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Old 12-24-2019, 01:03 PM   #241
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Default Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco

Awesome vids! Merry Christmas!



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Old 12-25-2019, 06:57 PM   #242
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Awesome vids! Merry Christmas!



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Thank you, Sir Merry Christmas! To everyone else too!
And Happy Crawl-idays!



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Old 12-25-2019, 08:36 PM   #243
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Merry Christmas!!

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Old 12-26-2019, 10:47 AM   #244
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Merry Christmas!!

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Thanks, back at ya, bud.
Safe Trip to anyone travelling!




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Old 01-01-2020, 11:05 AM   #245
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Default Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco

First off .... HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
I guess pb killed their bugs, so here are a few pics from our crawl-iday before xmas.




I didn't take a lot of pics, between videos and just having too much fun drivin'. We even had a little xmas tree.



It wouldn't have done any good decoratin' it, since we ran over it more than once.
V V V V V


This time of year it's hard to keep the sun out of your eyes.



But it sure was a nice day for the end of December.

Thanks for lookin' .... c u next time.



jim
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Old 01-24-2020, 07:27 PM   #246
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We got an inch or 2 of wet snow last night, so me and the Bronco went out to play a little.




The OD gears really get the front to throw rooster tails. Hit the rock pile for a bit.



The BFG's impressed me again with their grab. You had to be a little selective with the lines, but it climbed pretty well.



Spent a few minutes on the spike-bridge too.





And .... the taillights.



Teeeya

.....tune in next time ....... tanks for lookin'.


jim
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Old 02-05-2020, 02:06 PM   #247
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Went crawlin' with Dave this past weekend at Fassnight Park. He decided to up the anty a little and bought a new rtr Capra. He got a kit version too, but it wasn't together and ready, soooo.....



He borrowed the tires and wheels from his TRX Jeep, but otherwise it's stock. I've read some threads in the Capra section so I expected it to crawl pretty well.



I was surprised at how poorly it did on angles, though. Some of the same lines the Bronco took ....



..... would make his Capra flip.



Even some of the small "boulder" climbs tangled him up, when the little pony drove thru.



Don't get me wrong, the Capra will go most places the TRX will go and then some, but it has it's trouble spots too. I'm sure as Dave gets used to it, and makes some mod's to his kit, my competition will get tougher.



As usual, the Bronco performed well and I'm really happy with how it held up against the Capra.




When he rolled that buggy out I thought it might chew the tail off of my pony ...... turned out that Capra didn't have much of an appetite for bumper.

Thanks for lookin' and laughin' .... c u next time.


jim

Last edited by dr frankenstyle; 02-05-2020 at 03:44 PM. Reason: doh!
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Old 02-05-2020, 03:11 PM   #248
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Default Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco

Very cool update. Thanks for sharing

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Old 02-05-2020, 09:23 PM   #249
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Very cool update. Thanks for sharing

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You betcha It's just another example of how every set-up has it's compromises, I guess.



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Old 03-05-2020, 09:32 PM   #250
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Well, February was kind of a rough month of crawlin' for me. I didn't mention it before but I finished the last session at Fassnight by stumblin' and trippin' over the top of the rock wall into the creek bottom 3-ft below. The water was just under a foot deep .... deep enough to dunk my transmitter but shallow enough that I got a bruise on my head and hip. I got the radio and winch controller opened up and dried out and I healed up OK, so we were back in biz' the next weekend to hit the roadside rocks ..... for less than 5 minutes. On the first pass, across the edge of the drop-off, a good-sized chunk of rock broke away and the truck dove over the cliff and face-planted 6-ft below. Well, the 10-lb sledge hit so hard the plastic front bumper mount broke and the panhard mount snapped off at the shock mount. Back to the shop!
Luckily I had ordered a new alloy bumper mount when I replaced it the last time. So I took it to the drill-press, milled the winch-line slot in it and got the bumper back on. Then I ordered up a pair of new Xtra Speed front shock mounts, and threw a stock mount on the drivers side in the meantime.
Finally, on leap day, my luck smoothed out. Dave had put OD gears and hub weights on the front of his rtr Capra, so we met up at Fassnight Park again for some crawl time.



The mods helped a bit, but I was still surprised at how flipsy it is. Maybe I'm just expecting too much from the "tube-buggy" design. I just like the old-school off-roaders too, I guess.



I AM kinda partial, but the old pony still does a pretty good job .... and I think she's purdy.
Dave's Capra must think so too.



No cliff-diving this time .... for me or the Bronco.

The Xtra Speed parts showed up yesterday. I'm really happy with their design. 4 or 5 times as much meat at the panhard mount.



They're more compact at the shock mounting area, but still have multi mounting points. The best part is they're beefier all around so they should hold up to some abuse. I'm sure I'll find out anyway.



I picked up a couple other little goodies for it too. Tune in next time .....
later.



jim
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Old 03-08-2020, 08:48 PM   #251
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I went and checked out a new crawl-spot yesterday. My landlord recently bought a century old farm and decades ago, as they cleaned rocks out of the fields, they set the big rocks and row-piled the 1 to 5-gallon sized rocks along a tiny creek that runs down a gentle slope to a pond. Lots of moss covered boulders and outcroppings, but lots of dead-ends too.




But it makes for some nice "scale canyon" pic's.



And there are plenty of trails through and over some of the boulders.




Before I knew it, I had spent an hour and a half .... with only 1 hang-up on a vine and 1 roll-over .... not bad.



Walkin' around is a little rougher than the road-side rocks, but not too much for the old knees. And it's less than 15 min. from home, and there's more to explore, so I'll go back.

Met Dave and Josh at Fassnight Park and crawled again today but we were laughing and having too much fun that I didn't even shoot any pic's. But that's what it's all about anyway .... the fun!

Thanks for lookin" ........... 'til next time.




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Old 03-09-2020, 09:27 AM   #252
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Default Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco

Nice find!

That's cool that it is so close to home and private! Looks like many hours of fun!
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Old 03-09-2020, 12:47 PM   #253
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Thanks, Brian. I'll definitely be goin' back. There are too many rocks and trails that still need snooped out.
You never know what you'll find out here in the boonies, but I have been kinda lucky.



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Old 04-02-2020, 08:45 PM   #254
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First off .... I hope everyone is staying safe and sane in this crisis, and nobody has the virus. So far all of my family and friends are doin' well.
That said, I've had a little extra hobby time, like lots of us. I finally found a driver that represents me as accurately as possible. So I spent $15 on eBay and ordered one of the pre-formed poly' interiors, modified it from a later model Bronco to fit my early model, then drew over the stitch lines with a super fine sharpie and shot it green and black. And added my driver.




I still need to get a radio in the dash, but it's ok for now .... Goof' is new to crawlin' so he don't need the distraction yet anyway. I made a blank-out wall to block the see-thru into the back. (can't remember what I used for it tho' ) I use some gorilla tape and velcro to hold it into the body. I took a little fitting to get it right, but I think it turned out alright.



Then last weekend I took him down the roadside to get a bit of practice on the rocks.




Turns out he's a helluva driver!





We had a good day, after I told him roll-over is "BAD dog!" I sent Dave a pic' of his new competition and he said "cool! ... now you'll be more top-heavy." I told him the Goof' is a skinny guy, and he don't seem to hurt the crawlin' much so far. The neighbor's dog kept jumpin' in the Bronco before we left home, so we may have to bring him along next time.



Thanks for lookin' and stay safe while we stay home! See ya next time.



I just got my photobucket straightened out so the pic's should clear up real soon.

jim

Last edited by dr frankenstyle; 04-02-2020 at 08:47 PM. Reason: grrrrrr
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Old 04-07-2020, 08:30 PM   #255
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It was nice outside today and I was feelin' some "withcrawl" symptoms .... you know, twitchin' left index finger, random "knob-twisting" motions with your right hand. SO I took Goof' and the dog down to the roadside for a little rockin' rollin'.



Mickey's dog wanted to ride along .... don't know if he knew what he's in for.




But he looked happy. Let's see if he can hang on.





So far, so good.






and back down.









I didn't shoot any vid' , I was havin' too much fun watchin' "a boy and his dog" .... ok, a dog-man and his neighbor's dog-dog. Goofy's an awesome driver!





Another totally fun day on the rocks .... Thanks for lookin'. Everybody stay safe and sane!
seeya!




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Old 04-08-2020, 06:27 AM   #256
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Default Re: Dr. F's Kit Bronco

Only read the last page of this thread, but have to say, your rig is pretty cool. Adding Goofy and Pluto was top notch.
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Old 04-08-2020, 09:40 AM   #257
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Only read the last page of this thread, but have to say, your rig is pretty cool. Adding Goofy and Pluto was top notch.
Thanks I like things a little "different", and I like things that make me smile.
And that's something we CAN all share right now.




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Old 05-11-2020, 01:54 PM   #258
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I hope everyone's doin' alright. I've been tinkerin' with the Bronco lately. I like how G60nut did the DSM recovery set-up on his build, and that got me (uh oh )thinkin'. I really like his thru the bumper design. My bumper has round pockets for the shackle mounts, so I pulled the right shackle and tab out and drilled the hole bigger. I stopped just smaller than the outer hole so if I want to I can put the shackle back in. Then, with just a little filing, the hooks pass thru the bumper.


IMG_3014


That's where I took a little different road. For the "stow-away" recovery bungee, I took a 6-ft tape measure .... removed the measuring "tape" .... and replaced it with about 3-ft of bungee cord and .... voila!


IMG_3015


I just made a little steel bracket and mounted the tape measure housing to the frame, up against the rear shock mount.


IMG_3013


The bungee runs between the frame and the shocks, over the floor-board, and out.


IMG_3020


It starts to pull at about 2-ft. and will stretch to around 4-ft. or more. And it's strong enough to pick the truck up off of the floor with it. When it's stowed, this is about all you see.


IMG_3021


Also, I was goin' thru the axles, checkin' screws and such, when it occurred to me ( uh oh again ) .... I bet the rear c-hubs could be swapped. That would put the shock mounts on the back-side of the axle (like the GRC G2 axles have) and then I can move the top of the shocks back too. That keeps the lean to the shocks and let me eliminate the mod's I'd made before. It was a big DUH moment , but hey, they happen.


IMG_3017


It didn't change the way it drives, but it got rid of a few parts ....


IMG_3018


.... and I LIKE the disappearing recovery bungee.

Thanks for lookin'. Let me know what ya think.



jim

Last edited by dr frankenstyle; 05-11-2020 at 02:01 PM. Reason: pic' doh!
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Old 06-15-2020, 07:35 PM   #259
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Lady Luck gave me a big ol' smile last month and somehow I was 1 of the winners in the I-heart radio contest! So I ordered some new parts for the little Bronco.

IMG_3028

That got me thinkin' about some of my leftover parts, and how I've kinda been wanting to do another build .... so I ordered a Defender "slider" off of eBay.

IMG_3027

I don't plan to go too extreme with it but some of the weaker points need some work, so besides the old parts, I'll be gettin' some new upgrades too. A handful of 'em got here today, and there are more on the way.

IMG_3045

I've had a spare Vaterra '68 Ford body layin' around since I built my Pro-Street boat pullin' truck, so I figure I'll use that and paint it with the leftover Spaz Stix color-change paint. Gotta make custom links and drivelines, and chop off the frame rails ..... but here's a hint at the final creature.

IMG_3042

I'm still workin' out all the details, but I'll start a new thread when I get a bit further with it. Gotta tear down the Bronco and swap the skids and drivelines to have the those pull-outs for "Leftover Leonard".
The new V2 high-clearance skid looks NICE, and the new drivelines are a slight improvement too. Little Greeny will like 'em.


Thanks for lookin' and tune in next time ...... and watch for a new thread if you want to check up on the new Shorty.


jim
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Old 06-15-2020, 07:45 PM   #260
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Congrats on the winnings!


I'll be keeping an eye out for the new build thread!
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