Project: Big NASTY

[stx4wheeler]

yeah i hear what you are saying, about taking some strength away. i wouldnt have done it if i didnt think it was going to fail. i have talked with quite a few people that have done the swap a couple years ago and have had no problems. one of the guys i spoke with uses his bronco for lots of jumps and hill climbs and the other for crawling. Would it have been stronger to leave it yes. If i had the money i would have found a 78-79 60 that i wouldnt have had to cut up but they go for to much damn money and i got this one dirt cheap.
As for making new longer arms i am extending mine, then sleeving the extension,while using a johhny joint, instead of a solid stud. But as for making totally new arms that was a little out of the question for time restaints as i have to have my truck functional in about another two-three weeks to go back to collegestation for school. I believe that a totally new custom arm setup would have prolly been over my level of fabrication cause of the lack of clearance maybe 3 inches between housing and knuckle, and i would have had to outboard my radius arm mounts.
Along with the valley has got to be the worst place in the world to try and find supplies like D.O.M seems to be greek to these people at the local steel shops.

if it breaks ryan you and jimmy and a few others, can point and laugh, and yes flem i am working on getting that bolt in .


also got a 18 inch e-fan from a lincoln mark vIII, that supossedly flows 4,000 cfm, so i believe my over heating will be solved soon.

[stx4wheeler]

Yes, yes i get it.

and one a second note i got some revenge on the truck it came out of when i went to the junkyard yesterday, I promptly gave it many kicks in the door upon seeing its gastly apperance.

Also i noticed that junkyards down here have a ginourmous abundance of toyota rears of all kinds, and sterlings.

[stx4wheeler]

got the new electric fan in there and let me tell you does it ever make a huge difference, i went from the pos 11 in flexalite, to an 18in lincoln mark 8. i think the lincoln fan should have a hada warning on it, cause i am sure it could suck a small child through with the amount of air it moves.

also first pic is the parts thati have recieved which are as follows:
adjustable trac bar, 4 degree c-wedge bushings, 2 inch shackles, brake vaccum canister, assorted steering parts and heims, twinstick shifter boot, new c-wedges to be welded onto the 60.

im still waiting on my wheels, two more steering inserts, 1 inch heims for radius arms, radius arm extensions, and gears.

[Violentv8toy]

i think the lincoln fan should have a hada warning on it, cause i am sure it could suck a small child through with the amount of air it moves.

Better watch out then, huh?

[stx4wheeler]

Alright guys there are a few questions, well really opinions i would ike to get from you all.

Below are two pictures of the bracket i want to build, that pertains to the trac bar,frame,coil tower(upper), and shock mount.
There are a few reasons i want to build this bracket, and they are; ford tracbar mounts(in stock position) are know to break. usually this is because of them getting loose from the extra stress of lifts, big tires, heavier axles. so what i want to do is move/unite the tracbar mount, coil upper, and new shock mount into a single piece ( so that it will spread the excess force of the trac bar, out more than the stock 2 inch piece) that will stretch a large section of the frame prolly 15 inches or so on the outside of the frame, and 10or 12 on the inside. older ford frames like mine are already boxed in the area of the tracbar mount and coil tower on the inside.

this bracket will use 8 holes on the outside of the frame, and 6 on the inside boxed portion, along with two under on the bottom of the frame. i am going to mount the tracbar underneath the coil tower basically so that i can run a centered(stronger lower(axle mounted side) trac bar mount.

on the inside of the frame i am thinking about making a brace that would run from my new frame bracket to the stock crossmember that is forward of the boxed section by about 10 inches, and also slopes down gradually- meaning that i would have to make a mount on the stock cross that is raised slightly to make a level or almost level brace-this brace would be removable by using heims on each end so it would be removable( and i have some extra 5/8 heims laying around. But my question is since this new brace would be at like a 35-45 degree angle depending on fitment- will it remove enough stress to be justified in the fabrication of the bracket and removable link(brace).

Alright you people that are engineers and what not take a look at the drawings and tell my what you think, or what i could do to make it work, i am pretty sure it would be more than strong enough with just the outside to inside bracket( U shaped basically) to surfice. also btw the plate used for the bracket will be 3/8in.

[jerryg79]

Kevin, I'm not trying to be rude, but I used to own the same damn truck and I have no idea what you are talking about and the drawing confuses me even more.

[stx4wheeler]

alright jerry, yes i know you had the same truck, but no offense not that i have wheeled a lot but you didnt wheel yours at all, but i have seen quite a few people running jsut about the same setup as i plan to run, and pushing the truck to the limits i would like to as well, and they are having problems with the stock trac bar mount not cutting the cake, it is getting bent or broken. so what i am gonna do is relocate the tracbar mount underneath the coil, and you know how the coil bucket, and tracbar mount were attached seperatly like you could take one off and not the other, well i am going to change that. i am going to take a piece of plate and weld it to the coil tower on both side and this piece of plate will go from the stock tracbar holes all the way past the coil tower, about another 6 7 inches and stop right after the last two motor bolts, and my new shock tower will be intergrated on the right side of the coil tower on the outside of the frame(since i didnt have quad shocks). this plate will help displace the force put on the frame from the trac bar. Im moving the trac bar back about 2 inches, because can make a stronger mount on the axle by doing this. does this explaination help Jerry? or do i still have you lost

[jerryg79]

alright jerry, yes i know you had the same truck, but no offense not that i have wheeled a lot but you didnt wheel yours at all,

Wheeling or not wheeling has nothing to with your inability to convey information for other people to understand and comment on.

Try breaking it up into smaller paragraphs or even some sort of outline.

I have enough knowledge about the truck to understand the logistics of what you are talking about and the second post helped a little. Someone who has little or no experience with the particular set up you are talking about but has "superior wheeling knowledge" will not be able to help you if they cant undertand what you're describing.

Maybe you should take pictures and mark on them.

[stx4wheeler]

http://fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15323

here is a thread that talks alot about the trac bar stuff i am tlaking about and trying to fix


burris- i know that this is similiar to a tj bracket- but i am using coils that are different than tj coils, and for the tabs yeah i know i could use a tab, and weld it to the botton of the frame or whatever, but that would be almost no different than what i have now that i want to change. and even if i could get tj buckets to work i would have to go buy them somewhere, but it would be cheaper for me to build the stuff myself since i am getting all the plate for free, and have all other materials i need. i know the time vs money scenario cones into play, but right now i have more time that money since my job hours jsut got whacked in half- (starting a new second job tomorrow), but i still have the time after i get home from work to make stuff like this bracket since there isnt **** to do at home then drink and watch tv.

[jerryg79]

whats wrong with this setup - simple and effective, the bracket back to the crossmember looks over engineered to me

[stx4wheeler]

jerry that is on a 80-96 bronco in which the crossmember is in a totally different place.

theres are behind the coil buckets and mine is way infront of them.

edit: went back out and looked at truck for a few more moments. still gonna keep my plan for the outer frame portion of the bracket. inner frame is prolly not needed except for maybe a couple bolts to help deal with force of full outer mount. also jerry i am moving my tracbar underneath my coil so basically moving it 2 or 3 inches toward the back of the truck so i can move the axle mounted one back the same amount.

keep coming with ideas

[jerryg79]

this is the only pic i could find of a 78 bronco trac bar set up on the driver's side, there was a site with a dozen pics of the passenger side but none of the driver's side.

If you move it 3 inches back will it not interfere with the coil bucket?

this guy has the dual shock setup right....so yours wont have a shock right there?

[jerryg79]

ok i finally figured out your drawing....

the only thing that sucks about the way you wanna do it is that you lose the ability to gusset the back side since the coil is right there.

[AggieTJ2007]

I think that your plan sounds good you just want to make sure that you spread the force out over the largest possible area of frame so that you put as little stress as possible on the frame.

[stx4wheeler]

ok i finally figured out your drawing....

the only thing that sucks about the way you wanna do it is that you lose the ability to gusset the back side since the coil is right there.

yes i thought about that as well jerry, but that is partially why i wanted to have plate on both sides, and that brace from the indside of the frame, and on the bottom of the frame where the tracbar mount will be. i might try and put a bolt on each side of the trac bar mount. also, with the new plate being bolted through the existing/old trac bar mount holes, i figured this will add enough support and will be better than stock jsut about any way i do it, i guess i will build the damn thing this weekend then we will see if i am right .