1982 Bronco 351 4x4 - Code name Esperanza

[Gsmblue]

Paid a visit to Espy in the shop today.

They fired her up for me with just the headers on and no exhaust, boy did she sound good!!!!

I just got told they drove Espy to the exhaust shop next door and they will be working on the exhaust tomorrow.

There is a small chance I will have her back for the weekend :)

Here is a link to a vid so you can hear her breathe :)

https://youtu.be/ecaaw5uOOQM

[Gary Lewis]

Yippeee!!!!  Here's hoping!  

[Gsmblue]

Checked on Espy just now. The exhaust shop took a week! I have to say it looks great under there.

I got to start her up, boy, she sounds great!

Unfortunately i am leaving town tomorrow for a week so no point bringing her home today, instead the shop is going to take care of a last few items, front end alignment, front captains chairs reupholstery.

They replaces the transmission linkage and apparently that has solved the shifting issues from those other transmission cowboys…

So, pick up is set for next friday, 2pm!

[Gary Lewis]

Excellent!  Can't wait to see the pics!  

[grumpin]

Cool!

[Gsmblue]

It happened!!!

I picked up Espy today, drove her around, went through the car wash, gassed her up and drove home.

They did a great job, the engine feels great, it sounds great (Flow street mufflers, true twin, no crossover) and the steering is solid.

When I got home I loaded the wife and the dog up, took a quick spin together and when i got back to the house I gave my wife the keys and she sped off to see her girlfriends at the barn.

Tomorrow I will pull the roof, recharge the AC, change the stereo and speakers out, drive my friend around for the day then hang the keys up and let my wife enjoy it for the next few weeks.

A short vid of the wife driving off.

https://youtu.be/n5xbwhYnhyk

[ArdWrknTrk]

She really needed to gun it so we could hear the exhaust.  

[Gsmblue]

I missed the first time she blipped the throttle, she kicked up a bunch of gravel!! 🤣

[grumpin]

That’s great!

[Gary Lewis]

Wonderful!!!!  I’ll bet you are one happy camper!!!  

[Gsmblue]

Very happy!

Need to clean a few wires up etc then I’ll post some pics and descriptions of the work.

Just in time for show we can’t be at 😖.

We need a West coast event!

[Gary Lewis]

Espy would be the star of the show, for sure!

Can't wait for the pics - and an audio of the exhaust.  

[Gsmblue]

Ok, here it is. The first video of Espy and her new engine close up and the exhaust!

https://youtu.be/ezANsyZS9Y4

I am VERY happy. The mufflers are “street flow” so knock off flowmasters, but they look and sound the part.

Doing the gentle 500 mile break in right now.

Let me know what you think.

[Gary Lewis]

No sound!  I had it all the way up and could hear NOTHING!  

And I so badly wanted to hear Espy!

But, she looks good.  

[grumpin]

I got sound. Sounds good, looks good!

Do you have heat going to the air filter assembly? I’m not a carburetor ice fan.

Man, that Bronco is great!

[firefire]

Hi.
That sounds good. And Espy looks great too.
Stein

[Gsmblue]

I have that problem with youtube sometimes. it just doesn't play the audio. No idea why.

No heat to the carb at this point. But it is something that is on the list.

I still need to tidy up the spark leads in the engine bay then I can get some better photos.

The list of things to do is shrinking!

Next up will be:

33 inch tires
captains seats to be redone
3G alternator to keep up with the killer stereo.
tilt column play to be fixed.
Bodywork needs a lot of attention.... That will be most of next spring/summer.

My wife is loving driving Espy right now. Which is the whole point of this project :)

[Gary Lewis]

Got it to work on my phone. Cool!  Nice and smooth under the hood and has a bark to the exhaust.

And if your wife enjoys driving it you have a winner!!!

[Machspeed]

Looks and sounds great! Is it lifted?

[Gsmblue]

Yeah, it has a body lift, looks to be about 3inchs. Originally I was going to remove the lift and stick with the 31inch tires, but the wife likes the lift, so 33 inch tires have to go on to fill the wheel wells.