salans7 Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 Sticks = shift levers. Stick shift? That's what I thought at first, but I figured you could tell the transfer case shift lever isn't installed, but it is a grainy cell phone picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 Sticks = shift levers. Stick shift? That's what I thought at first, but I figured you could tell the transfer case shift lever isn't installed, but it is a grainy cell phone picture. I think I may need to revise the plan for Big Blue: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 I think I may need to revise the plan for Big Blue: That’ll work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 I think I may need to revise the plan for Big Blue: Needs cab mounts.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 Needs cab mounts.... I got a new center link from U-techcenter The price was right, and if I'm in there..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 .... Last weekend I started working on the brake lines. I have most of what I need to put that together. I'm hoping to get it buttoned up this weekend. At that point it should be driveable again!.... I wrote that April 21. I guess I'm a little behind. Or was just too hopeful. As I chronicled here, I had to take a break from the Bronco to mouse-proof my parents travel trailer. And now that it's summer we're going up to the cabin most weekends. But today I FINALLY got back to the Bronco. Didn't get much done though. I mounted the proportioning valve to the frame and ran the brake line from the proportioning valve to the flex line that goes to the front axle. From there it Ts into hard lines that go to each knuckle where there are flex lines that go to the calipers. I kept all of that from before, so now I have lines all the way from the proportioning valve to both front brakes. But it's too hot and humid and buggy to stay out in the garage long. So after pulling out the old hard line to the rear of the Bronco I came in and showered. So not much progress, but any is good, right? (edit to add: this project picks up again farther down page 199) The Bronco's brake conversion is done! As a reminder, it started with 4 wheel non-power drums. Years ago I converted it to 4 wheel disks with vacuum power boost. The vacuum booster went bad (vacuum leak affecting idle and no longer providing power assist) and I couldn't figure out what to get parts from to fix it (it was an aftermarket kit), and I wanted to get back the parking brake I lost with the rear disks. So I converted back to the factory drum rear brakes and a distinctly non-factory hydroboost from a '95 GMC Safari van. I had finished the rear brake conversion a while ago, and now finally finished the hydroboost. All that I had left after my last post was to run the brake line to the rear brakes, run the lines from the master to the proportioning valve and bleed the brakes. So that was today's project (I'm 20% furloughed so I get Monday's off now). Running the lines wasn't too bad, it just took time I hadn't been able to give it. I did need to make a new bracket to support the lines between the proportioning valve and master (where I mounted the new proportioning valve was in the way of the original bracket). And this evening Lesley helped me bleed the brakes, so it's done! I didn't take it for much of a test drive, because I don't have insurance on it, but the brakes come in a lot higher than they did with the vacuum power / 4 wheel disk setup. (One of my complaints about it was that the pedal was almost on the floor in a moderately hard stop. It always did the job, but it never inspired confidence.) The brakes are a bit touchy now, but they don't seem horrible. I think I'll be able to get used to modulating them easily enough. Also I probably don't really have the rear drums adjusted correctly yet. I had intentionally left them "loose" so I did a few hard-ish stops in reverse to try to get the adjusters to tighten them up a bit. On the first few stops I locked the front brakes pretty easily. But after a few I was stopping just as hard without locking the fronts, so the rears must be coming in more now. We'll see how things go once I actually get it on the road. Ok, I said the brakes are done, but that's not quite true. I still need to do a little clean-up underneath, making sure the rear brake line is tied up appropriately. And even though getting a working parking brake was one of the driving forces in this project, I still don't have one. My air tank is in the way of the parking brake cables and even harder to address, my roll cage is in the way of the parking brake pedal. Both are surmountable obstacles, but both are going to need to wait a bit. The next project, and the reason I'm not putting insurance on it just yet, is adding some rocker protection. Both rockers are rusted and crunched, but the passenger side is so far gone that the body is sagging to the point where the door doesn't operate correctly. So my plan is to cut away the rusted / crunched sheet metal and weld in some heavy-wall rectangular steel tubing. Hopefully I can get started on that project in the next few days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 9, 2020 Author Share Posted June 9, 2020 The Bronco's brake conversion is done! As a reminder, it started with 4 wheel non-power drums. Years ago I converted it to 4 wheel disks with vacuum power boost. The vacuum booster went bad (vacuum leak affecting idle and no longer providing power assist) and I couldn't figure out what to get parts from to fix it (it was an aftermarket kit), and I wanted to get back the parking brake I lost with the rear disks. So I converted back to the factory drum rear brakes and a distinctly non-factory hydroboost from a '95 GMC Safari van. I had finished the rear brake conversion a while ago, and now finally finished the hydroboost. All that I had left after my last post was to run the brake line to the rear brakes, run the lines from the master to the proportioning valve and bleed the brakes. So that was today's project (I'm 20% furloughed so I get Monday's off now). Running the lines wasn't too bad, it just took time I hadn't been able to give it. I did need to make a new bracket to support the lines between the proportioning valve and master (where I mounted the new proportioning valve was in the way of the original bracket). And this evening Lesley helped me bleed the brakes, so it's done! I didn't take it for much of a test drive, because I don't have insurance on it, but the brakes come in a lot higher than they did with the vacuum power / 4 wheel disk setup. (One of my complaints about it was that the pedal was almost on the floor in a moderately hard stop. It always did the job, but it never inspired confidence.) The brakes are a bit touchy now, but they don't seem horrible. I think I'll be able to get used to modulating them easily enough. Also I probably don't really have the rear drums adjusted correctly yet. I had intentionally left them "loose" so I did a few hard-ish stops in reverse to try to get the adjusters to tighten them up a bit. On the first few stops I locked the front brakes pretty easily. But after a few I was stopping just as hard without locking the fronts, so the rears must be coming in more now. We'll see how things go once I actually get it on the road. Ok, I said the brakes are done, but that's not quite true. I still need to do a little clean-up underneath, making sure the rear brake line is tied up appropriately. And even though getting a working parking brake was one of the driving forces in this project, I still don't have one. My air tank is in the way of the parking brake cables and even harder to address, my roll cage is in the way of the parking brake pedal. Both are surmountable obstacles, but both are going to need to wait a bit. The next project, and the reason I'm not putting insurance on it just yet, is adding some rocker protection. Both rockers are rusted and crunched, but the passenger side is so far gone that the body is sagging to the point where the door doesn't operate correctly. So my plan is to cut away the rusted / crunched sheet metal and weld in some heavy-wall rectangular steel tubing. Hopefully I can get started on that project in the next few days... Well done! Both on reminding us what you had and what you've done as well as how it turned out. Sounds like the rear brakes are starting to work, which should make things a bit less sensitive. So, how are you going to tie that square tubing in? Or, more correctly, to what? The frame? And, how are you going to get around the roll cage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 Well done! Both on reminding us what you had and what you've done as well as how it turned out. Sounds like the rear brakes are starting to work, which should make things a bit less sensitive. So, how are you going to tie that square tubing in? Or, more correctly, to what? The frame? And, how are you going to get around the roll cage? The plan is just to weld the tubing to the body. I need to do something like that anyway to strengthen it to fix the sagging door. And I figure if the load is spread out enough I should be able to drop it on a rock and not bend stuff up (as long as I don't drop it from too high!). On the e.brake pedal / roll cage, I haven't looked at it yet. But reading what others have done, there are two approaches, and some who combine them. One is to move where the e.brake pedal bracket attaches to the bottom of the dash. That swings the pedal a bit to the right where it isn't hiding behind the "A" pillar down tube of the cage. The other is to cut the pedal arm and weld it back together with an offset to move it to the right. I'm not sure when I'll get around to that, but it won't be real soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 The plan is just to weld the tubing to the body. I need to do something like that anyway to strengthen it to fix the sagging door. And I figure if the load is spread out enough I should be able to drop it on a rock and not bend stuff up (as long as I don't drop it from too high!). On the e.brake pedal / roll cage, I haven't looked at it yet. But reading what others have done, there are two approaches, and some who combine them. One is to move where the e.brake pedal bracket attaches to the bottom of the dash. That swings the pedal a bit to the right where it isn't hiding behind the "A" pillar down tube of the cage. The other is to cut the pedal arm and weld it back together with an offset to move it to the right. I'm not sure when I'll get around to that, but it won't be real soon. So you're going to make your rockers into nerf bars/sliders? I suppose you'll be okay with that but there is something to be said for a sacrificial shield. Easy to swap and less likely affect the door if it does get crushed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 The Bronco's brake conversion is done! As a reminder, it started with 4 wheel non-power drums. Years ago I converted it to 4 wheel disks with vacuum power boost. The vacuum booster went bad (vacuum leak affecting idle and no longer providing power assist) and I couldn't figure out what to get parts from to fix it (it was an aftermarket kit), and I wanted to get back the parking brake I lost with the rear disks. So I converted back to the factory drum rear brakes and a distinctly non-factory hydroboost from a '95 GMC Safari van. I had finished the rear brake conversion a while ago, and now finally finished the hydroboost. All that I had left after my last post was to run the brake line to the rear brakes, run the lines from the master to the proportioning valve and bleed the brakes. So that was today's project (I'm 20% furloughed so I get Monday's off now). Running the lines wasn't too bad, it just took time I hadn't been able to give it. I did need to make a new bracket to support the lines between the proportioning valve and master (where I mounted the new proportioning valve was in the way of the original bracket). And this evening Lesley helped me bleed the brakes, so it's done! I didn't take it for much of a test drive, because I don't have insurance on it, but the brakes come in a lot higher than they did with the vacuum power / 4 wheel disk setup. (One of my complaints about it was that the pedal was almost on the floor in a moderately hard stop. It always did the job, but it never inspired confidence.) The brakes are a bit touchy now, but they don't seem horrible. I think I'll be able to get used to modulating them easily enough. Also I probably don't really have the rear drums adjusted correctly yet. I had intentionally left them "loose" so I did a few hard-ish stops in reverse to try to get the adjusters to tighten them up a bit. On the first few stops I locked the front brakes pretty easily. But after a few I was stopping just as hard without locking the fronts, so the rears must be coming in more now. We'll see how things go once I actually get it on the road. Ok, I said the brakes are done, but that's not quite true. I still need to do a little clean-up underneath, making sure the rear brake line is tied up appropriately. And even though getting a working parking brake was one of the driving forces in this project, I still don't have one. My air tank is in the way of the parking brake cables and even harder to address, my roll cage is in the way of the parking brake pedal. Both are surmountable obstacles, but both are going to need to wait a bit. The next project, and the reason I'm not putting insurance on it just yet, is adding some rocker protection. Both rockers are rusted and crunched, but the passenger side is so far gone that the body is sagging to the point where the door doesn't operate correctly. So my plan is to cut away the rusted / crunched sheet metal and weld in some heavy-wall rectangular steel tubing. Hopefully I can get started on that project in the next few days... Progress is good! You'll get over the cable routing and pedal placement soon enough. What are you doing now? Do you use a line lock or chock on a rope? Or rely on leaving it in Lo against compression? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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