My 89 Build

[BroncoIIPower]

Thought I had a build thread started. Guess it was on TRS before they split the site up. Oh well. I'll bring you up to speed. Several years ago I inherited a 1987 Bronco II from my father who bought it from my sister. She refused to learn manual so he ended up buying her an Explorer. I loved that 87, he bought an 86 automatic so I planned on the 87 becoming a trail rig. My dad then gave me a 96 Explorer and my Broncos had fallen into disrepair I ended up selling both for the grand total of $150.

I had a 90 2 wheel drive that I was going to convert to 4 wheel drive, while amassing my parts my friend found an 89 that said the head gasket blew. After a back and forth about price I got him down to $450 from $1200. Got it home and pulled the interior for a cleaning.

My sister's Explorer ended up dying. Oil pump went bad on the freeway. Cut a deal with her on it for parts. Took out the Bronco bench and put in the Explorer seats. To shut my dad up I flipped the seats, now I need to flip them back.

Out with the old...

In with the new...

I traded the A4LD out of the Explorer to an Explorer guy for a 4.0 he had laying around.

Here's some pictures of the old 2.9:

Bronco II ready for the new power plant:

And the 4.0 in its new home:

 

[BroncoIIPower]

M50D Install:

Here is the shifter for the M50D sticking up through the pan. Had to use a pneumatic body trimmer to cut the shift plate so it would a) fit and b) work.

Transmission in place

BW1350M backing the M50D

Body Mods:

Mirror upgrade. Snagged the chrome "tow mirrors" off the 90 before I sold it. Bolted them to the doors in place of the shitty flag mirrors. Looks factory.

Painted the Bronco II markers orange to go with my Denver Bronco theme.

Here they are taped onto the fenders waiting for the adhesive to set.

Here is a side shot. It's tight quarters in the garage so I had to angle the shot. The tag looks yellow but its actually "Pumpkin Orange".

Engine:

Here is the engine with the airbox and some other stuff installed. Right now we are figuring out the wiring.

Axles:

Found a Dana 30, the actual axle I wanted, on Craigslist for $100. Offered $60 and the guy said I could have it for $80. The tag says its 3.73s and the internet says the part number is off of a 84-85 Cherokee/Comanche/Wagoneer. I jumped at the chance to get it because it matches my 8.8 gears. I took off the steering, shocks, calipers and rotors.

 

[BroncoIIPower]

I think this should be moved to the Under Construction forum.