Tonys 93 bronco

[Polarcub]

Tony as always she looks real purty....one day I can work on cleaning up mine to look a little shinier haha.

[tcm glx]

Thanks Jeremy.

So a little to report, took some time and wrapped up some last minute things on the Bronco for this upcoming trip to the 1000.
1) First off, some worked on a slight mis-fire that I was having, turned out to be a defect spark plug. I had just changed them in September when I did the whole smog thing, got it fixed, and she idles like a champ now.
2) Lowered the front ride height by about 3/8". Ever since Keifer removed the rear shims, and re-welded the leaf mounts to correct for pinion angle, I have always thought the front needed to come down an ounce, she always sat perky in the front, and I like it to be more level
3) Bought a lifetime alignment at my local Goodyear, they cut me a deal i could not refuse, and I was very specific about how the vehicle was used (mall crawlin primarily), guy was awesome, said no problem
4) Installed New Napa Premirum rotors and pads (Thanks Paul W for the recommendation, so far so good!)
5) Removed the driver side moldings from the door and rear trim panel. This time instead of tearing up my fingers, I followed Keifer's recommendation and bought a tool that 3M sells that works wonders for removing old glue and double sided tape (3M Stripe off remover). Its pretty cool, kind of like rubber/clay type wheel, attached to a drill, and go at it. No damage at all to the paint, and removes the gooey stuff QUICK!!
6) Of course, now that the goo was off, needed a thorough wash again, clay bar, wax, and teflon.
7) Tinkered a bit with the thought of running mud flaps to protect the axle, 2 link, and more importantly rear shocks. After the last Baja run, it was clear I need to do something. Figured out how I want to set this up... ordered these today, will install this weekend

[yikes]

Cool! Looking forward to seeing how you mount those Tony. I've been wanting to do something similar for a long time. Just not a priority when it's parked in the driveway. Haha!


BTW: Where did you buy those?

[tcm glx]

Thanks B!!

I was a little pissed, I just put in the new rear Bilsteins, and they have maybe 250 dirt and 1500 street miles on them between the last couple of trips, and they are pretty dirty and beat up. Knowing how anal I am about being stuff clean, I want to see what I can do to avoid it. On a seperate note, I always loved the look of the Class 8 Rigs with the big mud flaps underneath, so I am going to give it a shot.

For mounting, there is a crossmember under the Bronco (the one where the rear seat center bolt comes down through) that I am thinking of using a big L bracket that runs the width of the crossmember. I will grab that from Home Depot in there lumbar section. Bolt that to the crossmember, and then the mud flaps on to the L bracket, on either side of the driveshaft. I think it should work.

Those mudflaps are Land Rover non oem replacements I got from some online ebay seller, $10 each and $7 shipping. I should have them here in the next few days, I will take the time to do some detailed pics to show what it all looks like once put together (and even if it will work). I am anxious to see if I can get this done before the Baja 1000, we are planning to do some wheeling on Friday on our way home (Maybe compadre trail or something like that).

[SteveG]

You can also buy semi-truck mud flaps at an auto parts store and cut them to shape. They have a few different thicknesses.

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Shoot my dad owns a few rigs, I may be able to get some of his old flaps

[johncharlesb]

The semis mud flaps tear out at the mounts. They redrill them a couple of times before they get too short and throw them away. If you stop at a "big truck" shop they will probably give you some old ones.

[philofab]

The semis mud flaps tear out at the mounts. They redrill them a couple of times before they get too short and throw them away. If you stop at a "big truck" shop they will probably give you some old ones.

Mounting them between two pieces of flat strap goes a long way to keeping them from falling off.

[tcm glx]

Thanks for the heads up guys, these Land Rover replicas were only $10 each.

Philo, I am planning to do exactly that, sandwhich them in between two plates, hoping that will help them live longer. We shall soon see!

[hobbyturnedobsession]

Make sure if they sit low to make sure they swivel or they'll rip off when you bottom out.

[tcm glx]

Did the mud flaps, not 100% convinced on them yet, but we shall see! Purpose is keep things clean and protect from the flying rocks, hoping it servces its purpose.

One side done:


Both



***** They look crooked in the picture, because I took the picture leaning down, was too lazy to get on a flat surface and line it up.

[yikes]

That's alright T. We know you're lazy. Hey, there's mud on that shock. Haha! Hey, give us an update when you get back from the 1000. Curious to see how they hold up. What do the mounts look like?

[tcm glx]

That's alright T. We know you're lazy. Hey, there's mud on that shock. Haha! Hey, give us an update when you get back from the 1000. Curious to see how they hold up. What do the mounts look like?

Just used 1/8" Steel flat bar . Its pretty sturdy, enough that if it hits something big, it will fold, but string enough to hold the flaps themselves...

Now, if I could weld, and had a few tabs, then I can make it a little more interesting! hahah

[BajaF250]

Hey Tony,
How did these work down in Baja?

[tcm glx]

Hey Tony,
How did these work down in Baja?

They didnt, I actually pulled them off before I left. I was not pleased with how they mounted, so I need to work something else up for them.


On a side note, added a Hayden 679 Tranny Cooler to the Princess yesterday.



Also, had Joel change up my compression on the rear shocks a bit too. It was a little softer than I would like it, so he (on thanksgiving morning no less) had me stop by his house, he opened up the Bilstein trailer and we changed up some of the shims. Looking forward to testing out in Barstow at this weekends MORE Race.

[BajaF250]

Hey Tony,
What shim stack are you now running? What did he change it from?

[tcm glx]

Hey Tony,
What shim stack are you now running? What did he change it from?

I have to ask him, he essentially doubled up on two of the shims, to firm it up. Jeeeeesush jones, she ran so freakin good yesterday, I was truly impressed. Hitting some pretty big ruts, no issue at all, and the front countinued to behave great with the new rear setup. On the mid level powerline stuff, we were flying (Steve rode with me for a bit) and it was gangbuster. Truly pleased!!!!


I am thinking of planning a little half day up in Barstow sometime after the holiday.. you interested?

[tcm glx]

Barstow pics.. (artsy fartsy Nick!)

[yikes]

You wrote pics, as in plural. Where's the rest?

[tcm glx]

Ha ha ha, I have to get off my lazy arse and download them.. this one was with the camera.

Speaking of which, Chris took a ton, let me see if I can steal his, and I will post up in a race report. He had some great action shots of the racers.