Spaggyroe's scratch built early Bronco build.

spaggyroe

Man Flu Survivor
Location
Lehi
So cool. What are your overall thoughts? How does it handle with all that power? I'm dang excited for you.

I really like the way that it rides. It's better than I expected. The engine is stout for sure, and makes for an exciting ride when you mash the gas pedal. It tends to dart around a fair bit. :rofl: . I've given it my best "driveway alignment" but it needs to have a pro go through it. I'm hoping that will help it be more predictable when under heavy throttle.

General cruising is great. It's really smooth and easy to drive. The exhaust note is awesome. The traction bar does a great job of preventing wheel hop. The 6r80 transmission is super smooth, but I wish it shifted just a bit sooner. It feels a bit "lazy" to me and I may try to have that tuned.

So far, all of my friends and family members that have gone for a ride in it have had big grins on their faces. My wife went from being pretty neutral about it, to yelling "I love it" while we were driving it. :rofl::rofl:
 

spaggyroe

Man Flu Survivor
Location
Lehi
Also, I wanted to mention what an awesome company Tom Woods Custom Driveshafts is.

I received my front driveshaft last tuesday. When I pulled it out of the box, I found that it was too long. :-( I went back to my notes, and they were correct. I checked my order on Tom's website and found that I had typo'd the dimension. WOOPS

I called Toms and explained that I was a bone head. They said no problem, and immediately got to work on a replacement shaft. They simply asked that I return the incorrect one. The replacement shaft showed up at my house on Thursday.

Crazy good customer service!!!
 

spaggyroe

Man Flu Survivor
Location
Lehi
There are some things that still need work. There are some interior parts that are still on back order, the hard top needs body and paint, the brakes need more bleeding, I need to troubleshoot the temp gauge. That looks to be a sending unit issue and I'll be putting a new one in today. I've been monitoring the engine with my tablet and the torque pro app. I haven't been able to get it above 195F which is still on the cool side for a Coyote. I still need to install the aux fuel tank. The drivers door needs the glass installed. I'm sure there are a bunch of other odds and ends that I'm forgetting but I'm still chipping away at them.

The biggest issue is the speedometer. It's off by a LONG shot. I'm running the drive gear recommended by Advance Adapters for my tire size and gear ratio, but the speedo reads about 45-50 when I'm actually doing 30. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
 

RockChucker

Well-Known Member
Location
Highland
The biggest issue is the speedometer. It's off by a LONG shot. I'm running the drive gear recommended by Advance Adapters for my tire size and gear ratio, but the speedo reads about 45-50 when I'm actually doing 30. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

Is your speedo mechanical or electronic? I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think the electronic Jeep sending units (assuming that is what AA uses) are a 3 pulse per revolution signal. I know the rubicon case has a 3 pulse hall effect sensor that outputs a digital square wave (not sine wave). Maybe the gear driven sensor is also a digital wave? If you have an electronic speedometer, maybe it needs a different mode for the right calibration depending on the input signal type? I can't remember if you've said what gauges you're running and I'm too lazy to look right now. :grimacing: I don't think there is a gear available that could correct for a 50% difference like you have now.
 

spaggyroe

Man Flu Survivor
Location
Lehi
Is your speedo mechanical or electronic? I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think the electronic Jeep sending units (assuming that is what AA uses) are a 3 pulse per revolution signal. I know the rubicon case has a 3 pulse hall effect sensor that outputs a digital square wave (not sine wave). Maybe the gear driven sensor is also a digital wave? If you have an electronic speedometer, maybe it needs a different mode for the right calibration depending on the input signal type? I can't remember if you've said what gauges you're running and I'm too lazy to look right now. :grimacing: I don't think there is a gear available that could correct for a 50% difference like you have now.

It's a mechanical (stock) speedo. Looking at the available gears, I don't think there's any way to correct for this much variance.
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
I am anxious to see you get this thing out on a trail and use it. I would be pretty conservative with where I took that thing with the level of build this is but there are still places I'd take it if it were mine. Well done!!

.... I've given it my best "driveway alignment" but it needs to have a pro go through it. I'm hoping that will help it be more predictable when under heavy throttle.
....


grab two 4' levels and level them off the hubs on the outside edge of the tire. Pretty decent toe setting solution that's worked for me for a few years. For my H2 wheels, I just use a bungy to attach the level to the tire through the gaps in the wheels. You "level" the level and then just set the toe with a tape measure. You can get it within a 32nd. I almost took a picture last time I did this. I probably should have. I can mock it up again if you're interested.
 

spaggyroe

Man Flu Survivor
Location
Lehi
I am anxious to see you get this thing out on a trail and use it. I would be pretty conservative with where I took that thing with the level of build this is but there are still places I'd take it if it were mine. Well done!!




grab two 4' levels and level them off the hubs on the outside edge of the tire. Pretty decent toe setting solution that's worked for me for a few years. For my H2 wheels, I just use a bungy to attach the level to the tire through the gaps in the wheels. You "level" the level and then just set the toe with a tape measure. You can get it within a 32nd. I almost took a picture last time I did this. I probably should have. I can mock it up again if you're interested.


Good idea. I'm familiar with that technique.
 

haulinshine

Active Member
It's a mechanical (stock) speedo. Looking at the available gears, I don't think there's any way to correct for this much variance.
how many teeth are you running? the lowest I can find is 16 tooth, if you are running that then you might have to get with a machine shop and have one made specifically for your setup.
 

spaggyroe

Man Flu Survivor
Location
Lehi
how many teeth are you running? the lowest I can find is 16 tooth, if you are running that then you might have to get with a machine shop and have one made specifically for your setup.


I'm running a 32 tooth, but keep in mind this is an atlas 2 case not the stock dana 20 case, so the drive gear is different. According to advance adapters table
AA table.GIF

With 4:10 gears and 35" tires, I should have a 32 tooth speedo gear. AA has sold thousands of these t-cases so I don't imagine their data is far off. I feel that something is mechanically wrong with my speedometer. My setup of 35's and 4:10's should be pretty ordinary for them.

As my speedo is turning faster than it should, I would need to slow the cable down, meaning a larger driven gear. The largest tooth count available is 43 teeth, which I may try. I don't think a custom gear is an option because there is a physical size limitation where the gear installs in the t-case. I don't know for sure, but I assume the 43t gear is the largest one that'll fit.
 

haulinshine

Active Member
I'm running a 32 tooth, but keep in mind this is an atlas 2 case not the stock dana 20 case, so the drive gear is different. According to advance adapters table
View attachment 131723

With 4:10 gears and 35" tires, I should have a 32 tooth speedo gear. AA has sold thousands of these t-cases so I don't imagine their data is far off. I feel that something is mechanically wrong with my speedometer. My setup of 35's and 4:10's should be pretty ordinary for them.

As my speedo is turning faster than it should, I would need to slow the cable down, meaning a larger driven gear. The largest tooth count available is 43 teeth, which I may try. I don't think a custom gear is an option because there is a physical size limitation where the gear installs in the t-case. I don't know for sure, but I assume the 43t gear is the largest one that'll fit.
A good and fun way to test if the gear is wrong or if the speedo is wrong is to find your indicated speed vs real speed at multiple data points, I would probably do 25mph actual, 45 mph actual, 55 mph actual, and 65 mph actual. then mark your indicated speed for all points then check to see if you are off by the same percent, it looks like you are traveling at 66% indicated. So if you are going 25 and the speedo says 37-38 and at 65 it says 98 then your gear is the issue. you get to know if your speedo is the culprit and you have a good excuse to drive what looks like a fun rig around.
 

spaggyroe

Man Flu Survivor
Location
Lehi
A good and fun way to test if the gear is wrong or if the speedo is wrong is to find your indicated speed vs real speed at multiple data points, I would probably do 25mph actual, 45 mph actual, 55 mph actual, and 65 mph actual. then mark your indicated speed for all points then check to see if you are off by the same percent, it looks like you are traveling at 66% indicated. So if you are going 25 and the speedo says 37-38 and at 65 it says 98 then your gear is the issue. you get to know if your speedo is the culprit and you have a good excuse to drive what looks like a fun rig around.

Good thoughts. I'll give it a go. :cool:
 

spaggyroe

Man Flu Survivor
Location
Lehi
Gauge updates

I replaced the speedometer head and fuel gauge. Everything seems to work great now. The speedo is only slightly off now. I may change the drive gear by 1-2 teeth, but it’s pretty close .

I’ve been driving the bronco around Lehi lately, putting some test miles on it. So far, so good. 😎
 
Last edited:

spaggyroe

Man Flu Survivor
Location
Lehi
Also, we started assembling my brothers 69 half cab (pickup) bronco yesterday. We started out with a bare frame in the AM, and by the afternoon we had this.

495EF681-A14A-460C-9BE2-8E0821C4156B.jpeg

We got the axles and suspension in, engine trans and t-case, and the fuel tank. This one has a fiberglass tub and will run stock drivetrain.
 

Jinx

when in doubt, upgrade!
Location
So Jordan, Utah
The guys at Just 4 Fun Motorsports aligned my Bronco Friday. It now drives better and I took it out on I-15 for the first time. It cruised at 75+ without problem.

The wife and I decided to cruise around Saturday before the weather turned south.

View attachment 132367
Curtis and the folks down at Just 4 Fun are good folks.

Loving how this turned out!
 
Top