Hello to all 4 wheel drive truck, off-road, and Bronco enthusiasts who happened to stumble upon my attempt at building a Big Bronco related web site. In this site I will include pictures of Bronco's big and small, technical articles of any new work performed on my 78 Bronco, pictures of other peoples 4x4's standing still or in the dirt, and whatever I feel may be of interest to the reader.
Here's a description and rundown of my 78 Bronco and the many things I have done to it. In other words, My Big Bronco Adventure.
I bought this truck back in November 1999 for the price of $3750. The body was straight and the paint was good in most areas except for the tailgate and upper passenger side quarter panel. The weatherstripping was dry and crumbling in most places. The driveline was solid except for a slight slip in shifting from second gear to drive. The tired V8 ran poorly with a loud lifter noise when it warmed up. This truck came with the usual package, 351M, C6 auto trans, all gear NP205 transfer case, Ford 9" rearend, and a straight axle Dana 44 up front that came only on '78 and '79 full size Bronco's. All known as "bombproof" parts which are on many 4x4 enthusiasts wish lists. It also came with brand new 35" BFG Mud Terrains and an incomplete Rancho 4" lift kit (front springs & rear blocks only) with seven Rancho RS5000 shocks including the steering stabilizer. The thing was a true "dog". It was slow, stinky and noisy. Everything rattled. The spare tire rack banged and squeeked against the tailgate. The rear window would barely roll up. The right tail light would stay bright with the headlights turned on. The wing window whistled as did the drivers side roll up window since the front weatherstrip had crumbled and fallen into the door. My wife HATED this truck!
The first thing to be done to the Bronco was to get it to pass the smog check so it could be registered here in California. This turned out to be a long and drawn out ordeal that I might decide to get into later to help other Californians pass the dreaded smog check.
As with any hobby, sport or activity that we get into and find fulfilling, it easily becomes what is referred to simply as a sickness. And with the Bronco I got the sickness in a big way considering the tight budget that I had and still have. Yes, you can still build a decent 4x4 with limited funds.
I've since replaced the 351M with a rebuilt 400 with new carb, distributor, egr valve and transducer, water pump, fuel pump, oil pump, vacuum lines, hoses and radiator. I added a B&M transmission cooler and upgraded the ignition with an MSD-6T ignition box and High Vibration Blaster coil. Also swapped out was the old mechanical voltage regulator for a solid state unit. I had the ring and pinion sets changed to 4.10 from whatever the stock ratio was, added a Detroit Locker in the 9", left the front diff "open" and replaced the rear driveshaft. The drivers side lockout hub was stuck and repaired with a nifty little hub repair tool that I built from two long bolts, a nut, a big half inch drive socket and a Dremel tool. It's sort of a hub slide hammer. As for the 4" lift, the geometry of the front axle was somewhat corrected with a Superlift drop pitman arm and radius arm drop brackets. It still needs an adjustable trac bar to center the front axle. The front suspension has all new urethane bushings, tie rods and drag link. The doors now have all new weatherstripping and most recently the rear window motor has a new drive gear. All the work was performed by yours truly except for the diff gear swaps and engine machine work. Most of the parts were purchase from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard and Jeg's High Performance Mail Order over the internet.
Coming Soon! All-4-Fun Offroad roll cage install for the big Bronco.
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Updated June 22, 2004
