Every time I take my Bronco out 4x4ing it comes back with AT LEAST 1 or more new dents, many more scratches, and possibly something(s) broken. This is not on purpose, I do not try to wreck things, but this is part of having two vehicles, one for on road, and one for off road. I like it that way.

Most recent updates on PAGE 6 & 7

Page 1: The Beginning, - YOU ARE HERE X
Page 2: The Lift Build
Page 3: The Bumper Build
Page 4: Summer of 07' Wheeling
Page 5: Fall of 07' Wheeling
Page 6: Winter of 07' Work
Page 7: Ongoing/Winter of 08' Work
Page 8: A cool day of work
Page 9: Uploads for other pages, Ignore...

This is how my bronco was when I first came to own it. It had 280,000 km on it. Miled out much? I will not be surprised when the little 2.9L gives up. (enter stage right: The 5.0L!!!!)

(The little love tap on the front left is from the last owner, apparently Bronco and a tree made friends)

It was pretty plain, but lots and lots of potential!!
So, my goal when I got it is to lift and mod it into a BADASS offroader, this rig is NOT intended to be my daily driver.
This is my daily driver. 99' Dodge Dakota with the V6 and 4x4.
Since Bronco is not my DD, I have the luxury of modding it more, and wheeling it harder. Both things I like, alot. I also wanted to keep it street legal, so I can just jump in it at home and drive it 0.5 / 1 / 2 / 3 hours to where I want to wheel. If I'm going wheeling farther than 3 hours away then I am prepared to trailer it. Once I got the lift on it became apparent how poorly a 6" lift& oversized low psi mudders really handle on the highway, hehe. (I run about 20psi front and 15 rear, unless I'm going to drive more than 1hr to get to where I'm wheeling) But there is lots of really really good wheeling less than 1hr away from where I live, and if you have to trailer that far, a 1.5hr drive can turn into a 2.5 procedure.
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WHAT I HAVE DONE SO FAR
- BUILT my own 6" lift, very proud.
- 32 x 10.5-15 Interco TSL Radials, they make the 2.9L and the A4LD tranny work!
- Welded the rear end.
- Swapped in a 4 core radiator from a Explorer because I was having an overheating issue, try and overheat now!! (adapting the transmission cooler turned into alot of work for me, I would recommend just leaving the in-rad transmission cooler OUT of the loop, just use that little auxiliary one out in front if all your running is your stock tranny.)
- Built my own tree smashing winch mount bumper.
- Beefed up my rear bumper with knarly towpoints.
- Put some mud flaps behind the front tires, they have a lip that sticks out and wraps around to create an Anti-mud-in-my-face situation when the window is open.
- Removed the carpet in the back and replaced it with 3/4" thick plywood.
- Done some VITAL body repair, the wall had separated from the floor from behind the rear wheel wells right to the back of the rig, both sides, very custom work, you may notice the X of rivets on the passenger side.
- Explorer sun-visors (I know, pimp'in eh? lol, the stock ones wouldn't stay up and were pissing me off)
- Stocked it up with all the useful junk I could think of:
* Fire extinguisher
* 30ft cable X 4
* 2 snatch blocks
* Loaded toolbox
* Chainsaw (and fuel/oil)
* Machete, for the trees/foliage that is in the way, but not worthy of the chainsaw
* Short handle spade shovel
* Small tarp, for laying on if you have to repair, or for wrapping a gross flat tire in.
* Fluids (motor and tranny oil)
* Two pair of coveralls
* A can of either, you never know when BOOM in a can will come in handy (It can be used to re-seat beads, or to get a weak engine to start)
* Spare change of cloths and runners, some TP, all in a duffle
* Badass rubber boots
The surveyor stick is holding up my 3rd door because the gas shocks abandoned me. Have to get replacements.
Here is where I keep the "bound to get muddy and wet" extra towing gear. The cables have 5' of chain on one end and 2' on the other, total length 30'.

FUTURE PLANS

- 33" or 35" LTB's on the front and Boggers on the rear. (hat's off to TRS 1)
- Upgrade to Dana 35 and Ford 8.8.
- On-board air
- Second battery
- Rear frame cross member, for rigidity and to mount rear shocks too
- And of course, a snorkel.

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I got this off eBay, it's called an "inclinometer", and I can never pronounce it correctly. I am excited to install it on the dash so I can know how dangerously close to rolling I ACTUALLY am. Once it is installed I will do this... and make a mark on the inclinometer, or at least take note of when the truck tips off the tractor forks and hangs from the chain that is tied from the frame to the tractor. :D

During these pictures I did not yet have my Inclinometer installed, I was just doing it for fun. All my gear is in the rig, but there is no people weight. I suspect that if I had gotten in it would have tipped, and been hanging by the chain.



Here is me, with long hair, lol. I have a Class 16 License in Alberta. Class 1 means I can drive anything except a motorcycle, big rigs (18 wheelers), and bigger, the more axles means more horsepower, means more coolness. I like all that stuff. Class 6 means I can drive a motorcycle. So, if it has wheels, I can drive it. I am proud of that.

It's true ^
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Anyways, this page is boring, check out the fun stuff on the pages 2-7!
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Page 1: The Beginning, - YOU ARE HERE X
Page 2: The Lift Build
Page 3: The Bumper Build
Page 4: Summer of 07' Wheeling
Page 5: Fall of 07' Wheeling
Page 6: Winter of 07' Work
Page 7: Ongoing/Winter of 08' Work
Page 8: A cool day of work
Page 9: Uploads for other pages, Ignore...