Embracing the 90’s………
Stardate Captain’s BLOG 3 - July 2026
Tracking America’s automotive history in comparison to the relationship to the culture of that period, has always been interesting to me. Economy, finances, technology, government & institutions and the adaptation of car & truck enthusiasts to a given environment. It seems to feed the compliant and activate the mavericks who resist and adapt. Reminds me of an old black and white photo of my dad from the 60’s, with hair grease in his hair, a pack of cigarettes rolled in his sleeve and a racecar in the background.
Currently our most trusted mechanic (when we find ourselves out of our league in OBD1 & 2, 90’s Ford chaos), made a living for a time retrieving bomb damaged military vehicles while being shot at in the Middle East. Keeping bullet-ridden military rigs running under fire, in the desert and or destroying them at the scene of the incident so they are useless to the enemy. Admittedly in this chapter of life, my own reaction to the potential threats of the civilian world are probably off, however I do get frustrated with trying to figure these Fords out sometimes. In the end, we should simply enjoy the process of low stakes problem solving and the reward of the successful test drive.
Many of us find the mid-late 90’s a sweet spot for our Ford trucks and SUV’s. I lean towards the MAF vs Speed Density platforms, however I admit much of that is a lack of electronics proficiency and stubbornness. I have become more and more aware of how important solid multiple grounds are; that resisters will leak over time and that over 30 years of exposure in a F Series truck or Bronco, isn’t great for Ford control modules of any type. Why the EEC wasn’t mounted inside the truck, I will never understand? I find the original and new generation of car nerd’s proficiency with automotive electronics, really impressive. Especially the new stuff.
I have made my peace with the oceans of plastic inside 90’s Ford trucks. I find it “interesting” how 90’s plastic panels and mounting points turn into actual powder in 35 years. Are the 90’s AC vacuum lines made of corn….? Admittedly - all the things I wasn’t medicated for as an 80’s kid, come in useful while obsessing on building and enforcing things with today’s epoxies and aftermarket fix-it kits. Over-building old door panels and obsessively over-insulating interiors for temperature, road noise and stereo resonance, is it’s own category. Having four different 5-Gen Broncos for comparison has been super informative.
I did “port match” a 90’s 5.0 Mustang intake to accept a larger BBK throttle body for one of the Bronco’s, however I foresee less head porting and more plastic repair in my future……
Enjoy the process.
Respectfully Submitted
Todd
Pretty sure apes removed this prior. They broke almost everything…….?
Feels like wound repair sometimes. Metal staples melted in, epoxied over and aftermarket metal and or plastic plates and inserts all work wonders. You can also build your own repair pieces too.
End result was quiet and looked great. I reinforced several areas behind the dash during.