My first Bronco questions

[Oceanside]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a 1972 EB, drum brakes, manual trans, manual steering, with 100,000 miles on original, unmodified 302.

Would the drums be as bad (fading, no stopping when wet) as my '65 Mustang?

Would conversion kit to power front discs, for $1,200 solve all problems?

Would the steering be like my '64 Falcon? Unpowered, but not bad.

What gas would you use? Need to redo the head with hardened valve seats?

Just interested in original street performance.

Thanks.

Jim

 

[S_bolt19]

Hi Jim, Welcome to the world of EBs. To answer your questions...

Yes, Yes, Yes, regular 85 octane, and no.

The drums aren't really that bad. I had drums on my 72 up until about year ago for the rears and 2 years ago for the front. They work fine. If I remember right, your mustang has an 8.8" rear end with smaller drums than the 9" under the bronco. Power will help emmensly. The only thing is that you don't need to go to power. I have disc all the way around and it is manual. The difference is night and day from the old drums. I would definatly do the Ch*vy disc conversion up front. That will help out your stopping power right away. The rear doesn't have to be done right away, but I would spend the money on the front. Again, it doesn't have to be power either.

The steering is actually pretty good on these rigs without the power, but if you have the means, then do the power swap. If you do, do a 73-75 Bronco swap because it is the easiest and if you have any mechanical experience then it can be done in a day. The only problem is that it is abot $900 for everything.

I never changed out the valve seats until I rebuilt the engine 3 years ago. I don't know about anyone else, but I never had problems.

If you are strictly going to be using this as a street vehicle, then I wouldn't worry about doing much other than the front disc conversion. They have pretty good manners on the road, but off road, you will wish that you had PS.

 

[Bandit]

Maybe it reflects on my mechanical ability,but out of four E.B.'s,with front drums,when I bought them,the one thing you could count on,was not knowing which way it would pull to ,in an OH SHIT! stopping situation.I believe you can get a disc conversion cheaper than 1200.00,but if you travel the E.B. sites,there are lots of do it yourself brake conversions that you can pull up,including cheap hydroboost.I know lots of guys run with drums,I got real scared a couple of times ,and bought a disc setup from Wild Horses.Those guys that run them ,must have them in perfect adjustment ,I guess,I never could get them to stop,straight.The manual steerings not that bad,but it is sure nice to have a quality power unit.All the Bronco venders have super ones,Wild Horses,Jeffs,Tom's.

Bandit &lt

 

[Oceanside]

Thanks for the knowlege.

I was too late on that '72, so my first Bronco is still out there somewhere. I am holding out for a low-miles, uncut fenders, uncut dash, no-rust southwestern cherry, for fun and preservation.

 

[76Explorer]

Thanks for the knowlege.
I was too late on that '72, so my first Bronco is still out there somewhere.  I am holding out for a low-miles, uncut fenders, uncut dash, no-rust southwestern cherry, for fun and preservation.

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Look for a 76 or 77 for factory power disk brakes and power steering, just my 2 cents >