BlueBronco budget build

[66sprint6]

Got the Bronco cleaned up and ready for Shanty Hollow. Unfortunately a wire broke off the motor ending the day a bit early for her. Had fun while I could tho!!!







Simple solder fix and she will be back!

Matt

[66sprint6]

After the last couple motor issues (water related) I finally ran out of brushed motors and patience so I tossed the MMP from the Shop Truck in along with an old 17.5 I got from KingJames a while back. Took it out to test it and ended up havin a great time. Has roughly the same amount of speed and punch as the 20t Axial motor but the low end control is TONS better now. She wasnt fazed at all by the water either which was nice!!





We turned around and headed back for the parking area as some rain started our way. I had been noticing some nasty grinding noises in either the tranny or rear end around the time we turned around. That noise quickly turned into a failed rear gear and I was left with fwd only and the rear would kick in from time to time lol. Of course, I kept going and eventually noticed in a deep puddle that I was only kicking up water on one side up front. Busted a front dog bone leaving me with 1wd. I STILL tried to keep going but had to really lay in the throttle to barely move so I finally gave up knowing I was putting the motor in un-needed stress.



Ive got some new gears and XVDs on order...I can only hope they show up before Sat!!!

Matt

[Jeepster13]

looks like a good time!

[66sprint6]

Been a bit...to catch everyone up, I replaced the broken front dog bone with XVDs and the stripped rear gear with some helicut gears from RC4wd. Next ride out about halfway down the trail the front gear stripped out DOH! Shoulda swapped em together but whatever lol. That lead to an axle tear down and in the down time waiting for the parts...I got a little bored.

Oh boy...what have I done now?!?!?!?





Matt

[66sprint6]

Went ahead and messed with the rear too. Again, these pics suck but its the best I can get at the moment.

I really liked having the black axles with the clean looking "dif cover" but got to thinking maybe they were TOO nice for the BlueBronco. I did a little weathering while I had the axles apart and Im thinkin these look alot more at home now!



Took the rear out and shaped it more like a 9". Its subtle but I shaved the pumpkin area and smoothed the ring gear bump to make it look a little more legit. If I didnt have to flip it upside down to run with the driver's side drop up front, it would nearly look 100% spot on with the bump in the right place but close enough!



I got some shots in natural light to try and show some detail. Still doesnt show how slick these look in person but who cares.





Im tryin some new techniques to attempt and keep the rust from rubbing off completely on the first run. I also tried some new techniques to get the rust to look a little less uniform and little more legit. Im liking where its goin so far, but they gotta pass the trail test before I call it a success. Oh...I painted them black, then baked em, rusted them then baked again and finally put some satin clear and baked a final time to try and seal it as best as possible. Heres to hoping it worked lol

Matt

[66sprint6]

And finally, here are some shots of it all back together and ready for some Trail action.











Pictures still dont do it any justice but thats ok, it looks good to me! Now I just need to find a danged free weekend to go out and get it dirty again!

Matt

[AkFordfan]

Those look great, most people wouldnt even notice the rear unless you pointed it out

[66sprint6]

Yeah I got excited about the Yota rear axle due to the fact that it was super close to a 9" and with the pumpkin bein so BIG it actually was pretty close. I just trimmed the extra off the top and bottom and smoothed it into the transitions to the axle tubes and it looks WAY more legit now (outside of the ring gear bump bein on the wrong side). They both look alot better in person, especially the rusted front with rusty diff cover. Noone will ever notice it out on the trail either but I dig it...oh and Im hoping the extra clearance will help a bit LOL

Matt

[66sprint6]

Oh boy...now what? Poor Bronco





I did my usual hour of staring at the Bronco before taking it apart again and hitting up the drawing board for the millionth revision. Every time I do this I spend most of the time wondering if itll be worth it and if Im ruining it. Then I remember how, so far, everything Ive down has had positive results and I dove right in. Long and short of it all, Front mounted motor, transfer case, full interior modeled as CLOSELY to a 1:1 Bronco as possible considering the frame, tires and suspension arent quite to scale with the 1:1. So far so good, couple nasty hurdles coming tho...

Matt

[apextrans]

Truly great thread. If you ever decide to sell it, PLEASE pm me. Had a blue 71 1:1 long ago. Times are different now and the only way I'll have another EB is in 1:10 or the wife will kill me. Just throwing it out there.

[Rubiclod]

WOW!!!!!! Incredible, more than two years of building, modifying, and rebuilding. It is so much fun to read through your posts and see the progression of your Bronco

[66sprint6]

Thanks guys! Sorry to say it but I dont see this sucker goin up for sale if I can help it! I love this thing and Ill build and beat on it every chance I can. I appreciate it tho! Its really crazy to look back at this thread myself and see where its been. I hope to keep it goin for some time!

Got the trans mounted last night in a way that I think Ill be happy. Drilled 2 holes near the shock tower and added some spacers to get the trans output as straight as possible. I then hammered out a simple steel mount to go from the trans to the other side of the frame. Its not necessary but I like the added support just in case. Should make it more reliable and ready for abuse.







I think theres room under the trans to toss some electronics, whether it be the receiver or a small Lipo. Heres a shot of my nearly finished Transfer case mount. I was gonna try to attach it directly to the trans like on a 1:1 early Bronco but Ill have to live with a divorced setup for now. All I need to do is position it on the frame, drill holes and then I want to countersink the two screw holes for the case mount in order to tuck them out of the way a bit and smooth the skid out some.



Slowly but surely its comin alive! Ill have more time tonight to work on it hopefully.

Matt

[66sprint6]

Got a few things finished up in my free time this weekend. She's a roller and a tiny driveshaft away from being a runner! I got the 3 link figured out (for the most part) and made some brackets to mount the lower arms somewhat like a 1:1 Bronco with a long arm kit. No binding at the moment so all is well.



I mounted the 3 link to the frame similar to what Ive seen on a couple other 1:1s as well but Im not 100% sure I like it. Its not causing issues at the moment but I might fab up a more centered mount near the skid if possible.



Since I took those pics Ive gotten the 3rd link adjusted getting my pinion angle in line and have adjusted the wheelbase and ride height up front. Its lookin good so far! I also got to work on the floorboard (sorry forgot to take pics) and have it really close to fitting like a glove. I have a TON of little things to do to make it how I want but the main form is there. I also got to work on another scale touch Ive been wanting to toss at it for a while.



Aluminum sheet rolled and bolted together, the ends are JB welded and then cut and smoothed to fit. I then drilled the ends to allow the aluminum tubing to go thru. I need to make hangers, add some weathering/detailing and then attach it to the frame. The screws are on top so they wont be seen. Its gettin to be time to start on the little things which will take alot of time but Ide like to get this thing running enough that I can still hit the trails while Im building.

Matt

[66sprint6]

Got the exhaust all put together...not 100% happy with it as I had to crush a few spots for clearance but you can only see a few of em. I tried to mimick a 1:1 as closely as possibly but to tell the truth...the 1:1 exhausts arent that exciting so Im close lol. I had alot of fun comin up with some slip fit ends to connect pieces together in order to make tear down easier down the road for maintenance etc. I also made some simple hangers that should hold up nicely. Again, I wasnt quite satisfied so no pics as of yet but hopefully tonight Ill have it where I think its good enough.

Matt

[pwraddr]

i've been following along with this and the shop truck since the beginning, it's nice to see threads like these with well described updates, changes and action shots. this bronco is one of my favorites, but i hope the shop truck didnt have to sacrifice itself so the bronco could live on
love the trucks-keep it up!

[JatoTheRipper]

Sweet ride!

[66sprint6]

Originally Posted by pwraddr

i've been following along with this and the shop truck since the beginning, it's nice to see threads like these with well described updates, changes and action shots. this bronco is one of my favorites, but i hope the shop truck didnt have to sacrifice itself so the bronco could live on
love the trucks-keep it up!

The ShopTruck sad to say is no more. I still have the body and most of the aluminum skids and electronic plates so I could put it back together real easy but it wasn't up to par for what I wanted from it and the Mule, CompCourier and BlueBronco take priority. Don't worry tho, maybe it'll come back again one day lol.

Got a little more done tonight, I'll post pics in the morning...gonna be a sloooow build but this new phase of the Broncos life should be pretty neat. Cant wait to see how it handles abuse.

Matt

[66sprint6]

Exhaust is as good as its gonna get for now. Still gotta trim the exits but otherwise its where I want it. Couple things i would change but its under the truck so who cares.



Heres the top view.



I was laughing cause I HATE dual exhaust without a crossover (H or X) pipe but it was gonna be a pain in the butt to put one together and keep it outta the way. I noticed that most Early Broncos I found with duals online skipped this anyways so I moved on lol.

Heres where Im at on the interior.





Im adding alot of support underneath to keep it strong as I do NOT plan on taking it easy on this rig. Its not 100% to 1:1 but its close enough to pass and still turnin out to be pretty cool. I still got a ton to do but itll all come together soon enough!

Matt

[66sprint6]

Got the bed floor and walls put together and finished up the wheel wells in the rear.



Its coming together and miraculously it lines up pretty well with the batter beat and torn Bronco body. Gonna keep chippin away at it!

Matt

[King James]

That's looking good Matt.

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