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Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:41 pm
by SteveG
Well, that did’t go as planned!

The family and I took Wilson to Cal City for Easter... got there around 10pm, set up camp, unloaded Wilson, my youngest daughter wanted to go for a ride so we gave it a quick and mild hot lap around camp.. worked great.

The next morning, I made some adjustments to the front shocks, took it for another hot lap, nothing crazy, just some mild whoops, no more than half throttle and, ZING! No more go. Just revs. All gears gone, fluid still looks like it just came out of the bottle.

Something just plain broke... maybe the pump? Anyway, trans is out and gets checked out soon.

The good news is, it didn’t fail in the middle of the desert, or in San Felipe, where it was scheduled to be in two days!

https://youtu.be/6C4YBcFvEUA

Re: Stretched GFB by Rugged-Wilson is back!

Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2021 4:16 am
by AussieRod
Probably took the splines out of the planetary (aluminum) just like what happened to yikes at Pizmo.

Re:

Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 8:58 pm
by SteveG
SteveG wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:41 pm
Well, that did’t go as planned!

The family and I took Wilson to Cal City for Easter... got there around 10pm, set up camp, unloaded Wilson, my youngest daughter wanted to go for a ride so we gave it a quick and mild hot lap around camp.. worked great.

The next morning, I made some adjustments to the front shocks, took it for another hot lap, nothing crazy, just some mild whoops, no more than half throttle and, ZING! No more go. Just revs. All gears gone, fluid still looks like it just came out of the bottle.

Something just plain broke... maybe the pump? Anyway, trans is out and gets checked out soon.

The good news is, it didn’t fail in the middle of the desert, or in San Felipe, where it was scheduled to be in two days!

https://youtu.be/6C4YBcFvEUA

I posted on my ig but never came back here with an update… the center shaft sheared. It looked like it had been fractured for a bit before finally letting go… one too many whoops!!!

A huge thanks to Don Moss for all the help getting it back together!!!

Re: Stretched GFB by Rugged-Wilson is back!

Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:56 pm
by 805BroncoAZ
Is there an original build thread on this truck?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Stretched GFB by Rugged-Wilson is back!

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:31 am
by Wrightracing.net
I am pretty sure there is one, but it may be under Chris Wilson. Glen Straightiff built it. I was on a race team with Glen and Ramsey El Wardani back when it was in the shop.

Re: Stretched GFB by Rugged-Wilson is back!

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 7:24 am
by PaulW
The drive train in the Bronco was totally stock until I bought the Mogi unit from Kupiec. It supposedly was a fresh one.
Steve I saw your post last April about you breaking it. but I missed a follow-up on the replacement.
Can you tell me what you are now using?

Re: Stretched GFB by Rugged-Wilson is back!

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 9:02 am
by PaulW
805BroncoAZ wrote:
Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:56 pm
Is there an original build thread on this truck?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
=== = =
I guess you are new to the forum
Will do the search and post the results
Recognize that the rig is now revised since SteveG took it over. Body and cage remain.

Re: Stretched GFB by Rugged-Wilson is back!

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 10:04 am
by SteveG
PaulW wrote:
Tue Feb 08, 2022 7:24 am
The drive train in the Bronco was totally stock until I bought the Mogi unit from Kupiec. It supposedly was a fresh one.
Steve I saw your post last April about you breaking it. but I missed a follow-up on the replacement.
Can you tell me what you are now using?
Hey Paul,

The same transmission, just rebuilt. The sheared center shaft was replaced with a billet unit. So far so good.

Re: Stretched GFB by Rugged-Wilson is back!

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 3:19 pm
by SteveG
Sad broken center shaft:
IMG-4334.JPG
IMG-4334.JPG (226.9 KiB) Viewed 4350 times

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:24 pm
by SteveG
Fiiinally getting around to updating the brake system....

I know some people don't agree with it, but I'm removing the ABS system and booster system in favor a simple, manual brake set up with a LONG brake pedal and high ratio to make up for the loss of power brakes.

Right now, the car has an electric brake boost system. if I remember correctly, it's from a Lincoln... maybe Paul will correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, the new set up will include two (identical) separate master cylinders for front and rear. In the event of a failure, front or rear will continue to work independently.

Also, the bracket is powder coated white because I can't stand dark parts in hard to reach areas... I want to be able to see when I'm hanging upside-down, trying to fix something under the dash!

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:28 pm
by toddz69
Looks like a nice piece! What will the pedal ratio be? I'll be curious of your impressions of it after you have it in the truck.

I believe Paul used the ABS Power Brake Service electric kit in the truck.

Todd Z.

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:50 pm
by SteveG
toddz69 wrote:
Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:28 pm
Looks like a nice piece! What will the pedal ratio be? I'll be curious of your impressions of it after you have it in the truck.

I believe Paul used the ABS Power Brake Service electric kit in the truck.

Todd Z.
Hey Todd, I don't remember the ratio. I'll have to look it up. As you can see in the photo, it's pretty long pedal (I think about 4" longer than stock), and the cylinders are way up there.

I'm curious to see how it feels, too. I like manual brakes because of the great feedback they provide. I assume and hope this will be no different.

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 5:37 pm
by SteveG
So I'm working on doing a better job of documenting things and stuff... people often ask about wheel travel numbers, droop versus bump travel.... Well, the truth is, these days, life is busy... family, work, and everything in between, means I don't usually think about that kind of stuff, but Broncos are a passion I love to share, so I'm working on it! Here's a full droop photo. I know I took measurements at the time of this photo but I couldn't locate them during a quick search. I'll either find them or measure again soon.

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 6:00 pm
by Nick
Nice!

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 11:55 am
by 24hours
In my opinion it remains the pinnacle of the stretched Broncos. The b Pilar retains the OEM aesthetic, it has links, but everything still tucks under the sheet metal. It looks as though it could have been delivered that way directly from Ford.

I personally can’t get enough of Wilson and was sad when I realized I missed it by just a few weeks when it was for sale.

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 10:52 am
by PaulW
Of course the build desire was to make it look OEM as possible.
Front fenders are glass by Autofab with the least amount of width. Rear fenders are just pushed out as far as possible without creating any wrinkles. Fitment and rear fenders were done by Glen Strightiff. The rear axle housing is the same width as any Econoline with a 9" which is slightly wider than stock Bronco/F150

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 6:14 pm
by 24hours
Well you guys did a phenomenal job. I took a ton of pics at the 1000 this year.

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:18 pm
by SteveG
24hours wrote:
Fri Mar 24, 2023 11:55 am
In my opinion it remains the pinnacle of the stretched Broncos. The b Pilar retains the OEM aesthetic, it has links, but everything still tucks under the sheet metal. It looks as though it could have been delivered that way directly from Ford.

I personally can’t get enough of Wilson and was sad when I realized I missed it by just a few weeks when it was for sale.
Hi Jay. Thanks. It really is a great truck. We used it often and it has served us very well! Fortunately, it was very well sorted when we got it and we haven’t made any major changes other than front shocks (changed to FOX internal bypass), and some reinforcing of the front, upper shock mounts. Aside from that, it’s really only been updates, rebuilds and typical prerunner things.

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 9:17 pm
by SteveG
Per usual, Rage to the River was a rad time! A recent re-valve in the front shocks (and removal of internal bypass components) paid off big time. The car drove like I wanted it to and took the rough and big bumps even better than it used to… can’t wait to get it out again for New Year’s.

https://youtube.com/shorts/hkE-p8eOC70? ... KZNh5cQxnm

Re: Rugged Radios Stretched Bronco - Factory Race Support, Tacos, and Coffee!

Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 9:37 pm
by SteveG
Pre-R2R shock rebuild (and video above)…

Shocks out… I like using the stock (but extended) inner fender-liners. They provide plenty of protection and remove in about 5 minutes… makes it way easier to get to things!