SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/631836
other people in Baja have Broncos, and a lot of the parts are interchangeable. I don't know if it's a retro thing coming back or if people are realizing the value. For $15,000 you can get a Bronco built semi- decent, or you can build your own up to about $70,000 and have the best of the best of everything." A Bronco In Your Future? Steve Gonzalez, owner of GoFastBroncos.com about what to look for when buying a '78-'96 Ford Bronco and what makes them desirable. "I can't think of any one thing about them that makes them outstanding," said Gonzalez. "But they do everything pretty damn well, and some things really well. Bang for your buck, it's tough to beat a Bronco. Even compared to a Ford Ranger or Explorer, which share the same geometry, and they are very similar. Yet, they still don't work as well as a Bronco. They are stupid fast for what they are. For a four-wheel drive pre-runner, it doesn't get much better than a Bronco. You can really punish the TTB system, even in four-wheel drive and not have any issues. Most problems that people have been due to the setup. This includes having the wrong length limit straps, or installing the bump stops in the wrong location, which pushes the suspension beyond its geometry. It's not a parts failure." For the most part, I tell people to look at everything really closely when shopping for a '78-'96 Ford Bronco. It's absolutely a good idea to always take a friend too. You fall in love with a truck and even though you see some problems, you can tend to ignore red flags. Hopefully a good buddy will tell you, you need to stop and consider them. If buying a built truck, I would look for something that has been around awhile. There are still some really good deals out there. You can still find a truck that was built by some of the old school shops like Autofab or Spirit Racing. Some of the more recent builds are just not as nice as the older ones. It may not look as cool, or have multiple shocks per wheel, but its better built. They are out there so you need to be waiting with cash in hand because they go fast." Gonzales also realizes that many of the Bronco owners on the site, also want to build the vehicles from one that is primarily all original. "If you want to build one from stock, look at the later model trucks as they have better fuel injection. The '96 trucks switched to OBD II computers too. I prefer OBDII as it makes it easier to diagnose a problem. Above all, look for something that is clean and unmolested. Some of the lifted trucks out there that are not desert style systems are simply asking for trouble. The geometry on them is poor at best and they load the frame in weird ways. When building the suspension, unless you have a bunch of money to throw at it, keep it simple. Most people would be blown away at how well they can work at stock width with good springs and shocks. If on a budget, I would start with a modified axle housing (commonly called cut and turned beams) to correct the camber, extended radius arms. Bilstein makes a bolt on quad shock system for the front with a nice lift coil; it all bolts on. For the rear, new leaf springs are the way to go with some good shocks. The nice thing with 085 SCORE JOURNAL