The Juice Box Revival (Blake.'s BII Build)

[Blake.]

Well figured it was time to start one of these.

what i have to work with-
1986 Bronco II
2.9L v6
5-speed trans
ES transfer case
stock gears
stock axels
lifted by the PO

and now lets throw in some variety
3/5 of my "garage"

The


The Plan (realistic)
Build a capable yet street-able trail rig.
manual t-case swap
"half" doors
pre-runner style front bumper
mount the KC lights i've had forever
gut the inside and "waterproof" it
re-do the suspension right and achieve just enough lift to clear 35's with minor trimming
re-gear to turn those meats
lockers front and rear.


Extra stuff that would be cool
sliders
rear tube bumper
make a new dash
chopped top and cage


Background
Once upon a hot as hell day in south GA July, I traded a Honda Recon that i snorkeled for this truck.

Reviving the Juice Box

PO brought it to the house and the next day i was screwing with the transfer case shift motor. It will turn when the low range button is pushed, I dont know about 4hi bc that button does not work, and i had no 2wd. Did i mention the truck wont move at all? Well i grew tired of messing with that and decided to try to turn the shaft manually. VISE GRIPS but the transfer case would not click into gear. it felt like the shaft was sprung. when i would turn it then let go, it would spin itself back to the original position.

i already really did not like the fact it was push button 4x4 and With all the searches I had done and everything i read i grew to dislike it even more. I decided to search for a manual t-case.

after calling every Junk Yard in my phone book (i believe there's about 12), I only found 3 that had 80's model B2's and rangers. and only 2 of the 3 had a manual transfer case. and only 1 of the two had everything i needed to do the swap. he wanted a little too much for my pocket and i decided to check the all expansive interweb.

Found a member on here who is parting out his truck, The_Dealer. Meeting up monday to get a t-case and everything i need to do the swap, 2 doors with all the guts and both panels, and a rear hatch with the glass that opens.

tuesday i should have the case in and be able to drive the truck for the first time. also i will start on those half doors. hopefully will have at least one of the half doors done by the next week.

well that's where i stand at the moment.

 

[country0001]

Good luck on it and nice truck. When you want some more power,might I suggest the mighty 4.0. It makes the B2's come alive!

Remember you can use some explorer parts and I would recommend a 1354 t case anyways

 

[Blake.]

thanks man
yeah ive seen a bunch of guys do the 4.0 swap.
for now im just gonna let it ride as is. it has 99k on the odometer and i believe it is actually 99 and not 199. engine cranks up easy and runs like a champ. i'm gonna let it ride for now. and plus if i actually do swap the engine i'll stuff the 5.0 i have laying around in it.

I'm gonna be on the look out for some leather or vinyl seats. out of an explorer i believe would be my best bet.
I've heard the 1354 is suppose to be better than the 1350 but this truck will see 75% street and 25% trail. I'm not doin anything too extreme. lol

 

[country0001]

I hear ya man, I've got a 1350m mated to my dd. My next build will be a little more extreme. I've got the B2, engine , trans, and t case. Once the bug bites you, it bites hard. I'm lookin for some d44's

 

[4.0B2]

i'm telling you bro.
4.0 it!
mdo5.
build a doubler 1354/1350.
4.56's.
35's.
if you wanna stick w/ the 2.9 go w/ 4.88's
on explorer axles. 8.8/d35
run xj front coils w/ some sway bar disconnects
manual hubs
super runner steering
extend your stock radius arms w/ johnny joints at the frame
make sure you use good drop brackets on your axle (skyjacker usually)
gear it! major deal here, don't rock stock gears w/ 33's or 35's.


if you want some good ttb info, look at legoms build, disciplerocks build, and other builds. also there is a lot of info in the last like 10 pages of my build talking about my up and coming axle swaps.

and the 1350 will suit you fine, disciplerocks still rocks a 1350 and he crawls his.

 

[Blake.]

yeah i'll get there guys. I'm just trying to set near future goals. lol

and as far as gearing, i was thinking more along the lines of 5.29. probably overkill and wont be able to get over 65 haha

 

[jhammel85]

Like I said before...Good luck with this truck. It looks great! Exactly what I would look for in a B2 if I grabbed one down south. They're rust buckets up here (well...Not all..)

 

[Blake.]

thanks man, I'll have to crawl under it and take some pics. it really surprised me how clean it is under there.

there is a place in front of the seat mount in the floor pan where it looks like it was busted on a rock. i replaced the entire floor in my mustang so a little patch is no biggie.

 

[4.0B2]

that's the reason i've built on mine so much.. there is NO rust in it. gotta love being in Mississippi!

 

[Blake.]

yeah buddy

 

[4x4junkie]

I find the 2.9 to be adequate (there's only a 20HP difference between the 2.9 & 4.0), you just have to wind it out more than you would a 4.0 because it lacks the 4.0's torque. Stick some 5.13 gears in the axles and you should be fine.
When it finally wears itself out, then drop the 4.0L in it (that's the plan I have for mine anyway).

Clean BII you got there. Looks like all it needs is some paint (and fender trim for the bigger tires, getting rid of those bent-under corners) and it should look real sharp

 

[Blake.]

I find the 2.9 to be adequate (there's only a 20HP difference between the 2.9 & 4.0), you just have to wind it out more than you would a 4.0 because it lacks the 4.0's torque. Stick some 5.13 gears in the axles and you should be fine.
When it finally wears itself out, then drop the 4.0L in it (that's the plan I have for mine anyway).

thats the plan i'm goin for. for some reason i'm stuck on 5.29. i'm not sure why but it just stands out to me. and instead of a 4.0, I'll probably build that 5.0 i have laying around the shop. Build it for low end. but still be able to do 3000 or less at 65. but thats waaaaaaaaaaaaaay down the road.

Clean BII you got there. Looks like all it needs is some paint (and fender trim for the bigger tires, getting rid of those bent-under corners) and it should look real sharp

thanks man. paint is in the plans just not sure when, and i really wish the PO at least cut the fenders to match the body lines. but oh well. its not terribly noticeable.

i cant wait to get that t-case in and start cutting on those doors.

 

[ldbill39]

Actually, you can also boost the performance of the 2.9, to out run the 4.0. The 2.9's were a collaboration between the Ford engineers in Colonge, Germany and Cosworth in England. Cosworth used the 2.9 in the road track Capri's, and they got around 600hp out of those little motors. The one I am currently building, will be right at 250hp and 260ftlbs of torque. Sven Pruett's book shows you how to get better performance out of the Ford 60 degree v6. If you want any info. on the book, private message me and I'll give you some info. Good Luck.

 

[4.0B2]

Actually, you can also boost the performance of the 2.9, to out run the 4.0. The 2.9's were a collaboration between the Ford engineers in Colonge, Germany and Cosworth in England. Cosworth used the 2.9 in the road track Capri's, and they got around 600hp out of those little motors. The one I am currently building, will be right at 250hp and 260ftlbs of torque. Sven Pruett's book shows you how to get better performance out of the Ford 60 degree v6. If you want any info. on the book, private message me and I'll give you some info. Good Luck.

but.. what kind of CHEAP things can you do, to make it out perform the 4.0? most people (like me) do the 4.0 swap because of bang for buck.

 

[Blake.]

Actually, you can also boost the performance of the 2.9, to out run the 4.0. The 2.9's were a collaboration between the Ford engineers in Colonge, Germany and Cosworth in England. Cosworth used the 2.9 in the road track Capri's, and they got around 600hp out of those little motors. The one I am currently building, will be right at 250hp and 260ftlbs of torque. Sven Pruett's book shows you how to get better performance out of the Ford 60 degree v6. If you want any info. on the book, private message me and I'll give you some info. Good Luck.

if i had the money to throw at this thing i'd build it, cage it, beef it, make it absolutely ridiculous. but at the moment i'm a broke 20 yr old with a part time job to pay my bills and trying to swing school in the mix. I would really like to but i dont have the money or time to build this engine to push big numbers.

thanks though bud. i might end up looking that up just out of curiosity.