The next morning we fired up the Bronco and got it on the road. We can't tell you what a pleasure it was to drive the thing without problems after dealing with so many for so long. With great satisfaction we looked at the engine temp gauge and saw that the needle wasn't in the red. No puddles gathered under the vehicle after we parked it. It was almost like having a brand new Bronco.
Looking back, the ATK engine swap was the best solution to our problems. Sure, we could have rebuilt the original engine, but due to the fact that we needed the Bronco to pass a smog test, we wouldn't have been able to really use any wild performance-oriented internal parts. Plus, when we think about the time and cost involved with taking apart the old engine and assessing the condition of each part, we start to get anxious. For our purposes (and perhaps yours), getting a low cost, direct-replacement remanufactured engine was the way to go. It's not like we plan on keeping it completely stock anyway-in addition to the Edelbrock headers, we plan on installing a new intake and maybe even a California-legal supercharger in the near future. In the meantime, our engine (our foundation) is ready to propel The Juice through the desert or down the freeway. Let's just hope this is one Bronco you'll never see on the news with police cars in pursuit!
 Here, the able gang over at...  Here, the able gang over at Off Road Evolution strips the needed parts from the original engine. We needed to re-use the intake manifold, intake plenum, oil pan, and a few other items. |  We then started uncrating...  We then started uncrating the ATK engine and prepping it for installation. Ours came with a complete gasket set, and we were sure to use sealant at every step. Here, Jesse applied sealant before he bolted on the original intake manifold, which was torqued to ATK's specifications. |  How cool do these valve covers...  How cool do these valve covers look? Don't make the same mistake we did-if you're going to need holes in your valve covers to pour in oil or attach a PVC valve, make sure you order covers that have holes in them. We neglected to do so, and now we're going to have to use the old valve covers and install the correct Edelbrock valve covers later-that means removing the intake plenum on this particular engine. |
 The Edelbrock shorty headers...  The Edelbrock shorty headers bolted on with no problems, and came with gaskets. These headers are made to be a direct replacement for stock exhaust manifolds, and when we bolted the ATK engine into the Bronco, the ends of the headers lined right up with the rest of the exhaust line. |  The headers are coated with...  The headers are coated with Edelbrock's Ti-Tech coating, which is heat resistant and keeps its even sheen even after years of use. Also important to us is the fact that they're 50-state street legal. |  It was heartbreaking to see...  It was heartbreaking to see the old, ugly valve covers on our pretty V-8, but our stupidity when it comes to ordering the right parts relegated us to this fate. The large and hideous intake plenum on top of the engine doesn't really suit us either. Let's just move on to the next photo before we start to get too negative. |
 As he bolted on the flywheel...  As he bolted on the flywheel (torqued to the included specs), Jesse from Off-Road Evolution told us an amusing but ultimately sad story about a girl, a date, some sketchy characters, and a stolen cell phone. "That's the last time I go hang out with her," he said, smiling and gritting his teeth at the same time. |  The oil pan was the last part...  The oil pan was the last part to be bolted to the engine before we squeezed it into the Bronco's engine compartment. We were especially careful to get the sealant just right-we were sick of seeing a black puddle form under The Juice. |  ATK recommends that a new...  ATK recommends that a new oil filter screen be used with their engines, and when we shook the one that had been used with the original engine, we were shocked to see a large amount of metal shavings fall out. The shavings looked to be aluminum, and we wondered if they came from the pistons. This was further confirmation that we really did need to get rid of the old engine-it was on its last leg. |
 Here, our new distributor...  Here, our new distributor cap, plug wires, and water pump are visible. An engine swap is a perfect opportunity to replace these relatively low-cost items. |  Getting the ATK engine in...  Getting the ATK engine in the Bronco was a delicate but fairly simple operation. We were lucky to have the use of a forklift, but a manual engine hoist would have worked as well. We twisted the engine sideways, lowered it, and repeated that process several times. Finally, we set it down on the engine mounts correctly and secured it. After attaching the tranny to the engine and getting everything hooked up under the hood, we set the timing (10 degrees was recommended for this particular application) we were ready to roll. | |