Im starting to make actual progress on my 1974 LUBR build so I figured its time to start a build thread. As of today, 7/3/18, we are 2 weeks away from primer so this should go fast.
Little bit of a back story, my car addiction began about 28 years ago when my Uncle took me for a ride in his North American Fiberglass Cobra that he had built. When I got out of the car my leg hit the side pipes and I was hooked! Crying, but hooked!
After getting my license I had gone thru all sorts of Fords including 5 Mustangs but always wanted an SUV. I originally wanted a Land Rover Defender 90 after seeing it in a music video. But then I saw the pricing and the diesel motor and decided a Classic Bronco was the route to go. We finally got serious about it and began scouring Craigslist, ClassicBroncos.com, and eBay for what seemed like a year. I bid on a few but missed out on some projects under $4K, really kicking myself now of course. We had found a pretty rough one in Texas and were making plans to fly out and see it when I hopped on CB.com and find a for sale thread with the AZ location tag!! 1974 Ford Bronco For Sale
We message back and forth and I realize he is only 30 minutes away so I head over on a Saturday and there it is idling in the driveway. A running fairly complete Bronco with a hardtop! We chat for a few minutes and he tosses me the keys and tells me to take it for a spin. This was my first time sitting in a Bronco and Im grinning ear to ear while the exhaust roars! There's nothing quite like looking out the windshield at those front fenders.
I head back and tell him I want my Dad to come check it out as well since this is going to be our project. We head back the following weekend and luckily he still hadn't sold it. He drives it and we're both on the same page: This is ours! We load up a bunch of parts, hop on the frontage road and take it up to 65mph only to realize we need gas. Stop at the gas station and 2 people comment, "nice Bronco!" And so it begins...
It was originally a limestone poly green wagon from Houston but when he bought it in 2008 it was a red half cab. He converted it back to a wagon which was a ton of work getting the bulkhead back out, painted it in his garage, rebuilt the motor, C4 trans, D20 transfer case, steering box, discs up front, tires/wheels, built a front bumper, moved the glovebox over, suspension work, etc. He did a ton of work! Heres what it looked like
Which eventually became this with new Beard racing seats
A new roll cage
New soft top
Here it is tucked away at its new home
I did not plan on having 2 yellow cars, I just couldn't pass up the Bronco! Plus the Cobra was a beast. If you have not experienced a pullied 03/04 Cobra you need to!
Checking out the undercarriage and what needs attention. A few typical leaks but nothing that prevented me from driving it to work that Friday!
Picked up some bigger tires/wheels on Craiglist which didn't last long
Over the next 2-3 years we drive it on the weekends and have fun with little projects here and there. Swapped out the 2.5" lift for a 3.5" Deaver coil lift, added an adjustable track bar, drop pitman arm and welded a track bar riser onto the axle. I sold the cage, hard top, soft top, bumpers and a ton of parts to buy even more parts.
Some light trail running 10 minutes from the house to flex out the new suspension. Wound up gashing a tire on the inner rear fender
Starter motor went out on me in 2014 so a high torque mini starter went in
Bought a custom 8 point family cage built by a Bronco Driver magazine editor Mike aka Greaseball.
We must have looked at hundreds of wheel options and this was the only one we both loved. 16" Black Rock Yumas
If you want to skip ahead and see it painted, here you go you cheaters: The Bronco is Home!
If not continue on...
Little bit of a back story, my car addiction began about 28 years ago when my Uncle took me for a ride in his North American Fiberglass Cobra that he had built. When I got out of the car my leg hit the side pipes and I was hooked! Crying, but hooked!
After getting my license I had gone thru all sorts of Fords including 5 Mustangs but always wanted an SUV. I originally wanted a Land Rover Defender 90 after seeing it in a music video. But then I saw the pricing and the diesel motor and decided a Classic Bronco was the route to go. We finally got serious about it and began scouring Craigslist, ClassicBroncos.com, and eBay for what seemed like a year. I bid on a few but missed out on some projects under $4K, really kicking myself now of course. We had found a pretty rough one in Texas and were making plans to fly out and see it when I hopped on CB.com and find a for sale thread with the AZ location tag!! 1974 Ford Bronco For Sale
We message back and forth and I realize he is only 30 minutes away so I head over on a Saturday and there it is idling in the driveway. A running fairly complete Bronco with a hardtop! We chat for a few minutes and he tosses me the keys and tells me to take it for a spin. This was my first time sitting in a Bronco and Im grinning ear to ear while the exhaust roars! There's nothing quite like looking out the windshield at those front fenders.
I head back and tell him I want my Dad to come check it out as well since this is going to be our project. We head back the following weekend and luckily he still hadn't sold it. He drives it and we're both on the same page: This is ours! We load up a bunch of parts, hop on the frontage road and take it up to 65mph only to realize we need gas. Stop at the gas station and 2 people comment, "nice Bronco!" And so it begins...
It was originally a limestone poly green wagon from Houston but when he bought it in 2008 it was a red half cab. He converted it back to a wagon which was a ton of work getting the bulkhead back out, painted it in his garage, rebuilt the motor, C4 trans, D20 transfer case, steering box, discs up front, tires/wheels, built a front bumper, moved the glovebox over, suspension work, etc. He did a ton of work! Heres what it looked like
Which eventually became this with new Beard racing seats
A new roll cage
New soft top
Here it is tucked away at its new home
I did not plan on having 2 yellow cars, I just couldn't pass up the Bronco! Plus the Cobra was a beast. If you have not experienced a pullied 03/04 Cobra you need to!
Checking out the undercarriage and what needs attention. A few typical leaks but nothing that prevented me from driving it to work that Friday!
Picked up some bigger tires/wheels on Craiglist which didn't last long
Over the next 2-3 years we drive it on the weekends and have fun with little projects here and there. Swapped out the 2.5" lift for a 3.5" Deaver coil lift, added an adjustable track bar, drop pitman arm and welded a track bar riser onto the axle. I sold the cage, hard top, soft top, bumpers and a ton of parts to buy even more parts.
Some light trail running 10 minutes from the house to flex out the new suspension. Wound up gashing a tire on the inner rear fender
Starter motor went out on me in 2014 so a high torque mini starter went in
Bought a custom 8 point family cage built by a Bronco Driver magazine editor Mike aka Greaseball.
We must have looked at hundreds of wheel options and this was the only one we both loved. 16" Black Rock Yumas
If you want to skip ahead and see it painted, here you go you cheaters: The Bronco is Home!
If not continue on...
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