2 Blue 2 Doors

[Tony Raine]

Been a long time member (i remember when TRS-1 was being built). So I figured my first post in the new forums should be showing off my stuff

01 explorer sport 2wd DD. Had plans for lift and 33's, but I have decided to keep it stock and sell it when I find my dream DD, an early Bronco.

84 (mostly) Bronco II. bored out 2.8, Duraspark, Holley 350, 4" RC lift (yeah, i have skyjacker brackets to replace the drop plate), 3" body lift (which will probably be taken off), dana 35 from a 91 ex, cut out front fenders, and 33" tires. Trying to sell the swampers currently, and either put on some 33" M/T's i already have, or sell them too and put it back on stockers until i find an 8.8 and explorer rear d-shaft stuff (the reason i'm selling the tires).

 

[NorCalBronco]

Nice rigs, I love b2's

 

[06yellowranger]

very nice, I need/want a b2

 

[Tony Raine]

I'll revive an old thread

decided to keep the explorer. 102,000 miles and the only thing to go wrong was the pcv valve. i am about to need a tranny rebuild, though. haven't even had a bulb blow out. plus being paid for is nice.

explorer got a TT and warrior shackles

and some new (well, 2 day used) 31" tires

i was going to step up to 32" and go back to all-terrains, but this was too good of a deal to pass up.

bronco got the body lift removed, and i'm currently re-doing the wiring and just about everything else in the front end

got some goodies for it too

 

[compleckz]

nice!

 

[danger88ranger]

looks good man

 

[kunar]

Guitar Hero rock on!

 

[red85]

Nice to see you over here, Tony. Where's the Mustang?

 

[Tony Raine]

yeah, i suck at guitar hero, but its still fun to play

the mustang stays at my moms house out in the middle of nowhere under a cover. only driven occasionally. i'll toss a pic of it out, though

i'm afraid to take it to where i live now. too many idiots, plus 200 miles of highway travel. i drive it around a little when i visit, just makes it even more special. so far my mom is finishing up the interior restoration, replaced the clutch linkage, and got some new tires.

 

[red85]

That's such a nice clean car. I felt the other guys who hadn't seen it on the org deserved to see it. Is that a 260 car or does it have the little I6 in it?

 

[Tony Raine]

thanks! its a base model 65, 200 six, 3 speed, no air. manual everything, but rides and drives smooth. someone took really good care of this car, there are no rattles, steering and brakes are incredibly smooth for all manual. don't let the engine size fool you, this thing will haul ass for its size.

heres some more pics:

guess i should change the title of this thread to "3 blue 2 doors" haha

 

[Tony Raine]

heres a little update

been digging into the b2 a little lately. mostly little odds-n-ends, but i have started putting the headers on. broke off ONE bolt thats been a PITA to remove. oh well, got the passenger side on....

b2 taking up carport space (my wife is not pleased)

new (to me) duff bumper (thanks makeos)

oh yeah, little tires are on because the big tires are being sold to fund repairs. big, cool mud tires don't do much good if the truck don't drive

 

[Tony Raine]

haven't updated in awhile, so if this post seems a little choppy its because i cut/pasted a lot of it from other posts on another forum

both sets of rims and mud tires are currently at a local offroad shop awaiting a buyer.

10/01/08
the broken bolt.....

it actually looks really small in the carport, as apposed to when one of the other rigs in in there

10/19/08
got the Skyjacker pivot brackets installed. well, mostly. theres a few extra holes to drill for some extra bracing the RC brackets didn't have.

Didn't like the red color, so i shot it with some satin black. went ahead and threw a little on the front axle too, just for kicks


10/22/08
made some measurements today, and was pleasantly surprised. basically, i need to take the bronco 2 2 places (ok that looks odd, but you know what i mean). a buddy with a welder about 3 miles down the road (to weld a nut on the offending head bolt), and to an offroad shop on the other side of town (welding for 8.8). i have an old towbar my uncle used on his jeep, for about 5 years now. sat in various places, but never on the b2. started doing some measurements to see what kind of bracket i was going to have to fab up. but i found out, outside edge to outside edge of frame is 2' 6". inside to inside of towbar is 2' 6.75". there's already holes in the frame (may have to make a little bigger). so i'm just going to take off the front bumper and bolt on the towbar, with a couple washers to fill the gap. damn, sounds almost too easy.... yes, i will also have a safety chain, and i have enough scrap wire to wire the b2's taillights to a trailer wire plug.


Today
ok, had to drill out all 4 bumper bolts. they kept spinning, that was a PITA.

but the towbar mounting was a success! still need a couple more washers, and some safety chains.

now i'm going to pull it into the carport and repack the wheel bearings.


*edit 8:05 pm--> got the pass side wheel bearings repacked. they still don't spin very "freely", though. i cleaned all the old grease out with brake cleaner, repacked with one of those bearing packing things, and put the inner spindle nut on looser than last time. i'm putting the inner spindle nut on barely hand tight (very lightly grip the hub tool and turn until hand starts to slip). oh well. after i get all the other stuff ready to take on the road, i'll drive around for awhile and see if one hub gets hotter than the other.

you can also see the new jackstands i got from harbor freight. much taller than my old ones. and that aluminum jack is still impressing me. easy one-handed carry, its very light.


btw, backing a vehicle up hooked to a tow bar is harder than it looks. steering kept turning and dragging. didn't want to lock the column and jam it up. having another person in the b2 to hold the wheel when backing up would be a lot easier.

 

[compleckz]

i have the same jack,worked great for years, but it lost pressure somehow and leaks fluid now, gotta fix it

 

[Tony Raine]

mines less than a year old. so if it worked so long for you, i'm good for at least a few years :icon_thumby:

honestly, they aren't hard to fix. just a couple little things and your good as new. gave my old (smaller, worn out) one to my mom and she had it rebuilt in a weekend and is still using it.

 

[Dangeranger3]

Your build looks good.

 

[Tony Raine]

[quote author=Tony Raine link=topic=217.msg75327#msg75327 date=1238710235]
Ordered the "8.8 simple swap kit" from Ruff Stuff Specialties on March 31, and its here today!(april 2) great product, fast shipping

[/quote]

alright, finally something to update, haha.

old and busted:

the new hotness:

(the cable lock is looped through the jack and axle, since i am leaving the jack under there for a day or 2. i'll get to the crooked u-bolt plate in a minute)

replaced leaf spring center bolts with grade 8 fine thread bolts with the bolt head ground to fit the perch

removed gigantic 3/4" thick overload leaf set (came with the springs) that weighs a ton

and used the holes in the perches that scoot the axle back about an inch

my work area

alright. first off, axles are a pain in the butt to line up by yourself. and a 8.8 with no brakes or oil weighs a ton compared to a fully dressed 7.5. everything i did today is just a mock-up. i'm going to tack weld the perches in place, then pull the axle back out. the old 7.5 will be thrown back in temporarily since the next part will take a little while. while its out, i'll make sure all the measurements are even. i already know i need to scoot both perches to one side about 1/4" to get everything even. that will be a lot easier out of the truck. then i'll tack them back down, and take them to a local off road shop to get fully welded. shock mounts will also be added, later. btw, i had to hammer those stock explorer traction bar mounts over a little, as they interfere with the u-bolt plates. i would grind them off, but i would have to take everything off the ends of the axle to get a grinder in there.

i will be using a shortened explorer driveshaft (single u-joint each end). right now my t-case points down 5 degrees, and the axle is pointed up 5 degrees.

ok, now to explain the u-bolt plates. unfortunately, the nut of the centering bolt (the new ones and the originals) will not fit through the holes in the u-bolt plates. that may be just a fluke on my part, as my leafs are not original, but 4" lifted leafs from Rough country. oh-well i'm not worried. the local offroad shop has a drill press and can enlarge one of the holes for me. i'll probably take the axle and plates up there at the same time.

bad new is (actually its really good news in the long run), the shop is moving all its stuff to a new facility. so i'm not sure when they will be able to do it. but thats ok, the b2 has developed a new issue that needs attention. oil is squirting out around the dipstick when the engine is running.

oh yeah, one more thing, here is a pic of old and new u-bolts together. beefy