Bombastic Big Buck Bronco Boobjob Build

[cobyhughey]

Someone mentioned I outta post this here and get some feedback...there's a number of things we're doing with this build. The initial build thread is over at classicbroncos.com but there's a TON of expertise here that could be super useful, so feel free to blast away with comments 'n whatnot. MUCH appreciated. I'll kick it off by copying some of what I've put up there to here. BTW, one thing we're doing I haven't seen much on is the ISIS canbus based wiring system...looking forward to playin' with that. On with the posts....
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All ya'll that are married will get this. When ya get yourself a new fishin' pole....well, your wife gets a new pair of shoes. When ya git yerself a shiney new long gun....well..your wife gets herself a shiney peice o' rock to wear around her neck. And when ya spend a boatload o' money on your Bronco....she gets what she wants.

Hence the name of my build thread. I bet she's gonna look great. (My wife will too!)


Hi, I'm Coby, and I used to be a Bronco guy.

For those that don't know, a while back I had a bronco and I did a buncha stuff to it and beat the livin' piss outta it, (even had Petersen's do a feature on it years back... at Old Article ) but that was then and this is now. At one point I ditched the first wife, and started a real career, and sold my bronco to fine young man here on Classic Broncos. This was back around the turn of the century. I made a buck or two along the way and now I've gone and bought the Black Cloud back (the name of my rig, so named for the parts that would mysteriously shatter once i started pressin' on the long skinny pedal). However, the years haven't been super kind, and I wanted more anyway, so I'm making some changes.

I'm going to list the details of the build as we go and take a bunch of pics. Pics will be in multiple galleries, over at:

Black Cloud Boob Job Pics

New galleries will be added constantly as we go through the build, so if you're interested check often. And if you want specific pics of anything shoot me a note here and I'll get some shots.

Current Bronco:
1973, no top, no doors, exoskeleton and 37" IROKs on H1 double beadlocks.

Motor:
450hp/550ftlb 423ci stroker Windsor, full roller, with Twisted Wedge heads and Trick Flow intake, and multiport SEFI with an EECTuner.

Tranny:
Level 3 modified 700R4

Tcase:
4:1 Atlas

Axles:
Rear braced 9" big bearing with True High9 and a Detroit, 4.88s.
Deaver springs, axle wrap link
Front stock dana 44 housing with ARB and mangled spindle bolts on one side
BC Broncos coils, high falutin' 16" race shock, Twister Wristed Radius arm, flexes great

Buncha other custom stuff....there ain't much on this rig that hasn't been modified a few times, like most.

The Goal:

Bigger meats....42" for general trail use and 40" stickies for true crawlin.
Lots of flex, and the ability to go FAST. I love speed. I've dragraced this rig before and done well. I've gotten 10 feet of air under the tires. I freakin' LOVE dry riverbeds. I hate having to go slow.
I want to keep it fullsized....EB's are small to begin with and this won't be a competition rig...I'm still going to haul the dog and the campin' gear.

What's going in it (i.e.....the porn list of changes for this build)

Front and rear Spidertrax 609 axles, with the F450 unit bearings, and 50deg of steering angle.
TrueHigh9 Mega9's.....5.40 gearing, and ARB's front and rear
King coilovers all the way around. King airbumps all the way around.
Stretch the front forward and the rear rearward. Wheelbase between 104" and 108".
New suspension linkages front and rear.
New fuel cell.
New exoskeleton/rollcage.
New bumpers; cut the frame at the motor mounts forward and at the rear body mounts backwards and fab subframes.
New windshield of speedglass integrated into the cage.
New Mastercraft seats, with lumbar support and heat.
New air pump electronics.
New lights
New winch
Full hydro steering from Howe; rock racing oriented
Wilwood brakes; 14" rotors
buncha body work to get rid of a decade of rust and a few dents here 'n there, and some old school flames and half nekkid chickies painted in various places before the Exo goes on.


I've got lots of design decisions to make. I've made a few already. I welcome any input so let the comments fly if you feel the urge and you're not too bored. I've always learned a ton from all the bright boys 'n girls out there and it ain't gonna stop anytime soon. I'll be starting separate questions in this thread in individual posts.
Another thing I'm planning on doing is laying out all the costs as I go. Lots of folks don't do that and that's a shame. I see this a lot with finances, which is part of what I do during the day and I'm not fond of it there either. The more folks know, the better. The first post I'll make in the thread after this one will be a list of costs to date and I'll keep it updated.

I'm having Aaron Brucker of Brucker Brothers do a lions share of the fab work. He's a long time friend and he was around with me back in the day and he's a hellova fabricator.

Ah, man, I LOVE this stuff!!!

[cobyhughey]

How much did all this crap cost? Here's the breakdown, as current as I can make it:

Description Cost
two complete rollers from Spidertrax-housings, knuckles, ends, hats, rotors, calipers, inner axle seals, f450 unit bearings $5,672.26
5 Inner Air Lock beadlocks, 5 Pit Bull 42" bias ply tires all from Filthy $3,376.41
4 King 2.5" shocks, 16in, custom valving Rock Racing, 4 2.5" x 4" King bumpstops and sleeves $3,771.41
Warn 9500xp-s with synthetic rope $1,355.56
full hydro steering kit from howe, excluding steering shaft, some clamps,and hoses $3,079.00
two ARB'd Mega9 high 9 diffs, with 5.40 gearing $6,538.00
4 17x10 alum 8x6.5 rims, used, off of Pirate $400
Fenders, and quarter panels, from Wild Horses $1,240.00
Rigid Ind, 40" E series clear combo, 4 10" amber covers, Dually D2 Diffused Beam kit (two) $1,378.86
4 Centerline Smoothie 17x0 rims,new (takes 3-4 weeks to make) $1,236.00
IsisPower 3 module kit, RF control module, and Active battery monitoring $1,400.88
York Onboard Air setup from Kilby Enterprises $1,140.00
Serpentine belt setup for large case 3g and York(took two weeks to ship) $615.99
New steel hood fer cuttin' up for the blower from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard $496.00
1 3/4" shorty headers for gettin' the gas out $490.82
Twisted Stitch seats, custom order, with lumbar and heat $2,010.29
3.3l Whipple supercharger, rear inlet 200AX and assorted parts $4,550.00
Custom Hogan sheet metal intake with intercooler $4,700.00
Accel Gen 7 DFI stuff with wide band, DFI Sensor Kit, MSD Dual synch distributor, MSD 6AL2 box, MSD Coil $2,779.55
Atlas II 4sp, 10.26/3.8/2.7/1, hd output short shaft(no vss), ebrake kit, 1350 CV joints, setup for 4l80e $4,551.01
Hughes Performance 4l80e $4,700.00
QuickStart 250amp externally regulated large case 3g alt $519.95
Comp Elite Gauges and FRP Throttle body $2,390.00
FIVEO Black Ops 96lb/min custom injectors $848.50
Badass longblock $15,000.00
Fuelab regulator and pump $890.00
oil pan, ford motorsport 351w conversion pan $250.00
gated shifter for three speed auto $230.00
Serpentine pulley for PS pump from ORW $120.00
two Swayloc remote disconnects $2,000.00

Labor so far: $54,500

Total: $132,328.67

(I think I've missed a few things...not sure)







TOTAL $42,701.48

[cobyhughey]

Few pics of the Spidertrax parts I picked up a week ago....man, these were just sheer porn. Love these things.

[058hamer]

We need pics of the boob job.

[ky scrambled]

you had me at boobjob

[cobyhughey]

Tahres showed up today!!



They shipped quick....unlike the Creepy Crawlers I tried to get.



I dig the tread; the voids are freakin' huge. I'm used to the old Super Swamper TSL's so this is a switch for me. These are 42" by 15" Pitbull Rockers on 17" rims.



Here's approximately where the axles outta end up. Gonna have to cut up to the front grill, and back to the rear taillight housing. Gonna have to narrow the front. Don't wanna narrow the rear though....we'll deal with it. I'll sell the tailgate and make a tube one...that'll save weight too, hopefully. We got some talkin' done on how to do the cage. Looks like a fair bit of frame will be cut out as well. Body will be rigidly supported with the tube frame.



Winch showed up today too..went for the Warn 9500 XP-S instead of the usual 9500...I like the lower profile and slightly faster pullin'.

Got the plan worked out mostly for doing the paint as well. Going to get new panels for the quarters and the fenders instead of dealing with that rust. I'd like this rig to last another 20 years at least. Oh, and we're going to fab up door inserts out of steel instead of doing fiberglass....outta survive longer and be stronger.

[cobyhughey]

Got the Howe parts in. Some of them are just pure sex..gorgeous.



However, there were some cosmetic issues with a few pieces. The reservoir, the otherwise gorgeous monster fluid inline cooler, the fluid filter, and the big money trophy truck pump had a bit of damage on them.









I spoke about the damage to George there at Howe and to their credit, they acknowledged it and they are shipping out another filter, reservoir, and cooler. The damage on the pump is pretty minor; don't really need a new one. I'll ship the others back when we get the new ones.

The pump and the steering ram are works of art.....they're just gorgeous!

[cobyhughey]

Ben from over at Filthy Motorsports stopped by and dropped off a few samples of joints to check out. Two sizes of rebuildable heims, one killer ball 'n socket joint, and one really pretty tie rod end (rebuildable) (those that remember me may remember I was all about using stock TRE's whenever possible...these appeal to me some). All of them are made by Evolution Machining and Fabrication out of Canada. I like 'em...they're all 4140 chromoly and greaseable/rebuildable. There's some good debate on whether rebuildable is worth it though..most never rebuild and there's some valid points. However, I do like these. Apparently they tend to bend instead of fracture in failure, which is a pretty big selling point. I'll probably use 16 of the medium sized heims in the linkages....not sure yet.

(and as always, more pics of parts are up at http://mostlyharmless.smugmug.com/Tr...ckCloudBoobJob)









http://mostlyharmless.smugmug.com/Tr...IMG3772-X2.jpg

[cobyhughey]

Airbumps are in...damn they're hefty! Went with the big 2.5" dia, 4" stroke units. I plan on gettin' airborne with this rig as often as I can, and these are just the ticket for landing right, and those final few inches of big travel at big speeds over the rough. Can't wait to fly over the riverbed in Farmtown or KOH after this!

[cobyhughey]

Also in last night were the two True High 9 Mega9's. Man, these were burly! I'm going to have fun tryin' to break 'em. The gear is massive...root strength shouldn't be an issue. The yoke is perfect....LOVE that. And the pinion support is beautiful. Gear pattern looks great too. More pics are at the website if these few aren't enough. The two stems 'n nuts on the side are dual load deflection bolts, in case I do get on it hard enough to flex it. To top it off, both units are ARB'd.

[cobyhughey]

Originally Posted by 058hamer

We need pics of the boob job.

That ain't happened yet. But it will. And pics will be made. :-)

[bigdude]

Great photos, but I'm sure you already know that

[azcojpg]

Originally Posted by bigdude

Great photos, but I'm sure you already know that

No kidding you take really good pictures,, oh and sweet build..

[Penetrode Offroad]

Holy build parts batman! Spared no costs for sure! I'm intrigued...

[cobyhughey]

Originally Posted by azcojpg

No kidding you take really good pictures,, oh and sweet build..

Thanks...I do a bit of shooting. Hopin' to get some articles out of this for a pub too.

[steelman]

hey, cool the clouds back. glad your back in the bronco world again Coby. been a few years.
looking fwd to seeing the Black Cloud again. would like the chance to spank it again like i did at the Bad Lands a few year ago. i thought you said it was fast back then.
i was expecting more from it. just like the Rodent Exterminator it went down as well. i guess i got caught up in all the hipe.

all kidding aside looking fwd to your build. you always do it right.

and pics of the Wife's purchase!

steelman

[strokedbronco]

oh sure now I gotta subscribe over here too just so I dont miss anything!

[jpmassey]

5D mII. I've got the same camera.

[kbebs]

Aaaahhhh, the parts list Looking at tires, do I see a hint of extending the wheelbase on old faithful? Great photos,enjoy your post and pics elsewhere-this should be a fun build.
Nice job as alwaysl
Karl

[cobyhughey]

Originally Posted by kbebs

Aaaahhhh, the parts list Looking at tires, do I see a hint of extending the wheelbase on old faithful? Great photos,enjoy your post and pics elsewhere-this should be a fun build.
Nice job as alwaysl
Karl

yup...goin' about 4" in front, and prolly about 10" in back.

[fordnut]

looks awesome cant wait for more pictures

[cobyhughey]

Originally Posted by fordnut

looks awesome cant wait for more pictures

There's hundreds of the build over at MostlyHarmless.smugmug.com

I'll be constantly updating it as we go. And comments can be made under each pic.

[PHATIM]

....drooling

[broncolou]

Lookin good man! Cant wait to see the rest of the build.....
































































and the B(.)(.)bs too

[inphobic]

Coby glad to see your still around! Can't wait to see what you come up with this time. Jake