87 Bronco II "II Tuff"

[3rd Petal]

Just copied over from my local 4x4 forum

This is a daily driver/wheeler project I'm building for my girlfriend. 2.9, 5 speed, and open diffs with 3.45's.

Picked it up for a few hundred bucks off craigslist



It had been sitting for a few years with a dead fuel pump and a gas tank rotted full of holes, so after getting it running with a new tank and pump it was obviously way down on power. A closer inspection revealed one bent pushrod, and another just floating loose under the valve cover



After the driveability issues were worked out, I threw some 1 1/4" blocks in the rear and cut some spacers for the front out of aluminum round stock, with some used longer shocks I had laying around



That gave enough room to clear a new set of 31x10.50 General AT2's

 

[3rd Petal]

Came across a grille guard in picknpull that I couldn't pass up

 

[3rd Petal]

Added a 21.5" LED light bar and halogen style headlights to replace the sealed beams

 

[3rd Petal]

Eventually it will end up with a 302, 8.8 rear, and either a Dana 35 front or an XJ dana 30, I keep going back and forth on it. I work for a towing company, so it will probably end up with whichever I can score for free off a wrecked truck

 

[jhammel85]

Good Start! Welcome to the boards.

 

[3rd Petal]

Put some nutserts in the tire carrier so I could bolt down a hi-lift

 

[Jim Oaks]

I really like what you've done so far. What did the grill guard come off of?

 

[3rd Petal]

I really like what you've done so far. What did the grill guard come off of?

Thanks. I found the grill guard on a Dodge Dakota in a junkyard, but I have no clue what is was actually for. When I found it, it was loosely hoakied on with what looked like pieces of an old bed frame, or maybe cheap furniture. It also had a Warn sticker on it. I just made new brackets from 2" angle iron off the frame, then 1" tube with the ends squished to bolt through off of the upper bumper bolts for a little stability in the middle. It's not ideal, but it works

 

[Jim Oaks]

I love junkyards. You just never know what treasure you'll find in one.

 

[3rd Petal]

Picked up an abandoned 94 Explorer at work a few days ago, so...



Dana 35 and 8.8

 

[3rd Petal]

510 on a 20 degree "RTI ramp", or in other words, crap

 

[3rd Petal]

Found out the Bronco isn't a big fan of airtime



Whoops



Feexed



Now stay put

 

[Jim Oaks]

Hose clamps. Some times people over think this problem and want to fab up a retaining tab, but I've ran hose clamps for years without a problem. Good job.

 

[1RangerNut]

Nice work so far. :icon_thumby:

X2, on the hose clamps the drivers side coil will not stay in like the pass. side. :icon_confused:

 

[3rd Petal]

Got some camo fabric and VHT trim and upholstery paint to get rid of some of the nasty red-ness of the interior



As well as an explorer center console and some cheap bucket seats from amazon

 

[1RangerNut]

How much did the seat's cost and what did it take to mount them, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[3rd Petal]

How much did the seat's cost and what did it take to mount them, if you don't mind me asking?

They were $243 with free shipping when I ordered them, but they are $300 now
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009IHGUXC/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They were a piece of cake to mount. The seats have 2 "mounting rails" that are tapped for included hardware, and those mounting rails happened to be the exact same width as the stock sliders. So all I had to do was drill holes in the top of the factory sliders that matched the holes tapped in the seat and bolt it down. The seats also come with universal sliders, I just used the factory ford sliders on the drivers side, then I used the universal ones on top of the factory ones on the passenger side to get lots of travel out so its easier to get into the back seat.
For the price the seats aren't bad. They are not plush by any means, and they will need seat covers cause I don't see the cheap fabric lasting more than 6 months without getting a tear, but for the price they are much better than what was in there or what I could find in a junkyard

 

[3rd Petal]

Looks like I should have waited to order seats, the fake leather equivalent of those seats is down to around $250 on amazon right now, they were over $300 when I ordered the seats so I went with cloth instead

 

[Jim Oaks]

Wow, I like those seats!

 

[3rd Petal]

The stock muffler was starting to get some rust holes and there was a rattle coming from it, so I picked up a Thrush two chamber muffler and made a new 2 1/4" exhaust from the cat back.



Can't make the embedded video work, here's a link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uOuKRIMvmw