Bronco #2 The wheeler

[paradisePWoffrd]

Brakes definitely need to be truly bled now that I have the booster hooked up to vacuum. I get brakes but have a very soft pedal and no brakes until the end. After doing some research, some people just said the master cylinder cap just fits poorly on some of these reman'ed units. Threw a zip tie around the cap and seems to be sealing up properly now. Not seeing any leaks now either which is a good sign. Took a little trip about 1/8 mile up the road and turned around. The manual steering is going to be something to get used to, so is the mechanical clutch linkage. Still needs the exhaust installed and some small stuff buttoned up after the brakes are bled. Then I can work on tuning the carb more. It definitely needs it. But man this feels good!

I havent had any issue with my clutch linkage, but mine doesnt have a ton of frame flex. If the linkage pops off the Zbar like is common on the Jeeps, you can swap it for small heims to fix that.

 

[YJKrawlin]

I havent had any issue with my clutch linkage, but mine doesnt have a ton of frame flex. If the linkage pops off the Zbar like is common on the Jeeps, you can swap it for small heims to fix that.

I remember a buddies cj having issues. Hopefully we won’t have too many. Just has a weird pedal feel. Probably needs some adjustment. I’m probably over traveling it. I’ve had a mechanical cable clutch on my old rocky and it was smooth this one has a pop to it from the spring return. Nothing bad just needing adjustment, hoping to get the exhaust and driveshaft in today.

 

[snipes243]

Make sure the z bar isn't shifting side to side in the mount, that can make it feel sticky. You can get all the parts to rebuild the bushings for the frame mount and z link from the bronco vendors.

clutch pivot Bronco Equalizer Bar Bushing Kit-Broncograveyard.com

This kit contains all components to refurbish your equalizer bar. Contains 11222,1 11224,2 11226,2 i

shop.broncograveyard.com

Also the adjustment rod ffrom Jb fab helps alot to fine tune it.

Early Bronco Clutch Push-rod 66-77, Stainless, Adjustable P/N EBCROD

Early Bronco Clutch Push-rod 66-77, Stainless, Adjustable

jb-custom-fabrication.myshopify.com

 

[YJKrawlin]

Make sure the z bar isn't shifting side to side in the mount, that can make it feel sticky. You can get all the parts to rebuild the bushings for the frame mount and z link from the bronco vendors.

clutch pivot Bronco Equalizer Bar Bushing Kit-Broncograveyard.com

This kit contains all components to refurbish your equalizer bar. Contains 11222,1 11224,2 11226,2 i

shop.broncograveyard.com

Also the adjustment rod ffrom Jb fab helps alot to fine tune it.

Early Bronco Clutch Push-rod 66-77, Stainless, Adjustable P/N EBCROD

Early Bronco Clutch Push-rod 66-77, Stainless, Adjustable

jb-custom-fabrication.myshopify.com

I got of those when I was putting it all together. just need to adjust it I’m sure. Nothing but time right? It works just feels odd. When you’re used to hydraulic clutches though it’s just a different feel I’m certain.

 

[snipes243]

I got of those when I was putting it all together. just need to adjust it I’m sure. Nothing but time right? It works just feels odd. When you’re used to hydraulic clutches though it’s just a different feel I’m certain.

Did you put in 3 finger clutch or diaphraim style pressure plate? The older 3 fingers can be alittle odd. The newer diaphrain style feel like a modern clutch with a heaver throw due to the return spring. You coming to super Cell this weekend?

 

[YJKrawlin]

Did you put in 3 finger clutch or diaphraim style pressure plate? The older 3 fingers can be alittle odd. The newer diaphrain style feel like a modern clutch with a heaver throw due to the return spring. You coming to super Cell this weekend?

Trailer isn’t ready and that’s a bit of a tow for the first trip. Haha. I have a diaphragm style pressure plate. It’s starting to feel better. I think it’s the spring return feeling odd on the manual vs hydraulic. Driving it around a little the 1/4 mile or so up and down the road and starting to get more used to it again.

Brakes feel pretty good after bleeding them yesterday. Fixed a dust shield that was dragging against the rotor. I think the carb is running pretty rich on the idle mixtures and the float might need some adjusting, getting some fuel spillover from the carb cover and it bogs if I give it any throttle. I can still get up to speed but can notice it’s pulling harder with less throttle input. Now that I have exhaust on it and it’s quieter I’m going to go back through and start working on tuning some drivability into it. Coming along though!

 

[YJKrawlin]

Been working on the short drive from my house to the corner to see how everything feels. In second gear I have all the power and acceleration I could want, carrying it all the way to 20-25 mph, hit 3rd and feels like I can’t give it any gas or it bogs down. It will accelerate under light throttle but any more and it bogs. Carried that up to 35-40 and went to 4th, same thing was able to get up to 50 before my house so acceleration feels good other than the fact that I can’t get into it at all. Any tips? I’ve tuned the idle air in as far as I can with smooth vacuum. Idle is around 575 with ported vacuum staying closed. Timing is at 12-13 btdc. I mean it’s driveable but frustrating. Clutch and shifting are starting to feel better though.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Been working on the short drive from my house to the corner to see how everything feels. In second gear I have all the power and acceleration I could want, carrying it all the way to 20-25 mph, hit 3rd and feels like I can’t give it any gas or it bogs down. It will accelerate under light throttle but any more and it bogs. Carried that up to 35-40 and went to 4th, same thing was able to get up to 50 before my house so acceleration feels good other than the fact that I can’t get into it at all. Any tips? I’ve tuned the idle air in as far as I can with smooth vacuum. Idle is around 575 with ported vacuum staying closed. Timing is at 12-13 btdc. I mean it’s driveable but frustrating. Clutch and shifting are starting to feel better though.

I'm inclined to think it's a jetting issue, but with this aftermarket carb there's no replacement jets beyond drilling out the existing jets. I've reached out to the manufacturer to see if I can get some more stock jets to drill out on the side to have ready for swapping in and tuning. We will see if they respond.

 

[YJKrawlin]

SOLVED(?): seems to be a gearing issue. If I hold second a little longer (3k rpm) and do the same in third the bog is mostly gone. If anything 4th gear wants more throttle at that point and the bog is on the low end. Acceleration feels good at this point the truck is just loud haha. I strapped my timing light to my center console to use as a tach while I was testing. Used a gps speedometer and found that if I was going around 25-30 (just a little more than what I was doing yesterday the bog in third was gone and if I shifted around 45-50 into 4th the bog was mostly gone

 

[YJKrawlin]

31.5 mile trip on the bronco now that it’s legal! Lost a gas cap after I left it loose to vent the overfilled tank and forgot to tighten it before I got on the road. and had my clutch rod fall off the pedal because I forgot to put the pin in it. Always fun when the clutch pedal hits the floor at 50mph when you go to shift. Holds 55-57 mph pretty solidly steering wasn’t super sketch but wasn’t perfect either. About what you’d expect at 50+ years old. Getting some of the kinks worked out and getting used to the clutch and trans. Still some fine tuning on the carb but felt great to cruise around.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Took the bronco out to the local CC car show and got to flex it on the RTI ramp they had brought out. Got some wipers, side marker lenses and harnesses and a hood prop so I wouldn’t need to keep propping the hood against the windshield. Also worked on a little painting to see how we liked the intended color for the bronco. Gotta keep the wife happy. Figured since there was still a few weeks left until we go to uwharrie for Memorial Day weekend I would throw together a rear recovery point. Nothing crazy just 2x4 .180 wall with a HF receiver welded into it. Felt good to weld thick stuff again. I’m not a professional welder nor do I call myself a welder but it felt like it got good penetration, but I may go and put a wider pass on it before we go just for safety. It’s still nerve racking to drive it around but it’s been doing well. A little over 150 miles so far and 13.5 mpg. Not too bad overall.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Not much left to do (steering stops, tweaking the carb tune), bringing all of my tuning stuff with me but loaded up for this weekend. Maiden voyage to uwharrie. Hope to see some of you on the trails!

 

[YJKrawlin]

First trip to uwharrie was a success! A few hiccups. Fuel pump connections kept coming loose. They are a push on style connector similar to bullet connectors. Frustrating but not a huge deal. Also managed to shear the cotter pin for the pin in the clutch pedal linkage so that was an interesting fix. Other than that my only major issues were that I tapped the fuel tank 2 times because I left the skid off. Not intentionally but I ran out of time to get it on and wasn’t thinking. Ran wolfs den, lake view, falls dam, lower half of Dickey bell and back side of Daniel. I didn’t do the hill climb on Dickey because I didn’t want to risk anything and it was starting to rain. We were turning around at that point either way. Did good on back side of Daniel despite the rain starting to pick up. All in all, a good weekend. Plenty of things for me to touch on before Veterans Day when I’m going out again. Already have the bronco stripped down partially to start working on getting the paint updated to the new color in the meantime. I will also probably work on getting some bump stops and the new (used) springs swapped in.

 

[paradisePWoffrd]

Throw a front lunchbox in it, and it will make a world of difference, without changing the road handling at all.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Throw a front lunchbox in it, and it will make a world of difference, without changing the road handling at all.

That’s what I’ve been debating doing. It was crazy slick out there but it still did pretty good and did everything I asked of it.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Quick update on the rattle can paint job for the bronco. It’s a solid 30 footer so far. Will probably end up shooting some canned 2k clear over it after some wet sanding to try to get rid of some runs and rough spots but it is looking good so far for a wheeling rig.

 

[YJKrawlin]

Oh, I figured out a portion of my bog while at uwharrie. I kept having this dead spot between just over idle and full throttle. Ended up bumping my accelerator pump linkage up to the top slot and now it feels much better! I still need to get it on the road and check it some more, but for now i'm happy with it.

 

[YJKrawlin]

I still need to get the panels finished but looking great so far. Some rough spots. I have the 2k clear and am debating between wet sanding and buffing or wet sanding and shooting with clear. Haven’t made the decision yet. It doesn’t sit outside very often other than when we are on the trails or for a few days when we get back then it gets parked in the shop for insurance reasons. Is clear going to be worth it? Might just spray the 2k around the fuel cap to save the paint from fuel? Haven’t figured out that much yet.

 

[Shreddinlettuce]

I still need to get the panels finished but looking great so far. Some rough spots. I have the 2k clear and am debating between wet sanding and buffing or wet sanding and shooting with clear. Haven’t made the decision yet. It doesn’t sit outside very often other than when we are on the trails or for a few days when we get back then it gets parked in the shop for insurance reasons. Is clear going to be worth it? Might just spray the 2k around the fuel cap to save the paint from fuel? Haven’t figured out that much yet.

You can always rebuff/ spray a new panel with no worry of color match if you don’t clear

 

[YJKrawlin]

Well I sanded with the orbital and knocked the gloss and rough sections down m, wiped it all down and today put another solid coat of color on and some clear. Looking good from what I can see. A small section on the hood where the spray paint changed color but that’s to be expected. Looks great from what I could see before I had to exit for it to air out. Hoping it looks good tomorrow when I start unmasking.

 

[baggednissan]

Can't wait be careful you'll soon have it to nice to wheel!

 

[YJKrawlin]

Can't wait be careful you'll soon have it to nice to wheel!

That’s why I didn’t want to get it professionally done. At this point I know I can always touch it up myself for $30 to do an entire panel. Looks good unmasked for the first time in a couple weeks. There’s a few runs and a rough spot or 2 but overall not bad for what it was.

 

[Noel]

That’s why I didn’t want to get it professionally done. At this point I know I can always touch it up myself for $30 to do an entire panel. Looks good unmasked for the first time in a couple weeks. There’s a few runs and a rough spot or 2 but overall not bad for what it was.

Looks good from here

 

[YJKrawlin]

Looks good from here

Solid 30 footer

 

[Noel]

Solid 30 footer

Seen worse at car shows and they paid for the paint job.