1976 Bronco

Had this for a year and a half and just never got around to makin a thread. So here it is now that its near completion.

Specs
-408w on propane forged rods and pistons with 10.6:1 CR mild cam and roller tip rockers.
-NP435 tranny and Dana 20 tcase
-Stock dana 44 front yes weak i know but couldnt afford the 60
-9" rear with detroit locker
-36" tsl sx's
-14" FOA coilovers all around
-Fiberglass tub
-Internal and exo caged

That pretty well covers the specs now for some pics

Here is when i bought it.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/project1.jpg

On the stands awaiting the Link suspension
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project2.jpg

The shocks and yes they got to stay in the bedroom haha.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project4.jpg

The suspension complete ready to come home. Oh and i built the suspension myself but i used the shop at work.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project5.jpg
And here it was waiting for its new engine at school
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project6.jpg

Got bored while waiting for the engine... So there is 36"s of flex with no weight in the front.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project7.jpg

Here is the engine and its parts. This i didnt build myself because i had too many other things to do and besides nothing beats a good warranty.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project10.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project11.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project12.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project9.jpg

heres some more

The install begins
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project13.jpg
and it ends. it sure was loud with open manifolds haha
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project14.jpg

Time to drive it home (open manifolds) people werent impressed it truely was deafening
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project15.jpg

My rear axle trussing. I have heard the housing was weak so I think all that was necessary.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/project19.jpg

I finished the internal cage and begin exo
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project17.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project18.jpg

Front end is complete. It was a late night.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project23.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project25.jpg
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/Project29.jpg
and the cage work is complete.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/0830081648.jpg

The truck was taken out for only one trial run so far and had some overheating issues that i think are resolved now. Needs another test.
But for the most part it was great and the coilovers provide a incredibly smooth ride compared to what im used to.

So theres my up to date first build lets hope i can have it ready by november 17th... thats when i get my license.

wow man that is pretty sick, I am in the process of building my 71. could you shoot me some close up picks of how you made the link mounts and where you mounted them. also how did you like the FOA coilovers, and how do they look. my email is tjwilson22@suddenlink.net my name is TJ thanks

well for the brackets i bought them from roughstuffspecialties which was a time and work saver however it took them 3 times to get the right address and they were missing a few tabs so i wouldnt recommend them but buying brackets is handy if you dont have a CNC plazma.

here are some pics of the link mounts.
here are the front lowers
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/linkmounts1.jpg

front upper
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/linkmounts2.jpg

rear lowers and upper
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/linkmounts3.jpg

another shot of the rear lowers
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f115/LanceDon/linkmounts4.jpg

Hey brother, dont take this the wrong way but be careful with your right rear upper mount. It looks like the weld didnt penitrate very good, and with some serious hours of wheeling and torque this guy may pop on you. Just an opinion, but id grind and reweld it so you dont have a good day gone bad.

can i get some more specs on the motor, i.e. heads, intake, pane setup?

no offense taken but i find it interesting you say right rear upper because i dont have a picture of it... haha but a few of the welds do look a bit poor however i drove the truck harder than i plan to on the test run and it held up great. And i am quite confident in my welds. Thank you for your input though i appreciate it.

As for engine specs. I have stock heads and im sorry i dont remember the casting number they are 59cc i know that much and have hardened valve seats and all that fun stuff the intake is a edelbrock performer with a impco 425 on top. I have only .472 of lift on the cam. but the power is near endless. If you want anymore specs let me know.

yeah, I guess I should have said your upper mount of which your lower link on the right side is attached to.....I just didnt want you to go out and break when you finally get to legally drive. Im not trying to take away from your build, just mearly trying to offer up advice that I learned the hard way. Trust me I have performed countless hours of welds, 99% on water piping that has to be perfect, and the one thing that I learned is you cant tell a good weld by looking at it, but you can dam sure tell a bad one visually. Any how you have a really nice build going and Ill leave the rest my cents in my pocket.

looks good, what brand joints did you use, I havent been able to find any good joints for reasonable price. When setting up the link bars, did you use any geometry and measure out the angles and what not, or did you just kinda set them up so they looked good. I have done quite a bit of research and im still not real clear about that. I know your suppose to Figure you anti squat angle and a few other things. Is this really important, and if so can you recommend any sites that will help explain this stuff. Thanks for your help.

i used summit machines rebuildable heims on the axle end with my own custom bushing ends on the frame side i have heard that heims on both ends transfer alot of vibration and since this is going to be my daily driver i figured bushings would be good.

As for the geometry it is very important to have your antisquat in the correct range. some people may not care or notice but improper antisquat can result in excessive load on the vehicle and can cause a similar wheel hop as with leafs. if not done correctly. these are some examples i have researched however i am certainly no expert with this. i used a simple file on microsoft excel and if you search for link calculator you should be able to find it on here. And as for numbers with antisquat try to shoot for a percentage between 60-80.

Other things that may result with poor geometry is the amount of under or oversteer the axle undergoes during articulation. with a dual triangulated 4 link it isnt very difficult to get to 0 degrees but with a 3 link its nearly impossible depending on what kind of mounting locations you have available. and i believe there is a thread on here that does a good job at explaining things however it has alot of bullshit. Something along the lines of "suspension god" good luck and do your research it pays off.

thanks man, so are you happy with the three link in the front or would you recommend going with the dual four link?

Im sure you know this, but you're choking the shit out of that 408 running stock heads. Why if going through the expense of building a stroker did you stick with stock heads? Besides that the build looks good.

I would absolutely prefer a dual triangulated 4 link in the front but with that setup you have to run full hydraulic steering because the draglink of mechanical will interfere with the suspension geometry. i am quite happy with the 3 link it articulates great and im not gonna notice a few degrees of oversteer as long as i have a steering wheel haha.

and yes outlaw i know the stock heads are a huge limitation on the engine. but im only 16 and owe the bank of mommy and daddy far too much for the engine as it is. and the engine builders expect 400 horsepower with 450 ft/lbs of torque running my current setup. in my opinion that is plenty of power for now. and high flow heads were just unnecessary at the moment. and its good to save room to improve. i already have enough power to break shit so ill wait til i get some stronger running gear.

that makes sense, well thanks or your help