Smith Racing 1978 bronco build.

Mojo · Post by **Mojo** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 8:02 pm

I love what you're doing, grass roots family racing!!! Oh & awesome bronco.

Smith racing · Post by **Smith racing** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 6:39 pm

Well I gotta say this last race was awesome beside us blowing 2 tires the first 2 laps, the truck ran great no problems at all , knock on wood, the course was real rocky and it was hard packed which was nice, but we were the only leaf springed truck on the course and in are class so we were going up against class 7s and 1450 trucks which was kinda unfair but the bronco outlasted the other trucks and pulled out a 3rd place.

Smith racing · Post by **Smith racing** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 6:42 pm

Oh and now its time take General up on there tire offer they gave us, because we need new tires now

hobbyturnedobsession · Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:17 pm

Nice guys! Way to go.

Smith racing · Post by **Smith racing** » Mon Jul 21, 2014 2:00 pm

hobbyturnedobsession wrote:Nice guys! Way to go.

Thanks

Broncodawg · Post by **Broncodawg** » Tue Jul 22, 2014 8:16 am

Congrats! The tortoise and the hare story is as true as it ever was!

Smith racing · Post by **Smith racing** » Tue Jul 22, 2014 9:14 am

Broncodawg wrote:Congrats! The tortoise and the hare story is as true as it ever was!

Thanks

Smith racing · Post by **Smith racing** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:29 pm

Alright guys I know I've talked about ttb, but do you guys know what it will take to put a later bronco frame under our 78 body, or will it not be worth it and we should just keep running the solid axle.

baja-chris · Post by **baja-chris** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:58 pm

Smith racing wrote:Alright guys I know I've talked about ttb, but do you guys know what it will take to put a later bronco frame under our 78 body, or will it not be worth it and we should just keep running the solid axle.

It's got to be easier than putting one under a 66! With some custom body mounts, I'd expect they are close enough to be minimal work (in as much as swapping a frame can be considered minimal work).

Smith racing · Post by **Smith racing** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:22 pm

Do you know if the fame width is the same and is the wheel base the same or is it longer

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 8:50 am

Wheel base should be the same and the frame width should be close enough to make it work.

As Chris said custom body mounts should do it. This can also be done with cage attachments to the frame if your body is welded to the cage.

From what I've looked at with putting a 70's F series cab on an 80's-90's F series frame there may be a bit of a kick up in the 80's/90's frame that causes the body to sit a bit high. Not sure if this would be the same in the broncos or not as their frames are slightly different than the F series. Typical F series swaps like this I've seen run a 2-3" "body lift" (typically custom body mounts setting the body a bit high) to compensate for this. Without seeing the stuff in person I can't say if it's truly "needed" or not. My goal was to try & do a swap like that without the "body lift", even if it meant cutting into the floor a bit.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 8:55 am

Actually - just came across a GREAT pic of a 90's bronco frame from the new Straightiff/Wilson website Chris just posted right here.

Hopefully this goes right to it.
http://www.fastestbronco.com/fastest-br ... n4v34v69nc

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 9:09 am

that did go to it. So here's another
http://www.fastestbronco.com/fastest-br ... 977slkizn2

Smith racing · Post by **Smith racing** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:09 pm

Okay thanks guys for the info, and what years do you guys recommend for doing a chassis swap, we were thinking of doing a early 90s f-250 4x4 truck for more strength, what do you guys think.

Smith racing · Post by **Smith racing** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:13 pm

Or should we just do a later bronco frame.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 3:41 pm

What would you do cab/body wise if you dumped it on a truck frame? Just cut across the middle of the bed, shift it back & run F series bedsides?

Extra wheel base is good, but it's a bit more work to get it.

MOSS2 · Post by **MOSS2** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 4:00 pm

Smith racing wrote:Do you know if the fame width is the same and is the wheel base the same or is it longer

Later model Broncos 80-96 are 37-1/2" outside of frame from the rear forward to mid door. They squeeze in a couple inches by radius arm mounts and past motor and bump back out in the very front to 40" outside, at the radiator core support mounts.

Smith racing · Post by **Smith racing** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 4:03 pm

ChaseTruck754 wrote:What would you do cab/body wise if you dumped it on a truck frame? Just cut the middle of the bed, shift it back & run F series bedsides?

Extra wheel base is good, but it's a bit more work to get it.

We would probably just sell the cab and bed if we were to use a f-250, but if we were to get a later bronco would the ttb off of a f-250 4x4 bolt on to the bronco or is it different.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 4:15 pm

the F-250 (d44HD or D50) TTB stuff is different than the F-150/Bronco (d44) stuff. Beams & mounts are different.

retroblazer · Post by **retroblazer** » Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:49 am

What is the reason for the frame swap?

Smith Racing 1978 bronco build.

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