94 Bronco - Budget Build

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Tue Sep 20, 2016 6:42 am

Hey guys!

I have been a long time follower of this site and thoroughly love seeing all of the builds and knowledge shared - which prompted me to start my own build thread. I have had my bronco for about 4 years or so, and have only started getting into the gofast realm for about the last 2 years. Money is tight as I am a full-time college student, so I can't build the truck as quickly as I would like. My end goal is for it to be a moderate-prerunner, but of course we all know how that changes. I would like to end up with King 2.5x14" coilovers in the front followed by a 2.5x14" bypass and then with either 3.0x14-16" in the rear. But we will see how it goes - like the title said, this is a budget build! So let's get started!

Information about the truck:
1994 Ford Bronco XLT
5.8L V8
E4OD Transmission
179k Miles
5 x BFGoodrich Mud Terrains 35x12.5R15
Previously had 6" Rough Country Lift kit (coils and blocks for the rear)

Performance:
Cold Air Intake
MSD Race Ignition coil, plugs, wires, etc.
Tranny stage 3 race chip (Previous owner - don't know the details on it).

Front:
Deaver 5.5" F64C Coil Springs
Camburg Coil Buckets
10" Bilstein 7100 valved at 255/70
Extended Radius Arms
Custom Drop Bracket (done by previous owner)
Axle Pivot points converted to Heim Joints (PO)
D44 Front Differential
4x4 Manual locking hubs
4.88 Yukon Gear and Axle LSD

Rear:
Ford 8.8 Rear Axle
4.88 open differential
Deaver J40 Leafs
Camburg Extended Shackles
14" Bilstein 5100's valved at 255/70
Custom Rear Upper shock mount

Misc:
20" LED Lightbar
2 KC Off-Road Lights
2 LED light pods
Front Bumper brush gaurd
Custom Roof Rack
Nerf Siren
2 x 10" Magnum subwoofers w/ 800w monoblock amp
4 x 100w Power Jensen amp
2 x 6x9 Pioneer 3-way speakers (rear)
2 x 6.5" Pioneer 2-way speakers (front)

Future Mods:
King 2.5x14" C/O's w/ Solomotorsports custom engine cage
King 2.5x14" bypasses
King 3.0x14-16" bypasses
Front 3" Wide glass
Rear 3" wide glass
Remove drop bracket and switch to C&T beams possibly
Rear TrueTrac locker
Front and rear custom bumpers
Full cage
Race Seats (Mastercraft, PRP, or Corbeau) - in the market for some btw.

When I first got the truck:

: When I first got the truck; IMG_0413.JPG (218.91 KiB) Viewed 4854 times

First wheeling trip in the Rio Puerco:

: Rio Puerco, NM; FullSizeRender.jpg (128.28 KiB) Viewed 4854 times

Some Muddy Fun:

: Mudding; IMG_1129.JPG (215.2 KiB) Viewed 4854 times

Baby flex with sway bar removed:

: baby flex front sway bar removal; IMG_1188.JPG (204.31 KiB) Viewed 4854 times

Rear axle C-clip broke and destroyed the entire rear end:

: c-clip destruction; IMG_1394.JPG (236.56 KiB) Viewed 4854 times

New rear axle:

: new 8.8; IMG_1427.JPG (154.99 KiB) Viewed 4854 times

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Tue Sep 20, 2016 6:45 am

Few months later, front axle heim joint pivot broke:

: heim joint pivot point; IMG_1577.JPG (210.96 KiB) Viewed 4853 times

Front Suspension redone (driver):

: driver front; Driver_Front.jpg (90.71 KiB) Viewed 4853 times

Front Suspension redone (passenger):

: passenger front; Passenger_Front.jpg (57.28 KiB) Viewed 4853 times

Flex test:

: flex test1; IMG_2700.JPG (177.52 KiB) Viewed 4853 times

: flex test2; IMG_2701.JPG (194.51 KiB) Viewed 4853 times

Shenanigans:

: shenanigans; IMG_2890.JPG (217.29 KiB) Viewed 4853 times

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Tue Sep 20, 2016 6:49 am

Rear suspension started - removal of leafs, hangers, shackles, axle perches, everything:

: rear torn down; Rear_Removed.jpg (94.4 KiB) Viewed 4852 times

Customer upper shock mount:

: upper mount; Rear_Upper_Mount.jpg (78.73 KiB) Viewed 4852 times

Upper shock mount in place with Bilsteins attached:

: shocks attached; Rear_Upper_Shock_Mount.jpg (68.41 KiB) Viewed 4852 times

Pinion angle needed to be fixed, so we were re-welding the new axle perches on. A little bit of a droop pic:

: more work...; Finished_New_Perches_Droop.jpg (68.61 KiB) Viewed 4852 times

New rear Suspension done - let's do a jeep thing... tire flex!:

: jeep flex; Jeep_Tire_Flex.jpg (72.96 KiB) Viewed 4852 times

I will upload more pics of the leafs, shackles, and hangers when I get home - most of this was what was on my phone.

Kx125str99 · Post by **Kx125str99** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 4:08 pm

Nice build. Looks great. Where did you get the rear upper shock mount bracket

Tchajagos · Post by **Tchajagos** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 5:26 pm

If you can I would put some more tabs on that rear shock mount for double shear. Why not just put another tab on each side and not have to worry about the single shear breaking off.

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 5:51 am

Kx125str99 wrote:Nice build. Looks great. Where did you get the rear upper shock mount bracket

Thanks man. I got the shock mount from a buddy who had it on his bronco - I believe it was custom made either by himself or some local shop.

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 5:53 am

Tchajagos wrote:If you can I would put some more tabs on that rear shock mount for double shear. Why not just put another tab on each side and not have to worry about the single shear breaking off.

The reason for it being single shear at the moment was because it was kind of "throw it all together to see where everything ends up" in order to figure out where I need to tune.
I need to set bumps and limit straps - so when I have everything disassembled and set properly then I will convert to double shear.

I totally agree - wouldn't want that single shear breaking in the middle of nowhere on a wheeling trip! I don't do very hard wheeling, yet, but who's to say it can't happen

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Tue Oct 11, 2016 10:00 am

So much for keeping this thing a budget build... I managed to get my hands on a setup of 2.5x12" Sway away coil overs for a steal. Originally I was going to run as just a shock in the rear, but after talking with Dave over at Threat Motorsports, we were able to work out a deal on some coil over engine cage mounts.

I will be picking the C/O's up on Wednesday, and I should hopefully have the mounts shipped out next week!

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 6:53 am

Well I picked these up a little earlier then expected! 2.5x12" Sway-Away coil overs running a 500/600 spring rate. I have no idea what the valving is, but it was valved for a V8 so it should work out great.

: coil overs; coilovers.jpg (693.4 KiB) Viewed 4602 times

I have my mounts being made by Dave @ Threat Motorsports, which should be here in a few weeks. And, I managed to score some King 2.5x12" smoothies for the rear of the truck as well.

Hoping to have this all put together by end of November!

funinthesun95 · Post by **funinthesun95** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 12:04 pm

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 7:05 am

so Friday my coil over mounts came in from Dave @ Threat - love the way they turned out. Very clean and timely. I wanted to get started on Saturday but things came up which delayed my start until Sunday morning. They bolted straight up for the most part - although I had to ream a few holes. They were only off by maybe 1/8" or so.

: Bucket mounted; IMG_3517.JPG (620.12 KiB) Viewed 4446 times

The mounts also cleared everything on the passenger side as well - there are a few hoses that need to be re-routed, but other then that it was solid.

: top of bucket; IMG_3518.JPG (771.2 KiB) Viewed 4446 times

I'm still amazed by the welds, probably because I am a horrible welder myself.

: close up of bucket; IMG_3519.JPG (580.83 KiB) Viewed 4446 times

After getting the old stuff off and the new stuff on, it was time to remove the bracketry for the dual shock setup so that I could get a solid place to mount the lower shock tabs on top of the radius arm. This meant removing those stud bolts... let me tell you, those were a pain in the #$%! I cut off the top thread of the upper stud enough to where I could get a deep socket on it, then with the help of a 2ft cheater bar and a 1/2" breaker bar, it began coming out.

: upper radius arm stud; IMG_3520.JPG (456.33 KiB) Viewed 4446 times

The bottom one on the other hand... was a hole different story. I had soaked it prior to starting with some penetrating oil and it still was not budging. I ended up having to use an 8ft pole as my cheater bar in order to get enough leverage so that it would finally break. Once I got it spinning, I could get it out with the impact no problem.

: lower radius arm stud; IMG_3521.JPG (120.08 KiB) Viewed 4446 times

I had removed the upper bolt to grind off some clean surfaces in order for clean contact with the welds. Upon putting that bolt in somehow the threads got nerfed at the beginning. So off to the hardware store so that I could get a tap and die set... best $70 bucks I have ever spent. It worked like a champ and the upper bolt began sliding back through no problem.

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 7:14 am

After fixing the nerfed stud bolt, I began prepping my shears for welding. I am not a welder by any means (although I have always wanted to learn - it's a MUST for this hobby). I broke out my dads little welder and began doing tacks so that I could get everything aligned and centered. I thought it was good, so I attempted to wiggle it and the whole shear just came off... oops! Did I mention I am not a welder?
I have my dad assist me, as he does not have much more experience than I do. We ground off my welds, and tried again. His tacks looked good, they didn't break with us moving it around, solid? Hmm...

We bolted the C/O up, and began cycling. 3 pumps in with the jack and the tab broke off... man we are batting a million here. So we decided to take a break, and pause, and think about this. I began texting some of my buddies for their thoughts and opinions - one of my friends gave us some good advice so we decided to attempt it again. My dad lined everything up and began heating that sucker up. After about 3-4 tacks, we stopped and attempted to wiggle it. They did not move. We bolted up the C/O and began cycling, and they held. Whoohoo! So we got the other shear lined up and tacked, bolted the C/O and cycled again - everything was holding and the C/O was going very smooth.

I started this project at 9AM, and didn't finish until 5:30PM. I had everything unbolted and the new stuff bolted on by 11AM - but because of those setbacks and our horrible welding skills, it pushed us further and further. But, needless to say, I have my passenger side done now:

: mounted; IMG_3522.JPG (650.02 KiB) Viewed 4445 times

: top mount; IMG_3523.JPG (677.25 KiB) Viewed 4445 times

I am having my buddy do a final burn in on my bottom shears so that they actually stay on the truck and so that we are not relying on our welds... scary! Hopefully I can get the driver side done sometime this week and have it ready to test this weekend!

Learned some good lessons as well. Take frequent breaks, patience is key AND use the right tool for the job!

dtbback · Post by **dtbback** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 11:01 am

Looking good! Love those towers!

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 11:15 am

dtbback wrote:Looking good! Love those towers!

Thanks man! Yeah those towers are pretty freaking cool!

squirelmurphy · Post by **squirelmurphy** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 11:28 am

I'm interested in your old coil buckets if you're looking to sell.

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 11:32 am

squirelmurphy wrote:I'm interested in your old coil buckets if you're looking to sell.

I am thinking of selling the entire front setup as a kit (buckets, springs, and maybe the shocks). I haven't decided yet, and won't know until I get the C/Os on.
I have another person who already expressed interest and will be my first contact if I decide to sell.

But keep in contact so that if something doesn't work out, you have second choice.

squirelmurphy · Post by **squirelmurphy** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:22 pm

Cool, thanks!

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:05 am

Well Sunday we had a local GoFast get together with some of the other prerunners in town - so it prompted me to get my butt moving on my driver side. Wednesday I started tearing down the driver side to get it prepped for the new bucket what not. Had everything off and bolted up in under an hour or so. Thursday I was able to finish up with the installation and clean up some things here and there. Friday evening I was ready to cycle the suspension and find my lower tab mounting locations - this is when I also came to the conclusion that my little welder does not like thick stuff. Luckily, my buddy brought his 220v and was able to help me out. Took about 45 minutes and the bronco finally had coil overs on it.

I buttoned everything up and began cutting the inner fender liner so I could retain a somewhat stock look. Driver side was complete.

On the passenger side there is a hose that runs to the top of the water pump and up into the firewall - it also has a little cap that you can turn (not sure what it is), but it was being crushed by the bucket so I tried to bend it up and out of the way. I ended up putting a hole in the tube and anti-freeze began dripping out, wonderful! After cutting the old section off and sliding the hose back on, I got it seated on there. Sunday was a good shake down, the truck felt good. That same coolant hose broke again, no idea why. I had to drive it to O'Reillys with coolant pouring out of the truck in order to get a replacement hose. After about 45 minutes I was able to get it to stop and finally hold. Back to the trail!

Had some good tests and shakedown runs, I am very pleased with how the truck handled. One concern though is I have a huge camber problem. If you read my posts in some of the other boards, camber and my truck just do not get along and I have no idea why.

I set my preload initially at 3/4" on both sides. The driver side had about a -2* camber angle roughly and the passenger side sat at about -5*. I had an alignment done on the truck before the coilovers and I was sitting at -2 & -3*. I tightened up my preload a little bit more pushing it to roughly 1"-1-1/8" and I am sitting still at around -1 on the driver side, and about -2 on the passenger.

Any ideas on what I need to adjust or how much more preload I need? The spring rates are 500/600.

Oh, and I will upload pics sometime tomorrow!

JonMac31 · Post by **JonMac31** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:05 am

Well I wasn't able to get a whole lot of pictures, but I did manage to snap one of the driver side completely done. I really liked the way the inner fender liner structure came out - almost gives it that stock look.

: IMG_3539.JPG (835.87 KiB) Viewed 4272 times

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 11:04 pm

What do those coil buckets run? Those are pretty slick compared to others out there- I'd like to hear or see how they cleared the the master cylinder if you have anymore pics.