The Zen Bronco

[357Bronco]

So my brother in law Lenny wanted to race. He had been to the sand drags for a couple years, and had to participate. We bought a $600 Bronco, and dragged it home. Spring of 2014 we brought it in the shop and stripped it. No interior, top, tailgate, doors, and bumpers. It had a 5.8L motor and an EAOD transmission. So we got some wheels and paddles and went to the track. It ran much slower then we had expected. In low range the trans wouldn't shift, in high range the motor wouldn't rev. 7 second passes were not going to be acceptable. By the end of the season we regrouped and found a big block Mustang on craigs list. Bought that for short money and removed the 460 and all the speed parts. Now we are assembling the parts in an effort to build a budget friendly bracket race truck for our Street / Middle Eliminator class. I hope to be able to keep updating this thread with progress this season.

[357Bronco]

[357Bronco]

So we got the 460 in the Bronco without much issue. Some L & L mounts and Mad Dog headers made it pretty easy. Had the 2wd trans converted over to 4x4 and attached a NP 205 case and custom cross member. Next was the chopping off the front frame rails and mounting the radiator. After a new electrical system was made and some custom driveshaft's installed we had a running , moving truck.

[357Bronco]

[357Bronco]

After three rain outs, we finally got the truck on the track. Had some issues with radiator and transmission, but got things figured out. So Lenny got to make some passes and get used to driving( he has no drag racing experience ). Without pushing the motor hard and with the learning he managed a 5.8 sec ET. Our street / middle eliminator class goes from 5.0 and slower, and with all the trucks and buggies this puts us right in the middle. I believe with some suspension ,engine tuning and driver fine tuning we should be bracket racing in the 5.7 range easily if not quicker. We will be back at the track this week end to see what we can do, we have had a lot of fun so far.