Sick Pony: 74' Sport Resto Mod for Trail and Street

[scbronco]

Allright, here are a few pics of some of my recent progress. I finic=shed welding up the modified radius arms, and bolted them up to the front axle, and then up to the frame. the spring is just hanging there for reference to make sure all my measurements came out right. seems i inadvertently did a 1/4" stretch in the front... cratchhe: i think it will be fine other than a little rubbing on the inside of the upper spring buckets. alignment will be interesting too... i hope i can find a shop local thats willing to do it.

so i am just a few steps away form a rolling chassis! Woohoo!

anybody know a trick to removing the rear axle shaft bearings?

[blazinchuck]

sometimes...i find it easier to remove the outer race by cutting, then doing the same with the inner. be sure not to go too deep with the inner race...just a good groove will be enough, then use a chisel/hammer to snap it. dont forget eye protection!


frame looks awesome!

[Crawdad]

Frame looks great! Hope you have some Rust Bullet left over?!!! You are killing me with your roll bar sitting on top of that freshly painted hood:crying:!!!!!!!!!!! And are you replacing the passenger seat with that snowboard?!! That could be an interesting ride for somebody once you get the Sick Pony complete!:hysterical:

[scbronco]

settle down! there is a can and a half of RB left over, the rollbar isnt touching the hood, and its a wakeboard not a snowboard! Sick pony has to get used to touching watersport equipment, cuz she's gonna be haulin' about 2 and half tons of it when she's done... maybe... if she can... probably not...

[scbronco]

Issue... so i made absolutely certian that my modified control arms were within 1/8" of each other in length, and they are. 1/16" to be exact, and i can dial in the length to be perfectly identical using the hiems.

My problem is that after bolting everything up good and tight, i have an alignment problem. In an effort to get it close for the time being, i measured in an X from the drivers front to passenger rear, and vice versa. the measyrements were off by almost an inch. not good... after scrathcing my head for a minute, i noticed that the front axle was sitting significantly to the drivers side. i am running the Toms 3.5" lift, which included a track bar drop bracket which is currently installed. it seems like the drop bracket isnt enough, and my trackbar is still too short.

This trackbar issue seems to be throwing off any hope of getting her lined up right. i am thinking of cutting and sleeving the track bar to make up a couple of inches (after some precision measurement of course) i know this is not as good as just ordering some heims and making an adjustable track bar, but i think that may be overkill. open to suggestions though...

So, am i on the right track? ( no pun intended) haha!

[broncosbybart]

my vote is for an adjustable track bar!

also, what chuck said for axle bearings. new ones are a real bear to install. I have a 30 ton press that i use for installing them. even with the bearings heated in an oven and the press working, i still have to beat/press the bearings onto the shafts. it is quite a process...

[Crawdad]

Nick, You still alive?!! How is the Sick Pony coming along? You sure have bben quiet over there in Sumter. Hope you and the fam are doing well. Take care buddy!

[blazinchuck]

[SIZE="5"]back to the top!!!![/SIZE]


where are ya Nick!!!:popc1:

[scbronco]

ok folks! sorry i've been gone so long, the end of the fiscal year is finally over, and i have some time on my hands! woohoo!

So over the past couple of months, in very speratic burst of effort, i have made a little bit of progress. The body is now resting atop the frame, and the t-case shifters are installed, a small peice of disappointment there though as the t-cas rails have not been modified to allow independent operation which leaves a project for another day... anyway, the clutch is hooked up, the tie-rod is fabricated, knuckles drilled out for the 3/4" steering link hardware, tailgate latch and links rebuilt and installed, cage installed, headlights and hood latch refurbed and installed, aux fuel tank repaired and dash and controls hooked up and installed.

The following still needs to be accomplished:
Buy and install headers and exhaust
buy and install Wheels and Tires
Fab and install steering link
rebuild Power steering box and repair outlet port on PS Pump
Source and install Bench Seat form Late 80's Pick-up
buy and install Vent window hardware, weather stripping and assorted rubber
Fabricate Bikini and Half-cab soft tops
Source and install stock main fuel tank, sending units, and hoses/lines
finish brake plumbing
buy and install power brake booster/MC
install park brake (complete system)
rebuild rear drumbs
wire up under hood and lights
install battery, cross fingers, say prayer, turn key...

biggest road blocks at this point are money & money...

i need about 4 or 5 grand to do all of the stuff thats left, and i wont have it until i get back from my military mandated vacation next summer... I have made peace with the fact that my goal of november this year was fiscally out of reach. i have some pictures of the current state of things, that i will upload this evening...

if you would like to donate to the cause please PM me! upergrin::beer:

[scbronco]

oh yeah, chuck, i want some carolinabroncos decals about 24" long by 2-3" tall... something like that exist already, or should i have them made?