New to me '77 Sport

[Aztec77Bronco]

Hey Guys!
I'm new to CCB as of this am. I bought a '77 Bronco Sport last Saturday. Gave $1500, he was asking $2500. It has a 302 H.O. outta an '86 mustang. C4 and J shift were removed to build C4 and the C4 was stolen outta the back right next to his cop car, talk about having some BIG you know whats!!! I have pics on CB.com , but can't seem to post pics on here. The link is:

http://classicbroncos.com/photos/showga ... 99/way/asc

So far I know it needs both door pillars, floor pans, both rockers, more than likely the inner fender supports & kick panels, tailgate is shot, back seat is gone. I have both doors, fenders, running boards & grill off of it already. Starting to pull the top, will have it and the hood off tomorrow. Then gonna start pulling the interior so I have an idea of how many new pieces of sheet metal I need. The tranny is sitting in the passenger floor board atm, I'll be hauling it to the pressure washer this weekend as well. My plans are a 3.5" suspension, 2" body lift. Power steering conversion, 4 wheel discs, AOD, 35" tires, dual exhaust, full interior restoration, new electrical system, EFI if i can find an affordable way to upgrade it. Pretty much a frame off, down to the last nut restoration. Thus why I'm referring to it as a resurrection.
I have matched the VIN on the frame to the glove box plate & the door frame sticker & have a build sheet on the way from ford.
SO..................... Are there any members in the Durango Area? I have a member of CB.com, that lives in Farmington, NM & built EB's before, swinging by this afternoon to look at mine with me and help me on the right resto path, BUT my house is right on the state line & Durango is much easier for me to go to & well Farmington, NM is just Eh to me since I'm a CO native. LOL I KNOW I'll need plenty of new sheet metal, but a little guidance on the best places to get quality parts would be Awesome! If there are folks close that know these EB's really well then I say the more the merrier!!

Thanks,
Jarod

[Rox Crusher]

Howdy Jarod,

I saw your thread at CB.com and didn't realize you were in CO.

Glad to see you joined up here at CCB. We have an awesome group of guys that can offer advice and support.

I think Wild Horses has really great floor pans but somebody on CB mentioned the JBG now offers them with weld through primer which would be a huge bonus.

In order to post pics here you need to use a seperate web hosting site.

Welcome !

[cracker]

Welcome to CCB!

[Aztec77Bronco]

Thanks for the welcome guys! I'm sure by the time I'm finished with my old '77 that yall will be tired of seeing my posts, but for the times being I'll be asking tons of questions so I do it right the first time!

[Rox Crusher]

Probably getting ahead of ourselves here, but...........

I hope you paint it back to the original color scheme with the stripe

[Entourage]

A warm welcome to the group. It is a fun story and going to be great to see how it turns out.

[hockeydad4-22]

Welcome to the club! I have a bunch of family in the 4-corners area (all in New Mexico - mostly Farmington) so I am down there a few times a year. That area is one of my favorite parts of the state.

as far as the questions are concerned, there is no better place to ask them, and you will get everything answered - as long as you post lots and lots of pictures. (we all like bronco porn)

[Booger]

Welcome Jarod. We'll be of any help we can from this end of the state.

[Aztec77Bronco]

Thanks Guys! Ok, the "Bronco Porn" is going to be posted on CB.com since I'm honestly a computer idiot & dunno what a hosting site is. And since our 15 year old is outta town I won't have any help. LOL

Rox Crusher, Yes the stripes stay with a slight twist.......Everything that is currently red will be House of Kolor Apple Red (it's a metallic Candy) the white areas will be fine black diamond, which is somewhere between silver & dark gray metallic. I want the original chrome to "pop" and I have a weakness for metallics & chrome. LOL the interior will stay the original parchment & red. (Twice over because I want a set of half doors & a bikini for summer, so just wait til I get to the "What do I do with the wiper motor?" When I hit that time. Don't tell me now I'll forget. LOL) I wish I could find drip rail chrome, EVEN though that year didn't have it. I'm going to powder coat the frame & axles along with various under carriage to come as close as I can get to the silver & paint the rest red. Who knows how long it'll take me and I could change my mind 100 times before I finish!
I am planning to remove the top & hood today, does anyone have a rack design that will hold the top vertical? My shop is small & I want to use as little floor space as I can.

[Aztec77Bronco]

A member of CB.com that lives in Farmington swung by yesterday to look at "Lil Red". As we were looking it over we noticed that the inside of the roof was black, vs red everywhere else. I hadn't gotten as far as I'd planned at the time, so after he left I pulled the seats, seat belts, carpet trim, the carpet & rubber flooring, the wiper motor, headliner & ALL the bolts that hold the top on, as a newbie all I have to say is DANG that was A LOT of bolts!! Anyway, what I found shocked & confused me a bit. The top has a new skin! Unfortunately the support brackets are bent & poorly installed, not even touching the roof in most places. The top drivers door frame is bent & I found glass shards in a speaker box, took a closer look & found that the drivers side topper glass had been replaced. It looks like a tree fell on it & they tried to repair it. I also found that where the top bolts to the windshield is rusted pretty bad. So do I repair or look for a new one?
Also the floor is worse than I thought. Both floor pans are toast, the seat support skin "might" be repairable without replacing, the panels in front & behind the wheel wells are shot, some rust where the floor meets the wheel wells & both seams of the the rear floor, front & back, are rotted as well. I have the pics posted on me CB.com account so check em out and shoot me some ideas.
Once my boy gets back today there'll be 3 of us to pull the top off & the hood, not very easy with 2 people. LOL I'm gonna work on the column & the dash until he gets here. All I have to say it TG for ziplock baggies & sharpies!!!

[Rox Crusher]

You can find a decent top for 100 to 300 pretty easy.

[Aztec77Bronco]

Rox Crusher,
That seems to be what quite a few have told me so I'll keep this one & keep my eyes open for a new one. The liftgate, glass & trim are still in good shape so if yall hear of one floating around I would appreciate it. I can work with a shell & add my parts to it. I'm going to need a new tailgate as well. Does CCB ever do a parts swap event?

[Rox Crusher]

[quote="Aztec77Bronco"]Rox Crusher,
That seems to be what quite a few have told me so I'll keep this one & keep my eyes open for a new one. The liftgate, glass & trim are still in good shape so if yall hear of one floating around I would appreciate it. I can work with a shell & add my parts to it. I'm going to need a new tailgate as well. Does CCB ever do a parts swap event?[/quote

Good morning Aztec,

You can buy a complete top (not just the shell) for that kinda dough

We had a swap meet in March or April and will probably do another next spring.

[Aztec77Bronco]

here's what I've found so far:

http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/3032125188.html Alamosa $100

http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/pts/3048472603.html ABQ $300

I searched craigslist in CO, UT, AZ & NM since I'm in 4 corners area travel to any are about the same. the one in Alamosa looks ok, but how do you manage to bend the top supports? Should I totally disregard those tops? the one in ABQ has 2 sunroofs in it???? I'm thinking for 300 that's a total pass

[Rox Crusher]

the roof bows get bent because people load stuff directly on the top or stand on them

get the one with the sunroofs so when you flip on all 4 KC daylighters it will be like the sun is in the bronco with you

[hockeydad4-22]

you have got to admit there are times when you would pay $300 just for that roof rack...

but I would pass on the dual sunroof model unless you are really into the idea. A single sun roof has more than enough potential leak points, tossing a second one into the mix just about insures you to have some stains on the head liner.

[hockeydad4-22]

And those bent braces are going to cause the top skin to bounce up and down, at times it will be like you are riding inside a base kick drum if you do not repair them and re-weld them to the top. (ask me how I know this)

[Aztec77Bronco]

Are they a pain to straighten & repair? I emailed the guy & asked for better pics.

BTW - Can't help myself......................... How do you know that? LOL

[hockeydad4-22]

No - they are not to bad, but when you weld them to the roof skin, you will have to repair the outside and paint it as well. Originally the skin is held in place by a few spot welds.

I know because the one we bought was in similar condition as this one (not quite as bad) we took the head liner out and welded them up tight, then insulated the whole top, Drew (my son who owns that bronco) then covered the original headliner with camo fabric and we reinstalled it. Before the repairs every little bump in the road created a big BOOM inside the bronco as that top popped up and snaped back down.

[Aztec77Bronco]

I posted pics of the top the guy emailed from Monte Vista on my CB.com account. http://classicbroncos.com/photos/showga ... user/37089 It's the top from http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/3032125188.html listing. there's a hole drilled for a CB in the middle brace you can see as well. He wants $100. What do yall think?

[hockeydad4-22]

I would hold out, tops are pretty common around here and you will find one in good shape shortly for $150 - $200. It will not even need paint.

Folks like to go with the soft tops so hard tops pop up quite regularly.

[Aztec77Bronco]

Trying to post another pic the guy sent me. My boy helped me set up a photobucket account. User name is HomesteadRanch if anyone else uses it.

[Aztec77Bronco]

didn't work :(

[Aztec77Bronco]

no reason to take up space since now I have it up 3 times

[Aztec77Bronco]

Ok I give up! Just not computer literate! Photo Bucket account is : http://s1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg4 ... surection/
same as what I have on CB.com but seems easier to use

[hockeydad4-22]

Ok I give up! Just not computer literate! Photo Bucket account is : http://s1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg4 ... surection/
same as what I have on CB.com but seems easier to use

Actually it is pretty simple. Just click on the "img code". it will copy that code, then paste it here (helps if you open your photobucket up in another browser.

Good luck.

[Aztec77Bronco]

Thanks! I just saw that he'd sent that pic to me and wanted to try and post, looking up, somehow I did, but it didn't show a pic right away? Uhg! Wrenches & power tools are sooooo much easier than computers. It's the simple things right?

[hockeydad4-22]

It used to be easier but the the web server or something was taking up to much band width - memory or gigibytes.... I dont know. I had to have my teenage sons show me how to do it.


Anyway - it looks like you have plenty of the typical rust repairs to use those wrenches, torches, welders and other hand tools on....

[Aztec77Bronco]

HockeyDad,
Thank goodness for teenagers!!! I remember when we got apple computers in school & the big thing was to create pictures with pixels the size of pencil erasers!!!

Yes, there is no shortage of rust! But from the way I see it I have plenty of time to learn! I'm not going to rush it, I'll ask tons of questions, LISTEN to the feedback & do my very best to do it right the first time! When my boy has kids his age I want him to be able to say "We did that!" with tons of pride knowing it'll be around forever.

[Aztec77Bronco]

Out of curiosity, what years of explorer are best to look at for the EF/serpentine setups? I see alot of mid 90's ones. Also will I be able to dtrip those parts and attach them to my '86 HO? I found a '91 4x4 for $500 so was curious.

I also found a 1995 f150 w/ 5.8L pretty cheap & didn't know if I could just pull the motor and AOD & call it good. This is one I found, but just contemplating atm http://westslope.craigslist.org/cto/3105810734.html