GoFastBroncos.com

Yes, I bought a Bronco. It is in POOR condition, but I believe it is saveable and it has almost all the parts that are necessary to get it running again. It's an '81 or '82 model, 6 cylinder alloy head 250 c.i. six, NP435 4 speed, 4.11:1 rear 9" with the braced housing, 4.09:1 front with bolt-in third, the power steering box is still there (pump and brackets aren't), no steering column or connector shaft, driver's seat is missing, along with the radiator and shroud (have those from the F truck). It needs a LOT of work, however I believe the body is in better condition than Mick's Bronco, so I have a good starting point.
Pics:

It has the usual rust for Australian Broncos, in the cowl, upper firewall, etc but nothing I see is unrepairable. More pics:

Some of the pics are from FB Marketplace, prior to me getting there. He sold a few things off it before I could confirm and pay for it, but I have the foundations of a project, and I am chasing up a steering column and shaft, power steer lines, and other stuff I need to make it run. Once it runs, I'll strip the cab to a bare shell, evaluate it, then pull it off the chassis , make a dedicated wheeled dolly for it and get it sandblasted back for the repairs it needs. The rolling chassis will go up the yard under a tarp until I have the body in white, then it will get some love and be reunited with the cab. I'll think about it more closer to Xmas, as I have the F100 to get finished first.
More later.

What's the final plan? V8 swap? Hows the ute coming?

hobbyturnedobsession wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 06, 2023 2:45 pm

What's the final plan? V8 swap? Hows the ute coming?

Hey Randy,

Right now, very little. When I have time, I'll make it run, then strip the cab down bare to evaluate what it needs to rebuild it and go from there. I've half a mind to use parts from the truck to fix it, but I'm slowly working on that to get it finished. It's likely I will put the 435 from the Bronco in the truck fronted by a 302 Clev and keep the good 351 and AOD for the Bronco. It's a bit up in the air right now.

Hell of a project. Respect. Didn't know rust was that bad down there. As an ignorant American I assumed more desert climate v. coastal living. Brake booster on the wrong side too.

Quicksand wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 12, 2023 11:53 am

Hell of a project. Respect. Didn't know rust was that bad down there. As an ignorant American I assumed more desert climate v. coastal living. Brake booster on the wrong side too.

Nah,the rust is mostly only surface rust, from being left exposed to our shitty weather. I'd have to move north west to be in desert climate (thinking of doing that soon, maybe). Booster is on the correct side for Arse-tralia.

Well, it's definately going onto the back burner for now, as I got fired Monday. It seems the workshop manager and the new national maintainence manager conspired to engineer my 'resignation'. I was fired. When you are told "We don't want you here anymore, you need to leave", that's being fired, right? Anyway, going to take a little time out to fix stuff around the house and sell off the stuff I don't need to fund my new lifestyle. More updates next week.

Not the update I was expecting. That sucks, maybe. I was basically reorg'd out of a job. They'd never tell anyone to leave just give 'special projects' to inspire you to leave. I was able to take an early retirement. Not ideal, but no regrets. Life is better now. Hope it all works out for you.

Quicksand wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 01, 2023 6:04 am

Not the update I was expecting. That sucks, maybe. I was basically reorg'd out of a job. They'd never tell anyone to leave just give 'special projects' to inspire you to leave. I was able to take an early retirement. Not ideal, but no regrets. Life is better now. Hope it all works out for you.

It's all good. I'll dig up some part time work next week so I'll have time to actually work on it and finish the F100. I'm too young and poor for 'early retirement', but that could be on the cards yet.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I'm working again, so this might actually start in the new year. Have to get rid of some un-needed stuff first to make room.

and Merry Christmas to you! Hope it's all shaping up for a good 2024.

I've been crook for the last 3 days and been home and sleeping most of the time. My Dad had a 'flu shot" last week (the real one) and came down with it straight away. Of course, he came to visit and I got it, too. One of our very few shared weaknesses.

Anyway, today (Friday), I've been up the back and looking at the Bronco sitting there, with a lot of thoughts going through my head. Things here have been a bit strained at home for a while, and self preservation and reliance have started the voices in my head. Don't get me wrong here, I love my F truck (and I THINK I still care about the Handbrake), however, I've missed my independence and I ALWAYS wanted a Bronco. Having the CA Bronco on the Baja trip (even though it shit itself on me, my fault not having the time or funds to properly prepare it) made me realise just how useful one is when one travels on one's own. I can safely store my stuff in it, sleep in it, tow with it. The F100 can do that, too, however it has it's limitations in weather and securing my belongings due to the lack of internal space. A canopy for the F100 tub is rarer than rocking horse poop here, so that rules that out. That and the fact I'd have to get out of the truck to access the bed isn't on my agenda in bad weather or danger situations for obvious reasons, plus I'm too old and fat to squeeze through the rear window even if it could slide open.

So, I'm looking it this poor thing, I start looking closely at it and find more issues that I bargained for, like the inner roof on the left side is rusty potato chips above one's head, which means removal/replacement, there are ventilation holes in the RH floor area I can see and other areas that will require URGENT attention soon if I expect to salvage this thing. It also needs 2 fenders, a hood, a scuttle panel, 2 doors and some repair panels to fix rust, plus the work inside the inner roof and outer B pillars. This is on top of the parts I'd still have to find to get it mobile. There is a disassembled F100 of the same vintage available locally for parts, but that opens up more problems for me at home. I'd still have to find a roof cut at the bare minimum to fix the rust inside.

Then, I sat looking at my F100. You don't have to think too hard what was going through my head then.

So, I guess I have a few options:
#1: Just fix the Bronco when I have time and money, whilst trying to keep the marriage together and a mountain of other things to do.

#2: Just say F it, disassemble them both and build a killer Bronco. I'll have to find somewhere else to live to do that.

#3: Sell the F100 complete and running (without my 351C, with a 5.0L) and use the money to find a better Bronco to start with.

I've probably had too many JD cans tonight, so that might explain my thought processes. To buy a decent one I can pull the funds out of my retirement fund.

Let me know your thoughts.
Cheers, and a Happy New Year to y'all.