1450 Bronco: Redo

[Capt_Mike]

Hey There!!

So, I got my new (to me) 1450 Bronco (I was raced twice in 2009) Parker 425 and one other race. Then it was used now and then as a desert toy, then the barn
So I bought, got it fix it up a bit, its "street legal" LOL. loud, and fun.

Basic Stats:
Location: San Diego, Ca
1986 Bronco, with 96' front clip.
Fiberglass hood front and rear fenders.
Full 2" cage.
86 Bronco 1450 class 351w (393 Stroker - Carb), HEI, MSD 6AL, Ford Racing Crate, Iron heads and block, Aluminum intake, crappy hooker shorty headers.
C6, BW1345, B&M 80842 Pro Ratchet; Automatic Shifter
Rear: Coleman 9" full floater 35 spline n spool-5.13 ratio, 35's on 15inch wheels,Rear 3" Deavers SOA, anti-wrap shock.
Front: dana44 cut n turn, Double Swing arm steering, coilovers 2.5 ADS 450/450lbs springs, no bypass shocks front.
PRP seats, ADS Racing Shocks, Wilwood superlites II (rear), CNC dual master cylinders, UMP 4" (way to small for that engine), Fresh Air, intercom, race radio, 2 fire Ext, have a Fire suppression system to install.
38 gallon Fuel Safe Cell, double Holly red fuel pumps w/check valves.
oil, trans coolers,

When I got it was a mess, wiring everywhere, holes in the fire walls, etc.
The C6 Trans is a sledge hammer barks the tires on the 2-3 shift every-time.
The engine is strong has a mild RV cam (guessing), I say strong as I have 10 sec 750hp Charger, so its not that strong for sure but it does go. (If I could only put that charger engine in the Bronco! how ever its supercharged so thats a no go. --- hot rod dreams)

Goal: I want to race it in class 2000 and Class 3, Norra 500, and such. I don't have lots of money behind me, just my own blue collar money. Have some basic fabrication skills, and reasonable mechanic.

I'm hoping some of the many experts on here can give me an education going forward. I believe the suspension needs the most work (money).

First, it the rig too high? There is a lot of space between the frame and bump stops that is unused. On the rear is about 12" of usable space that is prevented. Front is a good 6" of uptravel that is prevented. It's always on the bumps, about an inch of uptravel before hitting them. Someone said that is good as it works like a sway bar. (I'm thinking sway bars work like sway bars) But, maybe I'm wrong?
It seems that the rear shocks should be moved outboard to the leafs, more leverage.
Having spoken to Jeff at Giant Motor Sports, the future is to use his Leaf Killer set up.

Second, is to install a third seat which means a rear cage.
Third to move the spare tires further back and lower.

Thanks for letting me join! And, your help/advice in advance. I have be really amazed about how helpful the off-road racing community has been so far.

Sorry some of the photos are at odd angles.

[1Hondalover]

Looks like it will be a cool rig Capt. More here can better share leaf experience than I, but since the rear susp is clear in your pics I'll give it a try. From the condition of the undercarriage it looks like someone has been racing the beach!

Not sure about the ride height you describe, but your rig shouldn't look like it has a "lift kit" for sure. Those leaves look like they could hold up my F350, and the bumps are very close at static. And the shock shafts look a bit stubby like the bodies are a weence too long...... Funny position on that axle you'll have to renovate for sure.

Again not a leaf guy, but those I know and those I've seen run very hard and very smooth on leafs and matching components that are well beyond proven. Set aside the dollars required to do so, Desolate et al can sell you a weekend's worth of parts that will fix that rearend forever.

For sure Geoff has some valid magic.....I'm just not sure anything "Killer" is necessary.

[Capt_Mike]

Just Mike is fine.

Thanks for the help Honda. I agree the rear leafs ride like 10 yard Concrete Truck. I will be blasting the frame soon, can't stand it my day job is anti-corrosion. If you run the beach, you can at least rinse it off, right?

[mobil1syn]

if it was mine, id start with the following
- pull springs off coil overs, break down rear leaf pack and set it at bump, check to see if im leaving travel on the table. if so redo shock mounts
- it appears the rear shackle is stock and may be limiting travel
- get a 3.0 bypass in the back mounted outside the frame rails
- id move the air bump to the inside of the frame

[ChaseTruck754]

Like you suspect & has already been noted, I'd change up the rear shock setup too. For the front end bumping metal (beam) to metal (frame) can be tough do to binding in the joints, etc. For the rear you should be able to swing it, although the link killer leafs may help in that endeavor.
The shocks would be better as far outboard as you can get them. Should be able to get them outside of the frame fairly easily with what all you talk about redoing back there.

[Capt_Mike]

Thanks Gents!

if it was mine, id start with the following
- pull springs off coil overs, break down rear leaf pack and set it at bump, check to see if im leaving travel on the table. if so redo shock mounts
- it appears the rear shackle is stock and may be limiting travel
- get a 3.0 bypass in the back mounted outside the frame rails
- id move the air bump to the inside of the frame

Done, I have suspected all of this but did want to reinvent the wheel without consulting with someone more experienced.
I never thought of moving the rear bumps inboard (great idea!)

Question: Can I set the front bumps on a TTB at close to frame? Say 1 inch clearance at full bump?

Question: Can I set the ride height with coilover pre-load, shorter springs? (that seems like a bad idea) or is it best to move the upper mount point? I'm currently at zero preload on front coil overs.

thanks again!

[Becks_Bronco]

What’s happening here?

Very interesting build for sure.

[Capt_Mike]

Haha! That had me stumped too. Its an old school axle anti-wrap device. The idea is that it can extend and compress with travel yet still prevent wrap. I'm going to put a go-pro down there to see if it works. It seem that tabs should be longer to give it more torsional leverage on the axle. I don't know if its better than a two link? Do they work?

[ChaseTruck754]

Question: Can I set the front bumps on a TTB at close to frame? Say 1 inch clearance at full bump?

Question: Can I set the ride height with coilover pre-load, shorter springs? (that seems like a bad idea) or is it best to move the upper mount point? I'm currently at zero preload on front coil overs.

Question 1 - maybe. pull the springs off the shocks & bumps out & cycle it. Most will have enough bind in the joints on the axles that they can't bump all the way to frame before something else binds. It's just gonna be a bit of time in cycling things to see where your limits are. Take the time to do this & then bump it & strap it at these limits & your components should remain happier longer.

Question 2 - maybe (see what I did there??). This all depends on your current spring setup. If you're happy with the current spring rate and how things work then you can move the shock up. If there is room for improvement then maybe look at a tender/preload spring and changing things up. Again this can be time consuming and a bit of trial/error.

To me your truck doesn't look overly high. These TTB trucks have more droop than bump travel for sure, and they are setup a bit higher often so as to gain a bit more bump travel. This has it's own side affects (higher COG related stuff mainly) but different guys have different opinions on what is more important to them or what they expect out of the truck. Lowering the ride height obviously puts you closer to the bump stops, so I suggest cycling and sorting those out 1st, then adjusting ride height after. That way you kind of have your limits set and you can adjust ride height to what you want knowing those constraints.

Another thing to think about here is the cut & turn on the beam & what it was designed for. Not sure what alignment cams are in the beam, but look at these & trying to adjust things as you set ride height. It would suck to get a ride height you want and realize you're out of play/adjustment on the cam & need to move a ball joint to get things back in spec. Not as critical in dirt only toy/race truck of course, but even race trucks like to steer nice.

[sydude]

Hi Mike! Great to see you on here, what took you so long?! Your Bronco looks awesome, can’t wait to see it blossom further.

Sy (IG BroncoSpeed)

[Capt_Mike]

Chase! Wow, solid and clear advice.

1. That seem easy enough, save all the jacking and knuckle busting. I would think setting say 10% less than binding would be a good start in both ways.

2. That makes sense.

The rest: It is not overly high, but seems to me that it would perform a bit better if it was about 2" lower which would get the CG inside of the upper side of the tires. I would rather it slide than tip n flip. (makes me happy)
It has been cut and turned, for where its sitting now, have to check how much camber is left. Thanks bud!

Sy! Sup man! thanks for your tricks and tips. Looking at those dash designs you sent me now. Hope to bang some parts out this weekend.

[Capt_Mike]

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1C_wYwBXGG ... 7vib6gjjqd

Howdy all, here is link to first run.