8cam's 2-door Badlands

[8cam]

Been waiting a long time to start this thread. I picked up my Bronco this past Monday and crossed 100 miles today. Yeah I know, nothing big yet but I'm really happy I finally have it in my garage. So far mods are minor but significant to me. We'll get to bigger stuff later. From the factory it's a loaded 2-door Badlands Sasquatch, lux, tow, leather and pretty much everything you can get. By far the most expensive vehicle I've ever bought and I love it. As of today I've added the following.

• Weathertech floor liners
• Weathertech mud flaps
• Autostop Eliminator (might be the best mod ever)
• Valkyrie Offroad read shock skid plates
• JKS tie rod reinforcements
• Coming in two weeks - full Xpel PPF

To begin with, I have been a sports car nut my whole life, low and fast will always be my thing. But I was introduced to the slow lane a few years ago with a trip to the Kokopelli Trail and I was hooked. I bought and wheeled a 97 Land Cruiser with a Safari turbo for the last few years and loved every minute of it. My only issue was the the maintenance...I'm older, slower, creakier, and I have more money. So a new Bronco was the perfect solution. I was a day 2 reservation holder and finally took delivery on 7/11/2022...damn near 2 years to the day.

The Land Cruiser Safari turbo, yes I miss it but the maintenance was getting tough to keep up with. Then a few pics of the Bronco.

The Bronco factory pic. Got it 2 weeks after it was built, and still 3 weeks before delivery.

Delivery day!

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[Step]

Congrats buddy. Hope to see you on the road in atl or on the trail in north ga.

 

[8cam]

Congrats buddy. Hope to see you on the road in atl or on the trail in north ga.

Thanks! And yes I plan on hitting the North GA trails soon. Have to get the PPF installed first, then we'll be up there as much as possible. I'm keeping an eye on the NGA group and will definitely join you.

 

[Step]

Thanks! And yes I plan on hitting the North GA trails soon. Have to get the PPF installed first, then we'll be up there as much as possible. I'm keeping an eye on the NGA group and will definitely join you.

Link me to the nga group. Is that a group in here on the forum?

 

[luvmybronco]

Nice, that is my exact build

 

[8cam]

Link me to the nga group. Is that a group in here on the forum?

Yep here's the group.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/group-posts/6361/#js-comment-43044

 

[8cam]

I finally took the top off today (the panels over the front seats) and it wasn't too bad. Not as easy as the top on the Corvette, but not bad. I was impressed with the cover bag for the panels , really a nice piece of work. Driving around, the wind buffeting isn't bad at all, really a nice experience. I'm thinking I am going to sell the full Bestop soft top I have, and pick up a sunrider instead.

Oh and now I understand what everyone is talking about, sharp edges. Wow those mold lines on the roof panels are sharp. I'll have a really nice new scar on my thumb in a couple weeks.

 

[66GT]

The Bronco factory pic. Got it 2 weeks after it was built, and still 3 weeks before delivery.

Great build!

 

[8cam]

I installed the JKS tie rod sleeves today, not bad at all. And I feel a little better about wheeling now, considering some folks have broken them in the fricken driveway!

 

[8cam]

Latest updates. I dropped the Bronco off at my dealer and had them take care of a few things. First, the driver's window had a bad habit of closing and then immediately dropping again. They were able to recalibrate the window and it should be fine now. Time will tell. Then I had an alignment done since I installed those JKS tie rod sleeves, and for sure I had messed things up a bit. Now it's all square again.

I also had the Valkyrie Offroad rear shock skid plates installed. These are a nice piece of fabrication, and worked out well. I would have done them myself, except I couldn't put the 350lb-ft on those lower shock bolts! And last item, I bought the "Ford" (Redarc) trailer brake controller and had it installed. He installed the brain behind the glove box, and then I think the location for the proportional switch worked out really well. Now I just need the trailer.

 

[8cam]

More Bronco projects done today. First I took the factory bull bar off. I think I like this better. Then I installed the tailgate table from Ford and I have to say I’m not real happy with it. It’s a hell of an erector set to put together and it’s just not well made. I had to take it off and reinstall about four times to get it even sorta aligned. I just might dump it for a better one at some point.

I also installed the hood struts from Redline Tuning and I really like this mod. The lower bracket holes weren’t quite in the right place so I had to open them up a bit, but then everything went together well. I only dropped a bolt once and luckily it fell down the middle into the skid plate. Four bolts later and I retrieved it, then installed the bracket. It’s a little fiddly getting the bolts tight but doable.

Bronco stuff done. I put a pork butt on the smoker at 7am, should be ready to pull in a couple hours. Have a great Saturday!

 

[STX Bronco]

Latest updates. I dropped the Bronco off at my dealer and had them take care of a few things. First, the driver's window had a bad habit of closing and then immediately dropping again. They were able to recalibrate the window and it should be fine now. Time will tell. Then I had an alignment done since I installed those JKS tie rod sleeves, and for sure I had messed things up a bit. Now it's all square again.

I also had the Valkyrie Offroad rear shock skid plates installed. These are a nice piece of fabrication, and worked out well. I would have done them myself, except I couldn't put the 350lb-ft on those lower shock bolts! And last item, I bought the "Ford" (Redarc) trailer brake controller and had it installed. He installed the brain behind the glove box, and then I think the location for the proportional switch worked out really well. Now I just need the trailer.

Nice job, so what’s your plans for a trailer?

 

[8cam]

Nice job, so what’s your plans for a trailer?

We’re looking at several models right now trying to decide what works best. I’d prefer an off-road teardrop like the Mean Bean or Escapod, maybe a Conqueror on the really high end. My wife says she wants an indoor toilet so we have looked at a Forest River R-Pod and were very unimpressed. Build quality is just not good. Next up would be the Alto but that’s pricey. The tow rating is the really limiting factor so she might be coming around to my way of thinking. We need to see the Alto up close.

 

[8cam]

Suddenly I’m over 3300 miles! We just got back from an extended vacation road trip, and the Bronco was a fantastic beast the whole time. The trip was just over 2000 miles total, from home to a week on the beach, to visiting family and friends, and finally to a couple days at Biltmore. No off-roading, just a road trip. And the Bronco was awesome. I don’t really have any Bronco pics because road, but there are a couple gratuitous travel shots.

Observations after 2000 miles?

• The 2 door really should have power seats with memory. Serious gap at this price point
• The back seats are seriously uncomfortable if you’re stuck back there for 3 hours (my wife)
• Getting into the back seat is harder than it should be. The front seats should have a better double hinge setup to pivot forward
• Removing the back seats should be easier. I took one out for more room and it is way too much work. Minivans do this super easy, so should the Bronco
• The charge pad sucks
• The usb2 port seems to work about 60% of the time. The usb-c port always works
• The center console holds an amazing amount of stuff
• the adaptive cruise is really good
• When you have the cruise set at night, the little bronco in the screen has its headlights on!
• The household plug in the back of the center console really should be live all the time. I took my camp fridge on the trip and it was only powered when the ignition was on
• You can fit a huge amount of stuff in a 2 door. We took all bags and beach stuff for three people for a week in there. And then another 10 days for two people. Plan carefully but there is plenty of room
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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[8cam]

I finished a little project this weekend. I had these lights on the shelf for a long time, a project that never happened. I had to modify the brackets a little, but overall it was pretty easy. These are scene lights from Extreme LED, but the pattern is actually a good one for ditch lights, nice and broad and very bright.

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