OT: Arne’s post-teener projects, Retirement project #8, 1969 Ford Bronco Options

[arne]

Since the last episode:

Another milestone - the Capri is now registered and road legal. First time in almost 15 years.

The drive across town went well, up until it didn't. The engine, transmission and brakes all work well. Suspension was very soft up front, needed to get some new struts.

Got the paperwork completed, and went to start it for the drive home, and the only ignition key broke off in the ignition. Since none of the lower dash parts were in place yet, I was able to remove the steering lock from the column and quickly hot wire it to get home. Annoying, but not horrible. I got the broken key extracted, and pulled the ignition tumbler to get the key code to have a couple new keys cut.

Still pretty good feeling to have it registered...

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This past month brought a nasty ice storm (almost 2 ½" accumulated on the ground), new parts, new plans, and more.

First, working under this (and other) car(s) is going to be a lot easier after the delivery of a set of QuickJacks. Not sure why I waited so long on these, but that's sometimes how I roll. Saved $500 by getting an 'open-box' set direct from QuickJack. Going to be a nice help on this and future projects.

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New OE-type strut inserts from the UK are now installed, and have restored the ride and handling to a nice, original feel. I did find that the internal steering rack bushing is bad, and will replace that as soon as the part arrives. Otherwise the suspension is pretty well under control.

A small shipment from Denmark brought a left quarter window trim and a used turn signal switch. Both parts are extremely nice, and the turn signal finally cancels reliably, every time, either direction.

Still waiting for a final quote on the paint, the shop had some computer issues last week that have set him behind.

But in preparation for that, I've re-worked my schedule and plans. I was planning to drop the oil pan for new gaskets and clean the engine from years of oil leaks, but it sounds like the paint shop may want the car within a couple of weeks. So I don't think I want to pull the engine apart just yet.

Related to that, I think the engine cleaning and resealing is going to go a bit farther than I had originally planned. The farther I dig into this car, the more it looks like (with no way to confirm) that the 76k on the odometer might be original and correct. I'm reasonably comfortable that it hasn't rolled over yet. Which means that I'm fairly sure the original and notorious fiber timing gear has probably not been replaced. So the oil pan drop will be expanded to include pulling the timing cover, and most likely the replacement of the gears. Will probably replace the water pump as well, as long as I have it off anyway.

So today, in preparation for the upcoming repaint, I removed the entire heater-A/C box from the car. This is a rather major project on the '74 factory A/C cars. But it had to be done as the entire system (including the cowl plenum) is stuffed full of leaves, pine needles and other related junk that must be cleaned from the cowl before it can be painted. Will begin cleaning out all the crud tomorrow.

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[KELTY360]

Really enjoy seeing your process Arne. You pick interesting cars and thoroughly sort them out. Somebody is going to get a great car.

[arne]

The Capri goes in for paint a week from Monday. Final trim and glass removal is in progress.

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[arne]

Disassembly complete. No surprises, no rust in the window channels. On track for the painter next week.

Interesting side note, these German Fords are similar to the 914 in one way—the front fenders are welded in place, not easily removable.

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[raynekat]

Arne...your projects are almost more interesting than the 914 projects here.
Sorry 914World.

Keep posting brother...

[Chris H.]

That thing looks very straight. The paint is going to transform it.

[arne]

That thing looks very straight. The paint is going to transform it.

It IS very straight. Not a single door ding on either side, thanks to the much maligned dealer-installed side moldings.

[Front yard mechanic]

Nice! a silver turd

[KELTY360]

That thing looks very straight. The paint is going to transform it.

It IS very straight. Not a single door ding on either side, thanks to the much maligned dealer-installed side moldings.

Those side moldings had a natural place to ride on the Capri styling line, unlike the 914 where with the slab side they just look tacked on.

[Rufus]

This brings back memories of my 1st new car; a ‘72 Capri 2600 V-6.

Good luck with the project arne (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[arne]

On its way to the painter this morning.

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[arne]

Had a chat with the paint shop owner yesterday, now that they have had some time to touch the car and look for things they missed on the original estimate. And while I always expect these jobs to cost more than they first say, in this case the estimate was pretty good—largely because the car is solid.

It will require a lot of surface prep, due to the desert sunburned paint, but we knew that going in. No real surprises there. But the bumpers are a bit worse than we thought, and will require extra attention. Still far less expensive than sourcing and converting to chrome, though.

Estimating 3-4 weeks in the shop.

[arne]

Visited the car in the shop last week. Progress is being made. No new surprises since the last visit. The first of the 2 badly weather-checked rubber-like bumpers has been prepped, and looks good, ready for paint.

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[arne]

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[arne]

Fresh out of the booth...

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[KELTY360]

Fresh out of the booth...

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That’s gonna be a shoe piece.

[rhodyguy]

The market for the V-6s seems pretty robust. Very shiny.

[Millerwelds]

A client of mine has this for sale right now. For those who enjoy a different build this one is special:

https://www.2shores.com/en/cars/offers/1973...2600/333/detail

[arne]

A client of mine has this for sale right now. For those who enjoy a different build this one is special:

https://www.2shores.com/en/cars/offers/1973...2600/333/detail

Yeah, he's posted a lot of pics on the North American Capri FB group, which is probably not the right market place for that car, most of the people there are after cheaper projects. And I'm certain that car will not go cheaply.

I should be able to bring mine home early next week.

[arne]

First pic in natural daylight. At home in the garage now, reassembly in progress.

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