New Bro2 owner

[Captainstubs1]

Hey everybody I just recently bought a 1989 Bronco 2 and I've been doing some reading about them, talked to some friends, and had my own thoughts. You guys seem to be experts past me in this area so hopefully I can bounce some ideas off ya. 1 motor swap the 2.9l in it now is clean and running so I'll probably leave it unless something bad happens but I'm having a hard time deciding between the 302 or the 351 any tips, tricks, or reasons I should/shouldn't use one of them. 2 the rear and front ends I have the 7.5 inch rear end with the dana 28 front end 3.45 ratios my jeep friend said stick with the 28 or go straight to the dana 44 because the 35 is crappy is that just jeeps etc. and should i find a 8.8 inch rear end to swap out the 7.5 inch in case it helps planning at least a 4" suspension lift. 3 my B2 had the rear tire swing option but doesn't have the swing anymore is it worth putting another one on or should i go roof rack. Also on the shorter list removable doors(just a thought nothing serious yet) removable top/ windows whats easier/ needs less fabricating and any other tips for a new bronco 2 owners? Thanks in advance everybody.

 

[Shran]

A search would give you all your answers very quickly.

My opinions

302 vs 351 vs 4.0. 4.0 is the easiest. 302 is a distant second, requires a lot more skill, parts, and money. 351W is cool but harder to make fit because of a wider block. Probably would need custom headers.

Jeep Dana 35 axles are junk, but they are also a REAR axle. Totally different. D35 TTB is fairly strong from the factory and 100% bolt in. Easiest and cheapest too.

Roof rack for a spare tire? Hell no, you are adding a lot of weight to the roof which raises your center of gravity. Very important to keep your COG as low as possible with short, narrow vehicles.

Removable doors are easy, just make removable hinge pins.

Removable top? Good luck, haven't seen it done, but once you cut the top off, the body gets awful floppy and you will need to brace it appropriately.

IMO if you have to ask about that last one, you are not an experienced fabricator, which means that you shouldn't try it, because a removable and sturdy B2 top would be a LOT of custom fab work.

 

[Captainstubs1]

Thanks Shran yea i did find a few after I made the post couldn't figure out the search on my phone right away you would be correct in assuming I'm not an experienced fabricator in fact I'm not a fabricator at all and on the door hinges are talking about keeping the hinges in the door and making quick remove pins for them or get outside hinges like a Wrangler thanks.

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[Shran]

Wrangler style hinges would be very difficult to make for a Ranger/B2 because the hinges are between the door and cab as opposed to mounted on the jamb. Hard, not impossible.

The easiest way to do removable doors is to take a marker and draw a line around both hinge brackets on the door (this allows you to line them up when you put them back on.) Then remove the door from the truck, and draw a line around the hinges brackets on the cab. Remove the hinges, grind the pin out of them, drill the pin holes out to slightly larger than 3/8", and replace the pins with 3/8" steel rod or a long 3/8" pin. Reassemble. I did this exact thing on mine and it works great.

 

[4.0B2]

A search would give you all your answers very quickly.

My opinions

302 vs 351 vs 4.0. 4.0 is the easiest. 302 is a distant second, requires a lot more skill, parts, and money. 351W is cool but harder to make fit because of a wider block. Probably would need custom headers.

Jeep Dana 35 axles are junk, but they are also a REAR axle. Totally different. D35 TTB is fairly strong from the factory and 100% bolt in. Easiest and cheapest too.

Roof rack for a spare tire? Hell no, you are adding a lot of weight to the roof which raises your center of gravity. Very important to keep your COG as low as possible with short, narrow vehicles.

Removable doors are easy, just make removable hinge pins.

Removable top? Good luck, haven't seen it done, but once you cut the top off, the body gets awful floppy and you will need to brace it appropriately.

IMO if you have to ask about that last one, you are not an experienced fabricator, which means that you shouldn't try it, because a removable and sturdy B2 top would be a LOT of custom fab work.

this.
personally I have a 4.0 8.8/d35 B2 and love it. For the work, I wouldn't consider a 302 swap anymore. I love my 4.0 in my B2.

if you want a solid front axle you can do it.. but be ready to fab stuff. This ain't a jeep, you can't just run out and order everything you need at 4wheelparts. look thru my build (see sig) and you'll see what my B2 is like. if you want to start at the d35 swap with all the goodies, start on page 123 or so. The 8.8 swap is fairly straight forward.. the d35 takes a little knowledge to make it work right but plenty of us on TRS know that. Look at Disciple_rocks b2. Look at legoms013's ranger. Both did a lot of trial and error on TTB setups, so why not just learn from their spent money

 

[Captainstubs1]

Thanks guys for the advice this will probably be a slow build but I wanna make a 4x4 to be proud of that's why I bought a Ford. But I've heard a few contradictory things about the D35 is it bolt on or is there some modification that's needs to be done? Thanks again for the advice.

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[Shran]

It is 100% bolt in except for the front driveshaft. It may or may not work depending on your transmission length. Very minor issue of just changing the length of the shaft itself or finding a replacement of correct length.

 

[4.0B2]

just be cautious of plate style drop brackets in lift kits for d35's...

 

[Captainstubs1]

I don't know if you know but I have the Mazda M5OD tranny will that need driveshaft modification?

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[4.0B2]

I know with my a4ld and 3.5" of lift... the shaft was fine as is.

 

[Captainstubs1]

Thank you 4.0b2

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