Granny gear 5.0 Bronco build

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Tue Dec 08, 2015 7:00 pm

My buddy just recently mounted the completed camper on the frame, just needs some exterior fab work to be completed. So now he's getting ready to help me fab the bumpers for my Bronc.

Anyone know how low I need to mount the rear bumper in order to clear the tailgate and maintain normal operation?

dtbback · Post by **dtbback** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 7:11 am

Open your tailgate when you are tabbing in the highest horizontal tube.

Rmc · Post by **Rmc** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 9:51 am

Bitchen bronco. I dig the stick shift.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:10 am

dtbback wrote:Open your tailgate when you are tabbing in the highest horizontal tube.

That plus have someone (someone heavy preferably) sit on the tailgate while you tack the tube, & even then I'd give it a 1/2" of extra clearance just in case. They always seem to rub on the tube somehow when you keep them "close".

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 8:09 pm

Thanks guys, this is pretty dang close to what I plan to make for the rear, super simple, clean, and functional

My accounting classmate/buddy Alex and I have been joking about who's gonna actually finish their bumpers first since we've both been making plans to complete them and then constantly changing those plans all semester, I think he's beating of me

I should probably remove my stock front bumper and start cleaning up the frame horns soon haha

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 8:13 pm

Got some more inspiration from this F150 parked in front of Elite Auto Service, liked his idea too but I need a hitch receiver on mine for light towing and recovery, and I've gotten tired of having my rear plate zip tied on so I'm going to tab the bumper for my plate and use LED plate bolts spliced into the stock plate light wiring

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Wed Dec 09, 2015 8:16 pm

Meant, *I think he's beating me*

..that sounded weird.
curse you tapatalk

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 9:59 pm

Woke up this morning and decided it was a good time to pull my front bumper off, probably should've been studying for my Accounting final, but oh well

Yay for cheap harbor freight electric tools! Yes I did this all in the dirt while still in my pj's, felt oddly compelled to pull the bumper ASAP so this is how I started my morning haha

Didn't get very far into the tube work yesterday because the pin on my buddy's tube bender snapped, but this is what's going to become the rear bumper, it'll have a hitch receiver below the little step I added because I'm short and will probably need it once I get around to sketching out designs for a roof rack.

Threw in the LED dome light that cwrisley gave me, thanks again man, this thing looks sweet and is super bright

cwrisley · Post by **cwrisley** » Thu Dec 17, 2015 10:45 pm

Glad you got the light to work. Now order the rest from Taylor and you'll be set.

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:33 pm

Finished the rear bumper the other night, love how it turned out. A little more complicated than I had originally planned on, but I like it better for its functionality. Now to just paint it after I decide whether to match it to the wheels in satin black or contrast with dark blue similar to the interior.

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:39 pm

By the way, anyone know which Moog adjustable alignment cams I should order? Found em cheap on Amazon but got a few results with different part numbers that say they'll fit. Plan to put them on with Rough Country leveling coils and longer shocks

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 6:34 pm

Got these 4" coils off my buddy, wanna cut em down a bit for a 2" lift. Seen conflicting info about which end should be cut off, I know about the spring retainer on the top and how cutting the top end of the coils may result in rendering the retainer useless unless modified or replaced. Could I just use one limit strap on each corner to fix this? Or should I just cut off the bottom coils?

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 10:47 pm

Put on the new 33x12.5 General Grabber AT2's I ordered at work last night

Took Chris' advice and ditched my front sway bar, definitely worth it.

Finally got my oem interior spare mount in, now I need a 33" spare to match my new AT2's

Then I did something crazy.. My fabricator has been backed up with orders and we already cut my frame horns so I couldn't bolt my bumper back on, I got tired of running around with no bumper and with my radiator exposed so as a temporary fix I had this welded on. You guessed it, that's a JK Jeep Wrangler Sport bumper. And it's nearly the same width as the body, I kinda like it.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 11:23 pm

That Heep bumper looks WAAAAY better than I would have imagined if you just explained what you did & I had to imagine what it looked like. I like it too!

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 11:57 pm

Yeah can you believe I got it for $20?? I just try to think of it like an oem Raptor bumper, steel with a bit of plastic haha almost looks like a winch bumper if you squint hard enough

Garlic Bronco · Post by **Garlic Bronco** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 7:53 am

dont cut the springs.... if you want shorter springs get shorter springs, trade those.

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 9:30 pm

Garlic Bronco wrote:dont cut the springs.... if you want shorter springs get shorter springs, trade those.

Why do you say that?

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 9:35 pm

Cutting the springs messes with the spring rate. You can also mess up the spring if you use heat like a torch to cut them & don't do it right. Add in the fact that you are also messing with how the spring seats in the coil bucket or on the beam by cutting off the shape of the bends used to retain them and it's just better to get the right spring for what you want. There are always deals out there on used parts I've found. You may need to be a little more patient, but from what I've seen in my build if I rush & buy something thinking "I can make it work for me" I've usually run across the right part by the time i get to the install anyway.

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:56 pm

Got my GFB decals on the 'ol girl, put one on the back of my '14 Focus daily driver too, some of you SD guys may see me driving around town in it picking up parts sometimes lol. Thanks again Ollie!

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 7:55 pm

Bought some used leveling coils from VintageIronFab, just waiting to have enough time to tear everything down and install them with my new shocks

Finished my rear bumper up with the addition of trailer safety chain loops and a few coats of paint

Installed my stock car steering wheel from Speedway Motors today too, used a Grant Hun adapter, a bit bluer than the rest of my interior but feels so much nicer and sturdier than the stock wheel

I'm running without a functioning horn, so didn't opt for a horn button or retainer, but I might retro fit this little doohickey onto there just to cover the bolts