Hello to all!
Just joined the forum - although I've had my '72 on and off the road since the early 80's. It was my father's truck - he was a commercial fisherman out of Montauk, NY. He baught it used in fairly good shape in ~ 1976 - at that time it had ~ 77K on the clock. Now I'm up to ~ 110K. Most of those miles were run on the salty beach.
I did a amatuer's (hack job) restore in 1982 when I was in college. Picks to follow. The body panels are all in great shape although the rockers, a-posts, floor etc. are rusted out. The doors are sprung. I would like to do a full frame-off restore one day as it has great sentimental value to me.
In the mean time, I'm thinking of buying new tires/wheels and would like anyone's advice as to what works. Being that the truck is rather 'long in the tooth', it will mostly be used as a Sunday car (sadly). With a full restore in the back of my mind during which I would like to install a 2" lift kit, what would be recommended for:
1. Street tires, reasonably priced that would also run well on sand. I am also thinking of flaring the back fenders ultimately (they are bowed out at the moment to fit 10.5 X 31 15s). My idea is to go to either a 31.5" or a 33" Will I fit the 33s without a lift and, if so, would any modification need to be made to the drive train?
2. Wheels - I'm looking at Procomp 1079s in either a 16" X 10" or a 17" X 9". I like the look of larger rims on the truck although I don't want to give up too much tire flotation on the beach. Does anyone feel there would be issues with running 17" rims?
Lastly - when I run the truck while its cold - for the first several miles - it seems to limp down the road. If I accelerate beyond 35 mph, it starts to shake badly (I removed the hard top in the early 80's). Any thoughts whether this is:
1. tires with flat spots - it has been sitting in a grage on those tires for ~ 10 years
2. the rear differential (I installed a new propellor shaft last year which had little effect)
3. other...
I look forward to keeping in touch with my bronco brethren.
Chris
Just joined the forum - although I've had my '72 on and off the road since the early 80's. It was my father's truck - he was a commercial fisherman out of Montauk, NY. He baught it used in fairly good shape in ~ 1976 - at that time it had ~ 77K on the clock. Now I'm up to ~ 110K. Most of those miles were run on the salty beach.
I did a amatuer's (hack job) restore in 1982 when I was in college. Picks to follow. The body panels are all in great shape although the rockers, a-posts, floor etc. are rusted out. The doors are sprung. I would like to do a full frame-off restore one day as it has great sentimental value to me.
In the mean time, I'm thinking of buying new tires/wheels and would like anyone's advice as to what works. Being that the truck is rather 'long in the tooth', it will mostly be used as a Sunday car (sadly). With a full restore in the back of my mind during which I would like to install a 2" lift kit, what would be recommended for:
1. Street tires, reasonably priced that would also run well on sand. I am also thinking of flaring the back fenders ultimately (they are bowed out at the moment to fit 10.5 X 31 15s). My idea is to go to either a 31.5" or a 33" Will I fit the 33s without a lift and, if so, would any modification need to be made to the drive train?
2. Wheels - I'm looking at Procomp 1079s in either a 16" X 10" or a 17" X 9". I like the look of larger rims on the truck although I don't want to give up too much tire flotation on the beach. Does anyone feel there would be issues with running 17" rims?
Lastly - when I run the truck while its cold - for the first several miles - it seems to limp down the road. If I accelerate beyond 35 mph, it starts to shake badly (I removed the hard top in the early 80's). Any thoughts whether this is:
1. tires with flat spots - it has been sitting in a grage on those tires for ~ 10 years
2. the rear differential (I installed a new propellor shaft last year which had little effect)
3. other...
I look forward to keeping in touch with my bronco brethren.
Chris
