New BII Owner: The Crap Wagon

[IRingTwyce]

Picked up a 1990 BII XLT last month. V6, 5 speed, 4x4. 262k(?) miles. It came with a few issues: had mis-matched tires (205s up front, 235s in the back), was missing the rear hatch plastic panel, the power driver's window didn't work, had been spray painted (poorly) a drab green, has a few miscellaneous leaks, and the front driver's side fender is dented. Other than that, the body is straight and everything else works. Paid a whopping $925 for it. Three days after buying it N. Texas got hit with a nasty ice storm. Popped it into 4 wheel drive and took the little lady to work while most people were sliding all over the place. Great timing! :icon_thumby: So, 4x4 works, cruise control works, A/C works.

I've been doing a lot of reading up on mods. I've decided to make it a junkyard-special wheeler. So far I've picked up some odds and ends at the junkyard: replaced the cruise switches on the steering wheel, reconnected the transfer case shift handle, repaired the rear hatch latches and replaced the hatch handle. I also picked up a set of 16" Explorer wheels.

I have decided that I really don't care for the front end of the 89/90 years. Turns out my junk yard has two earlier B2s both with complete front ends. Since I have to replace a fender, I've decided to go ahead and convert it to the earlier front end. :icon_welder:

Here are some pics of (as I call it) The Crap Wagon:



Here you can see the dented fender:



Even though I call it the Crap Wagon, I'm really enjoying it. Looking forward to modding this little guy!

 

[IRingTwyce]

I've been agonizing over tires for a couple of weeks now. Waffling over sizes, tread, etc. I finally decided to just pick up a set of used tires to hold me until I get the suspension sorted out. Found a matched set of Bridgestones in a 245/75r16. They're a little worn, but should be good for another 10k or so on the highway. Got them mounted to my Explorer wheels, but found out they wouldn't quite fit over the front hubs. Took them home, broke out the air grinder, and had all 4 trimmed up in about 15 minutes. The center cap I got was from another Ford product and wouldn't quite fit. Took the air grinder to it and trimmed off about 1/8' from the edge. Snapped right on afterward and looks GREAT. Still need to find a couple more of these. I plan on taking a hole saw to them and making them fit over the front hubs.





I know they're tall. Less than 31s since they're worn. But so far no rubbing at all. They do make it pretty clear I've got a saggy ass. So next up is weaving in Explorer rear leafs and Beltech shackles. I'll also do the spring spacers on the front.

 

[wildbill23c]

Wow you sound like you are in about the same boat as I am with my 84 Bronco 2. Except I have some pretty bad body issues with rust, thanks to the previous owner apparently driving it around in Utah during the winter and never washed it, so you can imagine the rust issues.

I had mismatched tires on my B2 for about a year, then saved up the money for a set of used tires for $400 that had about 50 miles on them when I got them. Saved me about $100. Still have mismatched wheels, but at the rate my B2 is going I'll drive it until the tires are bald on it again then I'll be scrapping it, can't afford the necessary $5-8k in body work to get it back to looking good, not to mention all the interior work that needs done, needs a new dash, engine leaks oil so bad I add a quart of oil every 3 days and check the gas, radiator is cracked. Need to install the new radiator but I don't have a place to work in out of the weather so it can just leak coolant until spring, and leak oil until then as well.

I do have to say even in 2WD my B2 is pretty good in snow/ice. Had about 4" of snow which is now mostly ice in some spots so driving can be a bit interesting at times. Haven't really had it in 4WD much, other than when it first snowed, mainly just to see how the tires were doing for traction, and well lets just say it went back into 2WD pretty quick as its no fun driving a rear wheel drive truck in 4WD, just takes all the fun out of driving in snow.

I've got the sagging rear end on my B2 as well, springs are more expensive than my B2 is worth. I paid about the same for mine as what you did for yours, except you at least have the benefit of non-rusted body panels.





These were pictures the day I brought it home. Hasn't changed much except it has new tires on it, and it actually runs now and other than the massive oil leak and radiator leak, it wouldn't be too bad driving it out of town, which I have done a few times, but just can't bring myself to drive it too much and use 2 quarts of oil to run into Boise about 30 miles from home. I did however drive it over to Boise earlier this year to sign the TRS banner, but it hasn't been out of town since. Weather turned extremely cold, and my B2 doesn't have a working Choke, so the cold mornings I just don't even mess with trying to drive it.

 

[IRingTwyce]

Ugh. Sucks to have that kind of rust! I did get lucky finding one with a straight body and no rust. Gotta love Texas cars! My interior is in pretty good shape too, considering the age of the truck. I do have a cracked dash, but it's only one spot and doesn't bother me terribly yet. So far I haven't driven mine farther than 45 miles, but now that I've got decent tires he's about to see 630 miles come Monday.

Mine sat around for sale for quite a while. Picked it up off our local buy/sell/trade facebook page. They started off asking $2k for it, then dropped to $1250. Thought sure it would sell at that price. I work out of town for 2 weeks at a time and figured it would definitely sell before I got back home. But I got lucky. I guess there were enough small things that needed attention that it scared people off. I suppose most of the people looking at it were wanting something turn-key and ready to go. I have cars like that already, and this was just a goof. So I figured, why not?

 

[Spede Demn]

Welcome to the forun Iringtwyce, I like the look of those wheels. I have 15" Ranger wheels on mine.

I think I win the rusty bucket award...lol, but then I only paid $200 for mine about 5 years ago, I now have a couple more parts trucks aswell and one of them is not as rusty, but I'll drive until the fenders fall off before swapping any body parts.

 

[wildbill23c]

Ugh. Sucks to have that kind of rust! I did get lucky finding one with a straight body and no rust. Gotta love Texas cars! My interior is in pretty good shape too, considering the age of the truck. I do have a cracked dash, but it's only one spot and doesn't bother me terribly yet. So far I haven't driven mine farther than 45 miles, but now that I've got decent tires he's about to see 630 miles come Monday.

Mine sat around for sale for quite a while. Picked it up off our local buy/sell/trade facebook page. They started off asking $2k for it, then dropped to $1250. Thought sure it would sell at that price. I work out of town for 2 weeks at a time and figured it would definitely sell before I got back home. But I got lucky. I guess there were enough small things that needed attention that it scared people off. I suppose most of the people looking at it were wanting something turn-key and ready to go. I have cars like that already, and this was just a goof. So I figured, why not?

That's kind of what my B2 has been, just something to mess around with and drive and not have to worry about some idiot running into me. Go a head probably won't notice the extra dents. My B2 I found on Craigslist for $975, originally they were asking around $1100-1200 for it, but it had been on there for quite a while. Finally they lowered the price again, and said well its still there, it must be a sign that it was meant for me to buy it. So I did. I went and test drove it, it ran great at that time. I asked the lady if I could make a couple payments on it, and she said absolutely. So by the time it was paid for her son had been screwing around with stuff on it, and so I go to pick it up, it won't start, battery is dead, unhook from my car trailer drive my truck around, get it started, drive it around and load up, only to realize that its pouring gas out of the fuel line that connects to the carburetor, I just drove it up on the trailer and shut it off. Got home, and just tightened down the fuel line and fixed that leak, however the carburetor was so out of adjustment you couldn't get it to go any faster than about 30MPH. Got to tinkering with it and got it running pretty well, then noticed the coolant in the oil, had the head gaskets already as the previous owner obviously knew of the problem, so I didn't have to buy the gaskets they were in the back seat, along with another carburetor, and another starter. Well the carburetor on the engine was leaking fuel out of the accelerator pump so the carburetor got swapped out. I had the local high school replace the head gaskets earlier this year and its been doing fine on that level. Slowly getting the oil leaks stopped, as it was leaking out of the rear main seal pretty bad, got that fixed thanks to the high school auto shop again. Now I have a cracked radiator issue that I found, and of course the front crank seal is puking oil. Well when the weather straightens up that's on my to do list to fix those issues.

I did get new tires like I mentioned in my previous post, that's helped a lot. The other tires were so bald that you hit a patch of ice and there was no acceleration, stopping, or turning, just plain out of control sliding. New tires are awesome, just standard all season radials but a huge plus that at least lets me drive the ol' B2 around town.

Rust issues will eventually get fixed, but right now I'm saving up to get the exhaust system replaced as it has leaks all over from the headers back LOL. Someone removed half the exhaust at some point and just welded the muffler on at the location where the catalytic converter was, so my exhaust ends under the passenger seat. Anyhow its a very slow agonizing expensive project. I've yet to find another Bronco 2 in that color scheme either.

As for the dash being cracked, its standard issue for these older Rangers and the Bronco 2's as well.

 

[IRingTwyce]

I know what you mean about finding one the same color. Primer green B2s aren't exactly falling off the Ford tree. Mine was originally white with a blue interior. The blue doesn't match the green at all. Makes it look redneck ghetto. After I do the front end swap I might just take it to Maaco and have it sprayed.

I've got a few leaks to address. Seems the gasket on the filter door of the trans has a slow drip, and the petcock on the radiator does too. Just lots and lots of little things on a car this old that add up. I'm used to it. I'm still tracking down issues on my 94 GMC turbo diesel dually after 3 years, and my 90 RX-7 is constantly in need of attention.

 

[ab_slack]

Makes it look redneck ghetto. After I do the front end swap I might just take it to Maaco and have it sprayed.

Redneck has had an upsurge in popularity the past couple years so you could be in the height of fashion!!!