One of the first things I did was to start stripping the body panels from the '04 so I could make some decisions on whether to use the suspension, brakes, etc. So far I haven't disconnected anything that might affect the engine computer.

Speaking of computers: I also checked the engine codes and sensors using my new software. As far as the ECU knows everything is just fine.

I can't wait to see this motor in the bronco.

The bed had to come off to get a good look at the rear suspension and fuel system. That plastic tubular thing in the middle is the new fuel vapor canister they used to locate in the engine bay. Right behind it and to the left is a little black box that's the driver module for the fuel pump. You can see where I welded the leaf spring back together in anticipation of having to drag this thing on and off a trailer to go get a new PATS key. The tow truck that delivered it to my house simply picked up the front wheels and let it coast on the rear axle. The only thing supporting the left side was the leaf spring pushing up into the sheet metal on the bottom of the bed.

August 8th 2004:

Here I've pulled off most of the nose in preparation for removing the engine and transmission.

August 14th 2004:

My buddy Greg and I got the transmission out of the '04 by fabbing a nifty mounting bracket to the floor jack and bolting it to the transmission where the cross member used to be. Once it was free we lifted the back of the vehicle high enough to just roll it out the back beneath the rear axle. Alternating sheets of plywood worked great for transporting it across the gravel.

With the transmission out and positioned beneath the bronco the next logical step was to get the engine there too. The manual said to remove a bunch of accessories before taking out the engine, but with the whole core support gone I pretty much got it out in one piece. Here's a shot of it right after removal.

Take a closer look at this empty shell of a truck.

Here's a shot of the dash with most of the inserts removed.

Under the dash.

The ductwork..

Check out the ductwork under the seats. Pretty impressive injection molding.

This is a very soft molded rubber firewall cover with some thick insulation on the other side. Probably deadens sound rather well.

Bare firewall made of "quiet steel".

This is the harness that connects the dash components, cpu, and engine. Good thing I labeled most of the connectors!