New project EB

[planefixer]

Free EB!!

My grandfather bought this Bronco new in 1968 to originally use as a hunting vehicle. In the '80s it was relegated to towing airplanes around. Sometime in the mid- '90s my Cousin needed a vehicle and Granddad gave him the Bronco. I got it safe and road-worthy so he could drive it back to NorCal. Unfortunately my Cousin was killed in a motorcyle accident in 2008 and its been sitting at my Aunt's ranch since then. She texted this afternoon and asked if I wanted it so I jumped on it - she even said she would cover the transport cost!!

I'm not planning on doing any major mods other than maybe swapping in a C-4 or C-6 auto and possibly fuel injection, maybe a small lift since it could use new springs anyway, and paint.

Some specs:
289 V8 - my cousin had it rebuilt, cant remember if he added a 4bbl carb or if its still a 2bbl.
3 speed manual - was 3 on the tree but my Cousin moved the shifter to the floor.
D30 front
D44 rear

 

[lesslimited]

Nice, always loved those things.

Look forward to seeing what you do with it.

 

[trippled]

Need more pics when you get it! Looks really clean for the age

 

[Hypoid]

Yup, very clean!

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Man, what a nice gift! Those have gone up in value massively in recent years, driver quality ones seem to fetch no less than $18K-$20K.

First thing I think I'd do is ignition kill switch and other anti-theft...


Very cool Jeff! :thumbup:

 

[in4aride]

Drooooooooooool. Awesome.

 

[planefixer]

Just got the word: It should be here by July 13th or earlier.

It should still have less than 80K original miles. When I sent it to NorCal it had 68K on it and I don't think my cousin put very many miles on when he was driving it.
also, need to make a correction - Its got a 9" rear, not a D44.



Some more pics:

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Super clean Jeff!

Still wearing it's original Phil Long Colorado Springs dealership emblem!

There are gonna be a whole bunch of EB fans out there jonsin' over your Bronco brutha! Congrats!

 

[planefixer]

Its loaded up and on it's way. :clap:

They said it could be here by Thursday or Friday but they still need to pick up 6 more vehicles in California then transfer it to a smaller hauler in Denver so we'll see.

 

[freerider15]

Very nice.

Yeah, i'd keep it as "stock" as possible.

Maybe some paint clean up here and there, but otherwise the only thing I'd do would be restoration type items.

 

[planefixer]

What ever I modify I'll make sure to do it in a way that it can returned to "stock". Any original parts that come off I'll keep stored and absolutely no cutting of sheet metal.


I haven't driven it since the early '90s but I don't remember it being a beast to drive or stop despite no power steering and brakes - 4 wheel drum brakes no less. I'll probably end up keeping the manual trans. but I might do a disc brake conversion on the front axle.

 

[smccollamjr]

That’s awesome. I love those Broncos. I’d keep the manual too. I would even consider going back to the three on the tree if it would fit in with your other plans for it. That would be a great theft deterrent. When they saw a clutch with no floor shifter they wouldn’t know what to do.

 

[riverfever]

Congratulations Jeff. This will be very cool. I love early Broncos but the fact that it's been in the family for so long is such a great story.

 

[planefixer]

It arrived today, its all safe & sound in my garage. Time to start doing a lot of research and planning.

 

[planefixer]

I've been poking around the rig & gathering information and found out some things.

Its no longer a 289. I thought my cousin had the original 289 rebuilt but my uncle informed me that a 302 crate motor was swapped in and there are less than 1K miles on the engine. Engine has an Edelbrock Performer manifold, Holly 600cfm 4bbl, a mild performance cam, dual exhaust (stock exhaust manifolds) and updated distributor (no points).

The transmission and the D20 T-case got all new seals when the engine was out.

Axles are still original (D30/9") and are factory geared 4.10.

Body-wise its solid and straight. The only cancer is on the driver side rocker and a very small hole in the driver side floorboard. I'll r&r the rocker and put a small patch on the floorboard.

Stay tuned for further updates.

 

[planefixer]

Need to add (since I can't edit my damn posts for some reason :flamemad the wheels are genuine mid-'80s era Centerline Pro Stocks.

 

[planefixer]

Got the engine bay cleaned up today.

I'm going to order some Edelbrock Signature series chrome valve covers for a little underhood bling and a matching 14" x 3" air cleaner and ditch this puny 10" x 2" cleaner so the thing can breathe better. I'm also going to do plugs/wires/cap/rotor while I'm at it.

 

[planefixer]

Could someone please delete posts 17 - 22. Not being able to edit posts is bullshit and is really starting to piss me off.:flamemad:

 

[planefixer]

Could someone please delete posts 17 - 22. Not being able to edit posts is bullshit and is really starting to piss me off.:flamemad:


Who the hell do I contact to fix this??

 

[Hypoid]

Lookin' good there Jeff!