Project Mall Crawler

[broncosbybart]

Ok, so I don't exactly recall what year this truck was. I think it was a 72. It started life out (when I got it) as a heaping pile of rust with some nice parts somehow affixed to it.

Some of you might recall seeing this rig before. It started out as our racer for the first race of the 2011 ECORS series. I didn't have the race rig done in time, so we went up to Asheville and brought this thing home the day before the race!!!

It did us well and ran great! Specs are a rebuilt 302, NP435 trans, spooled rear axle, 3.50 gears, ps, pb, front discs, and a few other things.

The tub was absolutely shot. There was enough fiberglass in it to have built one nice boat, or maybe 2 Bayliners... As the race progressed, the driver's side would buckle when the clutch was pushed in, and it got hard to make the truck shift!

[broncosbybart]

It was a kind of "one (race) and done" thing.

SO, I tore it all down and it is now time to ressurect it.

I cut the body apart and it is gone. Nick at NicksTrix had a tub that I purchased from him. It isn't perfect, but it should look pretty nice.

I cleaned the frame up, primed and painted it and the axles as well as almost every drivetrain part. It is a lot of work, but the end result will be worth it.

The transfer case is rebuilt (the PO took the shift pills out of it and it would pop out of gear and/or get stuck between gears). I didn't think about a build thread till now. Here are some pics of what it looks like currently.

[broncosbybart]

After looking at the 'before' pics, it is funny how nice things look in pictures. It was an absolute wreck! We removed the windshield frame so that it wouldn't fall off during the race! It is amazing how good fiberglass can cover- um- rust.

Well, there are a few more pics I can show. Here is the 302 all painted up. I put a set of alum valve covers on it yesterday. Figured I'd show a trick on installing these, if ya didn't know it already.

First, I don't use cork gaskets. Only rubber ones. They seem to not compress or deform as easily. The valve covers I used didn't have any retainers built into them, so the gasket is able to move around unrestrained between the bolt holes. Not to mention that the gasket itself is flimsy and not shaped perfectly.

What I do is I put a THIN bead of RTV on the cylinder head and place the gasket on it and finger tighten bolts against it to keep it in place while the RTV dries. Meanwhile, I cleaned up the valve covers. When the gaskets on the cylinder head are cured enough to not move, I remove the bolts holding them in place. I then put a thin bead of RTV on the valve covers and put them on the gaskets and bolt them all (finger tight) in place. Then, let it sit overnight and tighten the bolts the next day after everything is cured. Tight on a valve cover isn't very tight though. I find that a stubby ratchet is all that is needed. Voila, no leaky valve covers.

[SC74]

What are your final plans... a street bronco only? I know what a pain it is to clean every single little part, but like you said it will pay off. Keep the pics coming.

[broncosbybart]

Yeah, this thing is going to be street only. I kept the 3.50 gears for 'economy' and changed the rear spool out to an open diff. It is going to be running 35's with the 435 trans. Should work out very well. This week will be slow for updates with the Thanksgiving holiday, but it should come together fairly quickly. I got a lot of the hard and boring stuff done already.

I did have to weld blocks to the clutch and brake pedals originally (I couldn't reach them)! Insert your jokes here... Got the blocks removed and smoothed everything back out with the flap disc.

[broncosbybart]

Got another couple of pics of it. Here is everything kind of laid out getting ready for re-assembly.

[blazinchuck]

back when i had a C4/35's/3.50 it was a nice driver...but as soon as i swapped the 435...it became a pig. i suggest getting the proper gearing for the size tires you plan to run. the jump between 1st and 2nd is too far apart!! at the very least...you need 4.11's minimal.

[broncosbybart]

gotcha. hate to hear that. my plan for now is to keep it as is and see what happens. I can switch to 33's if need be.

Got some more work done, though not much. All kinds of new parts going in the front axle...

[broncosbybart]

More progress!

[broncosbybart]

A few more pics. The engine/trans/t-case, is in. Headers are on. Kinda slow going- got a lot on the plate.