This is a compilation of work being performed on a `73 Bronco. It was found nearly dead on side of a small highway in the weeds by a business. Retired from hunting about 10 years earlier, its last remaining days were approaching if someone didnt see a diamond in the rough. So it was towed to a nearby ranch to find out what could be done with this fine specimen of Bronco.

Looks solid dont it? Just a little cleanup and maybe fix that headlight, then time to go drive around. OK maybe not so lucky.

So its not ready for the local Autorama. At least the motor isnt locked up. After rounding up a spare carb, radiator, a couple plug wires and spent about three hours tinkering... Well at least it runs now.

I should know better than to trust someone elses work, especially from whats been discovered after closer scrutiny. Fortunately there were no feet harmed in the making of this documentary when this bumper became unattached. But a nice PTO winch that appears complete and in working order.

I am going to be bouncing around to different problems that are being addressed. This wont be a step by step coverage, but highlights of what was involved in the ressurection of the Bronco.

 Wow! What do we have here??? This is the worst part of buying something thats already been upgraded. It will require some small repairs. This is the infamous F100 2WD steering box. I have never liked doing this conversion on an EB. But if it works for you, fine, just not to my liking. This is a retired hunting vehicle thats totally covered in red sand saturated in oily residue. Except where the frame horn is torn away, the crossmember knotched for this box to fit, the plate added to bolt box, and the horrible attempt at welding, frame is in unusually very bad condition. It will take a new crossmember, new frame horns on all four corners, frame machine to straighten with, and get the 3" of twist out. Otherwise whats not torn off is solid, not rusted, and just needs a good cleanup before paint. So the story goes.

This is the flip side of such a high quality alteration. Notice the fine detail to fitment and welds. Time to completely strip this frame down and see what can be salvaged.

Wow again! It just gets better and better. With quality upgrades like this, why would I want to change it? Wont take anytime to get up and running.

You think with just a little rattle can coverup, it wont even show. Time to get serious and remove everything off this frame and see if there is enough to make use of.

Carefully cut around the welds and not damage the frame any more than necessary. Now thats funny!

Oops! Didnt see a new crossmember in the catalog. Well its cut out. Now grind all of the welded areas clean and ready for a new crossmember. The frame jumped about 3 inches on one rail when this was removed. Had to do a major twist to get back square.

Donor crossmember here. Picked it and the other pieces up from Bronco Connection. Plasma cutter didnt fair as well removing the old frame sections here. Old school cutting torch and a ready to install crossmember is about to be welded back in. All of the cut ends were ground clean of slag to insure a good weld. Unlike what has been found all over it so far.

OK this is NOT the new one welded in. Just a last reminder of what there was to work with. Out with the old...

Might not look like much yet, but the crossmember is welded in with better than factory welds. Not that is anything to brag about.

Both front frame horns are replaced. The splice is in middle of where crossmember is welded. So there isnt a problem with strength. You can see the bead running across top of frame.

 The frame is sitting on four jack stands. They are shimmed to get a level reading on both ends before welding was done. I had to twist the frame way past centerline to get it to stay flat. But now its time for you visionaries to see what the rough cut diamond is going to look like.

With some temporary walls placed, a Harbor Freight pressurized sandblaster was used to clean the frame. Its the red one that holds 5 gallons of media. I found it on sale for $89. Worth every penny 100 times over.  Home Depot sells regualr play sand and is cheap. The only thing needed to make it work is filter thru regular screen wire. This sand was recycled until there was nothing left to sweep up. When its pulverized into fine powder, blows outside and becomes one with nature. The rest gets reused over and over. Dont care how cheap something is. If it can be reused without any additional effort, worth saving the few dollars to use for something else.

Remember what the frame looked like? How about now? You can go over the frame with a pick hammer listening for any thin areas or hollow thuds that would indicate cracks. Its solid, not pitted from any surface rust and no signs of weakness.

 Now look at the front crossmember. Doesnt appear quite the same. All four corners are just like new again. With exception to the weld that was not grind down, its almost impossible to tell how extensive the damage originally was. It only cost about $100 for everything to get the frame in this shape. Its basically finished and ready for paint. You might wonder why not just buy a used frame in better shape???? Well that was considered. But after locating one, and usually not in the neighborhood, I would still have to buy and either ship or go pick it up. So time and cost in repair are less than the option to replace. It would be almost a given some repairs would be needed on another frame anyway. The whole point of doing a complete restoration is actaully "DOING" the work yourself. Anybody can buy new replacement parts and install them. Well some people can anyway.

 Well thats enough for frame repairs. Isnt it pretty? I vacuumed up sand, blew everything out and had a converted paint booth. I picked up an HVLP gun from Harbor Freight when it was on sale for $12.95. Its hard to beat for that price. These guns work extremely well. With a water strainer in line and air regulated to 50 psi, it is time for paint.

Its hard not to think all this work is worth the effort and well deserved. Two coats of POR-15 semi-gloss are layed over the fresh blasted metal. When applied correctly, this stuff is nearly impossible to remove and impervious to any chemicals commonly found for automotive use. Unlike spraying a primer then topcoat, POR adheres directly to bare metal. I would say comparable to a powder coat. Since POR-15 is sensitive to UV rays, I sprayed over the frame horns that would be expsoed to direct sunlight with a black topcoat. Its a urethane paint from POR called chassis black.

The frame looks too nice to put on the road. Taking what appeared a lost cause, some simple cut and welding, then prep and paint, the finished product ready for assembly.

There is a plethera of websites on this great super highway of information. Plenty covering in great detail of how to set up gears and complete rebuilds of axles. This front Dana 44 was completely stripped down. It took a lot of cleaning to remove all of the oily sand packed sludge stuck in the axle tubes. I used a mop and lots of part cleaner. After plenty of scrubbing, it was ready to get blasted clean for paint. Another great excuse to shoot POR-15. This stuff lays down so well. I also used some metal cast paint on the other parts, as seen in the pic, for a nice contrast. All new bearings, ball joints, seals, gear set and what is now close to being a new axle assembly.