I Am NOT a Motorhead – 1982 Ford Bronco – CPR

This may be the last big project I ever do. My dad passed away a couple years ago, and I just got rid of his (registered as a 42 Willys) 42 GPW. I decided for now to keep the 1982 Bronco. He said it was parked because it had low oil pressure. The motor has been apart 4 times that I know of. I pulled it for him once. I’d just like to get it going and use it for a desert runner, hunting season, and launching a small boat in out of the way locations where I don’t want to tear up my truck (2024 F250 FX4 Regular Cab). Not going to restore it. Just make it a runner.

General info:
1982 U150 OEM 351W 4 SPEED RV CAM HEADERS HOLLEY 650 VACUUM SECONDARY
Parked with low oil pressure back in the 90s.
SW DESERT VEHICLE ALL ITS LIFE but still has some rust in the tailgate and front rocker panels.

I know the most likely reason it had low oil pressure was crank bearings, but I also remember him once saying he put a high volume oil pump in it. On other engines those can pump all the oil to the top of the engine when revved up, and oil pressure will drop. The stop gap measure is a pan with a larger sump.

I say I am not a motorhead because I don’t “enjoy” the build. For me the build/repair/overhaul is a means to an end. I enjoy the results. I have pulled a few engines, overhauled a couple, and dropped more transmissions than I ever wanted to. I tore down the engine in that GPW (M38 engine) when I was 8. No, I didn’t put it back together, and yes, I use a 6-foot piece of water pipe on the handle of my ratchet to break the head bolts. LOL.

It had a FORD OEM computer that was nothing but trouble. My dad yanked it out and put in a Mallory electronic ignition and swapped to an older distributor for compatibility. I may recall wrong, but I think he said it was from a 1978 LTD. Stock it was Meh! but as built it was a heavy hauler. The RV cam is its second aftermarket cam. Its first cam I recall my dad calling a 1/4 race cam. It had a mild lope at idle and bucked like somebody put the spurs to it if you got a little heavy on the gas. It was to much and not really practical for a Bronco. The RV cam was just right. Plenty of power for everyday work, and plenty of low and mid-range torque. I know I towed a 24-foot twin IO engine fly bridge sport fisher with it up hills and into and out of canyons including the big mountain coming south from Flagstaff and that long-grade going down to (back up from) Page and Lake Powell. No problem. I was taught to climb a mountain at the speed you would go down the mountain, but that truck would have done it a lot faster if I wanted to.

Once on spring break I set that truck on fire. No, I don’t mean a little fire easily extinguished. I mean on fire. I swapped out a fuel filter in the marina parking lot at Havasu Springs, and I guess I forgot to put on a clamp because about halfway up the hill to the road fire blazed out from under the hood. I shut it off, ran down the hill to the store, grabbed their fire extinguisher and ran back up the hill to put out the fire. I spent the next week in the parking lot rebuilding/and replacing every piece of plastic and rubber on the top of that engine. I burned nearly every dollar I had between parts and boat fuel running up to Lake Havasu City to buy parts and a manual. No matter how well I planned it seemed I would need to run up to the city again for more parts the next day.

When I was just about done putting back together that last few connections, I dropped the banjo fitting that goes on the carburetor. To this day I have no idea where it went. It fell down the front of the engine sounding like it hit everything possible to hit on the way down, but it never hit the ground. Thinking it night have gotten hung up behind something on the front of the engine I spent the next day stripping every single thing off the front of the engine and putting it back again. Never found it. Yes, I laid down on the hot asphalt and looked for anything taller than a pebble. I literally grabbed the front bumper and shook the truck hoping something would fall out. Never found it and nobody in Lake Havasu had one. I was told there was a Holley carb shop in Parker. 18 miles (I think) in the other direction. No way for me to go there by boat. The guys in the marina shop offered to get some parts for me for a hundred bucks plus parts. These were the same guys who had offered to rent me a socket for fifty bucks. Pretty mercenary at best is my opinion, but I guess they aren’t used to caring if a customer came back or not. I was running out of cash so even if I was so inclined I couldn’t risk paying their price. I still had to get home after all.

After exhausting all other options I decided to walk to Parker. I had a pair of boots and a pair of flip flops. I figured I’d get pretty tired walking 36+ miles with my boots so of course I made the wrong choice. I walked about halfway. I don’t really sunburn, but my feet sure did. They were looking almost purple by the time somebody stopped to give me a ride. I took the bypass instead of walking down the strip the whole way because it is a little shorter. I made it a little more than halfway before catching a ride. The guy who picked me up just happened to have a place at Havasu Springs and he was heading down to watch some boat drags on the river by Parker somewhere. He dropped me at the carb shop where they sold me a banjo fitting and while I was there a new gasket set for the carb, and then I went and watched the boat drags. I finished the truck up late that afternoon and now covered in grease, soot, and ashes from a week inside an engine compartment that had been on fire I started looking for a shower. The folks in the marina store didn’t tell me there was a shower in the bathrooms at the top of the ramp to the boat docks when I asked. I took the boat out to find a secluded cove and washed off in the lake. That evening me and my buddy went over to the place for the guy who had given me a ride, watch some sports on TV, and drank some beer. The next day we went home. I was broke and worn out. I was done.

I don’t “like” that old Bronco. It’s more like an ex-girlfriend I can get along with if I have to, and I already know most of its history, so it’s not likely to surprise me with some bullshit new drama.