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Thrudrew
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2020
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 6
- Points
- 3
- Location
- Idaho
- Vehicle Year
- 1989
- Make / Model
- Ford Bronco I.5
- Transmission
- Automatic
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
