Classic Bronco. New 302, Transmission, More... on 2040-cars

A bad back forces the sale of my Classic Bronco.  Over 95% of the work is done.

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I got it on ebay almost seven years ago from someone who lied about all the work that had been done to it.

Here are the things I've done, or had done on it, with receipts for most items:

-New (rebuilt) 302 engine from O'Reilly's, installed 2013.

-New transmission from Tom's Bronco.

- Hurst floor shifter.

-New front and rear drive shafts.

-Had the Ford 9" rear end rebuilt (Someone had installed a drain plug, and it was leaking milky oil. Opening it found a cracked bearing carrier). Front differential was serviced at same time.

-New front and rear springs and shocks.

-Front suspension: New radius arm bushings, adjustable drag link, tracking bar, stabilizer shock.

-Rear suspension: Added load leveler air bags.

-Brakes: Rear- new drums, shoes, wheel cylinders. Front- upgraded to disk brakes (from Tom's).

-New wiring harness. *yellow wire coiled up in photo of door post is for an off road light bar, never installed. Also, on the gauge cluster, there are three switches for accessories- lights, winch, etc. None were ever installed, but wiring and switches are in place.

-New poly fuel tank and sending unit. Included will be the steel rock/skid plate, not installed.

-New winch bumper.

-Replaced front floors.

-New "MagnaFlow" exhaust on existing manifolds.

-Solid state distributor.

-New starter and alternator. (I also have a new "one wire" alternator that will go with the vehicle).

-New harmonic balancer.

-New "Grant" steering wheel. (Horn mechanism is junk, so the new horn is disconnected).

-New aluminum radiator, fan, and chrome fan shroud.

-New clutch installed with new engine. (Included will be a spare- the one installed a few years ago with the transmission. It only has a couple of hundred miles on it).

-Wheel arches were used ebay purchases to replace the cracked ones on vehicle.

-Heater fan and rubber parts of vent system.

-I had the roll bar fabricated for three point seatbelts. New belts. (*The guy I had make the roll bar made it a bit too tall, so it does rattle against the top on dirt roads. I have neoprene fitted between to silence it somewhat).

-New wheel for spare tire. (Spare is the best of the old muds that were on vehicle).

-New "Pro Comp Xterrain" tires with less than 300 miles on them. They're basically still brand new.

-Spare parts: I have a number of things, and can't remember it all... but, I do have the dash pad, wiper motor cover, sun visors, some of the weather stripping (I think door seals are with that since I ran across a receipt for them in the file). More stuff that I'll round up from the shop and basement....

-I have the shifter boot somewhere, and the transfer case boot is available from Tom's for $23 or so.

-I had the original Motorcraft 2100 carb rebuilt when I was still on the Gulf Coast, and it worked fine. It needs tweeking to be just right at altitude. The old engine went after we were up here, and the truck sat for almost a year. After the new engine was installed, I cleaned the carb, and put in a kit from Mike's carburetor, including jets. Charts for high altitude only spec for up to 5,000 feet, and we're at 8,800. Mike suggested just going with the next size until it is right, and I've replace them twice with the next size. I have the 045s, and will try to install them before the auction ends. It runs pretty well as is, but it's not exactly right. It's running rich.

-Oh yeah... it has Power Steering. A previous owner installed the unit, which is Chevrolet, I think 80s vintage. I had both the pump and box serviced shortly after I got it. It was a little loose, and the pump leaked. Both are fine now. * A steering hose recently started leaking a bit, so will need to be replaced.

-Body: It was pretty clean for a Bronco in the wet south, used as a mudder. There was minimal rust, with rusty front floors being the worst issue. I purchased new pans, cut out the old ones, and welded in the new ones. No rust was found in the door posts or cowl, and the wheel wells were solid. There were two small (dime sized or smaller) rust spots, one on each lower rear corner of the body. I blasted them, used  rust converter as insurance, and epoxy glassed a patch over each. Epoxy adheres much better than polyester resin. The repairs are over 5 years old and still look fine.  A previous owner installed a home made "fuel cell" in the back bed, attached to a steel plate that was tacked to the floor. When I removed it, there was some pitting in the floor metal (from water/moisture being trapped), but surprisingly no holes. I blasted it with no burn through. The right rear inside corner had a little rust, so I cut it out and welded a piece if 12 gauge steel over it. The entire interior has roll on bed liner in it. The exterior bottom was pressure cleaned, hand sanded, primed, and spray on undercoating applied. The body is very solid. There is a spot on the top, lower right side, on the inside. It's not on the vehicle's body, and it looks like the top was stored off the vehicle outside where it could catch water. It's not visible from the outside, and doesn't leak or make it unstable on the vehicle. It's worth mentioning, because it's there. Finally, I just discovered a small rusty spot on the right rocker where someone tried to jack the vehicle up. (lifting a vehicle by the rocker panels is not the thing to do). Water got in, and there's a small area with damage. Cutting out the spot would be a way to remedy, as would replacing the whole rocker, or covering with a heavy skid plate "rock slider" like available from Tom's. I can't do it with the bad back. There is a small stress crack on the front right corner of the hood. It's otherwise solid. The brown stuff in the photos of the floors and underbody is dirt, not rust. It's all dirt and gravel roads for miles, and it gets muddy up here when it rains.

The thing will have to be painted. I wanted it flat black with shiny trim, and chose to spray it with "Ronan Bulletin" flat black sign enamel, thinking it would last longest. It didn't. It's faded to the dark gray in the photos, and has chipped and peeled in spots where rocks etc. have contacted the front of the hood on the dirt roads up here. It's apparently soft paint. I haven't tried to compound or rub it to see if it would go back to true black, but the hood issue will require a paint job anyway. We're in the high desert, so it's not rusting, even bare. Perhaps a touch up would suffice if someone likes the flat black idea, but it'll be yours to paint pink, if that's what you prefer. The only other thing to mention are a couple of minor off road character dings, courtesy of a previous owner. Wanting it flat, I didn't find it necessary to make the body perfect, but again, it's something worth mentioning.

-Things it still needs: Besides the steering hose and carb tweek I mentioned (if I can't get that perfect), there are only a couple of minor issues. One, the mechanic who installed the engine cut the exhaust hangers on the right side (I guess for more room to work??). He 'repaired' by tacking the cut ends together, and the rear weld broke a while later. I discovered it when things got somewhat louder while driving. Inspecting, I found the right tail pipe hanging, and the weld broken. I have it wired up to keep it on the truck, but it's still loose. I don't have a welder any more to fix it. A short length of rod, or bolt shaft welded along both pieces would certainly be strong enough to hold it in place. I'll see if he'll weld it for me, but we'll see. Since it moved, there's a small exhaust leak that can be detected in the cab. The exhaust "donuts" are new, so I'll tighten things up to see if that seals things up. Secondly, the mechanic in New Orleans who did some of the work when I was down there (he wired it and did the carb, among other things), damaged the volt meter while calibrating it, so replaced it with one he had- one with a white face, instead of black like the rest of the new instruments. No biggie, but again worth a mention. That's the only bad stuff- the rest has been done. It was someone's swamp truck and abused. Just about everything has been replaced. I can't even remember all the small stuff done. Ask any question you think of, and it might jar my memory of other things.

-Here's the one issue, and disclaimer, that might be of concern to some potential buyers. As I mentioned earlier, the guy who sold it to me lied about most everything he said was done to it, and was not helpful after the sale. I drove 5 hours to central Mississippi to pick it up with a trailer, because he said that would be better than driving it that far (he wasn't lying there). He had eight early Broncos in his yard, three of which were on ebay auctions at the time. I picked it up, transferred the title the next day, and began tinkering and learning about it (mostly cleaning up and out at first, replacing the broken windshield, etc.). A couple of months later, with an exhaust, transmission, and a few more thousand dollars in it, I decided to replace the old brittle and cracked turn signal lenses on the grill. When the nice new ones came in, I discovered that the turn signals on a 1975 Bronco are larger than the earlier models. The body on the truck is not a '75. The VIN I located on the driver's side is not the one on my title, and I'll explain in a second. I had printed the auction (still have the copy in the file), so I still had the guy's number. I called him to ask if I somehow got the wrong title, and he was not much help. He's one of those guys who buys and sells cars found in people's barns and fields, and turns them over without putting them in his name in the interim. I asked if anyone else asked about crossed up paperwork. He said he'd make inquiries, but wouldn't answer my calls after that. I called the Mississippi DMV with the VIN on the vehicle and explained to them what happened. They told me it hadn't been registered in over 20 years, but was clear and had never been reported stolen. They are the ones who told me the VIN is for a '68 Bronco, which makes the turn signals the smaller type. So, while I do have a clear title for the '75, at least the body, or parts of it, are from a different vehicle. (I know the steering is Chevy, and the transmission codes on the one that was in it were from a '66 Mustang). Most parts do exchange for the whole early Bronco series, from '66 to '77, so maybe that's the issue, or maybe I just got the wrong title. Who knows, at this point. The VIN on the vehicle is clear, but not in my name. Some states will do an inspection during transfer, so be aware of that. Mississippi didn't when I bought it. While a new title can be gotten, I haven't done it. It's been registered and insured in my name as a '75 for seven years. I'm disclosing this, because like all the good and bad I've mentioned, it's the honest thing to do. I don't want any discontent.

-Anyhow, ask questions and be comfortable before bidding. Then, bid early and bid often. While it's not "pretty" yet, it's a very solid Early Bronco that won't be needing major parts for a long time. Imagine how much money that will save you! It'll make someone who can do a bit of tinkering a great truck.

-Here's the deal: Most of the stuff I've done to it has a few hundred miles on it or less. The engine isn't even broken in yet. I have over $15 thousand in it at this point. My reserve is MUCH lower than that. I know I'm going to take a beating with it, but I'm not giving it away. If the title question doesn't chase you away, bid. We'll see how it goes.

-Even with all the new goodies, I suggest shipping it for a cross country trek. There's the carb thing I might not be good enough to perfect, the steering hose, and you'll want to know it anyway before heading out to the wild blue. It drives great going down to town, but I wouldn't take it on the road for multi hours just yet. Any transport and associated costs are the responsibility of the buyer. I can keep it here for a predetermined time if you need to make arrangements for moving it. I won't drive it off the property once it's yours.

-On to the ebay stuff: If it reaches reserve, the winning bidder needs to forward a $500 non-refundable deposit via paypal within 24 hours. The balance is due within 7 days, paid by cashier's check. Just stay in touch, so I'll know the check is in the mail. If the balance isn't paid, I'll relist it without refund. It costs money to list on ebay, and buying is a purchase contract. As a vintage vehicle, it's being sold "as is", without any warranty implied. I just bought all that stuff, I didn't make it. No refund or return will be available. Again, just making sure everything is clear. I want you to be happy with it. I've spilled blood working on that truck, and want you to take care of it, but it will be yours once purchased.

Good luck and happy bidding.