FungusAmongus

[Fungus232]

Alrighty fellas... I figured I better start this thread to keep up my motivation and search for advice on the many questions I'm sure I'll have. Pics will be coming in the near future (2.5 month old twins allowing...).

Here's the low down:
I've got a 1969 Bronco I bought on July 4, 2004 in Reno, NV. It was pretty much bone stock with a straight, fairly rust free body. You can see the mods that have been done since then in my signature.

The goal here is to make a very reliable rig that is Rubicon worthy but I don't plan on beating it against the rocks (too bad) and I have no problem taking bypasses from time to time to salvage the body...

Mods I'm working on now:
I've got a '69 302 with about 15K on a rebuild that a friend GAVE me. I'm currently swapping this in as the original 302 is pretty tired. I've resealed and repainted it and am going with a Q-jet carb on an Edlebrock performer intake. I'll be pulling the Pertronix ignition off the original as well as the Flowkooler water pump and putting it on the "new" engine. I've got a set of Mustang shorties (that are temp coated) on it as well and know of the clearance issues already. I've got the WCB extreme motor mounts on and am hoping this helps with the downpipe issues on the passenger side a bit. As far as the driver's side... I noticed the header runs right into the stock clutch linkage so I'll be going with a Wilwood hyd clutch setup from Summit (thanks to those who've already given me the steer on this one!). 2 into 1 exhaust will go on and I'm leaning toward a 2" into 2.5" MagnaFlow...

I rebuilt an NP-435 and have the adapter to the Dana-20 (which is on the bench w/ master rebuild kit sitting next to it).

I'm keeping the stock manual brakes for now, discs in front - drum rear, as they are great on the trail (when the motor floods out w/ the current AFB carb!). And also because "why fix it if it ain't broke"?...

I've got a 3G 130 amp alternator waiting to go on as well that will have a BC 1 wire regulator and new brushes. This being said, is this a direct bolt on with the original bracketry or do I need a new bracket? I'll be pulling the V-belt pulley off the original alt and putting it on the 3G.

As far as the body goes:
I've got custom rear fenders that work great but I'll be trimming the front corners of the fronts as the 33's catch when flexed. No big deal there. I've also got a pair of WCB extreme rocker gaurds that will be bolted on (won these at the raffle at Bronco Daze last Oct w/ the extreme motor mounts! Thanks Dusty!). Eventually I'll go to 35's when this set of BFG ATs wear out. Not sure that the rear fender treatment I've got will handle 37s...

Now for some questions that are close to reality:

1. I've got the engine bay empty now and am looking to coat or repaint after some serious wire wheel work. What is the skinny on POR-15? If I go this route, what equipment will I need (if any) to apply this stuff or does it come in a complete kit ready to mix and apply? I'd like to repaint the engine bay Ford red like the rest of the rig but am leaning toward the protection of the POR-15. If it only comes in black I think that will be OK or can I color match it to my current paint job?

2. Q-jet plumbing... anyone got any pics of vaccum line routing into a Performer intake? I've got the Pertronix vaccum advanced distributor that will need to be plumbed into it also. And then there's the electric choke which I'll need to wire as well.

3. NP-435 shifter... I'm looking to run the stock "T" shifter on my xfer case. Is it possible to bend the shifter to clear it ok or would anyone recommend replacing the T handle with something more "sleek" to stay out of the way of the 435 shifter? I know I'll have to bend it to clear the dash anyway... Eventually I'll be fabbing up a "gearbanger" type setup but need to get this thing back on the road by June to make Big Bear Bronco Bash down here!

Thanks a ton for any help and encouragement you guys might have! I'll post some pics prior to teardown and hopefully get some up this week of where it sits now with the drivetrain out.

Wish me luck! These twins are kicking my A$$!!!!

Fungus

[firecat]

Re: FungusAmongus

fungus, mushroom, jock itch.............yeah, thats a crazy name...........
I have twin girls that just turned 3, I been there and know your pain so if you have questions in THAT catagory, I'll be happy to help
So far your pony's looking good, I'm sure the guys here will chime in on the other stuff you have in the works.
Good luck!
Tray

[firecat]

Re: FungusAmongus

The t shifter will work with the np435, I run a ROUND knob rather than the T shift handle. Just heat the shifter where you want to bend it and your good to go.............

[TRAILBOUND]

Re: FungusAmongus

you can bend that shifter in any way you see fit. And your stock T shifter shouldn't give you any troubles. Even though its a little tall, its positioned enough to the left that its not in the way.

so grab your torch, and good glove, heat and bend to your desire

[Fungus232]

Re: FungusAmongus

Thanks for the input guys! I didn't think it'd be an issue as that shifter is long enough to bend around the cab twice!

Firecat, as far as the name goes it's a leftover from my USMC days as a "stick monkey". Got it when I checked into my squadron. Its an acronym for "F@#* U New Guy U Suck"... Rolled off the tongue and looked good on the jet so it stuck!...

[Formerjughead]

Re: FungusAmongus

... Rolled off the tongue and looked good on the jet so it stuck!...

This is your one and only "pass"..........choose your words carefully.....LOL

Welcome Aboard

Brad

[CityHick]

Re: FungusAmongus

I really like your rig.
Here's my $.02...

1. QJet Plumbing. Somewhere in my build thread you can probably find pictures of how mine's hooked up. As there are many many different Qjets I'm sure there are minor differences, but all are similar. If you don't see anything in my build, ping me and I'll snap a picture of how mine's hooked up. Most of my vacuum ports are blocked except for the PCV and vac. advance for the dizzy. Both are up front as memory serves.

2. Painting the engine bay... Unless you plan to strip your engine bay down to bare metal, stay away from the POR-15. Ask me how I know! POR adheres to bare "seasoned" metal and not much else. It WILL peel if you apply it over other paint... If you can swing it (or do it yourself), get it painted the same as the body. Otherwise, Rustoleum semi-gloss black is your friend! Had I known I was going to paint my rig, I'd have painted the engine bay body color BEFORE installing my drivetrain, but I tend to find the most difficult ways to do things... (The original plan was to shove a new drivetrain my my rig as it sat, but if you've read my build at all... you'll see I went way overboard and missed two wheeling seasons because I just couldn't stop myself tearing into it)

3. T-Shifter... Do yourself a favor and twin-stick that transfer case! The twin sticks are shorter and make shifting easier, even if you don't mod the internals. You can bend the NP435 shifter any which way you can imagine, however I'd recommend getting a "gear banger" from WH from the get-go and call it done.

4. Alternator. Do yourself another favor and ditch the vee belts for serpentine! Parts are cheap if you use Mustang 5.0 brackets, or spend a few bucks and find an Explorer front dress... But you can adapt a 3G to the stock brackets...

Anway, that's my advice... Good luck!

[Fungus232]

Re: FungusAmongus

Thanks Juggy! Always can count on the ribbing from a fellow gun club member! LOL... BTW, I thought rolling off the tongue and sticking to the jet was a good choice of words when it comes to talking about something like fungus!!!

[kwspony]

Re: FungusAmongus

The choke can be wired to the Stator post on the alt. Do you have a body lift? I heard the extreme motor mounts raise the motor some and you will need to cut a hole in the floor for the NP435. A larger hole with no body lift, then the bends in the shifter will need to be more extreme. I can snap a pic of mine. My 435 swap was before my body lift. I have a 2" body lift and love the extra clearance.

[Fungus232]

Re: FungusAmongus

Cityhick,
I actually read through your entire build this weekend while waiting in lines at Disneyland! Let me say thanks for such a comprehensive play by play. As far as your Q-jet setup, I didn't see a whole lot of detail, at least nothing with close ups of the line routing. If you could patch me a couple of pics that'd be awesome!

As far as your advice with the engine bay I'll take that to heart. I think I'll go down and try to have the body color matched then clean it up and spray it myself.

If I switch to a serpentine setup, what would I need to pull off a mustang or exploder to make the upgrade? If anyone has done this upgrade with junkyard parts some helpful hints would be great! My budget is alot tighter these days with the family vice when I started this Bronco addiction as a single fighter pilot!!!

What mods are needed to twin stick the Dana-20? The fella I had build my NP-435 adapter included an additional peice for the twin stick setup if I was to ever go that route. If it's not too expensive I might but every dollar counts at this point.

Keep in mind I'm just trying to get'er back on the trail right now. Future plans are to rebuild the original 302 with some Horsepower upgrades and throw some rebuilt C9 351W heads on it (courtesy of Delta 4 Wheel!). This motor will be a couple years out and I could easily go serpentine at that time as well as twin sticks... I'm also going EFI at then and holding off on a complete wiring harness till then.

I know, famous last words. I am the same way you are as far as tearing into things way too far... in other words doing it right the first time! Since the engine going in was free I had to jump on it to freshen the drivetrain up a bit.

This is an ongoing and never-ending project as time and money allows so the upgrades come a little slower. I'd love to be able to tear the tub off and do a frame off but just not feasible now (at least if I want to wheel it in the next 10 years!).

Beautiful build by the way and thanks for all the great info you put in there!

Fungus

[Fungus232]

Re: FungusAmongus

kwspony,
I do have a 2" body lift and I was told the motor mounts will raise the engine about 3/4". I'm hoping to keep the hole in the tunnel small enough to just throw the stock 435 shifter boot over it without a custom tunnel cover. Think it'll work or will I still need to do some sheetmetal work. I'd like to keep it to a minimum as the tub is already Rhino lined... Good to know on the choke and any pics you can send would be awesome!

[earlybronco72]

Re: FungusAmongus

I'm not sure on the surp setup and the water pump being the same. For some reason I thought the 5.0s had a different rotation than the 302's. Not sure though. I would just put the v pully on the alt and go. Should be a direct bolt on, at least mine was. I'm no help on the vacuum lines either. I only run the mechanical advance on mine. You should be able to find the right vac. port you are looking for after you get it fired up.

[blwngsket]

Re: FungusAmongus

5.0 is a reverse rotation water pump..

[CityHick]

Re: FungusAmongus

Yep you need a reverse rotation water pump but that's an easy swap.
I'll try and get some pictures of the qjet setup soon... Certainly no later than this weekend when I plan to spend a lot of time with my Bronco...

If I think about it I'll try and get some pix tonight, but it really is pretty easy to find the right port.

Sounds like you've got a good start on your rig and have good ideas. Twin sticks, if you don't modify the internals are really as simple as unbolting the original t-handle and bolting on somebody's kit.

[TBS-POPS]

Re: FungusAmongus

different front timing cover for rr wp.