My 78

[NotaVegetarian]

Brought a 78 home a couple months back. Finally got started on making it they way I want it. Pretty straight little rust in the usual places. First find was the blinkers didn’t work. So with a little digging there were more issues. Found some burned wires, some melted clumps, some ground wires that were hot, some hots that were tied to grounds some connectors connected to nothing. It was a mess.

Here are a few pictures of what I was finding.

 

[johnnyreb]

Welcome to the club Nota. Better get a chair to set in when you get aggervated. It will come in handy. I been working on mine for quite awhile. After alot of neglect and abuse. You,ll find alot of stuff to re-do,replace imagine what all you have to do to it. Good luck.

 

[NotaVegetarian]

Not my first rodeo on a Bronco. Not my first wiring nightmare either. I think the last person working on these wires was an electrical engineer, because it’s all wrong. I ordered a restomod hot rod wiring harness for my purpose on this rig it will perfect. The fuse panel on the 78 was burned in several places melted wires everywhere. They had the AC blower, the rear window, and others tied directly to ground.

I mounted the restomod fuse panel next to the old one sand started connecting and pulling new wire. Ran new head lights running lights and for the blinkers. Each light socket was new but the had the ground connected to hot and both hots tied to ground. All the wires going up the column were deep fried so I installed a restomod hot rod blinker switch so that cleared all that up. Rewired the digital dash they had installed. This gets everything back to working like they should so I lean out a lot of the burned wire and started making it look right again. It’s very lean only what is needed with lots of new relays. Trying to keep parasitic draw minimal. I like this reading.

 

[Shaggy]

What a crazy mess that was! Are you going to keep the digital cluster or go back to old school stock?

 

[johnnyreb]

Looks like something I got a hold of awhile back. I hope you don,t have as much to do as I did. Good luck. Looks like you are starting out doing it right.

 

[NotaVegetarian]

At first I didn’t like the digital dash and was ready to swap for an analog. However after repairing the electrical system it is now all working correctly. It came with the truck, I would not recommend them. This is intellitronix gauge https://intellitronixgauges.com/1973-1979-ford-truck-led-digital-gauge-panel/ really cheaply made product.

 

[NotaVegetarian]

Now I have the interior stripped of everything, and preparing to coat everything in bed coating. Really recommend a good respirator when grinding and sanding. Put a clean outer filter next to it for comparison.

 

[Shaggy]

At first I didn’t like the digital dash and was ready to swap for an analog. However after repairing the electrical system it is now all working correctly. It came with the truck, I would not recommend them. This is intellitronix gauge https://intellitronixgauges.com/1973-1979-ford-truck-led-digital-gauge-panel/ really cheaply made product.

So you are a fan of it or not? Saying its cheaply made seems like you are not.

 

[johnnyreb]

Saggy, I don,t know where else I can ask this. How do I post a question on gas braided hoses?

 

[miesk5]

Saggy, I don,t know where else I can ask this. How do I post a question on gas braided hoses?

Yo Johnny,
To purchase such hoses go to Classifieds section, Parts For Sale & Wanted
To ask questions about them go to to Technical Support section and ask in appropriate year range.
Al

 

[johnnyreb]

Yo Johnny,
To purchase such hoses go to Classifieds section, Parts For Sale & Wanted
To ask questions about them go to to Technical Support section and ask in appropriate year ra Thanks Mike,appreciate it.

 

[NotaVegetarian]

So you are a fan of it or not? Saying its cheaply made seems like you are not.

Don’t care for it and don’t recommend this model. Poor wiring on the unit. Remember I did receive it second hand, and they did very poor job of an attempted install. There was no documentation with it, and the ones online are not really good. The wires on the unit are clearly marked but are of poor quality (copper coated aluminum) poorly soldered to the unit. I saw it as a challenge to repair it, make it work. Did add a GPS speed sensor. If a digital dash is for you do yourself a favor don’t get this system.

 

[NotaVegetarian]

Finally got some bed coating sprayed today. Covered the interior roof with Rustoleum spray on bed coating in tan. Removed the trim and bolts but did not remove the top. Didn’t want the old seals to separate. Masked off the glass and a little around the interior, going to coat the rest of the interior with black bed coating.

 

[NotaVegetarian]

Started priming the interior today. My hats off to the fine folks that do automotive paint and restoration. Wow all the prep, cleaning, dissembling masking, painting, reassembled, aligned, all the the work they do. They make it look easy on TV, but it’s not. This is work.

 

[Carnutt73]

Nice work so far! It is a lot of work but it is always worth it in the end when you see it done. As for the digital gauges i am not a big fan of them for the most part. The only ones i like have been from Dakota Digital but the cost is a little to much for most people at almost $1300 but they look good.

 

[NotaVegetarian]

Got a little bit done today, primed and got some Rustoleum spray on bed coating sprayed. I’m not a body shop guy by any means, I do like the Rustoleum spray bed coating. Looks and feels like a hard powder coat when cured, been very tough on past projects too. Yes I’m covering everything except the glass.

 

[NotaVegetarian]

Nice work so far! It is a lot of work but it is always worth it in the end when you see it done. As for the digital gauges i am not a big fan of them for the most part. The only ones i like have been from Dakota Digital but the cost is a little to much for most people at almost $1300 but they look good.

Yessir my grandsons love it. This is going be a hunting rig when I get it done, building custom bumpers taking these nice chrome one off. My buddy called today with a piece of 6” pipe I can get to use for the rear. Thought about making it into an air tank like I have on the 79.


that’s a bumper! The front will be a tube bumper made from 1 3/4” and 1 1/2” tube with a place for a winch. I’m installing a small truck crane in the bed again like I have in the 79. It will also have a 2000 lb electric winch.

 

[johnnyreb]

Yessir my grandsons love it. This is going be a hunting rig when I get it done, building custom bumpers taking these nice chrome one off. My buddy called today with a piece of 6” pipe I can get to use for the rear. Thought about making it into an air tank like I have on the 79.
View attachment 22306View attachment 22307

that’s a bumper! The front will be a tube bumper made from 1 3/4” and 1 1/2” tube with a place for a winch. I’m installing a small truck crane in the bed again like I have in the 79. It will also have a 2000 lb electric winch.
View attachment 22308

doin good Notta. Air you gonna have a air gauge on it to and how much air do you think it will hold? Keep it you. Look better everyday.

 

[NotaVegetarian]

Don’t know for sure, the tank is 6’ long made of 1/4” thick 6” pipe. Usually top it of at 140 psi. Those 35-12.50-15 mud terrains take a good volume of air. There are formulas to figure it out just have never taken the time.

 

[johnnyreb]

Well that I am not.but a person could compare that and a tank that is certified and get a good guess. I was thinking about getting a air compressor off of a big truck like a tandem and set it upon the 390 I have. I used to drive a 67 tandem Ford and it had a 391 with air brakes. I know where their used to be some old log trucks and go back and see if I can get me one. Hopefully my gas line will be fixed tomorrow so I can take it for a test ride.