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Just got my first B-II


RayInStl

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The farm truck ranger has seen it's last highway, but it's parts shall live on. I was looking for a suitable donor to serve as a parts trunk for the ranger (motor and frame) and picked up an 89 Bronco II instead.



I used to have a Jeep and have always liked the little Bronco II's I'd see running around the trails. So when I found this one on Craigslist while looking for cheap Rangers, I decided to pull the trigger. The previous owner had converted it from 4x4 to 2WD using a ranger transmission, for reasons I can't fathom, and the auto trans was singing it's swan song. So I was able to pick it up cheap.



It's a 2.9L and still has the 4x4 front diff. It's pretty nicely optioned and in really good shape. Someone bedliner-ed the body (sigh) but it's a thin coat and I think it'll come off. For now the 2.9 will stay. I know about their head issues and will cross that bridge if it ever shows up.









I also picked up a parts b-II that was someone's mud toy. It's an 87 2.9 5 speed (FM146) and an Eddie Bauer, no less! :headbang: It's giving up it's 5 speed, some wiring, tilt column, axles, motor and seats before sending it off to be recycled into a honda.









My 83 Ranger will give up it's manual transfer case, manual hubs, and wheels and tires. I'll also be swapping the first gen front clip and dash over. I've always liked first gens more.

My immediate plans are:
  • Manual Trans swap
  • Manual Transfer Case swap
  • Manual Hubs swap
  • Drive it!

In the near future, I'll be doing the following:
  • First Gen Front Clip
  • First Gen Dash
  • Tilt column
  • Round headlights
  • Different paint!

I want to be able to do some trail riding, but nothing big. No rock crawling in my future. I'll probably be doing away with the leaf spring blocks on the back. I don't like the raked look and I think the ride really suffers with them on.

I think that's it for tonight. I'll post more pictures soon.



Edited to fix the pix!
 
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BlackBII

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Looks like it's in good shape! It's a shame about the bedliner paint job but that can be fixed.

Can't wait to see what you do with this BII :icon_thumby:
 

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That 89 has Eddie Bauer interior...

I would run a 4.0 radiator and 180* thermostat. That's what I've always done with my 2.9s after having trashed a few heads. If you're feeling ambitious, I'd port (gasket match) the heads and intakes. A bigger throttle body helps with throttle response and performance, one off an EGR equipped 2.9 bolts up.


Sent from my kite using a trebuchet
 

RayInStl

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Looks like it's in good shape! It's a shame about the bedliner paint job but that can be fixed.

Can't wait to see what you do with this BII :icon_thumby:
I can't wait to see what I do, too! lol. I think the liner will come off easy enough. They painted it right over the stock paint without prepping it, so it's already chipping off in spots.

That 89 has Eddie Bauer interior...

I would run a 4.0 radiator and 180* thermostat. That's what I've always done with my 2.9s after having trashed a few heads. If you're feeling ambitious, I'd port (gasket match) the heads and intakes. A bigger throttle body helps with throttle response and performance, one off an EGR equipped 2.9 bolts up.


Sent from my kite using a trebuchet
My 2.9 just so happens to be the EGR version. Good tips on the 4.0 radiator and thermostat. I think I might have a 4.0 radiator out of a 2nd gen explorer. Would that fit?



Edited to fix the pic.
 
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85_Ranger4x4

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My 2.9 just so happens to be the EGR version. Good tips on the 4.0 radiator and thermostat. I think I might have a 4.0 radiator out of a 2nd gen explorer. Would that fit?
Bolted right into my '85 and has kept a 5.0 cool for 6 years now. :icon_thumby:
 

RayInStl

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Bolted right into my '85 and has kept a 5.0 cool for 6 years now. :icon_thumby:
Hmm. I'll have to check if I still have it. I have a feeling it was in the back of the explorer when I sent it to the crusher.

Here's a question for anyone who knows: My 83 ranger has a manual transfer case. The rear output is not a bolt on like it is on the B-II's. Is it possible to change the flange over from the B-II's electric transfer case, or will I have to have the ranger driveshaft shortened?

The electric one on the B-II is missing the shift motor and has some cut wires, so I have a feeling it's not in good shape. Plus it looks like the shift motors are a constant issue with them.

This is the output on the ranger:


Here's the B-II:


Edited to fix the pictures
 
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85_Ranger4x4

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Measure the yokes and go from there. My guess is they use the same cross.

My '85 has the flange like your BII... '83's can be kind of weird vs the rest of the herd.
 

RayInStl

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Measure the yokes and go from there. My guess is they use the same cross.

My '85 has the flange like your BII... '83's can be kind of weird vs the rest of the herd.
Thanks, I'll give that a shot. It's down at my brother's place right now. I'm heading down there this weekend. I'll see if the yoke comes off of the trasfer cases. I don't think it just slides out though. I'll propbably have to take the transfer cases apart to swap them, if it's possible. I was tugging pretty good on the flange when I was pulling the transmission out and it didn't slip off then.

We're taking a trip to Ohio to pick up a Jeep Scrambler parts truck, so I won't have much time to work on the Broncos.
 

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There is probably a nut inside the yoke like there is to hold the flange on the BII case.

RBV's as far as I know always had fixed rear outputs on the t-cases with a telescoping rear driveshaft.

If it was me, I would put a new cross in it and just use the yoke with straps if it is the right size.
 

RayInStl

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I think you might be right about swapping the yokes. I'll see when I get the transfer case out of the ranger.

I made some progress last weekend, but the cold really slowed me down. My brother helped out, so we still managed to get a good start on things.

It was cold, so to avoid going outside, and to see what I had, I started with cleaning all of the mud off the transmission.




Oh look! An FM145. :/


With nothing else to do inside, out into the cold we went! First order of business: removing the Ranger's front clip. I like 1st gens a lot, so I'm going to swap the front clips. I'm probably going to modify the grill for round headlights and a more "early bronco" look.







Some of the fender to inner-fender screws are toast. So I gave up on the driver side fender and decided to swap one of the wheels from the ranger over to the bronco to see how it looks. Since I had the wheel off, I went ahead and swapped to the ranger's manual hub, too. It was easier than I thought it would be. Hardest part was finding a parts place that had the automatic hub nut socket. Finally found it at O'Reilly autoparts for $15.





It was getting dark and my brother wanted to put up his HF garage so his neighbor wouldn't complain about my parts bronco. So we threw that together and moved the "good" bronco over so the parts one could go in the garage. The e-brake on the bronco got stuck on the driver's side, so I did a one-wheel burnout to get the bronco out in the yard.



We still had to use a "come along" and his tree to get it out enough that we could back it up in front of the ranger. Reverse worked just fine!

We got the parts bronco into the garage, piled the ranger front end on top of it, and called it a weekend.





I won't make any progress this weekend. We were supposed to make a trip to pick up a parts Jeep for my brother last weekend but put that on hold because my mom was in the hospital from a couple dizzy spells. We didn't want to be several states over if it turned out to be something. Luckily the docs think it was just a sugar imbalance (she's type II diabetic). The bloodwork was negative for heart attack or stroke. But since we didn't go last weekend, we're heading to Iowa this weekend instead. :icon_thumby:
 
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RayInStl

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I had a little time on Sunday, so I pulled the drum off the sticking wheel. I took everything apart and didn't see any problems, so I put it back together and now it's fine. I think the PO just had the shoes adjusted too far out. She moves just fine now. :icon_thumby:
 

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Good your mom is doing ok.

Still kinda bummed the farm truck is dying, I loved the look of that thing.

Where in Iowa are you headed?
 

RayInStl

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Good your mom is doing ok.

Still kinda bummed the farm truck is dying, I loved the look of that thing.

Where in Iowa are you headed?
Thanks, I'm glad she's ok, too. Yeah, I really wanted to fix that truck up. It just came down to too many problems to fix them all. I found the Bronco II while looking for a 4x4 Ranger parts truck. I was going to swap my body over to a donor truck's frame. But everyone either wanted too many $$$ or were complete junk.

I've been into Jeeps and always like the B2, so I decided to go for it. I will be using the front clip, dash, transfer case, and wheels from the farm truck, so it kinda lives on. Sorta. lol We (my brother, sister-in-law, and I) want to turn the bed of the Ranger into a popup camper that we can take with us when we go camping.

I don't know if we'll be able to do that, though. The city my brother lives in just sent him a letter today saying he can't have unlicensed vehicles. They gave him 7 days. So I have to figure out where to put my bronco and the farm truck while we work on them. I can't bring them here since I live in St. Louis. They'll tow it before I can even get it off the trailer. I'm about ready to just say F-U to the city and get a place back out in the country. I think the commute's worth it if I don't have to put up with this bullsh*t.

Sorry about the rant. lol. I'm a bit pissed off right now.

Anyway. We've already been to Iowa and back. The guy that had the Jeep was just a little outside of Cedar Falls. I'm still recovering from the bouncy roads. :icon_bounceblue: Iowa's DOT needs to come down to Missouri and let MODOT show them how to make smooth highways! :D I think I might have ruptured a kidney!
 

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Your BII is probably too nice but a Ranger cab will go on a BII frame.

Our roads might be rough but at least they are straight. :D

(and my county is generally the roughest one I have found :icon_bounceblue:)

FWIW I live in the country and love it. :icon_thumby:
 

RayInStl

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Couldn't get much done last weekend due to rain. Did manage to get the rest of the wheels swapped from the farm truck over to the b2. I swapped over the other manual hub while I was at it.







I got curious and crawled under to find out what ratio the diffs are and looks like I have 3.73 open diffs. So nothing too exciting. It'll work for my use tho. I'm not a big offroader. I like puttin around the lower level trails and playing in the mud, but that's about it.

Since it was raining, I decided to find out why my tailgate doesn't open. The latch sheared off on the inside. I'm not surprised. The PO showed me that it would open if really cranked on it. The night we got it home, I decided to look at why and ended up breaking the latch while trying to "really crank on it". :dunno:

I've read that explorer latches work, so I might go that route. It's not easy to find B2's in junk yards here in the rust belt. They usually end up looking like the farm truck.

The city is getting onto my brother about the B2's being there unlicensed and initially only gave him 7 days to make them disappear. Luckily the people at city hall were in a good mood and gave him an extension until the end of April.

This weekend we plan to pull the remaining useful parts from the parts B2 and send it off the scrapper. It has 3.45's in it, so I doubt we'll pull the axles, but we're gonna pull the engine, seats, gas tank, and a bunch of miscellaneous things like the rear storage cubbies.
 
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