said:
I leave the store with those organizer bins all the time. Keep sorting out more and more stuff into them and cataloging new hardware and tools as well.

I have several as well, just for OEM hardware from trucks ive parted. Built a cart for them:

So i drove the wife's 90 to work the other day, and no CEL. Thinking about driving it in again tonight just to get another couple drive cycles on it before i call it fixed.

Moving on, im back to work on the F250. Gotta get the pyro probe issue resolved.

The steel fitting the probe is held in with. Its pretty crusty, and that little set screw is probably never coming out.

Got the brass reducer bushing off, and drilled out the set screw best i could. Its rotted enough that neither standard nor metric allen keys fit it properly anymore so not much choice there

Soaked it in penetrating oil for 5 days, then tried one of those magnetic induction heaters for removing crusty bolts and nuts; it works pretty good, but the fitting has become one with the probe. Ended up cracking the thin outer wall of the probe, so now i have to replace it. I guess i cant complain too much, it is ~15 years old at this point.

Moving into the interior

Autometer GS Series is a stepper motor gauge, which means one fancy plug for everything instead of multiple for power, sensor, etc

Pretty sure i can just pop the pins out of the plug for the probe, so i dont have to cut & rewire the gauge harness

GS series uses probe p/n 5251

THERMOCOUPLE, TYPE K, 3/16" DIA, CLOSED TIP, FOR DIGITAL STEPPER MOTOR PYROMETER

5251 Thermocouple, Type K, 3/16" Dia, Closed Tip, for Digital Stepper Motor Pyrometer

www.autometer.com

Doesnt include the fitting, which is kind of lame. Also, the fitting they sell for it is not that dumb one with set screw, its a swagelok 3/16 compression fitting

FITTING, THERMOCOUPLE COMPRESS, 3/16", 1/8" NPTF MALE, INCL. WELD BOSS

5255 Fitting, Thermocouple Compress, 3/16", 1/8" NPTF Male, Stainless, incl. Weld Boss

www.autometer.com

Im not paying $59 for a compression fitting though, so i ordered one elsewhere, which i already have actually. So tomorrow im going to get the fitting installed in the manifold so whenever my new probe comes i can just slap it in and call this project done.

reptillikus · Oct 4, 2025

Been busy, never updated this.

New probe from Autometer

swagelok threaded into the manifold

...and done!

Driven it a few times now, all is well :smokin:

Good thing too, because last week i started getting a thunk in the green bronco when i put it into gear. Long story short - bad ujoint in the double cardan

Pulled the driveshaft out thursday and went over to the local driveline shop for parts, and then rebuilt it friday morning after work

yep, id say its bad

new spicer non-greasables, plus a center ball kit from neapco

no way i was replacing both ujoints, and not replacing the center ball

...together

...and done!

Got this one done just in time too......me & the little dude were hauling trailer loads of black walnuts out to the woods, and we had a breakdown

...little dude had to tow his bronco home :laughing:

Pony_Driver · Oct 7, 2025

That's awesome

reptillikus · Oct 8, 2025

He's not quite big enough yet to drive the lawn tractor (keeps tripping the seat switch) but he always thinks it's super cool when I let him drive it anyway :grinpimp:

That little wheel horse dump trailer I got from my dad. Probably 30-40 years old? His bronco fits in there like it was made for it :laughing:

Wet got back to the garage, jacked it up and then he helped me take the wheel off to swap a new motor onto gearbox :grinpimp:

reptillikus · Oct 10, 2025

Sigh....that didnt last long...

Hit a deer last night on the freeway on my way to work. Cruise set at 70, no time to react. Knocked her over, and ran right over it. Coworkers said i splattered that deer all over the highway :laughing:

Bumper is wrecked, lower valance dented and it pulls to the right :bawling:

valance dented

No time to waste. Yanked bumper off. Good thing i made the wiring harness for the lights modular

One of the LED foglight brackets broke; LED lightbar made it out unscathed

Bumper adapter bracket bent:

Bumper mount bent:

draglink bent up when the deer went under the truck

I used a winch to straighten the tierod

...and a winch + torch to straighten the bumper bracket

Took it for a test drive to the carwash to wash the blood and fur off the undercarriage (its everywhere- i even have fur on my motor mounts!) and it drives straight down the road again, so i dug out the original bumper and slapped it back on

At least it drives straight and looks ok, but im going to need to fix that valance at some point.

Provience · Oct 10, 2025

Dang

reptillikus · Oct 10, 2025

Yeah that sucked. The SD bumpers arent cheap, so ill be rocking this one for a while until i find another cheap one. The dent in the valance sucks, im not popping that one out. It would be a lot less work to swap a green one on from a junkyard truck. Drives straight and the steering wheel isnt turned so the alignment is pretty damn close but tires are too expensive to chance it, so ive got an appointment on the books anyway.

Pony_Driver · Oct 11, 2025

Good call on the alignment.

reptillikus · Oct 12, 2025

Yeah I'm thinking so. Working this weekend so I've drove it in both nights now and it's not pulling but it does feel a little squirrelly, like it might still be toed in a bit. I'll know for sure soon enough.

reptillikus · Oct 14, 2025

I swear, if it wasnt for bad luck, id have no luck at all.....

Diesel is back in the driveway

Ok, here goes.
Last night on my way to work it wasnt running right. It started rough but then was cruising along just fine. Made it halfway and the CEL came on and it cut power. Still running smooth, but no power at all, couldnt maintain 55. Finally i pulled over and it stalled and wouldnt restart. Pulled the dispstick and it didnt look right, almost like it was low on oil. Called a buddy who was on his way to work too, he swung by my place on his way and grabbed oil and my scanner.

Sat for maybe 5-6 minutes and it fired right up an ran, so i heaeed to the Wawa right down the road from work to fuel up, and waited for my bud to arrive.

Maybe 15 minutes later he shows up so we pull the stick and its definitely low. Ended up taking 5 quarts to fill up. This truck doesnt leak oil, so im not sure where it went. Thinking injector orings, even though i did orings and injector cups back in March '20.
Anyways, drove the rest of the way to work just fine. Drove it home in the stock tune and my buddy said he could still see it smoking a bit when i would hit the throttle, so now im thinking injector orings.

Get home and pull the fuel filter, looks ok

Take a peek down into the fuel bowl and, well......

Pulled out the stem and fuel bowl heater

Yup, its full of aluminum shrapnel :eek:

So for now its parked in the driveway. Going to assume the fuel pump is imploding. Tired of putting replacement pumps in it, so i guess its time to do an electric fuel conversion & fuel bowl delete while im in there. Of course this requires unbolting & moving the turbo over a little bit, which means its time to replace that suspect up-pipe. This is going to hurt the wallet....

Levigarrett76 · Oct 14, 2025

Fugazzotto?

RockyDog1210 · Oct 14, 2025

reptillikus said:
sorting out the bows. The fabric sleeves for the bows are also missing, maybe i can get them too.

stretching out the top...

...and done!

I think i like the soft top the best of the three. Doesnt hurt that its the kiddo's favorite as well. So naturally we had to take it for a drive to get ice cream

That thing is sick, nice rig

reptillikus · Oct 15, 2025

Thanks

Levigarrett76 said:
Fugazzotto?

I looked at his, 444fab, irate Diesel, Driven Diesel, Marty's and a few others, i forget them all. I like Fugazzotto for the price, but its pretty basic. No shrader valve, no fuel pressure gauge & it reuses most of the fuel lines in the valley. In my case, the fuel return lines coming off the front of the heads (-4 AN IIRC) are dryrotted and cracking so they should be replaced. Id like to remove all the fuel lines in the valley & clean or replace due to possible metal contamination. Id also like to eliminate the fuel selector valve on the frame rail since im only running the rear tank now. So at that point the extra add-ons bring his kit pretty much up to where most others are. So im actually thinking about the kit from Irate. Its a little more but i like that its all new hard lines in the valley instead of hoses, and it comes with enough hose to bypass the fuel selector valve.

For up-pipes im looking at RiffRaff. They have ceramic coated 321 stainless up-pipes for less than Irate Diesels one-piece up-pipes.

Riffraff Diesel Bellowed Up-pipe Kit 94-Early 99

www.riffraffdiesel.com

reptillikus · Oct 17, 2025

Parts ordered, lets get this thing apart.

Fuel bowl out:

fuel pump out:

...and turbo is out!

Next move is going to be to get those pesky up-pipes out of there....

Thats good enough for now. Think im going to soak the up-pipe hardware all weekend and pick back up on this on Monday.

Build Rep builds a bunch of old Fords

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