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Bronco 1.5 Build


Thrudrew

New member
Joined
Jul 18, 2020
Messages
1
Reaction score
1
Points
1
Vehicle Year
1989
Vehicle
Ford Bronco II
Currently I'm in the process of building a 1989 Bronco II with the front clip of a 1975 Bronco, hence dubbed the Bronco 1.5. This is a build for my youngest daughter (Josie 16 year old), the backstory is I built a 75 Bronco about 15 years ago but had to sell it. Now she's old enough to drive and wants a bronco like our old one, I said a big fat NO but I'll build you something cool. I started by buying a 89 B2 for $400, the motor was out and needed rebuilt. I spent some time and rebuilt the 2.9, I got her all together and was really disappointed in the lack of power. So I looked around until I found a 93 explorer, it had pretty low miles with a blown tranny but ran good for $200. So I did the 4.0 swap, the motor went in easy but I ended up doing a ton of research and wire splicing. I have to say the 4.0 is a world of difference from the 2.9, still not a V8 but feels like the motor that should have came with the Bronco II. I have done a bunch of other small work to it (lift, tires/wheels, etc.) but one of the most rewarding was converting the AC to 134a, its really nice. After I got her running good and mechanically sound I realized I had a bunch of old body parts from my 75 build and thought what the hell let's give it a shot! Disclaimer I am not a professional fabricator or even a good welder, I'm just a guy having a good time in his garage with cold beers and good music! I did some searches to see if anyone has done anything like what I had planned and the ones I found had incorporated the early grill into the front clip, I think they look really good but I wanted to get the look of the crown on the fenders and have less of the downward slant the B2 front end has. I mocked it up and found that the body lines are pretty close which is good enough for me and what I plan on doing with it. I cut the fenders to match the contour of the B2 doors and welded them to the inner bracing of the original B2 fenders. I also had to shorten and narrow the hood, I used the bracing off the B2 hood with the EB hood. It's definitely not perfect and a work in progress which I'll update
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XTC90BII

Active member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 24, 2016
Messages
343
Reaction score
39
Points
28
Location
NW Arkansas
Vehicle Year
1990
Vehicle
Ford
Engine Size
2.9
Suspension Style
4wd
My credo
Do what you can with what you have where you are
Looking good. Nice job

Dennis
 

caseygriff

New member
Joined
Sep 18, 2023
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Age
22
Location
Huntington Beach, CA
Vehicle Year
1987
Vehicle
Bronco II
Suspension Style
2WD
My credo
Workin hard or hardly workin
Hell yeah looking good
 

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