Doing it all over again...

[Needles929]

That is a great idea! I do try and keep my eye out for events and outings. I would definitely like to experience a couple different set-ups in person.

Anytime amigo!

I haven't ridden in your yet huh? Need to get that done!

[cs_drums]

One thing no ones mentioned is that buying one done is hands down cheaper than building one. I’ve built everything myself aside from the beams and giant 64 kit. Even swinging deal on parts I have over 25k into mine.


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[DMbronco]

first line of my post B- truer words havent been written.

challenge is having the cash available when the right (rare) deal comes available...

[ChaseTruck754]

Totally agree.

However...
If you are a masochist or overly anal like me, something someone else built will bug the crap out of you if it's not up to the standards of a Robby Gordon race car build. And then you'll take that expensive purchase & rip half of it out again to bring it up to your standards, which then again kills the budget. If you don't have the self control to live with something that isn't totally perfect (in your mind at least) then you may be better off building your own.

So buy one that is off to a very good start parts wise (suspension purchased & some other cool parts) & add your finishing touches in the cage & interior etc. Or, just be normal & not rip apart someone else's perfectly fine work you just purchased.


Oh, and stupid side note. The 5 hour intake support bracket is finally done - lol

2-28-18 air intake support bracket.JPG (180.94 KiB) Viewed 402 times

IMG_4229 SMALL.jpg (160.55 KiB) Viewed 402 times

[cs_drums]

Totally agree.

However...
If you are a masochist or overly anal like me, something someone else built will bug the crap out of you if it's not up to the standards of a Robby Gordon race car build.

This is why I built mine after looking at to many hoopties. It seems like right after I dumped the first $10k in parts a few really nice trucks went on the market that I would have been happy with.

On that note. Getting to know your local high end Fab shops. They usually know when one of there customers is thinking of selling



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[hollandermotorsports]

If I were to do it all over again I would have sat down with my financial adviser first. Lol

Ok time to be serious. My current Bronco is nice I enjoy it when it goes out to play. But here is my opinion make a list of what you plan to do with the build, where do you want to go, is it a dual purpose vehicle or trailer queen, do you need to have room for gear, parts, passengers, do you want wide or stock width? Then next question do you plan to do the labor or pay a shop to do it? Now what is your budget? If you have $20k to spend you better plan your budget at $10k because stuff happens.

My current Bronco was bought off of here for $10k or $11k I believe I could be wrong though. It had solo 4.5" over stuff probably would have worked ok but soon as we started looking at it realized the cage was really only tied to the frame in one spot at the rear and that's it. Well within 2 days of buying it was at Richer Racing to be cut apart and redone properly. At the time my shop was too small and my time was more valuable than the shop rate at Richer and I knew I would be very happy with the Bronco if they did the fab. Now back on subject my budget on mine was $50k total that was a running driving ready for baja bronco. Well remember that whole double your budget thing ya this applies here too. lol. Then a year later we did updates that was another $25k. I love my Bronco but if I were to do it all over again I would have budgeted more and slowed down a little. Mine was done so quick that a lot of the parts we did were because that is what we could get in time. Most of my Bronco was cut apart and rebuilt in the time it takes to have shocks come in that were ordered. I have wasted a lot of money on trying to save money if that makes sense. So make your list learn from others mistakes.

Here is the list I would build a bronco or truck for that matter.
Save a ton of Cash up (do not build a vehicle with credit cards)
Cage
Suspension (front and rear)
Wheels and Tires
Rearend (full floater these pigs are heavy)
Motor and Trans
Wiring
Interior
Paint
Window Tint lol

I love when people tell me they do not need a cage because they are really good drivers and they will not roll. Knock on wood here. There are many reasons to run a roll cage and one is to keep your body from cracking apart and becoming trash. Take it from someone that has logged several 1000s of off road race miles at speed with no crashes but I have rolled 2 vehicles on the road crap happens be prepared.

[funinthesun95]

most of us do builds VS buy due to money in the bank. If it in the back it gets spent.......not on Off-road

As most of everyone on the site knows, I have been down a few different paths thinking I want more. I still have not figured out why?
Willie Fact list.
Fact 1 Broncos are very capable platforms. It not a race truck ( some would argue this), but it will go any place you can think of built or not.
Fact 2 Plan out stages in your build that will keep things usable. It will help you enjoy the sport and not completely kill the pocket book. Life happens .....it just does
Fact 3 you will never be happy with what you have. With all the cool stuff being made you will always want to add something. option 2 a part will need to be replaced and you upgrade it.
Fact 4 Time is not on your side if you do a full build. You never have enough time to do what you need to do or the people doing it don't have enough hand to get it done as fast as you would like.
Fact 5 Like anything in the automotive world....buying someone else finished or started project only saves you money if you want that vehicle to be your ideal end game and don't plan on much change.
Fact 6 Your friends never help you make good choices when they have cool stuff. This leads back to Fact 3.
Fact 7 I have four parts to a complete build all costing 8-10k on average. Front, Rear, Cab,Drive Train. (please note Complete and Average) This would be my version of a complete build also.

You are ahead of the cost game if you stay under these numbers.

I still cant believe I like this hobby. I think that what this is

[Needles929]

Brandon and Willie, thanks for your input. This would have been a great thread to read before purchasing a Bronco with the intent of building a GFB. My situation would have came out the same, unfortunately, with having to sell mine. I don't want this to be all about me though. Others might read this and change thought or direction, but here are some of my thoughts.

I was so eager to get started when buying mine. No plan on budget and not enough research done. Looking back, I was only about $1500-2000 away from buying a rig with a good start. C&T on springs in the front, deavers in the rear and some decent shocks. Just a Willie said, life happens and the other $2000 in the bank never made it into the Bronco I bought. Most was spent on regular routine maintenance and the little things that pop up. My second pick was a 93 with no lift, body a little rough, interior needed work, but had a laundry list of recent work done. It did have a newly rebuilt E40D with some internal goodies and an aftermarket cooler as well. At half the asking price, that would have made sooo much more sense. Live and learn though, right!?

So Far:
1.) Cage for the win!!!
2.) Make a decision to buy a already built, started build (With a good start to suspension), or a stock but well maintained rig.
3.) Lower expectations of interior and exterior condition, especially if you plan to cage and glass it. (Doesn't apply if you have big $$$ to buy the pristine one or want a show build)
4.) Everything costs about double of what you think. Plan build stages with parts according to what you want it to do.
5.) If possible, find a way to ride along in other builds to get a feel of what you really want. (I know... We all want pure race at heart)

[funinthesun95]

The Cage part can be meet in a few ways. It does not have to be full cage. You can do the suspension and b pillar back style cage to keep the stock interior for example. It only has to save your life once...is the point.

The build is all about the dream.....it keeps you Happy and alive dreaming about the complete build. This part also hinders the actual use of the toy or build.....haha

How fast you really want to go is the biggest question you need to ask your self..... The faster you go....the more you need to spend in prep and building the rig. It still a 20 plus year old vehicle maintenance will come up.....unfortunately

[VintageIronFab]

My thoughts are but one from someone done up to how you want it done. My 96 FSB is basically the blueprint for about any build short of a caged truck you’ll find- what I’d sell mine for can’t possibly reproduced for what I’d sell it for. I love building trucks but if you don’t have a legit shop or home garage shop setup - building a quality truck is a nightmare. Welding on the floor, cleaning a frame in a driveway, tracking dirt in the house or just the mess. It takes a legit amount of equipment to really build a nice truck. Even building a killer bumper with shitty equipment sucks if you ask me. This to me is why so many guys sell half finished projects - they run out of desire do simply to lack of space and equipment. I’d sell my truck for $12,500- and there’s no possible way it could be built for that. I’d only stick with the later 94-96 broncos due to the better transmissions. The AOD is a joke in something as heavy as these trucks.