Mike Rupp
Member Sponsor
 | | 02/19/2010 1:21 PM |
 Alert | Even with my D1, I feel like some of the trails are too narrow to go down. I've had to resort to gently rest my slider against a tree, turn the wheel and four wheel spin around some corners just to make it through a trail.
With the Full sizer, you just have to realize the limitations and plan trips accordingly. Ike mentioned that there are more than enough places to travel to.
That being said, even D1s and other smaller rigs have to accept the fact that you might not want to attempt every trail unless you are prepared for the strong likelihood of body damage. That Darland Mountain trip is one example. There are plenty of trails in that general area that are perfectly fine for a D1, but just take one wrong turn and you are in a world of hurt. | |
WZ7V
Study for amateur radio exams here
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Tom Thomas
| | 02/19/2010 1:31 PM |
Alert | Hey Andy when it comes time for aftermarket parts, I say scavenge the junkyards like crazy. With the 'Cash for Clunkers' program, there's tons of same gen Fords in the 'yards, and most parts are interchangeable. Almost everybody put a lift on their Ford 4x's ;)
Heck, that's how I got the front OME springs for my D1, since 'somebody' only pulled 1 rear OME spring from the RRC; kinda screwed us both, but I bought it anyways (you never know when an 'orphan' will surface). I've since bought a set of rears from Brent. | | | |
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Andy Hough
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Andy Hough
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Tom Thomas
| | 02/22/2010 6:28 PM |
Alert | Nice Andy, you got locking hubs and the 351!
Did I miss what tranny you have?
And how much extra for Lil' Red? In 12yrs she's gonna kill you for putting her pics on here! | | | |
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Andy Hough
| | 02/23/2010 7:16 AM |
Alert | It has the C6 with trans cooler option. It's the Eddie Bauer edition so it has power windows, power locks, A/C, basically all the options available that year.
It's not bad for free. I'm sure it will have plenty of gremlins due to sitting for as long as it has. It seems like it has some kind of alarm system as well, that may give me some interesting challenges.
I started pulling out the radiator so I have easier access to the balancer in order to turn the engine by hand. I noticed that there is actually coolant in the system when I got the top hose off, it's just about 2 quarts down. That makes me feel better!!
The little one is Zoe, my oldest @ 2.5 years. She's bossy, but I'm fairly sure that's normal at this stage. She is really going to hate the full on family photo gallery I run on my personal website. | |
DD: 2009 Chevy HHR 1LT
Toy: 1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 | |
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Isaac Fain
| | 02/24/2010 9:47 AM |
Alert | some inspiration for ya, Andy :)
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crashed '97 Discovery I - "Calypso" | |
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Andy Hough
| | 02/24/2010 1:40 PM |
Alert | | Nice! I can't tell if that truck has the straight axle conversion or not. A lot of folks dislike the twin traction beam setup the newer bronco's have. I don't think I will have issues with my intended use. | |
DD: 2009 Chevy HHR 1LT
Toy: 1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 | |
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Isaac Fain
| | 02/24/2010 4:54 PM |
Alert | Andy, camber looks too straight to be TTB - i'm certain it's solid. Totally agree with you on keeping the TTB. The effort to make the swap isn't really worth it for what we do. However, if you decided you wanted to go that route, being leafs certainly makes a lot of things easier. I think '79 was the last year for the solid axle D44 in the FSB's. I *believe* they were high pinion but I'd need to look it up. One thing is for sure - the 351 nestled in there is a great engine. You might consider looking at the holley fuel-injection swaps down the road, or even consider swapping on a mustang EFI intake, injectors, and something like the megasquirt system. I have to admit that I really like Ford small blocks. They are tough, reliable, and make great power. A set of shorty headers, SVO heads and a new cam would really open that baby up :) | |
crashed '97 Discovery I - "Calypso" | |
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Andy Hough
| | 02/25/2010 12:07 PM |
Alert | Headers, dual exhaust with big tubing is in the future, but first it has to turn over! :)
I also like the fact that this is basically an F150 with a short bed and canopy, almost all the mechanicals will swap between.
I am considering looking for Cleveland heads for it, should the engine need a rebuild. I don't know if I will install fuel injection down the road or not, have to get it out in the woods and see how it does. My 1986 Bronco (I had before the Discovery) didn't like to idle while at extreme angles, but if you kept your foot just resting on the pedal it would continue to run just fine. I never noticed any issues with the TTB setup on that truck, it's only problem was the interior was trashed and the T-Case wouldn't shift into 4-Lo.
If the weather is decent the weekend I should be able to finish pulling out the radiator, then I can attempt to turn the engine by hand to see how it feels. Here is a photo of the '86 I used to have: 
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DD: 2009 Chevy HHR 1LT
Toy: 1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 | |
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Andy Hough
| | 03/01/2010 7:43 AM |
Alert | Went to Shucks to take advantage of the 2 ton trolley jack + 2 stands for $35, now the front of the Bronco is propped up on jack stands. :) I finished pulling the radiator out as well. I also purchased an 18 inch flex bar to give myself more mechanical advantage when I try to turn the motor. Sometime this week I am going to add another bottle of seafoam and hopefully next week I can turn the engine.
I also picked up five 14 foot and two 6 foot steel trusses, these should work well to support a small overhead chain hoist in the new garage eventually. | |
DD: 2009 Chevy HHR 1LT
Toy: 1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 | |
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Andy Hough
| | 03/06/2010 8:54 PM |
Alert | | Found that the engine turns freely, now I can move on to cleaning up the fuel system and repairing electrical. :) | |
DD: 2009 Chevy HHR 1LT
Toy: 1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 | |
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Tom Thomas
| | 03/08/2010 11:33 PM |
Alert | | Nice! What's your thoughts on fuel delivery? I've never been too fond of Holleys when off pavement. The Portland swap meet is coming up, there's usually Holley Pro-jections all over for around $300. | | | |
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Andy Hough
| | 03/09/2010 7:20 AM |
Alert | Right now the plan is to get it running with as few changes to the existing systems as possible. After that I may change it over to fuel injection, but I might not. I know how to work on carburated systems a lot better than fuel injection and I feel that a carb is more robust than EFI (but that's just my opinion). I do know that a carb doesn't like to tilt and keep working correctly, but they have some decent off-road carbs.
http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techarticles/off_road_carburetor_review/index.html
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DD: 2009 Chevy HHR 1LT
Toy: 1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 | |
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Tom Thomas
| | 03/10/2010 5:56 PM |
Alert | Yea, nothing wrong with carbs, they been doing their thing for centuries (or at least decades). My personal fav is the Motorcraft 2 barrel. Beyond simple, enough cfm for a 350'ish motor, and excellent bowl/float design.
But if you're not comfortable with efi, check into propane. I set up a Samurai to run on it and Holy Cow! Super simple, no electronics, and "theoretically" cleaner than petrol. Propane was really impressive and I only had about $300 into it including tank. | | | |
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Andy Hough
| | 03/11/2010 2:45 PM |
Alert | | Propane is also unaffected by angle since the tank is pressurized. I'll check into that, something to consider for sure. | |
DD: 2009 Chevy HHR 1LT
Toy: 1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 | |
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Andy Hough
| | 03/22/2010 8:30 AM |
Alert | | Spent some time checking out the fuel tank this weekend, should be fairly easy to remove. I also looked around inside and found that the truck has a factory installed 12VDC power jack in the cargo area near the cargo light. It also has 4GA power cable run from the battery to the cargo area to power a couple of amplifiers cut into the plastic panel in the back on the passenger side. Both of these things will be very useful when installing accessories to support camping and travel activities. | |
DD: 2009 Chevy HHR 1LT
Toy: 1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 | |
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