Jim & Paige's Bronco

tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 2:13 pm

That's awesome Jim! Wonder if he does speed density tuning as well.......I think it would need a full ref lash for the SD motors right?

cs_drums · Post by **cs_drums** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 2:45 pm

Tony, you read my mind. I keep debating between getting my SD tuned or going with the PIMP ecu from stinger performance.

1Hondalover · Post by **1Hondalover** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 8:52 pm

Looks like he's got the tuning world pretty covered so I'm sure SD is no problem.....call him he's a really nice guy. Steve says he's more that willing to work with my motor builder to agree on the right parts so we make the most efficient power possible when the 408 comes.

I know little about it technically, but what I saw on the dyno will keep me from ever buying any kind of canned tuning program as long as Steve and others like him with a real dyno can work within the equipment. There are just too many differences in even like vehicles that something in a can will help to maximum potential.

LvSteve · Post by **LvSteve** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 9:34 pm

How many pulls ? How much for the tune

RyanDS650X · Post by **RyanDS650X** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 7:21 am

Agreed, a custom dyno tune is the only way to go.

cs_drums · Post by **cs_drums** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 7:42 am

I guess I need to get some injectors and call the man.

robertcrav · Post by **robertcrav** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 9:41 am

Powertrain has been tuning Fords forever...never heard of someone displeased with their work...this going back almost 20yrs when I was more into mustangs than trucks

RyanDS650X · Post by **RyanDS650X** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 11:13 am

cs_drums wrote:I guess I need to get some injectors and call the man.

Cant wait to see this happen!

cs_drums · Post by **cs_drums** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 11:18 am

It's a slippery slope. Should I do anything else before the $$ on a tune? I just like the idea of never needing anything other than a stock block with the super charger. Buddy said ford racing makes rockers that are supposed to compliment the stock cam so I may through those on there as well but I think that's it.

I emailed them. I'll follow up on my thread as to not clutter Jim's.

1Hondalover · Post by **1Hondalover** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 5:20 pm

Delinquent on a few exhaust pictures.....again great job by RPM including sectioning of the stainless Bassani y-pipe.

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1Hondalover · Post by **1Hondalover** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 5:40 pm

The cross member and the leverage of that big 'ol long E4OD.

Ever since Greg & Blake swapped us over to the 1996 powertrain and E4OD, I've eyed the custom trans cross member Greg made and thought it must be some heavy wall tube to be 1.5". The trans is huge enough, but with the transfer case hanging over the end of it, there's a ton of leverage on that tube. Never had an issue with it, and we're run it pretty hard. KOH this year was some great miles in preparation to run Baja in April, and I'm glad we pushed Jim & Paige's Bronco as hard as we did. Broken parts are no fun in the middle of Baja.

A little inspection prior to RPM's exhaust work revealed a bit of KOH trophy underneath. Not only was the cross member sheared in half, the frame was cracked in the same exact spot on both sides. One side cracked last year, and Solo welded a patch plate on it. You can see that didn't hold for long. I was wrong about the cross member tube.....at 0.080 wall I'm shocked it lasted as long as it did.

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Doubt it was Ford's design, but thank God the transfer case has that big cast-in lug over the frame rail. I really should have stopped and checked it when Paige and I heard a pretty loud banging underneath on KOH race day. Now I know what it was, and without that lug the whole enchilada would have probably hit the dirt. Scary.

1Hondalover · Post by **1Hondalover** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 6:14 pm

Enter Higher Ground Off Road and what we hope will be a lasting relationship. I'd seen this place several times over the years on my way south out of Santa Clarita. The place was full of Jeeps and didn't look like it was in great order. One day about a year ago I finally stopped in and met the owner Jim. He seemed like a nice guy and had some pretty tough looking crawler stuff around, but was just then preparing to move to a new location.....very near my house.

RPM temporarily welded up the cross member to get the exhaust right, and I knew it was fine for the dyno work. I looked up Jim's new location for Higher Ground and slid by there with the Bronco to see if he would work on it since it wasn't a Jeep. Of course he didn't care, mentioning later that he was a general off road fabrication shop not just a crawler place. I dropped the Bronco off with him on the way home from tuning, and Jim told me he'd get on it as soon as he could.

I had shown Jim the cross member and frame issues when the Bronco was on the trailer, but he got a much better look once it was in the air in his shop. He called me over the next day to show me his plan, in agreement that the leverage of the transfer case hanging off the end of the trans for what we were doing with it definitely needed more beef. He too was surprised at the thin wall tube longevity, and this is where I began to think we hit the close-to-home jackpot.

Not only did Jim tell me he was going to replace the tube with one of 0.250" wall, he was going to gusset and box the frame where the link arms were obviously stressing the frame rails. I felt good that he understood the geometry and the loading. Then he asked me if he could make a second cross member of the same tube under the transfer case, with a jounce snubber to help carry the weight during the big G's.

I love it, and no more unsupported monster hanging off the end. Paige and I are really happy we FINALLY have a shop close to us that can put humpty dumpty back together again. Between Higher Ground and Richer, we may actually get to finish this Bronco sooner than later!

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1Hondalover · Post by **1Hondalover** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 6:42 pm

Door prep underway too.....the doors are original to the 92 tub and not in good shape. Curry didn't remove much when they sprayed it red, the weatherstripping is hammered like most old rigs, the glass is scratched, the 92 key doesn't match the 96 ignition key, we have no power mirrors and the door locks don't work because the 92 wiring is different than the 96 that's in there now. I stashed the doors from the green 96 we bought and stripped, and though the outer weather belts are cracked, all of the components are in beautiful shape which is exactly why we bought that pristine SoCal Bronco.

I started stripping the doors today in preparation of repainting them Ford Performance Red. I'm going to rebuild them like new with all the goodies, and beef them up a little in the process. Everything will get replaced and/or cleaned & lubed.....might even change the door handles to black if my powder coat guy says they can be prepped to hold the coating properly. I don't like how flimsy the inner panel is, where the silver bar is that the door pull screws to. Think I'll run a longer thicker bar from top to bottom, and fasten it to the OE piece to stiffen it up.

Of course we're going to place sound deadening all over the door, and weatherproof the crap out of them. Only going to do this once and forever.....

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1Hondalover · Post by **1Hondalover** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 6:48 pm

One stripped and ready to go.....

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tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Sun Mar 13, 2016 7:14 pm

That's awesome Jim, glad to hear that you found a local shop that can do work for you. Makes it so much more convenient.

1Hondalover · Post by **1Hondalover** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 6:35 pm

A/C rehab complete. I knew we had to pull the new condenser and frame off because it was delivered back to us raw. What I didn't realize was that the "frame" only held the screen and the condenser was hanging on 4 independent and separate tabs that had nothing to do with the frame. In effect, the condenser was hanging by one side of the aluminum channel frame at four small points. Nope. Also realized the condenser core was too far from the radiator core, and needed to move 1 inch closer.

The frame was plenty beef, and makes sense to hang the condenser on it right? That and 4 not 8 bolts to disassemble. Off for a little addition and then paint. Wait a minute.....powdercoat better. Drill and tap some holes for the way stronger part of the condenser, then support the core at the bottom with some silicone sheet for isolation.

Today it went to our A/C guy for a recharge, but not before elimination of the refrigerant hard line in favor of flex line. Easy.....until the phone call. "Looks like the system is pretty contaminated Jim. Very indicative of the compressor pistons coming apart and very common for these Fords at this age". Oh what the heck. Not going to risk no A/C in the middle of Baja. In goes a new Motorcraft compressor & clutch, filters, dryer......is there anything left? Over doubled that budget, but we love this thing.

It was 94 in Santa Clarita today. No insulation in the Bronco yet, and it sounds like driving around in an empty coffee can with bypass shocks. Rugged headsets yes. Cold inside? Oh yeah!

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1Hondalover · Post by **1Hondalover** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 6:36 pm

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Wrightracing.net · Post by **Wrightracing.net** » Mon May 16, 2016 6:44 pm

Hey Jim, I saw this microphone and thought of your Bronco

it would need to have the connector changed but looks cool.

David...

1Hondalover · Post by **1Hondalover** » Tue May 17, 2016 6:30 am

That's funny David.....I don't think Paige would go for it though. Since you set us up we've tested but never used the mic on the console.

1Hondalover · Post by **1Hondalover** » Fri Jun 19, 2020 7:18 pm

Wow......4 years in a heartbeat. Many projects complete all good stuff for the future, but hiatus over and we're coming back.

So Paige and I were giggling mid-peninsula right after the last of our prep here because the Bronco was running so good on our way to Cabo. Actually unbelievably fast for a 160K 5.8L in OD aka 4th gear in the sand with the A/C on....we were having a blast.

Then out of the trees to a few miles of sandy graded road sightly uphill headed toward the highway to meet Chase for lunch and some refrescos! A bit up the road I'm pushing harder and harder on the go fast pedal to keep speed. Out of O.D. pulls a little better at more RPM but we're slowing. Maybe the uphill is steeper than I thought. Maybe the sand is deeper than I thought.

OK turn the A/C off....my knuckles are getting cold anyway. Still slowing WTF? Wait - the highway is in sight and some of the faster Peninsula-ites are already there. Why are they all waving at us? Getting closer.....but they're waving more??

Pull up to a stop and we're swarmed. Then the smoke engulfs the Bronco. Everywhere. Now I know why we're receiving such a welcome. Not.

Caption: Bronco down. Head gaskets.

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