Here’s something you’ve probably never seen before. It looks like some kind of Willys coming towards you, but it’s a little confusing because you’re counting the grill slots, but there aren’t any turn signals under the headlights, or the holes to mount them in. Looking closer it appears to have a Ford TTB front suspension. Is that a Dana 44 TTB? Those look like 39-inch IROKS that you would find on a rock crawler. Why doesn’t this thing have a Dana 60 solid front axle?
As you walk around to the side it becomes even more confusing. It’s not a Willy’s, it’s not a Jeep, it’s not an International Scout, and it’s not a Ford Bronco. And then it hits you; that’s a Ford Bronco II body. Now you just stand there for a minute taking in what it is you’re seeing. This is a Ford Bronco II with an exo cage and a Willys inspired grill. Oh, and that front axle, it’s not a Dana 44 TTB, it’s a Dana 35 TTB found in the 1990-1997 Ford Ranger and 1991-1994 Ford Explorer.
This Ford Bronco II defies everything and flips the middle finger to all of the off-roading expectations and stereotypes.
Dugan of MidKnight Fabrications had a modified Ford Ranger, but the body was trashed from a few rollovers and tree encounters. He found an old Bronco II and decided to transfer all of the good parts from the Ranger to the Bronco II.
Inspiration for what the Bronco II would become came from a Ford Bronco Mega Truck that Dugan built and is now owned by a friend. The Bronco II would become a ‘Mini Me’ to the big Bronco.
Dugan didn’t just swap the parts from the Ranger onto the Bronco II. He made a lot of upgrades as he went. Below you can see that he designed and built his very own suspension brackets for the front axle
And the lower ball joint mounts were cut, moved outward a 1/2-inch, and welded in position to correct the alignment. The front axle is outfitted with 4.56 gears and a Lockrite locker. The front suspension uses longer radius arms, King 2.5-inch 14-inch coilovers, Fox bumpstops, and was pushed forward 6.5-inches. A drilled and tapped steering box, F350 power steering pump and hydro assist with a remote cooler help steer the 30-inch IROK tires.
An Artec truss was added to the Ford 8.8-inch rear axle and the axle received disc brakes, Moser axleshafts, 4.56 gears, and a Detroit Locker.
The Bronco II still uses the Ford 2.9L V6 that came in the Bronco II and is backed by a C5 automatic transmission that’s been modified with C4 gears and a reverse manual valve body. Behind the transmission is a BW1350/BW1354 transfer case doubler with twin sticks. The gives the Bronco II the crawl ratio it needs to climb rocks.
The rear suspension has been replaced with a custom 4-link and King 2.5-inch 14-inch coilovers with Fox bumpstops.
With the rear suspension being stretched 8-inches rearwards, an old Ford Ranger bed was used to make the panels to fill the wide space between the rear tires and the doors.
This Bronco II went from the stock 94-inch wheelbase to a 108.5-inch wheelbase.
The rear axle and suspension are where the gas tank used to be, so a fuel cell was added in the rear of the passenger compartment.
The inside also received a pair of PRP racing seats and a custom center console.
As you can see below, the Bronco II definitely gets used hard.
Specifications:
1988 Ford Bronco II (or what’s left of one)
Dana 35 TTB, Trussed, Clearanced for 20″ of travel but limit strapped at 15* camber max., 4.56 Gears, Lockrite Locker, Warn Jeep Hubs, Moog Joints, Stretched 6.5″ forward and each beam is stretched 0.5″ for an additional width of 1″ overall. Ball joints moved out
Ford 8.8-inch 28-spline rear axle with Moser axles, disc brakes, trussed, 4.56 and locker
2.9L V6 engine
Ford C5 automatic transmission built with upgraded C4 transmission parts, and RMVB. Winters shifter
1350/1354 transfer case doubler, twin stick
4x King 2.5″ 14″ coilovers
4x Fox bumps
39.5 Iroks with steel beadlocks
Overall Stretch is 6.5″ front and 8″ rear for and overall wheelbase of 108.5″.
Full exo cage with internal supports behind driver
Waterproof Relay box behind seats
PRP fixed seats
Fuel cell and remote trans cooler
Drilled and tapped steering box, F350 steering pump and hydro assist, remote cooler
Front custom made CJ3A/CJ2A Grill with 2 slots added to fit the Ford mantra. Front turn signals perform flash back just like the head lights.
More photos and information:
To see more details about this build, check out: “Mini Me” Low COG B2 Crawler/Jumper Build
Also check out: MidKnight Fabrications – Facebook
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Welcome to the Bronco Corral. As a long time Ford Truck enthusiast, I've been a fan of the Ford Bronco and Bronco II. In fact, I've completely rebuilt a Bronco II of my own. The Bronco Corral originally started as the Bronco II Corral, but in 2020 I decided to expand it to include all Ford Bronco's, and welcome the upcoming 2021 Ford Bronco. Thanks for stopping.
