Stormfinder's Diesel 4BTA Bronco Builds

stormfinder

Active LVC Member
Joined
May 20, 2013
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Location
Athens, Georgia, United States
Ok Guys,


So Buildup #1

1990 Ford Bronco Eddie Bauer
stock: 351/e4od

Anyway here goes,

Nov' 2010

I pick up a Cummins 4BTA, that i pulled from a running Frito Lay truck.
$1900 Dollars 32156 Miles
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After This, i cleaned the motor and painted it, and coated the exhaust, sometime around february.
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Then i aquired an adapter plate, flywheel and starter. As you can tell i had also painted the valve covers silver, the fuel lines, and pulleys red.
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FIRST START VIDEOS
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Next up Came the transmission, which i must say, is a B!TCH to stab by yourself.
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Then the transmission got painted, which is the end of the parts list for the first buildup.
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NOW THE BUILD BEGINS:

April 7-19th 2011

So, i packed up my engine, trans, radiator, and all the numerous parts i thought i might need and headed for Michigan (where my dad lives) to help with the swap.
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First step was quite obvious, TEARDOWN of the bronco front clip.
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Then removal of the engine,
1. unplug all connections, 2. unbolt mounts, 3. unbolt driveshafts, 4. unbolt trans crossmember and pull out.
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After the gas engine and trans are successfully removed, we stored them in a secure place, but kept the transfer case, as it will be used later.

Next step: Mockup Frame Fabrication
We used cardboard templates, a 220 welder, and 3/8" steep plate with gussets underneath.
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engine Mounts (Rubber mounts are Ford Hydraulic 300i6 Mounts)
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This required some trimming.
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Sadly, i don't have pictures of my transmission mounts, but i used a stock zf5 crossmember. and a stock trans mount.

FIRST START: Click pic to view
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IMPORTANT INFO:
Wiring:
Ford 3g Alternator, with cut ear to fit 4bt mount.
ZF5 harness for reverse lights
Coil Wire attached to fuel solenoid to run engine.
All 0/2 Battery wiring. Attached to one side of solenoid, trigger wire attached to the other for the starter.

Cooling system:
300i6 radiator
Stock 4bt hoses
Step-van Cooling Fan, wired to toggle switch

Fuel System:
Rubber fuel lines engine to tank, feed and return.
Pickup- Removed factory fuel pump from bronco pickup tube, put rubber hose and brass fitting on the end to reach bottom of tank.
Filter- Holley carburetor filters, and stock cummins fuel/water separator filter.

Price List:
$1900 Engine
$850 Adapter Plate
$800 trans
$200 Clutch
$50 driveshafts (needed extended/shortened)


This setup was good for 28mpg Hwy and extremely good manners at all times.

then, unfortunately, this happened, Rear ended by a woman texting and driving, doin 70mph, in an 86 Chevy Suburban one ton

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VIDEO: Click pick to view
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END OF FIRST BUILDUP
 
BUILDUP 2, Project Phoenix

Well after the accident, i was upset. So i decided on, what else, Doing it again!!!

So i bought a 1995 Bronco,
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And started the teardown of the wrecked one, again.
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My bro helping
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Pile Of Parts In ze Garage
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Old Body Loaded Up For Scrap (Blaspemy i know, shoulda hauled in a ford)
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Frame Before cleaning, also the damaged mount hole was welded with big washers.
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My other bro
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Frame After Cleaning (wire wheel and 160grit) and Painting (Por 95 and Durabac Bed Liner) (Note the transmission crossmember extension, i had to go back to the E4OD crossmember after the wreck)
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And Repait and rebushing/rebearing of the rear axle (all Poly)
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After the frame was cleaned we covered it with a tarp, and continued on to the 95.
We tore it down (sadly lost these pictures to a dead hard drive) removing the engine, trans and transfer-case, and i sold them to a member of FullSizeBronco.

After this It was time for the actual body removal form the 95 frame. First we unbolted all the body mounts, unhooked any harnesses, and then We used two engine lifts at maximum extension.. With chains attached through the floor drains, As youll see, it worked but was inherently unstable.
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oops
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Here is the frame from the 95, the front clip,and some misc kept parts
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Putting the body on the 90 frame came next, however No camera for the actual install, it needed full concentration to not break anything. But is basically the reverse of taking it off.

Next came a complete bushing and bearing replacement for the entire front end, trial fit of the fenders and core support, and mounting the 95 spindles and all that on the 90 ttb. ALL POLY, Front and Rear. by the end of the night, she had all four shoes again.
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The next day saw the 4bta gone through, Including the addition of a fuel pin, crankshaft seal sleeve, and a kdp fix.
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resurfaced flywheel
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good groove (and by that i mean Bad groove)
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kdp fixed
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After this i put everything together rather quickly, as i was starting to get yelled at by neighbors for making such a mess and not being as repectable as they think i should, but anyways, i reassembled the drivetrain, with a new clutch, and new slave, and started the installation into the bronco. PS: I used rtv to mate the trans and transfercase. no leaks 18k later
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Finally installed at 2am
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Sadly once again i had no camera for the rest of assembly, but its pretty easy, reassemble the front clip, use coil wire for ignition, zf5 harness for reverse lights, toggle switch for fan, and you're good.

I will be updating this is the future with how i wired my tach driver and such, but for right now, ill leave you with a couple videos.

First Drive
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High Boost
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That is amazingly awesome. Everything about it. Except the accident part, but that lead to more awesome. I cannot imagine doing all of that in a driveway, let alone as quickly as you did it. Well done!
 
I think I have seen this write up on one of the bronco forums.

Love the broncos.
Had two of the 66-77
Had two of the 80- 86. "favorite"
Had one of the 87-91
Had two of the 92-96
Like the 2nd gen too but not a fan of the 351/400 m engines.
 
Some Future Plans: In no particular order

HX30w/HX35w Compound turbos

4" lift 35" tires

Broncoair coil Sprung King pin dana 60.

Sterling 10.25

4.11:1 Each with selectable lockers.

Full Cage

Finish my HID Projector Conversion (55w 4300k, FX-R 3.0) Complete Led Exterior Conversion with CREE bulbs (25 or 50w)

Make an all black interior, gauge pod, and have all gauges (dash and pod) and controls red

CREE LED Interior Lighting

Clear cargo light cover

Dynamat out the a$$

Vinyl Flooring

Install My Bench Seat (2012 ram, power everything and heat)

New tailgate shell (CF or OEM Steel, I gotta be able to sit on it)
 
Well, it happend again, my bronco is essentially totaled again, (yesterday)

was crusing home from work, doing about 55, when all of a sudden, a random horse appears, And yes, it was a actual horse, a clydesdale around 1800 lbs, hit it so hard it flew about 20 ft, i slid and spun into a ditch, and was in the hospital about 5 hours hurtin.

Pics:
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(Today)
well update. First off my cat says hello
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im feeling alot worse today, as the soreness has really kicked in.

i went to the wrecker yard they took my truck too last night, and tried to do what i could to drive the bronco home. We hooked the core support to a winch and pulled the fender and clip as straight as we could to get it off the tire.
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Unfortunently the radiator tank was cracked, so i called Michael (GADawgZ71) And had him give me a tow home.

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Once i got home, i immediately started dissassembling the front clip, with help from my buddy nick.

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So Now i have a complete list of everything destroyed in the accident.
1. Entire front clip, minus drivers fender
2. radiator
3. heater & ac box assembly
4. condenser
5. windshield
6. front clip wiring harness.
7. New vacuum pump for brakes
8. My semi truck battery
9. heater lines
10. coolant and washer tank

Things still good
1. Air horns (Were under the battery, dont know how they survived)
2. radiator hoses
3. Anything mounted on the drivers fenderwell

Thanks for the well wishes and support guys, i just hope i feel better before work wednesday. i cant afford to call off again, the 350 bucks i had to spend just to get my truck home today was supposed to be for next months rent.
 
You really have bad luck with Broncos, get an Expedition. Also, glad you're ok, and good luck with the re-re-build up, luckily it was mostly sheetmetal.
 
well it looks like it survived. so that's good.
gotta be enough of those broncos around to put it back together.
 

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