DORF
New member
My Grandfathers 69 Sport 302, 55k miles orig,orig owner has been parked inside since 94, My Uncle had the radiator done & redid the brakes and lines, removed carb to rebuild and taped off the intake, removed the 2nd aux plastic gas tank located under driver side, and fell ill with CLL before ever able to complete the work.My Dad had it shipped to Missouri where it sat in a warehouse and he never was able to get to it due to health issues and Pancreatic cancer which ultimately killed him.I now have it and it was a dream of mine for years to ressurect the old Bronco,I grew up with that orange crate(plate says OL CRATE)and most of the usage was in the Mojave desert or going to and from there in So Cal, My Grandfather was President of a 4wd club,Pomona valley 4 wheelers,and many members were Ford mechanics,racers in So Cal(Gas Rondas mechanic) welders, machinists, fabricators.I was there during most mods as cutting the fender wells for the big meats and double shocking the front end, adding an RV intake,cam,Hedman headers,steerring column tach,4bbl Holley carb,police siren,air horns,old school dual spotlights with twist grip handles inside car(like cops use)off road lights on roof,Ford wagon lugage rack with rear wind spoiler,dual ocking tool boxes under hood atop front fenders under hood,A 4:11 lim slip dana 44 front end due to spider gears breaking, roll cage custom made by Gas Rondas mechanic in So Cal,Stan Clarke,Stan also built a C4 automatic and installed it,along with under dash AC,PS PB booster for the 4 drums,huge mags wheels,dual jimmy cans on rear tire bar,custom made beefy receiver,also Stan Clark builts as Grandpa hauled a 24ft trailer with that little Bronco from SoCal to Mojave desert.Many items were not found if a mechanic was looking for a brake booster or AC, throttle cables, kick down for the C4,etc as it was modified with truck eqipment(I,m assuming) since the 69's never has ps,pb,ac,etc.I figured a new carb rather than rebuild old Holley and got a Edelbrock 600cfm,and spiral cell gel battery, registered it from non op,and took it to a shop that before now was exemplary!as I also have a 91 BMW 850 V12 Coupe w/multiplex wiring that freaks out most shops I have learned, He was quite familiar with AMG Mercedes and such and easily described the wiring that baffled most techs I had seen before,so figured He was easily capable of replacing the carb and all rubber hoses,belts,lines, fluids,oils, full tune with all new parts, I had 4 wheel locks he had to remove as I had no key,He was to replace the old still good tread depth BFG's that were badly weather cracked by now,My ignition key wouldnt work and Grandpa also put hidden **** switches on everything he had, so a bit of digging for that was required. As soon as I got it in the shop and gave him $1,000 out of a $2,400 estimated cost($860 was tires,labor alone)I need to add he had $550 for the new carb cost and I got the Edelbrock for $350 new and brouth it there,so naturally the $2,400 est was $1,900 in my mind!ok so far,I get a call,Andre the mechanic was in Egypt now as his Mom s house was being shot at!!and would be gone for 2 weeks min!!ok, no big deal,its inside, I was ok with that.2 weeks was then 4 weeks before Andre returned with Mom who was sick now and will be 2 more weeks delay!!6 weeks there now, ok I say,not elated but still fine with everything.I was looking for a house and a month flew by with no word from the shop.I call and get,ITS ALIVE, RUNS BEAUTIFUL,but gets hot,I think the stats bad (which it was by seeing old one all corroded stuck shut)I feel alarmed,HOT? He says it boiledover after 5 mins, but no steam at exhaust pipes,or water/oil issues,I think the stat will be the only issue, We then waited for tires and finally got those, He says I need to show you sometning can you come in? IS IT BAD? I ask, Well its still hot and needs head gaskets for sure the coolant ate emm up? DARN,ok, I go there and the belts, hoses are still old as he said it ran hot ,why replace now! I say ok but the cost will have to be adjusated, he says he made a key and did the 4 wheel locks etc so I say thats 5 bucks a wheel at Bog O and 75 at a locksmith, so 100 bucks is less than all the rubber under the hood parts and labor. $1600 to do the heads al redone and gaskets, etc.I am thinking water pump and freeeze plugts now too! Sheesh, may as well pullthe motor at $1,600 for the top end, and Andre says the bottom ends blow many times after new tops! and freeze plugs and water pump and maybe passages in block too?? now as he isnt definitely sure whats going on as to heat cause the head gsakets not mixing fluids. I dee the throttle cable he made and it looked like Corky from Family matters TV show did it!A section of bicycle brake cable(it looked like) running throuh a 6 inch section of bike brake line sheathing which was on a little mount he made,at the ends of the cable were little brass blocks with a ***** that clamped the cable to not pull through as the carb was opened!!The cable was at an acute 90degree angles on the throttle lever on firewall and in the carb assembly too!and it rubbed directly across the idle ***** every time, like a little saw! Thats ridiculous I say is it temporary just to move it or what? and where is the kick down for the trans? Andre says I'm fine with the throttle and the kick down will be finished I just found that it ran hot still and brakes booster is bad it takes a ton of pressure to barely stop and I dont know what thats off of either? I see Bendix in front of me and a part # and say there a 1/2 ton Ford truck likely? he say ok, so 4 months to have it here and he wants $1,900, to stop and we go our ways? I say nope, and he says he will do those things if we can do the heads or motor,i was thinking how long willthat be? so I go and think a week,he calls me says 1,700 as its in the way,I go and see the old rubber and still runs hot and brakes hard and old rubber,I saw $868 for the 4 tires parts and labor, oil change $30.07,Tune up $329.33 of which $212.50 is labor(not sure if normal)
T stat $142.80 p&l,Air filter$51.73,looks like off of something else,it,s little round thing.$144.85 for trans kit and flush.$170 to install the carb, but its atill got the funky bike cable deal and no kick down and old rubber still! I go get it and drive home and peruse the bill and se some things he missed as key made and wheel locks, but 170 for a carb to be bolted on and joke of a throttle cable still on it. I buy a Edelbrock billet aluminum throttle kit and kick down for $300 fromthe place zI got the carb, but decide to just do the rest myself , I do HVAC work and feel fairly sophistcated as to being able to write up a bill thats fair, is this fair to you fellas out there? I am thinking now of just selling it as I havent worked in almost a year and only get what the ads I run in papers and craigslist for income and its not much , savings at the point I cant do alot more now for awhile, I thought it would be doable around 2-3 grand, bgut see it could be more or less, dont know until after you try it. Whats the concensus here on my status?
T stat $142.80 p&l,Air filter$51.73,looks like off of something else,it,s little round thing.$144.85 for trans kit and flush.$170 to install the carb, but its atill got the funky bike cable deal and no kick down and old rubber still! I go get it and drive home and peruse the bill and se some things he missed as key made and wheel locks, but 170 for a carb to be bolted on and joke of a throttle cable still on it. I buy a Edelbrock billet aluminum throttle kit and kick down for $300 fromthe place zI got the carb, but decide to just do the rest myself , I do HVAC work and feel fairly sophistcated as to being able to write up a bill thats fair, is this fair to you fellas out there? I am thinking now of just selling it as I havent worked in almost a year and only get what the ads I run in papers and craigslist for income and its not much , savings at the point I cant do alot more now for awhile, I thought it would be doable around 2-3 grand, bgut see it could be more or less, dont know until after you try it. Whats the concensus here on my status?
