Phase 1 Wrap Walkaround

 The "Daaad! this is SO Embarrassing!" Phase is Complete

I wrapped up the passenger side today

Before

After

The damage and wear on this side is more significant. If I ever decide to do a complete respray, I'll likely replace the fender, door, and possibly the bedside. But for now the Bronco is presentable and looks far better than it did with the crummy Plasti-Dip. I'll be stripping, primer and painting the hood the original color as well as the roof. The hard top may just come off for a while and I'll sport a soft top. I also need a tailgate as mine is shot. Here's a little before and after walk around video.

It's Been a While

 Un-POSing my Bronco

Well the previous owner (PO) really did a number on me! I decided to finally strip his crappy plasti-dip coating (bad enough) and found that he also spray painted the the factory bumpers, door handles, mirrors, hard top and roof... all without masking off the area and thus getting overspray EVERYWHERE.

I am about 50% finished with removing the paint from the side panels and so far I am happy with the results.

I Plan to remove the hood, strip it to bare metal and respray it the factory color (Oxford White), and replace the rusted out tailgate with a fiberglass one. I will also sand the hard top smooth and paint if the same dark blue as the side stripes. I'll be removing the mirrors, bumpers, hard top, and door handles to get the black paint out of the cracks and crevasses sooner rather than later, but for now I will be happy to have it look mostly stock again. 

A New Home For My Buns!

Corbeau in the Bronco!

I decided I was tired of staring at my brand new Corbeau Sport Seats I got for my Bighorn Cruiser Project and I was equally tired of the smell of the factory Bronco seats! So I ordered some brackets for the Bronco and bolted them in! I also wired up the seat heaters.

I wired the heating modules to the power lumbar connection all proper like. I clipped the connector off the factor seat, soldered and heat shrunk the connections, then wrapped em up with some electrician's tape before stuffing them into a loom. There is a lot of extra wire that I'll probably do a round two with to get it cleaned up more once I get the carpet and Tuffy center console.

 A hole saw made very quick work of the wholes I needed for the seat hear switches.

I am pleased with the results! I took them on a 3 hour drive and was completely comfortable.

A Little Flex and Some Pics I Never Took

A Trip to 8,770 Feet

I took BB out to stretch her legs a bit and took A TON of pics only to discover that I forgot to put a memory card in my camera... #seniormoment... I'm 43! But first, a pic of some flexing in my front yard...

Okay maybe two!

Not bad for stock suspension! Anyway, I stole some pics from some buddy's who joined me for the trail run up to Mt. Rose / Sunflower Mountain Nevada.

Here's a link to the trail

Patagonia's Work Great!

I Took the New Shoes out for a Spin

I did an impromptu run up into the Sierra's with the new wheels and tires. The 2" additional inches of tire made a big difference in how the Bronco cleared obstacles and handled the trail in general. I am pleased! This trip took me from about 5000 feet to around 7,500 and back down to 4,800 on the other side of Verdi Peak. Spring is in full swing that the area is gorgeous.

Dog Valley

Stampede Lake in the distance as I ascended Verdi Peak

The forest trail up to Peavine Peak

Upper four shots of a meadow along the route to the peak

Rain water and flooding in the forests near Stampede

Another meadow on the way to Stampede. There is
a lot of march in this meadow!

The Bronc resting along the shores of Stampede

Stampede. The Payoff!

Little Truckee

New Shoes!

I got some new wheels and tires for the Beater. 33x12.5R15 Milestar Patagonia M/T on some Procomp "Street Lock" steelies. They ride very nice on and offroad and I plan to use em a bit this weekend.

I managed to track down a good pic of the paint scheme under the crappy plastidip currently on my Bronco. I have no idea the state of the paint but I am going to find out. I suspect that the roof, like the hood is in pretty bad shape, but I'd rather have it in stock form than have the peeling mess going on right now.

The plan is to use the dip dissolver fluid and a pressure washer so I can see what I have to work with. I think I'll replace the hood with a fiberglass one and respray to match the OEM Oxford White and maybe add a center stripe in the OEM Midnight Blue. I'll respray the roof as needed and just touchup paint if possible around the rest of the vehicle. I'll use a 3M adhesive removal tool for the side trim, and badges. At some point I'll need to finally do something about the junk tailgate, but it'll stay where it is for now.

Very next thing on the to-do list is rebuilding the diffs, lockers, and 488 gears. I'll rebuild the outers and probably install CM axle shafts in the 88 rearend. Go before show!

Black Friday Deal!

NP205 Transfer Case... CHECK!

So I found a local guy trying to offload a nice NP205 transfer case. These things are all gear driven, high spline count monsters capable of serious offroad and customization. Not bad for $200!

I plan to rebuild it and possibly upgrade the gear ratios for a lower low. I KNOW I'll be adding a Doubler from JB Custom Fab.

This thing will allow me to do things like 2WD low for on hwy hill descents, FWD high or low for performing digs, and double my gear ratio for even lower CRAWL speeds. Can't wait! I may end up duplicating this setup on my FJ40 by using an SM465 transmission and a Chevy NP205. Someday.

I know I'll be adding a Winters Shifter to the Bronco as well. This will give me better control of the transmission than the traditional column shifter.

However, I am planning on putting the Bronco away for a while and focus my attention on the Bighorn Cruiser.