Where do I start with my 74'?

[WarEagle]

Ok...here goes everything. My dad bought a 74' Bronco about 8 yrs ago as a hunting vehicle and we have used as such this whole time. It is 74' with a "custom" after-market half cab. It also has a tool box and two huge dog boxes in the bed with the original rumble seat mounted on top of them. I think was originally designed to hunt quil with dogs but we hunt deer so we use the top seat to have fun riding around the camp and trimming trails when our short stature isn't working. I have recently started to become interested in "fixing-up" this beast but I don't know where to start. It has a 302 and I am fairly sure it has the front Dana 44 and the Ford 9" rear. I first need to get it street legal and safe enough to drive and not quit on me on the drive home. Where should I start? The engine seems to run fine as well as the 4WD but I just want to make it road-worthy right now. I am new to the game but am willing to get my hands dirty to get this thing working right. I know I need to check fluids and hoses but is there anything I need to seriously worry about??...I mean this thing gets driven maybe 4 times a year. It is kept under shelter so its in fairly decent shape. I would appreciate any advice/help I can get.

My Plans:

While I am a poor college student I want to do a little work to this thing to make it trail ready. This is a whole other ball game but if anybody is interested I'll tell you all the stuff I've been thinking about and you can tell me I'm an idiot. Thanks guys, I'm glad to be a member!

 

[S_bolt19]

Welcome to the list. Once you get the bug, you tend not to lose it.

Yes you have a 44 front with a 9" rear end. I think that you might even have the big bearing rearend, which is the desireable rearend as opposed to the small bearing. Just a strength issue.

To start out, just do a regular tune up on it and go forward from there. Post what you want to do and what you want this truck to be able to do and you will definately get good advice from everyone here.

 

[WarEagle]

Just the little things help out a great deal. I know I will just come up with new questions so here is one I have been thinking of. My 74' has been sitting for all this time and maybe gets 20 miles put on it each year. When i get it home should I need to rebuild the engine or have it rebuilt? And if so, how much headache are we talking about? I bought the Chilton manual but like I said I am new to the game and even though I am motivated to work on this beast, I don't have much mechanical knowledge or money.

Last question:

This is sort of a general one. What sort of things/parts should I look at, inspect or replace on the Bronc that could have gone bad from it sitting all this time outside? I know hoses and fluids, but anything mechanical or major?

Thanks guys

 

[S_bolt19]

it wouldn't hurt to replace plugs, wires, points, condensor, coil (basically it would be like getting a brand new ignition system without replacing the distributer). Battery cables, grease all your joints, put an inline fuel filter and change that pretty regularly to start out with. Just do the minor things.

As for rebuilding or needing to rebuild, is the engine extremely tired? I know my EB sat for about 8 years before I bought it and put a battery in. It ran for about 200k before I had to rebuild it.

 

[jagscars]

I just bought one from the same situation, but much older. Most of This stuff is what I do with any new ride.

Change the oil & filter with mobil 1 10/30 synth.($22.00/5 quarts walmart)

check the plug wires for damage

check or change plugs

repl. points

check the oil pressure

drain all the drivetrain components tranny, transfer, front & rear axles paying attention to what and how much comes out and refill with the proper good lubes(synthetic).

check the carb. for leakes,flooding,hesitation,etc. it sounds like you would be best off just pulling it and having it rebuilt as they don't respond well to to just being parked.

**** the @#*$ out of all the grease ******* you can find.

one thing I did with my 66 is put the fuel filter for a 92 jetta in just before the pump, on the frame rail( it's BIG, fine, low restriction, and I had one).

My carb was trashed so I found one on ebay. You might want to consider getting a carb. and intake instead of working on the 2 bbl. if it's very worn.

I'm sure theres stuff I missed but that's a start. :huh:

JAG

 

[WarEagle]

As much as I would like to rebuild the engine, i wouldn't be able to afford it(atleast I think I wouldn't). I really don't know what the cost of that is if I have someone else do it vs. doing it myself. Do you know what it would cost for both options? I do want to do it eventually and I would like to do it myself but it doesn't look possible right now. I know that we just had plugs and wires replaced...but as for timing, I think it is a bit off. It wants to stall when its just sitting in gear. I was thinking it may be something with the carb but I don't know. I don't have it with me yet but I plan on visiting it in South Georgia every other weekend to get minor stuff worked out and then when hunting season gets closer to ending I'll have it in my driveway in a million pieces. Thanks for your help!

Here are two pics of my 74'...tell me what you think! The second is the engine...does this thing have PS?!?! I never knew it if it did cause it sure as **** doesn't work. If that is a PS box on the right side...does it look too shot to get it working again and if not where should I start?

 

[S_bolt19]

No, you don't have ps. You would have the pump on the side of the engine and the steering column would have a rag joint on it.

As far as rebuilding your engine, it can range in price as to how far you go with it. I think Summit or Jegs sells rebuild kits for a 302 in the $600-1000 range, but you still need to have the engine boiled out, etc. If you have someone do it for you, you can look for about $1800+ depending on what you have done (i.e. roller rockers, cam, forged pistons, etc.)

Asking for someone to give you a price on rebuilding is a tough question. The possibilities are pretty limitless as to what can be done.

 

[Leo]

Hey WarEagle,

First things first... get all that shit out of the back! )

- Check all lights... need them on the road.

- Fluids, der.

- Have your carb looked at. You may not have a timing issue. K.I.S.S.

Then, drive it around a bit. After you do that you'll know what you "want/need" to do.

I'm willing to bet you'll want to:

- Add EFI

- Go to Power Brakes

- Go to "at least" disc brakes up front

- Add power steering

- this list could go on...

Check out my homepage for some ideas on upgrades. Research, research, research before you do anything! Don't go out buying a bunch of overpriced crap if you can! Chances are there's a cheaper solution out there, all you have to do is ask.

These guys hit the nail on the head though. You want to just make sure it's nice and tuned before you street it. If you want to "wheel" it... well, that's why boards like this one stay in bidnaz! &lt

Good luck with it, bro! That's a nice one to start off with!