Prevolander 93 Bronco

[Madmaxwell87]

Hi All,
Finally starting a thread as my build has made some progress. I call it a prevolander as it will be mainly for backroad exploring and camping but it will be able to get through the open spaces quickly.

I've driven mostly Fords my whole life with a few exceptions- 68 Camaro (first car I restored with my dad and still have, 97 F150, 2000 F150, 2002 Expedition, 2002 Focus (needed a commuter), 1994 Explorer, 2013 Colorado (inherited it), 2005 Grand Cherokee hemi, 2012 Grand Cherokee hemi (current) and now added a 1993 Bronco 5.8l xlt.

Its got some miles on it-210k- and a major steering box leak but overall it runs and drives pretty nice. I have a desolate motorsports 1.5" lift and heavy duty steering coming as well as a redhead steering box, full ignition maintenance parts, seat covers (drivers seat is thrashed, passenger seat is missing the arm rest), stereo and speakers, window and door weatherstripping and some LED lights.

This was the initial plan thats expanded as they always do.

 

[Madmaxwell87]

First set of updates during the first month or so:

• Got the Readhead steering box and Desolate Motorsports heavy duty steering put on.
• Leveling kit with 5100s is on, step bars removed, rear window key made and functional, new cap/rotor/plugs/ wires/coil installed.
• Ordered some PRP Daily Drivers and the Solo mounts to get rid of the ripped up, blown out foam drivers seat. I know there are better brands out there but for the money and with free shipping and 10% off they were pretty reasonable and its a toy, not a long distance road tripper.
• Got an air filter, fuel filter, and all the PCV stuff. There was a bunch of oil under my filter coming from the valve cover breather so gotta clean that out and see if the new PCV helps reduce that. If not I might just get a cheap catch can like I run on my Hemi Jeep. I did end up getting a amazon special catch can and it seems to help.
• Next up is new heater hose from the firewall to the water pump as its cracking and new battery cables as they have been mangled by previous owners. Seems like its cheap parts store replacements or high end custom made ones that are expensive.

 

[Madmaxwell87]

Next up was some visual and some performance upgrades:
Rear Bilstein 4600s are in as well as the PRPs. The PRPs are awesome. They're the 2" wider version so it rubs a little on the door panel but in terms of comfort its great. I used Solo Motorsports brackets to adapt the seats to the stock rails so they still slide. They're supportive and have some decent cushion to them (nothing like a stock padded seat but they're not supposed to be). You sit a little lower than stock but the support and cushioning is perfect. Gonna make it harder to get into the back but this isn't really meant to be a people hauler.

Got the wheels and tires mounted now that the front lift was in- 33x12.5x15 Falken Wildpeak MT on 15x8 Vision Manx.

 

[Madmaxwell87]

Next was the front bumper for protection, looks, and to get rid of the very bent up stocker.

Got the Solo Motorsports front bumper painted semi gloss black and got it installed. The bumper brackets were bent so had to bash those back into shape. Also had to remove the front sway bar as the bumper uses those mounting holes. I haven't noticed a difference in driving yet so I guess it's as useless as people on here say. haha. It totally changed the look of the truck, got me a lot more tire clearance and more front end protection. I love it.

 

[Madmaxwell87]

Next up was stealing an idea I saw on IG. These white on white broncos are just too much so I wanted to tone it down and connect the black from the grille/bumper and future rear bumper. So I bought some rolls of gloss black vinyl and had a go at covering the lower portion of the doors and fenders.
First off this is the most abused section of an off road truck with tires sticking out and second it was a lower investment ($60) test to see if I liked it. When the fiberglass fenders get put on eventually I'll have it professionally done. I watched lots of tutorials but getting out and doing it was much different. Got it on mostly straight and with minimal air bubbles but theres a few wrinkles that I couldn't get out. I called it good.

 

[Madmaxwell87]

At some point someone had replaced the positive battery cable with a hacked together selection of cables and electrical tape but left the stock cable dangling. I had already replaced the terminal on the negative cable and saw tons of corrosion in the strands themselves. So to hopefully help with my slightly slow starts and to protect against any starting issues in the future I ordered up a whole new set of wires. The negative cable was a huge pain trying to get large hands into the area where it's attached to the block and the frame rail. The positive cable was relatively easy and now I have nice clean wiring that I can have faith in.

 

[Madmaxwell87]

The factory grille and headlight surrounds were plastidiped and the headlights were very faded. Got a new grille and painted it black and got a set of cheap black lights for now. I used silicone sealant around the edges so hopefully they wont leak and get fogged up like most cheap lights do. Eventually it will get a full set of HIDs but this looks a ton better until then.

 

[Madmaxwell87]

Had to take it to a shop to get some work done:
Got it back from my local shop with the new radius arm and front axle pivot bushings installed plus the adjustable alignment cams and most importantly- a good alignment. Man its almost a new truck- no wandering or pulling, returns to center properly and the ride has tightened up and also smoothed out a little.

Next up- full brake overhaul

 

[Madmaxwell87]

Brakes:
Fully re-did the brakes. The passenger side wheel cylinder was leaking badly which probably explains the pull when hard braking.

Rear-New Centric wheel cylinders, shoes, drums and hardware.
Front-New Centric calipers and heavy duty pads as well as Rough Country extended lines for a 4" lift. I'm only currently at about 2"s of lift but extended radius arms and more travel are on the horizon so its future proofing.

 

[SDDiver5]

I dig it!!

 

[Madmaxwell87]

Had to do something about the dinky center console and get more mounting space.
Ordered the Tuffy security center console and a Rugged Radio 50 watt radio with an external speaker to put up by my head. Also ordered a Garmin Overlander. I know people have basically moved on to Ipads and Gaia but this system came highly rated and reviewed so I'm going to give it a shot.

Got it installed and I think I'm going to leave it raw aluminum. I got the Garmin holder and a switch panel installed, now just need to cut a hole for the radio and bolt on the external speaker.

 

[Madmaxwell87]

Current Overall look:
Next up is a new transmission pan with a drain plug and a lubelocker gasket, change out the transfer case and diff fluids and drive it. It goes on its first long trip this weekend so I'll report back.

Long term it will get extended radius arms in the front, longer rear shock bracket for some 2.5" reservoir shocks, a Rocksolid rear bumper with a tire mount and matching full size spare, and fiberglass fenders all around for the eventual move to 35" and 4.56 gears.

 

[mp_tx]

Had to do something about the dinky center console and get more mounting space.
Ordered the Tuffy security center console and a Rugged Radio 50 watt radio with an external speaker to put up by my head. Also ordered a Garmin Overlander. I know people have basically moved on to Ipads and Gaia but this system came highly rated and reviewed so I'm going to give it a shot.

Got it installed and I think I'm going to leave it raw aluminum. I got the Garmin holder and a switch panel installed, now just need to cut a hole for the radio and bolt on the external speaker.
View attachment 619816View attachment 619817

I see the black tuffy console (10 inch wide?). Where did you source the aluminum extension portion? Pretty slick.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Madmaxwell87]

Its a kit from Desolate Motorsports for Broncos and maybe F150s. Its actually the 12" wide version and they sell the panels to bolt together and then onto the console.

 

[mekcanix]

This is beautiful! nice job and am really digging the direction you are going with this