I'm John!
I’m relatively new to this forum, but not new to car audio forums or the car audio scene at all. I’ve been lurking in various car audio forums since 1998, and spent a few years installing professionally. Over the years I’ve collected a bunch of gear, but haven’t been able to install squat because of scope creep and time. Several years ago I gave up on my main project and sold it, but kept the audio gear.
Not long after selling my project car I bought an old Bronco because the price was right and I just needed something reliable. Here it is on the day I bought it:
I named it “Ol Smokey” after the drunk horse from Cat Ballau.
Not long after I slid it off a dirt road and over and embankment, the impact destroyed the hardtop. I replaced the hardtop with a soft top and that one simple change transformed the bronco from just another cheap car I owned, to my favorite ever. It’s even more fun than the turbocharged Mustangs I’ve owned, even though it’s MUCH slower.
Here it is on the OuterBanks on NC.
I’ve since moved to Texas and still travel almost as much as I used to. But now I make much more money, and when I’m home I have lots of time to tinker.
Here it is while moving from Virginia to Texas, with a new set of shoes:
Don’t mind the flat tire on the trailer…
Shortly after moving to Texas I started in on improvements. I got tired of fighting Ford’s shitty choke design and the carb in general. So I ripped out all the stupid vacuum lines, emissions equipment and factory carb. I replaced it with a Holley Terminator EFI kit and Ford EFI distributor, it took about 4 days to install.
Here is the factory intake and distributor stripped of that terrible 80's tech:
The factory Carb spacer with EGR block off plate:
The Holley EFI throttle body and Ford EFI distributor:
The ECU mounted in the glovebox:
It will eventually move somewhere else.
Below isn’t an easy picture to make out. But when going from carb to EFI, you have to add a fuel return line. I would up using a kit from Moroso that goes in the gas tank filler neck. I reads lots of reviews about it, and many people had issues with the returning fuel creating air bubbles in the tank. I took and chance anyway any it is working wonderfully.
My next biggest problem was mounting a wideband O2 sensor. I wound up using a set of ceramic coated Bassani shorty headers and Y-pipe. The headers are some the most expensive on the market for the 80-96 Ford trucks, but have a great reputation. So far they’ve been trouble free for me. The Y-pipe has a bung for the O2 sensor. I backed it up with a catback exhaust from Gibson. It took a few random parts from Amazon, but I was able to mate the two brands together without a trip to an exhaust shop or a welder.
Here is a header:
Along with the engine upgrades, I upgraded from a factory direct drive starter to a newer Ford gear reduction starter. At the same time I upgraded from a factory spec battery to dual Optimas Yellow Tops. I also upgraded from the stock 65 amp first generation alternator to a 130 amp third generation alternator. At the same time I did the big three.
Here are the batteries: