Starting off right
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:50 pm
Folks,
I own a 1984 Bronco II V6 4x4, all original other than a cassette deck I put in it in college, circa 1990.
My father bought it from the dealer as a gift to himself when he retired. He wanted to go camping and surf fishing. Cancer changed his plans. I inherited it in 1988 and used it to get through college. One the way home from the sonogram for my first daughter in the spring of 1993, it overheated and got me stuck on an interstate. It was flatbed towed home, started fine the next day, but I just started working out of town and didn't have the time or money to fix it - so I retired it to a garage. It sat inside a garage until 2004, then was trailered by me to my new house, where it has sat in the driveway since. I've been telling myself since 1993 that some day I'm going to fix it up, and use it to take my kids camping and surf fishing. Well, the older daughter is 18 this summer, so I guess I better get to it.
I'm not looking to build a monster, just a solid truck that can get me a little past where the tourists usually go. I've been doing some reading, including scanning lots of stuff here, and I was thinking of tearing out the V6 and tranny, overhauling the suspension with maybe a modest 4-inch lift, adding a 2-inch body lift for some room in the tire wells and under the hood, then brining in a 302 for some added power and pull. A little paint and some re-chroming and I hope to take my first trip to the mountains or the dunes in the spring of 2012.
I did some car restoration years ago, like as lot of us rebuilding hand-me-down hot rods in our driveways, and I did a few years as a motorcycle mechanic, so I should have the basic skills.
What I'm hoping some kind folks here will do is take the time to offer me a few tips and warnings. I imagine there's been a lot of folks who've set off to do what I'm doing in the past 27 years, so what is it I need to know, what good can I do with this good old truck, and what fantasies should I get out of my head right quick?
I'd love to do this right ... for the old man, for the kids, and for me. Any help anyone can offer that will set me off on the right path is much appreciated.
I own a 1984 Bronco II V6 4x4, all original other than a cassette deck I put in it in college, circa 1990.
My father bought it from the dealer as a gift to himself when he retired. He wanted to go camping and surf fishing. Cancer changed his plans. I inherited it in 1988 and used it to get through college. One the way home from the sonogram for my first daughter in the spring of 1993, it overheated and got me stuck on an interstate. It was flatbed towed home, started fine the next day, but I just started working out of town and didn't have the time or money to fix it - so I retired it to a garage. It sat inside a garage until 2004, then was trailered by me to my new house, where it has sat in the driveway since. I've been telling myself since 1993 that some day I'm going to fix it up, and use it to take my kids camping and surf fishing. Well, the older daughter is 18 this summer, so I guess I better get to it.
I'm not looking to build a monster, just a solid truck that can get me a little past where the tourists usually go. I've been doing some reading, including scanning lots of stuff here, and I was thinking of tearing out the V6 and tranny, overhauling the suspension with maybe a modest 4-inch lift, adding a 2-inch body lift for some room in the tire wells and under the hood, then brining in a 302 for some added power and pull. A little paint and some re-chroming and I hope to take my first trip to the mountains or the dunes in the spring of 2012.
I did some car restoration years ago, like as lot of us rebuilding hand-me-down hot rods in our driveways, and I did a few years as a motorcycle mechanic, so I should have the basic skills.
What I'm hoping some kind folks here will do is take the time to offer me a few tips and warnings. I imagine there's been a lot of folks who've set off to do what I'm doing in the past 27 years, so what is it I need to know, what good can I do with this good old truck, and what fantasies should I get out of my head right quick?
I'd love to do this right ... for the old man, for the kids, and for me. Any help anyone can offer that will set me off on the right path is much appreciated.