QUICK SURVEY FOR EB OWNERS

[will.koch]

Ladies and Gents,

I am getting ready to start a frame-off restoration hopefully completed in about a 1 year time frame, with a lot of work pieced out to mechanics shops. But first and foremost, I want to get some opinions on different upgrades. So if you have a strong opinion about anything below, please reply and give us all your reasons for what you chose. I know I and many many others will appreciate this.

1: EFI vs. Carb

2: if carb, 4bbl or 2bbl

3: 2.5" vs. 3.5" vs. 5.5" suspension lift

4: 33 vs. 35" tires

5: 1" vs. 2" vs. 3" body lift

6: Preferred brake set up (to include possibly towing 5000 pounds)

7: Hard top vs. soft top

8: Centech vs. Painless wiring harness

I should also say, I will personnaly be building a medium trail rig, nothing crazy, and using this vehicle as a weekend "fun" truck, but not trying to climb the side of the town hall. Gas mileage is a good concern, but it will not be my day driver. And mostly it will be a fair weather truck, so I may not even touch the hard top/soft top issue (although I'm sure people out there are debating whether or not to get the soft top kits and would like to hear others experiences with them). About mid-September, I'm gonna start a post to show my frame off restoration, and unless one of the site owners have any issues with it, I'll post lots of pics and descriptions of work I pay to get done and the work I do myself.

Thanks a bunch for the advice.

-Will

 

[Bully Bob]

EFI, 5.5, 35's, 3"...is expensive.., but is the beginning of an OK rocker...

"....using this vehicle as a weekend "fun" truck"

This would be the other end of your scale..,

2brl, 2.5, 33's

This (your) statment is the key...it all depends on what you intend to do.

There's a lot of $40,000 (spent) trucks out there that don't work well aft. extensive/expensive mods. ... and, they're lucky if they can sell for $9000.

Towing 5000lb. with an EB is dangerous at best.

"...with a lot of work pieced out to mechanics shops"

This always scares me ... these days.

Oh yah..., keep up-dates a com'n..! & fill-in your info. page & signature info. ...that always helps.

I think what aqua wonder (below) is saying ... these rigs are pretty amazing performers bone stock.....

 

[aqua_wonder]

Is the bronco stock right now? If so have you wheeled it with stock equipment?

 

[S_bolt19]

Welcome to the board Will,

To answer your questions.....

#1 I would go with EFI. There are a number of reasons but right off the bat I would just say that having fuel injection takes away the headachs of having to time your vehicle or adjust the carb every time you go wheeling at a higher elevation than what you live at. It will also run on any incline where a carbuerator won't.

#2 If you decide to stay with a carb, stick with the 2bbl for fuel economy and stay away from Holley carbs. They are straight away carbs and are not intended to be put to off road use.

#3 Depends on what you want to do and how much money you want to spend. Any suspension lift (SL) over 3" will require you to lengthen your driveshaft(s), brake lines & possibly e-brake lines. You will also have to address your front steering geometry with either a drop pitman arm or a tie rod over swap, additionally you will have to do a drop trac bar bracket or trac bar riser or a combo of both. So, that depends on what you want to spend. Most of the shorter lifts, you don't have to because there is enough play in the original length lines & such to handle that small of a lift.

#4 What size lift are you going to go with and are you going to have cut or uncut fenders? If you go with a 5.5" lift and only have the money to do 30" tires, that is pretty silly. I run 4.5" leafs in the rear w/33s that looks pretty good. On the other hand, if you have 35s with a 2.5" lift, you are gonna munch your fenders every time you get into a frame twister. So, it kind of goes hand in hand with what you want your lift to be.

#5 Personally, I don't like body lifts (BL) & I don't have one, but you should never go above 2". 3" body lifts look funny and are impratical. The one thing with all body lifts you have to consider is that they lift everything away from the frame. So anything that is attached (brake lines, fuel lines, brake pedal assembly, shifter kits, etc) will have to be addressed. And depending on how tall of a BL you go with will also determine how much money you are going to be spending on lengthening things. Just make sure you only do it once. If you want a BL & a SL, do them at the same time so that you only have to measure your brake lines & fuel lines once.

#6 I personally have run stock drum/drum, disc/drum & am currently running disc/disc. Of them all, I like the disc/disc the best. On top of that, I have power brakes that I did as well. If you have power steering, I highly recommend going with hydroboost brakes. If you want to know more about it, read my write up on it here.

#7 Personal preference here. The hard top is fairly heavy (about 250-300#) but the cost of a good soft top might just be an indicator as to which way you go. The best top I have ever seen is the new BC Broncos top. Very well built and Chuck at BC is great to deal with. What ever you do, DO NOT but a top from BroncoCovers.com. The guy is a crook and will take your money and not give you anything. If you want proof, I can direct you to a thread on another site regarding this.

#8 Either is a good harness, Painless is a little more user friendly, but, in my opinion, not for the extra couple of hundred dollars they charge. I have the Centech harness & everything is labled and is pretty easy to find, so save some money & use the Centech.

 

[oleguy74]

first!! you are not restoreing it are you?you are going to modify it.restore means to bring back to original!!! don't get me wrong.i am not saying it is a bad thing to do what you are doing but once you cut it up for the most part it can neever be stock again... i like a lot of these MODIFIDE trucks but i use mine for everything. nice tires and wheels 1500-2000$.same for paint. when it breaks big bucks to fix some of the mod's. don't get me wrong,but i just don't want to louse mine up.got it new in 74.the only thing replaced on it is (big mistake)351w in 1979. i am sure you will have a nice truck when you are done.rember just have fun as that matters most!!!!!

 

[will.koch]

Wow, thats a lot of information to soak in and I haven't even gotten to the separate page on hydraboost brakes.

A little more info on my rig:

Rebuilt 302 from AutoZone with less than 5K miles, but still is not a great engine (I'm sure the block is good, but I think thats it)

D44 front with disk

Ford 9" with drum (debating Wild Horses disk conversion kit with axles included)

2.5" trailmaster SL (read an article that cage makes a smooth riding 3.5" suspension; i'm leaning this way)

1" BL (thinking of jumping to 2" for clearance for the rear dual shock hoops, but will not go up to 3")

31's (but previous owner gave me the 33's he used to wheel with and he's helped me a ton with researching this stuff too, great guy)

Rear fenders are cut, i'm not going to cut any more, b/c I'm thinking 3.5"SL, 2"BL, and 33's... They should fit fine, I think.... Are 33's too small for that setup?

I've looked into EFI, but I'm trying to stay in a "ten grand" window for this restore, which is pretty damn tough, but with all the other toys I want, the $2400 Edelbrock Performer RPM PRO EFI was a little out of the price range, so I was going to do Edelbrock intake and possibly Edelbrock (and obviously not Holley) 650 CFM, anybody got a solid EFI system they rigged for about $800 or know of a thread that speaks of it? Or even less than 2400?

And, Bully Bob, "dangerous at best" was not the answer I was hoping for, but was enough to keep me clear of attempting a 5K lb tow.

I appreciate the info, gents, and I will sure start posting pic's. I'm in a moving process, so my rig is in shipment itself right now, but once I catch up with it (mid-September), I've got 2 2-car garages picked out to work in, and I just have to set up my shop, and start breaking things down and either a: taking it to a pro, or b: doing it myself. I'd love to have every last part picked out before turning the first bolt, but I'm sure another 80% of the stuff will change when the first bolt is frozen.

Take care-

Will

PS - Just got last post. I guess I should say modify and not restore, and sorry, but I'm going for a medium trail rig that my son and I can take out when he is older then his current 12 months. So I have time, but want to get out and run it for a few seasons before he's wanting to go with.

 

[donnie]

IMHO, you would be asking for trouble towing something that weighs in the 5000 # range with a vehicle that weighs 3800 #.

Iv got a 69 that is stock and works great.

There are a few pics if it in my gallery.

 

[S_bolt19]

Will, look at my signature line. I have done everything there, and more, for roughly 10k. I don't have my reciepts or the file close, so I can't say exactly how much. But let me give you a price breakdown of what you can expect.

Rear disc brake set up. $550 - BC Broncos (by far the best kit on the market. Easiest to install and takes less than 1 day for complete tear down to complete rebuild)

EFI System - $500-800 - Junkyard. Go to a junkyard and pull everything off of a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury with a 5.0 in it. You don't have to have the H.O stuff, but if you are lucky enough to find a late model 5.0, you will have the desired mass air system and if it comes off of a Mustang or Cougar, it could be the H.O. equipment. The other thing is that you can probably get a complete junkyard motor with EFI on it for that $800 price tag. Doesn't hurt to make a few calls. If you just want to put the EFI stuff on your block, go to a "U-Pick-it" yard and you can probably get it all for closer to $500. Just remember what you need to get (plenum, manifolds, EFI wiring harness, EEC, throttle body, etc.), basically everything from the block up. And while you are at it, get the heads so that you can use newer spark plugs and will be able to take the newer gasoline easier.

New Suspension Lift - $1,131.60 Cage Offroad - The best flexibility out there for an EB and a great ride. Quite honestly, I wouldn't buy anything but a lift from one of the EB stores, and never one from a big box chain like 4Wheel Parts Warehouse. Reason is that the vendors know what they have and it is made for this specific application.

Body Lift - You don't need it to run 33s with a 3" SL & cut fenders, but if you already have a 1", just keep that and don't go higher. (saved you $100 right there)

Hydroboost - Less than $300 - Read that article I linked to earlier and you can get all the info for it, but only if you have or are planning to add power steering

So right there, adding rear disc, EFI & a new suspension lift, you are looking at about $2,500. WAAAAAAAAAY under the 10k window you wanted to stay under. And if you add hydroboost onto it (if you have power steering to begin with) you are still into it for less than $3k. It isn't tough to build an extremely capable rig for less than 8-10k. You just gotta do your homework before you jump in. One more thing, I would stay away from dual shocks...#1 it makes your ride much stiffer and much harder. #2 you don't get the flex out of dual shocks that you do out of single shocks. and lastly, unless you are rock racing or desert racing, dual shocks are just for the bling-bling factor and IMO, useless.

 

[will.koch]

Rear Disk brakes - BC Broncos - I'm sold on it

Junkyard EFI system (looked back online and Edelbrock's systems are now $3400) - definitely sold on the junkyard solution

Cage suspension - I was sold from some previous research, but you say only single shocks, the $1130 kit comes with 8 shocks I believe, just keep the extras as standbys? Plus this is the third time I've heard Cage is an extremely smooth ride, so I can't wait to get it on and test it out

Body lift - I was going to run the 2" for a possible upgrade to dual rear shocks, but I guess there's no need for those anymore on my medium duty rig

Power steering - I've got it, but I think I'm going to upgrade to JBG's rock crawler kit, any experience with it? I just want something I don't have to worry about for a long time.. My current is horrible

Hydraboost - Definitely sold on it... Just gotta wait till I get south to start spending afternoons in the junkyards

Few other random options I've heard rumors of:

Borgeson steering shaft - Any thoughts?

Steering stabilizers - Heard they are great and I've heard they are cover up for a deeper problem, opinions?

And I think that does it, I should be ready to start tearing into these projects when I get down there. Any other advice, please post, and I promise to start updating with pics once established into the project. Between earlier advice about flushing fuel lines versus new fuel lines and this advice, I think you guys have saved me about 10 grand altogether, so I think my wife probably owes everyone a case or 10 of beer.

Take care,

Will

 

[will.koch]

Gents,

I finally got down south and started tearing my rig down. I took the hard top and two spare transmissions/transfer cases that I had laying around to the salvage yard, and the guy is going to give me an even swap for hydraboost, saganaw pump, and any EFI component I want off of a 5.0L. I'm pretty stoked. In fact, he's got a ridiculous number of cars and can find any part in just a few minutes. Its Gene Rodgers Auto Salvage in Clayhatchee, AL. If anybody wants the number let me know. I know of at least one EB sitting in there (and obviously 2 spare trannys/transfer cases and a hard top). And again, he's a great guy and knows his junkyard. Will be starting a new post when I begin the rebuild. Until then, take care-

-Will

 

[riggermortis]

on the EFI swap i did mine for about $600 to $700 at most. ebay and boneyards for most all of the parts. and i did it all myself. but it runs better than i had ever hoped, more power, better fuel mileage, and like someone else said, it would run upside down if you could keep the oil in. by far the best mod ive done for the money it cost.

 

[777mechanic]

will , where are you located in the us and i personally would look at the wild horses 3.5 lift , have ridden in a couple and there pretty amazing . if any colorado's can find me a 5.0 mass flow complete motor from an explorer or mustang would be awesome.

 

[will.koch]

I'm in southern Alabama right now. Will be here about a year before moving on. I take the bare frame in later this week to have some final sand blasting and a spot welded this week. I'm gonna sand the axle housings down to metal and prep them for POR-15 and probably have a POR-15 hayday next weekend. Everyone says the Cage kit is great, but $1100 is kind of pricey. I have been looking at the WH 3.5" for $780. I have a suspension book I've been reading that gives the WH kit a lot of credit for being a smooth ride. I just can't decide if I want to spend the extra $300 to experience the mojo that everyone says is the absolute best.

As for the EFI, can I do all the work in my garage or at some point am I going to need to take it into a shop for the professionals (or at least the dudes that have better equipment than my garage)? If so, what point is that?

-Will

 

[riggermortis]

i did everything for the efi myself in my garage. it depends on what you are are able to do as far as wireing, welding, and wrenching. if you buy manifolds or headers that already have bungs for the o2 sensors then you wont need to weld. i just followed a chiltons manual that had wireing schematics, and it all comes down to about four wires that actually tie into the original harness, if i remember correctly. everything else is pretty self sufficient. as far as the wrenching, pretty much the hardest part is changing the manifold. and then you have to mount fuel pumps, run supply and return lines. i just drilled a hole in my old sender units, and soldered in another tube for the return lines, that way i didnt have to buy new fuel injection tanks. i added another manual fuel selector switch for the return lines so i could keep both tanks and not have to try to wire and locate a newer electronic tank selector. i have to switch two switches when i switch tanks but that is not a big deal and it works great. there are some good magazine articles and how too's at FORDFUELINJECTION.COM give them a good look over and that should help you make a better choice.

 

[bigbluebronc]

Ladies and Gents,
I am getting ready to start a frame-off restoration hopefully completed in about a 1 year time frame, with a lot of work pieced out to mechanics shops. But first and foremost, I want to get some opinions on different upgrades. So if you have a strong opinion about anything below, please reply and give us all your reasons for what you chose. I know I and many many others will appreciate this.

1: EFI vs. Carb

2: if carb, 4bbl or 2bbl

3: 2.5" vs. 3.5" vs. 5.5" suspension lift

4: 33 vs. 35" tires

5: 1" vs. 2" vs. 3" body lift

6: Preferred brake set up (to include possibly towing 5000 pounds)

7: Hard top vs. soft top

8: Centech vs. Painless wiring harness

I should also say, I will personnaly be building a medium trail rig, nothing crazy, and using this vehicle as a weekend "fun" truck, but not trying to climb the side of the town hall. Gas mileage is a good concern, but it will not be my day driver. And mostly it will be a fair weather truck, so I may not even touch the hard top/soft top issue (although I'm sure people out there are debating whether or not to get the soft top kits and would like to hear others experiences with them). About mid-September, I'm gonna start a post to show my frame off restoration, and unless one of the site owners have any issues with it, I'll post lots of pics and descriptions of work I pay to get done and the work I do myself.

Thanks a bunch for the advice.

-Will

Well here is my fun with my 75.

Glad your doing efi, I went with the four bbl truck avenger worked well till the metering plates coroded and called holley, they said it was a manufatuer defect and sent me a new carb, nice of them, I balanced my jets for 2000_3000 ft elevation, I run 5000 and 1000 ft summer and winter.

In todays world a fun truck has 35s, but I would build your truck like your friends so you can all do the same trails as them and all have fun!

Dont tow with your bronco unless its low speed and close too home, I have only towed with mine, my boat 22 foot dual axle five miles too the dirt launch ramp when the river is low sometime I have too go deep and the tires and four wheel drive help and I sometimes still hook up too the big truck after I get it back on the pavement, the front wheels on the bronc tend too not steer do to the front lifting.

2 inch body lift max that is what i have but would take it out but stuck with a 25 gallon rear tank that requires it

a bronco with a 3.5 lift and a 2 inch body lift and an auto with 4.56 gears with the top and doors off would be the most fun you can have for a family fun truck doing mild too some more extreme wheelin

Sorry have no info on wiring!

If you do run 35s check your axles, Stupid me i did not, ran 38s with a 28 spline and a ford locker, striped two axles, finally replaced with spool and 35 spline, also broke both front outer shafts and joints, replaced with chomoly and upgraded joints, the lockrite was broken when I got it but replaced the same and eased off the skinny pedel and its holding well after a year and a half and 500 miles on the dirt and rocks. My truck is dirt only.

Dont forget a cage/rollbar for even mild wheelin, safety first, its right up there with belts/harnesses too. Dont forget too take more then you showed up with too, as far as trash too, but you and everybody knows that!!

What are you doing for axle gears and lockers? If I had the cash, I would say arbs front and rear ( pipe dream 2500$) but would make the truck sweet!

I like the truck top less and doorless during the summer and sometimes wind screen (windshield) down (super fun)! , I do have a front cover and a full soft top, I put it up too keep my boy outta the sun, if we do a long adventure!

Good luck

 

[Shadow_D]

I don't have any experience with the EB but I do know one thing is for sure... DO NOT use a body lift! I don't feel that they are safe. I know some people here will argue with me about this but my opinion is that the longer bolts will snap easier under load. If you are out on a trail and roll the rig they could snap or if you hit a tree they will at least bend and become unsafe.