Got the 2 barrel up and running

B RON CO

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Supporter 2018
Hi, well my son Peter came home from college for a week and a half so we've been working on the Bronco. We started on Friday, May 19. Peter decided to clean and paint the whole engine and did a great job. By Sunday at lunchtime the new head was torqued down. During the past week we knocked out detail after detail, a couple of things each night after dinner. By Saturday May 27, all that was left was the fuel line and throttle cable. One surprise was the engine turned out to be a 68 170 from a Bronco, Falcon, or Econoline. 3 Freeze out plugs. C8DE 6015-A. So we got it fired up and it ran like crap. Really bad. No throttle response. But it would idle. So I'm thinking the carb is out of wack, and we can play with that. It warmed up and I want to check the valves, and it turns out I loosened 11 rockers during assembly and one was still tight. So I went for .020 on the valves, and the engine just woke up. One tight valve was holding everything back. We bumped up the timing and holy cow, we got a runner. Today, Sunday May 28, we wrapped up the throttle cable, set the valves at .019 (hot) and went for a ride. Well I gotta say, I couldn't be happier with the whole !@#$ thing! Enjoy some pictures of progress.
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Looking great. You guys made great progress in a short amount of time. Keep us informed.
 
got an HEI distributor in that last pic?
 
Real nice work you and your son did. Very clean results and appearance. So you had that 170 in the bronco and just discovered it was a 68? Is it pretty strong with the Weber and hei? Good pictures you provided it is a half cab I like those.
 
bmbm40":2819svjm said:
Real nice work you and your son did. Very clean results and appearance. So you had that 170 in the bronco and just discovered it was a 68? Is it pretty strong with the Weber and hei? Good pictures you provided it is a half cab I like those.
In the photo that is a Holley carb.
 
Hi, I got the Bronco for free in 88 or 89. My father was a service manager at Hempstead Lincoln Mercury and this was one of the shop trucks. I plowed snow and drove it when I was 12 years old. They said that were getting rid of it so he told me to go get it. The Bronco was basically shot and we all treated it like it was a joke. I got seats from a junkyard and started making it road worthy in my spare time. A year or so later we had a beach and trail blaster and saw how much attention it got and believe it or not there is a little fan club of people who like Broncos, a real cult, and little kids love it. I must have had 20 or 30 kids who wanted to climb in the bed in the parking lots. So the original 170 burns a piston in the early 90s and an old buddy Henry has a one man machine shop. He says he has a 200 in the back or he could rebuild the 170. I said use the best parts from each engine, I don't care if it stays original. I swear he said he gave me the 200, but he would have to have know it was a 170 when he bored it. I saw the new pistons, cam, bearings, everything new, and I brought the crank to the crankshaft grinder myself. So I'm thinking Henry had a 170, and never told me.
Last summer, after discovering Fordsix.com I learned about what the guys on the site are doing. The engine had an exhaust leak because of a broken ear on he head. So i decide to upgrade and I found a complete take out engine from a guy on this site. I am using the head which we believe is from 1hotvega, and the HEI and Holley carb which came with the engine.
So far after driving only a couple of times, I gotta say this is much better. It has more top end, and revs better because it breaths a lot better. I used to have the pedal on or near the floor. No more. I can cruise and there is a lot more gas pedal. So far so good. I am very happy with the head swap. Thanks for your interest.
 
:beer: That's very nice work B RON CO that you and your son did "Sure is Looking good"! Glad to hear it also runs so much better With all your mods too. That's a great story and its quite a rare thing to have a vechical for so many years. Good luck, keep her going, and keep up the good work. (y) :nod:
 
"...got the Bronco for free in 88 or 89…"
Me too:
In '83 I got it w/a $500 complete plow set-up. (So the bronk wuz free). :nod:
(Sometimes) "the best things in life are free".
:LOL:
 
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