Grandma's bronco

Cali smog tests vehicles over 25 years old? Mind Blown!!!

PSUTE

Cali smog tests vehicles over 25 years old? Mind Blown!!!

Pretty sure we smog test cattle.

Mitchell619

Pretty sure we smog test cattle.

So don't load up the truck and move to Beverly... Hills that is,...:D...

There is a ton of knowledge out there on these 4th generation broncos! A good place to start would be the Full Size Bronco site
(1) 1980-'96 Bronco Tech | Bronco Forum - Full Size Ford Bronco Forum (fullsizebronco.com)
Take a look at BDS as they are the standard that the others are compared to. For a better ride consider extended radius arms as part of the package. And the two most overlooked items that effect steering are the TTB pivot bushings and the steering gearbox. Restore and Enjoy!

I own two Broncos a 1993 and a 1996 and I fully understand that they will require constant repairs and a ton of my attention FOREVER. That is with me doing all the repair work myself.

The analogy I use offend is ……. If you truly Love someone then it shouldn't matter that they have 5 kids from 5 different baby daddies. But don't think it is going to be easy to make that relationship work. If your not willing to put in the time … then for heavens sake don't do the crime.

If your paying someone else to keep the Bronco running then 20,000 will disappear in the blink of an eye!

If you go to a body shop and get a quote for average rust repair and a decent paint job …… your already knocking on 15,000 to 20,000


As stated above … research …. research ….. research. Utube has some great repair videos.

Don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone … noone is born a wrench turner

paul rondelli

I own two Broncos a 1993 and a 1996 and I fully understand that they will require constant repairs and a ton of my attention FOREVER. That is with me doing all the repair work myself.

The analogy I use offend is ……. If you truly Love someone then it shouldn't matter that they have 5 kids from 5 different baby daddies. But don't think it is going to be easy to make that relationship work. If your not willing to put in the time … then for heavens sake don't do the crime.

If your paying someone else to keep the Bronco running then 20,000 will disappear in the blink of an eye!

If you go to a body shop and get a quote for average rust repair and a decent paint job …… your already knocking on 15,000 to 20,000


As stated above … research …. research ….. research. Utube has some great repair videos.

Don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone … noone is born a wrench turner

Like the man said research....research....reseach...that is how I ended up with a great looking 71 VW Karmann Ghia...and a few bloodied knuckles...just kidding it was only one.
Good luck on your build and enjoy.

Thanks for the info but uh, will all those parts mesh together yall think?

The pieces will fit together nicely.

Are you planning on doing the lift yourself? While you are in there you might as well change out the axel pivot bushings/ ball joints/ and radius arm bushings.

A lifted truck will put more strain on these components.... and it will also put some stress on that steering box to turn those tires..... if your steering is already sloppy then you should probably replace that too.

Mitchell619

Thanks for the info but uh, will all those parts mesh together yall think?

Can you show us pic’s ? Before you spend ANY More money check the frame for rust Also body panels.

Bronco 202?

Can you show us pic’s ? Before you spend ANY More money check the frame for rust Also body panels.

here's a pic of where I'm at. Need to get a new muffler/exhaust because the cat is hardly even connected and the muffler has a hole in it the size of my hand so need to fix this to get it smogged. Anyone have a brand they think would work best? Probably just gonna go with a flowmaster

Mitchell619

here's a pic of where I'm at. Need to get a new muffler/exhaust because the cat is hardly even connected and the muffler has a hole in it the size of my hand so need to fix this to get it smogged. Anyone have a brand they think would work best? Probably just gonna go with a flowmaster

ok that’s awesome. Good luck on the project! I second that you should dig deep for rust on the frame. Would suck to put a lot of money into it and find major rust issues. That can be some of the most costly repairs on a restoration, that and a decent paint job.

Mitchell619

Pretty sure we smog test cattle.

Don't for get the fart tests...

On my 1996 i cut out the muffler and tail pipe sections after the second cat. I do not think your 1988 has two cats ... but anything after the O2 sensor is essentially useless..... unless you have to hook your tail pipe up to a smog sniffer.

Since you are OBD1 the only way to smog test is a sniffer. And Cally smogs everything .... forever

My Bronco sounds great without the muffler. The cats restrict the exhaust flow enough to provide back pressure and a V8 growls just fine without bouncing the sound around inside a high dollar muffler.

Since I left my cats and O2 sensors ( the 1996 has two) in place .... I do not have a check engine light ... and all it cost me was the time to cut out the factory junk.

my next exhaust upgrade will be shorty headers into a high flow cat ..... and just piped out in front of the rear tire.

We really don't need to have a V8 growl sound added to the sound system speakers .... or a high dollar muffler ...... to make these small block V8's sound tough and beefy.


most of the factory exhaust system after cats and O2 sensors only quiet down and restrict air flow anyway.