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74 Bronco Total Rebuild

Void_of_Light

Void_of_Light

Keeping I.T. real
Joined
May 21, 2020
Member Number
1029
Messages
699
Loc
Nacogdoches, TX
Been meaning to do a thread but never got around to it.

1974 bronco that needs a total rebuild. I bought it 3 years ago and its pretty much the best of what's left when it comes to old Broncos.

Not one tub piece is worth saving. The fenders, hood, grill and doors are in pretty good shape. so is the frame and running gear.

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I ordered a tub in a box from wildhorses. It took 3 months, but it showed up in August.
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After reading about how bad Broncos rust even after a rebuild, I decided to not weld the seams. I am panel bonding and riveting where possible. I figure it's got to keep rust at bay better than just spot welding it like the factory did.
 
I watched every Youtube video I could find on assembling it. There is surprisingly few that show much detail. Most are time lapse with no real help. So, I'm going to wing it.

I originally planned to have the frame blasted and painted and the suspension done before assembling the body. The suspension kit from Duffs was on an 8-12 week backorder so I decided to go ahead and start on the body.

I did buy the preassembled floor section. I highly recommend it.


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cagcig said:
Looks awesome. What engine and trans. are you going with?
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Thanks

I was given a running van with a lower mile 302 that I'll start off with. I picked up a 5 speed from a 95 f150 for the trans. I will use the stock dana 20 behind that.

Once it's done, I'll think about another motor if it needs one.

This is my first ford anything so it's a learning experience.
 
Very cool. Have you considered rivets? Maybe rivets and bonding? Once you work with clecoes, you will like them. I think you would get better alignment that way.

Anyways, I’m glad to watch this. I have a friend who just bought one of these. I don’t know if his is in better shape. He has never done something like this and I don’t know if he’s up to the task. Not sure how far he is going on it. There is another guy in town that has a perfect one with mild lift and tires. It’s kind of funny. Nobody knows the guy but everybody knows that Bronco. When I see him running around with a Bimini top, I just feel young again. Lol.
 
Void_of_Light said:
After reading about how bad Broncos rust even after a rebuild, I decided to not weld the seams. I am panel bonding and riveting where possible.
Click to expand...
WaterH said:
Have you considered rivets? Maybe rivets and bonding?
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Looks like he did. I've never even heard of that as an option, so I'll be interested in how that works. That's how you did the body on the HEMTT right? Guess I never snapped that you could do that for steel as well as aluminum.
 
WaterH said:
Very cool. Have you considered rivets? Maybe rivets and bonding? Once you work with clecoes, you will like them. I think you would get better alignment that way.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm going to rivet anything I can. I have the rivets and a setter for my air hammer. I've been using a dolly from my cheap hammer and dolly set as a bucking bar with unimpressive results. I think I'll have to get a real bucking bar.

I'm trying to limit the number of holes I put in it if I can't fill them with rivets. Once I bond it, I can't weld the holes up if there is bond behind it. It's not friendly with high heat.
 
rattle_snake said:
What is your plan for it? stock resto, trail rig?
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Just a weekend cruiser. I really don't want to take it wheeling. They are too valuable now, and my wheeling group disbanded years ago anyway.

I set a goal of having it ready for Cruising the Coast 2024 in Biloxi, MS. It will be 50 years old. Planning on painting it Grabber Blue off the new Mustangs.
 
A friend of mine has a 77 in about your starting condition. He wanted me to “throw a tub on it” so he could give it to his daughter.

Hard pass. That is above my skill level. Well my GAF level anyway. :laughing:

Yours is looking good!
 
Awesome build & nice work. I envy those of you that can take on a project like this.
Man I cant believe how rare these have now become.

Is the 302 going to be efi?
 
How are you liking the Wildhorses tub? My '75 really just needs a new tub, but it came with a bunch of replacement panels from the previous owner that should at least get it driveable, but I think I would probably be time and frustration ahead to just start with a clean slate. I have been a bit underwhelmed with the quality of many of the replacement panels though :shaking:

Looks like a nice build, what size tires are you going to run?
 
Levigarrett76 said:
Awesome build & nice work. I envy those of you that can take on a project like this.
Man I cant believe how rare these have now become.

Is the 302 going to be efi?
Click to expand...
thanks, I’ve never been one to plan things out. I tend to jump in feet first and figure it out as I go.

I looked for 3 years before I found this one. It was the first one of the 4 I looked at that I felt confident that I could get a legit title for it. The frame, body, and glovebox vin all match the title.

I’ve got most of the EFI stuff off an explorer. The motor was originaly EFI, but from 1989. The explorer stuff is a better fit under the hood, I also picked up an Ecm from a 93 manual mustang to go with the stand alone wire harness I’ll get later.

'84 Bronco II said:
How are you liking the Wildhorses tub? My '75 really just needs a new tub, but it came with a bunch of replacement panels from the previous owner that should at least get it driveable, but I think I would probably be time and frustration ahead to just start with a clean slate. I have been a bit underwhelmed with the quality of many of the replacement panels though :shaking:

Looks like a nice build, what size tires are you going to run?
Click to expand...
I’ve been happy with the pieces so far. There isn’t a single one that didn’t need a bit of tweaking to make it fit right. There is about a $10K price difference in a body kit, and an assembled tub. I can justify a lot of tweaking and even some ruined pieces for $10k

Aiming for 35” tires on 17” wheels.
 
Made some progress over the long weekend. Nothing up front is attached permanently yet, still using clamps and screws to get the alignment right.

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The fenders in the corners need to be brought in a bit, not sure what's hitting but something is.

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The doors fit, and they fit pretty good. They are dragging on the sill plate a bit but I think that's due to the fender alignment.

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Gratuitous side shot. First time it's had a door on it since I've owned it.

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I haven't made much progress. The doors are kicking my butt.

There was a 1/2" gap between the door and fenders and almost no gap between the door and B post. I went ahead and ordered lift off hinges and some shims. There doesn't seem to be any way to move the door closer to the fender besides with shims.

I'm pretty sure the body panels are where they are supposed to be, but I'm not willing to glue it down until I know I can get the gaps right. My brother thinks the hinges are bent. The doors were off the body when I got it and the backing plates are gone. I cant really test fit them on the old body to see how they line up.

The hinges showed up yesterday, but I haven't had time to mess with it.
 
I haven't been able to spend much time on it lately. I've been building a deck for my mother-in-law that took longer than I hoped.

Bronco purist should stop reading now.

My wife bought me some fender flares for Christmas.


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Nothing like cutting up a brand new body.

I had seen other people use this style gas cap and really liked it. Way cleaner than the factory style.

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Anybody want to buy a 60mm holesaw? only used once.

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The first, and so far only weld I've done on this thing

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The doors are still giving me fits. I can get them to kinda fit, but there is always something that just isn't quite right. Hopefully I'll get it figured out soon.
 
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