Utah BroncoSpeed

Becks_Bronco · Post by **Becks_Bronco** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 5:03 pm

Wow! looking great so far. that's a VERY nice job they did on the intake.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 6:11 pm

Brad, with the filter placed where it is, aren't you worried about not getting any cool air?

tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:06 am

Looking really nice Brad!! Seems like you are on the home stretch! Cant wait to see pics of it out and about!!

denhabr · Post by **denhabr** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:29 am

Becks_Bronco wrote:Wow! looking great so far. that's a VERY nice job they did on the intake.

Yeah, the guys did a real nice job on that intake system. Probably the best example of their handiwork so far.

Nick wrote:Brad, with the filter placed where it is, aren't you worried about not getting any cool air?

I am a bit...but there were few little options once the Autofab shock hoops went in. I may have to fabricate some fresh air ducting to the pre-filter, but for now, I'll live with it and see how it performs. Win some...lose some, I guess.

tcm glx wrote:Looking really nice Brad!! Seems like you are on the home stretch! Cant wait to see pics of it out and about!!

Hey...that makes two of us! I think another month of cage work, final details, and loose ends, and it will be back in MY driveway!

Becks_Bronco · Post by **Becks_Bronco** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 12:21 am

You shouldn't have any issues with the intake or intake temperatures. these engine bays are extremely open, and the egt's really aren't high.

bajascott · Post by **bajascott** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:15 am

looks great. your fab guys are doing an awsome job!

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:19 am

Any plans to paint or powdercoat all those parts?

denhabr · Post by **denhabr** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 2:37 pm

Becks_Bronco wrote:You shouldn't have any issues with the intake or intake temperatures. these engine bays are extremely open, and the egt's really aren't high.

I was kinda' hoping that would be the case. I thought about the position of the new filter as opposed to the old OEM location/fresh air ducting, and couldn't do much about it. I was thinking that I could try and route some cold air ducting from the front over to the filter, and/or louver the hood above it to allow some upwards venting and release of the hot engine bay heat...but I'll just wait and see how it performs. The IAT (intake air temp) sensor has been remounted into the new filter and hopefully that will compensate for things. News at 11:00!

bajascott wrote:looks great. your fab guys are doing an awsome job!

Yeah, Josh and Dustin are doing a great job. They are just happy to now be in the part they like the best...fabrication, and have been really going to town on it (they weren't all that enthused about the suspension stuff...as they call themselves 'fabricators', not 'mechanics.'

You'll see in my next posting the results of the F&R bumpers and the initial stages of the safety cage!

Nick wrote:Any plans to paint or powdercoat all those parts?

I do...but that may have to wait until late spring/summer. Both F&R bumpers can be unbolted and sent to the powdercoaters or paint shop, so I'll address then when I get the Bronco back home. I was thinking of a gunmetal grey/argent color. Thoughts?

denhabr · Post by **denhabr** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 3:23 pm

The bumpers are done, lights installed (but not wired up yet), and the interior gutted! The cage is being fitting with the main upper longitudinal bars in place, and partially tied into the frame through the floor in the front and rear. The upper front headliner bar is in place and next are the B- and C-pillars.

Safety Cage: The rear of the cage was modified to give me the widest area to load stuff and store things behind the second row seats. Where the "D-pillars" come back down from the roof line to the rear tailgate, there is no real frame under the bed...so my fabricators brought up tubing from the frame into the bed and tied it together with a cross-beam. The D-pillars are then brought into the end of the cross-tube, and braced with an angle tube to stiffen the assembly.
Spare Tire Mount: At this point, the spare is going back on the OEM Ford swing-away mount. Just no room in the back for a 35" tire (besides, I want to carry my tools, a cooler, and other crap back there anyway.) So the guys are going to re-fit the OEM spare tire mount and strengthen it as necessary to handle the weight.
Front Bumper: The front prerunner bumper looks like it should be on the front of some Army MRAP* in Iraq! Damn thing looks like it weighs a ton, but appears pretty damn solid. I told the guys that I wanted a front bumper that pushes out a bit from the grille, and that is what they gave me. They also made the front brush plate at a nice shallow angle, and tied in all it's supports to the frame. Some nice lightening/cooling air holes at the top, and it's done!

Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (0).JPG (268.02 KiB) Viewed 1140 times

Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (2).JPG (172.68 KiB) Viewed 1140 times

Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (4).JPG (162.34 KiB) Viewed 1140 times

Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (13).JPG (192.28 KiB) Viewed 1140 times
Rear Bumper: The rear bumper was all finished off with a set of tabs for my plate, a tab to hold the plate light, and Dustin even got the old U-Haul receiver hitch bolted back in to it's original location...w/o interfering with the bumper. he even fabbed a tab to hold the trailer wiring receptacle.
Seats: Tomorrow (Super Bowl Sunday), I plan to go back to the shop and help them position the 4 new Mastercraft 'prerunner' seats. Should be some fun!!!

P.S.: I was really surprised as to how crappy the OEM floor was under the pulled-up OEM rubber matting! Yuck. My original plan was to Line-X it or U-Coat it myself...and somehow coat/paint/cover the cage tubing. But what would the "GFB experts" recommend? I even thought of re-carpeting it with some sound deadening matting underneath (Dynamat, etc...)

Thoughts?

* Mine Resistant Ambush Protected amored vehicle

denhabr · Post by **denhabr** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 3:28 pm

Some cage shots...

: Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (7).JPG (165.43 KiB) Viewed 1139 times

: Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (8).JPG (257.32 KiB) Viewed 1139 times

: Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (9).JPG (243.99 KiB) Viewed 1139 times

: Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (11).JPG (244.69 KiB) Viewed 1139 times

denhabr · Post by **denhabr** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 3:31 pm

Final shots...

: Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (12).JPG (196.46 KiB) Viewed 1136 times

: Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (6).JPG (167.65 KiB) Viewed 1136 times

: Bronco Fab Set 12 - 2-5-2010 (3).JPG (195.74 KiB) Viewed 1136 times

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 4:26 pm

Looking good Brad! Progress seems to have stepped up recently, i bet your getting itchy to get out there.

tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 4:50 pm

Cage work looks really nice! I like it. Simple and out of the way. Any pics of how you have it running to the frame? And are you going to tie it in to the Coil Buckets?

denhabr · Post by **denhabr** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:44 pm

Nick wrote:Looking good Brad! Progress seems to have stepped up recently, i bet your getting itchy to get out there.

Thanks. and yes, it sure HAS picked up. When the guys get into what they do best, better hold on! And man, you ain't kiddin'! I want to take it home, detail out some loose ends and then go hit a local fire road...at 70+ mph!

tcm glx wrote:Cage work looks really nice! I like it. Simple and out of the way. Any pics of how you have it running to the frame? And are you going to tie it in to the Coil Buckets?

Yeah, they do that tube/fab stuff pretty well. I really wanted the safety cage tucked up and away, and without a lot of extra hassle. The local gendarme's apparently can have issues with trucks that have cages in them (like virtually all Jeep Wrangler's do?) so hiding it up away is part of my approach to keeping the whole thing innocuous. That means no upper dash cross tube or V tubes behind the rear view mirror...just a lower tube just below the dash laterally to brace the lower part of the cage before it disappears into the floor, and then to the frame.

And good idea about getting the pics of the tubing being tied into the frame below the floor...probably get to that tomorrow. And no, I am having them stop at the dash...nothing through the firewall at this time. I may reserve that for "Phase II," but who knows.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:39 am

denhabr wrote:P.S.: I was really surprised as to how crappy the OEM floor was under the pulled-up OEM rubber matting! Yuck. My original plan was to Line-X it or U-Coat it myself...and somehow coat/paint/cover the cage tubing. But what would the "GFB experts" recommend? I even thought of re-carpeting it with some sound deadening matting underneath (Dynamat, etc...)

My vote is for Line-X or similar. Look into Al's liner or Qwikliner if you want to spray yourself.

All else is looking good!

denhabr · Post by **denhabr** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 4:25 pm

Almost there!!!

Seats are in, roll cage is done, rubber flooring and headliner is back in, dash reinstalled, and the Hella 4000s and 500s are wired up and working like a charm!

My fabricators provided for a LOT of leg room in back for the rear seat passengers...which translates to a little less room for storage behind the rear seats. However, I will still be able to get a large cooler back there, along with some smaller tool kits to either side of the diagonal side bars. The spare is going on the OEM swing-away tire carrier.

The rear-facing amber LED light was mounted a little too high for my tastes, so the guys are going to remount it lower on the c-pillar and closer to the rear glass.

I'm ordering some Mastercraft restraints to replace the OEM Ford seat belts. With the new configuration on the off-road seats and cage, the stock belts were just not going to cut it. So, I opted for the 4-point version in grey...with sewn in shoulder straps that loop around the lower lap belt outside of the buckle (vice having a shoulder strap that connects into the latch itself.)

The rear axle truss is still pending fabrication...and that should be about it. Then comes the final payment!!!

Plans are to take it to my first race in May. I'll be spectating/gambling/drinking at the BOR Racing Wendover 300 event in Wendover, NV, May 1!