MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

MOSS2
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MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by MOSS2 »

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Thought I would start a brief post on the Moss Brothers Bronco to see how this all works out. I will try and add to it as time and questions arise.

History: This Bronco was built in the year 2000 specifically to run only the Nevada 2000 race to say we raced one of the big historic races. Well we didnt finish in time for the Nevada and moved goals to run the Baja 2000 race and just made it to that one. That was one hell of a race (1760 miles) to break in a new truck. We broke a lot of parts and learned a heck of a lot in that 65plus hours it took us to finish, but we finished and that is one of our achievements I am most proud of as a team. We took the next year off after the killer race then picked up in 2001 and have achieved 7 championships since then in SCORE racing and two Toyota Milestone awards. The best thing about racing with this group of people is since starting with quads then motorcycles and then the Bronco our finishing average percentage is in the high 90s. The average finish rate of a SCORE race, usually about 50% of the entries drop out.

Specs List.
-Motor 351W Aluminum heads installed in 2000, Shortblock untouched since built for circle track car in the 90s. All built by Don Moss
- Transmission C6 built by Don Moss. Full roller internals, manual valve body. Gate shifter built by crew chief Dave Grundman.
- Transfercase NP205 stock and bulletproof.
- Rear End RuffStuff Specialties Housing. Cone industries Axles and drive plates 35spline floater. Strange center section and spool with 4:56 gears set up by River City Differentials.
- Front end Dana 44 Heavily trussed by Dave Grundman. CTM u-joints, open differential, Slugs no hubs.
- Rear Suspension Custom leaf packs designed initially by National spring in 2000, Replacements now built by Deaver Suspension to match those. King 3.0 Bypass race shocks 16" travel offers approx 18" axle travel.
- Front suspension West Coast Broncos Radius arms and modified Heim end track bar. King 2.5" 14"travel coilovers strapped to quite a bit less. Plus 3.0 14" Bypass shocks in front of Coilovers.
- Steering UMP modified stock box, Race pump and large cooler. Stock tie rods and geometry. Coleman 1.5:1 steering quickener.
- Electrical System Dual alternators, batteries and redundant systems. Every load can be run on either system and are completely isolated from each other. Another Don Moss item.
- Lighting 10 KC HiLites HIDs. 8 are now the PODS 70watt (very nice)

Will post more photos and details later. Thanks for looking..

Ken Moss
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flyinbronco
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by flyinbronco »

Nice work Ken. When are you going to get Don, Dave and the rest of the boys over here?
Proud member of Moss Brothers Racing Score class 3 Champions
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DirtyMexican
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by DirtyMexican »

im a big fan!
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by Drilim »

Awesome to see you here. Have always loved your guys rig.
Last edited by Drilim on Tue Dec 22, 2009 5:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
MOSS2
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by MOSS2 »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS5W5bul ... r_embedded

Link to the Bronco in action at Vegas to Reno. One of the few races where I have been wanting more HP due to the higher altitudes, endless silt and fast uphill roads.

Ken
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by randomthoughtsracing »

The beach shot looks like a special (tide comes in here) place south of San Felipe! Ill be sure to say hi next time you roll through contingency.
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by SteveG »

That second shot is just bitchin', Ken! What a cool start you guys had with that rig. I wonder if you guys realize how many fans you have.
Sho nuff,
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by randomthoughtsracing »

Im a fan!
MOSS2
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by MOSS2 »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCh-XB2xjVk

Laughlin. Don playing with Stock Fulls and Trophy Lites .

The Beach shot is actually the Pacific south of Ensenada. Punta Banda.
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by MOSS2 »

Some shots of our new this year Ruff Stuff Specialties rear end housing. Gained some good ground clearance with this unit and lots more strength than our old housings.The old ones would make it a couple seasons before being too bent and beat to use. After looking at several of the manufactured housings I think this is one of the cleanest designs out there. Ken
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MOSS2
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by MOSS2 »

Couple more.
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by Becks_Bronco »

damn, that thing looks beastly...
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by Salttoy »

Hey Ken,

Nice write up, missed you out in the desert for New Years. See you at the Mint.

- Gary
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by Polarcub »

Thanks for sharing the pics and info, have always loved the 78/79 Broncos and its a great thing to see yours out there kickin arse! Hope to see it in person one day.
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Nick
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by Nick »

I'm just curious, you've been at the top of the heap for a long time. Where do you go from here? It will be interesting to see what some of the newer entries into the class will do, if they ever get completed...
"If at first you don't succeed, it may be cheaper to buy it."
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by philofab »

Are all of the rivets on the chassis replaced with bolts for strength or ease of repair???
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by MOSS2 »

philofab wrote:Are all of the rivets on the chassis replaced with bolts for strength or ease of repair???

Everything is bolted mostly for ease of repair and has been removed at one time or another. just about all suspension mounts etc have been changed several times. Things like the stock radius arm mounts when we used to use those for years required larger bolts with spacers to get them long enough to torque/stretch. Spring hangers and most brackets are in chase truck boxes. Don made everything bolt so the frame could be replacesd which it needs to be done now.
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by MOSS2 »

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2010

MOSS BROTHERS LOOK FOR 3 OF A KIND AT MINT 400

Sacramento, CA – Sacramento’s Moss Brothers Racing team is heading for the wilds of Nevada to compete in this weekend’s General Tire Mint 400 Off Road race. Brothers Don and Ken Moss will be piloting their stalwart 1979 KC HiLiTES Ford Bronco with the support of their ‘Black Bronco Crew’ as they join nearly 300 racers on the Moapa Indian Reservation north of Las Vegas on Saturday, March 27, intent on winning their third Class 3 title at this event.

The Moss Brothers have been campaigning the same KC HiLiTES Ford Bronco for 10 years now in off road racing and estimate that they have put over 20,000 OFF ROAD miles on it in that time. The Moss Brothers have won seven SCORE Class 3 championships and have 31 class wins in those ten years. The all volunteer ‘Black Bronco Crew’ that supports the Moss Brothers are excited to get back in the dirt after making numerous repairs to the KC HiLiTES Bronco following the punishing SCORE Baja 1000 race last November.

Mint 400 race festivities will start on Wednesday, March 24 with a kick-off party at Hussong’s Cantina at Mandalay Bay. On Thursday, the increasingly popular FanFest on Fremont Street will take place between 6 and 8 pm. Moss Brothers Racing will hopefully be in town in time to participate in Thursday’s events, but will definitely be present and accounted for during Friday’s Contingency and Tech Parade, also on Fremont Street.

This year’s course will feature 4 laps on a 106 mile loop with five pit stops. There is no charge to come watch and there are several spectator areas set up. (See www.snoreracing.net for details). Racing starts at 7 am on Saturday, March 27 and Class 3 will be the third to the last class off the line. This has proven challenging in years past as the KC HiLiTES Bronco will have to battle the dust from the other entries while trying to navigate around other racers who may have already wrecked on course. An eighteen hour time limit has been allowed for completion. The race will be televised on Versus network and is set to air on May 5, but check your local listings for more details.
www.mossbrothersracing.com
# # #

CONTACT: Michelle Read
Michelle@mossbrothersracing.com
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by Dust »

The 78/9 Bronco will always be my choice for pure badassed looks!
Thank You for sharing!

Quick question, which you may have answered many times.
Why strap the front short? Class rules?
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Re: MOSS BROTHERS 79 BRONCO CLASS 3 RACER

Post by MOSS2 »

Dust wrote:The 78/9 Bronco will always be my choice for pure badassed looks!
Thank You for sharing!

Quick question, which you may have answered many times.
Why strap the front short? Class rules?

Well the reason the front is strapped is to save a long chain of modifications and testing and modification and testing.
It is currently at the limit of the front CV joint. Sure you can go find a little higher limit driveline...but another half inch and the steering binds. So you can redesign the steering with custom parts and build spares... but oops now the steering isn't matched to the track bar travel. So the track bar needs another redesign and mount which puts even more leverage on a frame area prone to problems. So now everthing is rebuilt and cycles okay in the shop... but now the track bar and steering is pretty steep angle at full droop. So if you hit any sort of holes or side hits drooped out while making a slight or not so slight left turn it bends the track bar, steering and sector shaft. Basically we would rather drive it than work on it all the time. There is a pretty fast Black Jeep out there that is limited to not much more than we are for I suspect similar reasons.
I have seen some builds claim more travel with straight axle Bronco setups but never heard of one completing San Felipe Loop with 40mph or greater average yet. Pounding them for 24hours straight will definitely find weakness that occasional sand dune romps may take years to discover. I dont know how many times we have checked out vehicles before a race that look like they should be sooo fast then race time comes and you pass them like they are towing a trailer or something. On the other hand a docile looking thing like a Hall family Hummer in a stock class with reported 9" of travel can be some work to keep up with or pass. Its still got to be tuned and driven whatever it is.

Not any travel limits currently. I think BITD had one when the class was alive there.
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