03-13-2011, 04:28 PM
Well, the past few days have been a whirlwind. It all started out at about 9pm Wednesday night when I decided to do a little Craigslist search for Broncos. On the Asheville site, I uncovered a 72 Bronco with the following description:
1972 Bronco. fresh drivetrain. 302 with a mild rebuild about 10k miles ago. NP435 4 speed from a newer f-150, rebuilt twin sticked dana 20 t-case, 9 inch with new bearings and mini spool. Dana 44 with fresh wheel bearings ball joints and disc brake conversion. powdercoated black wheels with almost new 35" pro comp mud terrains. custom prerunner front bumper and tire carrier rear bumper with full size spare. Full cage tied to frame with racing seats. Runs and drives great. Body is rough. 2800$ Could part out for more than this.
![[Image: OrigAd.jpg]](http://i786.photobucket.com/albums/yy147/broncosbybart/ECORS%20Race%201%202011/OrigAd.jpg)
I quickly grabbed the phone and made the call. We talked a bit and arranged to meet at 3:30pm on Thursday to look at it. I went to bed that night dreaming of what I had found and the opportunity to make the race on Saturday.
Woke up early the next morning and cleaned up the garage to prepare for the frenzy that was soon to come. We (Clay, his friend Will, and I) hooked up the truck and trailer and headed out at 1:15pm. About in Hendersonville, I get a call from the seller saying he would be about an hour late and that one of his friends would meet us. At 3:30pm we arrived and parked the tow rig. We got out and peered through the dark windows into the dim garage to get our first glimpse of it. Will immediately commented that it looked a lot lighter in color than the picture showed. I assured him that it was the same one, based on what I saw.
We waited impatiently for about 20 minutes in the cold Asheville air before coming to the realization that the truck would be a lot warmer. So, we piled back in to wait some more. After an eternity of watching vehicles pass the driveway, one finally pulled in. He was the sellerââ¬â¢s friend that was supposed to arrive when we didââ¬Â¦ He opened the garage and as soon as he did, the seller pulled up and introduced himself. We then looked it over from top to bottom.
The Bronco was shot! It had more fiberglass on it than metal. I was immediately greeted by a fiberglass splinter from the leading edge of the hood as I reached for the hood latch to open the hood. The roll cage welds were pretty nasty and the bumpers and twin sticks were ââ¬Åbooty fabbed.ââ¬Â The racing seats were of the hard plastic variety and the floor of the bronco was full of pine needles, leaves, debris, and general trash. Despite having been it the garage, it was still wet from rain and had a plastic garbage bag over the driverââ¬â¢s side seat.
The good of it was that the 35" tires were in good shape, and it had a strong 302 in it with the 435 and a cast aluminum AA intermediate housing to mate the D20 t-case to it. It had a power steering setup on it, power brake booster, and a disc brake setup from a 79 on the D44, as well as a mini spool in the rear.
After paying for it, we loaded it up and I stressed that we get to the bank before they closed to notarize the title. It was then 4:45pm. We raced to the bank, going seemingly the same direction as the rush hour traffic and were greeted by every traffic lightââ¬Â¦ We got there with 5 minutes to spare and got it done. We then walked across the parking lot and grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed home.
1972 Bronco. fresh drivetrain. 302 with a mild rebuild about 10k miles ago. NP435 4 speed from a newer f-150, rebuilt twin sticked dana 20 t-case, 9 inch with new bearings and mini spool. Dana 44 with fresh wheel bearings ball joints and disc brake conversion. powdercoated black wheels with almost new 35" pro comp mud terrains. custom prerunner front bumper and tire carrier rear bumper with full size spare. Full cage tied to frame with racing seats. Runs and drives great. Body is rough. 2800$ Could part out for more than this.
I quickly grabbed the phone and made the call. We talked a bit and arranged to meet at 3:30pm on Thursday to look at it. I went to bed that night dreaming of what I had found and the opportunity to make the race on Saturday.
Woke up early the next morning and cleaned up the garage to prepare for the frenzy that was soon to come. We (Clay, his friend Will, and I) hooked up the truck and trailer and headed out at 1:15pm. About in Hendersonville, I get a call from the seller saying he would be about an hour late and that one of his friends would meet us. At 3:30pm we arrived and parked the tow rig. We got out and peered through the dark windows into the dim garage to get our first glimpse of it. Will immediately commented that it looked a lot lighter in color than the picture showed. I assured him that it was the same one, based on what I saw.
We waited impatiently for about 20 minutes in the cold Asheville air before coming to the realization that the truck would be a lot warmer. So, we piled back in to wait some more. After an eternity of watching vehicles pass the driveway, one finally pulled in. He was the sellerââ¬â¢s friend that was supposed to arrive when we didââ¬Â¦ He opened the garage and as soon as he did, the seller pulled up and introduced himself. We then looked it over from top to bottom.
The Bronco was shot! It had more fiberglass on it than metal. I was immediately greeted by a fiberglass splinter from the leading edge of the hood as I reached for the hood latch to open the hood. The roll cage welds were pretty nasty and the bumpers and twin sticks were ââ¬Åbooty fabbed.ââ¬Â The racing seats were of the hard plastic variety and the floor of the bronco was full of pine needles, leaves, debris, and general trash. Despite having been it the garage, it was still wet from rain and had a plastic garbage bag over the driverââ¬â¢s side seat.
The good of it was that the 35" tires were in good shape, and it had a strong 302 in it with the 435 and a cast aluminum AA intermediate housing to mate the D20 t-case to it. It had a power steering setup on it, power brake booster, and a disc brake setup from a 79 on the D44, as well as a mini spool in the rear.
After paying for it, we loaded it up and I stressed that we get to the bank before they closed to notarize the title. It was then 4:45pm. We raced to the bank, going seemingly the same direction as the rush hour traffic and were greeted by every traffic lightââ¬Â¦ We got there with 5 minutes to spare and got it done. We then walked across the parking lot and grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed home.