Sons 1st Bronco

[RobbieD]

Welcome, BroncoNewb. Good on you for saving that old B2.

That one looks like a true "diamond in the rough", and it sounds like it'll be real gem once you get going on it. '84 is a good year, and it looks to be optioned well (vent windows, flip-up rear glass, AC). Plus, it should have the C5 auto instead of the trouble-prone A4LD.

I have an '84 Ranger; I like the 2.8L, and the Duraspark conversion does have a lot of advantages- better drivability, more reliable and really simplifies things in the engine bay.

But the only real "if it were mine" advice ("two cents worth" actually) I can offer would be to focus on getting all of the truck's mechanical work done and up to snuff first. Suspension, steering and especially brakes. Get the cooling system top-notch, and get a cooler on that auto if it doesn't have one already. If the motor doesn't have obvious crank seal or oil pan leaks, try doing just the valve covers (notorious for massive leaking) and see how it does. A little more work, but new valve stem seals will also likely cut oil consumption. Assume that the truck has never had maintenance, so catch up on all maintenance items.

I would though, short-term on the body, get that surface rust off of it and get some good primer on it.

Welcome to the madness, and good luck!

 

[BroncoNewb]

That’s a good looking BII! Love the way it sits. I’m guessing that’s the 4” suspension with 33’s? Would 31s be too small with a 4”?

 

[BroncoNewb]

Welcome, BroncoNewb. Good on you for saving that old B2.

That one looks like a true "diamond in the rough", and it sounds like it'll be real gem once you get going on it. '84 is a good year, and it looks to be optioned well (vent windows, flip-up rear glass, AC). Plus, it should have the C5 auto instead of the trouble-prone A4LD.

I have an '84 Ranger; I like the 2.8L, and the Duraspark conversion does have a lot of advantages- better drivability, more reliable and really simplifies things in the engine bay.

But the only real "if it were mine" advice ("two cents worth" actually) I can offer would be to focus on getting all of the truck's mechanical work done and up to snuff first. Suspension, steering and especially brakes. Get the cooling system top-notch, and get a cooler on that auto if it doesn't have one already. If the motor doesn't have obvious crank seal or oil pan leaks, try doing just the valve covers (notorious for massive leaking) and see how it does. A little more work, but new valve stem seals will also likely cut oil consumption. Assume that the truck has never had maintenance, so catch up on all maintenance items.

I would though, short-term on the body, get that surface rust off of it and get some good primer on it.

Welcome to the madness, and good luck!

Appreciate your two pennies! Truly it’s very helpful to hear insight from others.

So here is my priority list:
1. Suspension - Have to figure out which way to go and have the smoothest ride possible with 3-4” lift. Right now I’m leaning towards a 4” body lift with gap spacers, all new poly body mounts, new shocks and coils. (Would that all roughly be putting me into the suspension price range?)

2. Tires - I’m thinking 31’s since I’m running the 2.8L with the Dana 28 and 7.5” Rear or can I go slightly bigger?

3. Body Work - Sand, body fill, prime and paint. (Have to get the boy to settle on a paint color! Seems to change daily)

4. New Brakes/Lines - Is the disc conversion worth it on the rear or stay with the drums?

5. Put a cooler on it? Haha going to have to educate me on that!

 

[RobbieD]

I wish that I could help on most of your questions, but my cup of tea is keeping all of mine as stock as possible, and all of mine are 2WDs. But there are some really talented people on here on modifying the 4WD trucks

I'm going on your profile stats that yours has an auto. For the automatic transmissions, an auxiliary cooler is simply an additional, smaller "radiator" that the ATF goes through, in addition to the regular radiator, to keep the fluid cooler. It will help your auto trans live longer. Here's the one on my '84 Ranger:

 

[BroncoNewb]

Ahhh makes sense. I will look into that and see if that's something I would feel comfortable enough undertaking.

Funny enough our BII was actually driven by myself and my two brothers in high school. Then we all went off to college leaving her behind with my dad who kept up for the next handful of years driving her ever so sporadically. He ended up years later trading my uncle for a pontoon boat! Then my uncle actually drove this beauty as a daily driver a lot of the time and occasionally would take it up to the mountains (no real off-roading). After he had it for years and decided it was time to move on he called my oldest brother and asked him if he wanted it, which of course he said yes. He had big hopes for the BII but never had the time to do anything with her so he called me up one day and asked if I wanted it.....Well hell yeah I wanted it! So long story short the BII has made a full circle of me driving it in high school to now my youngest fixing it up to drive in high school.

Just figured I'd give a little background on how cool this build is to me.

 

[RobbieD]

Thanks for the story! That truck has quite a family history.

Mine looks like hell in the photo I posted. That was "before" when I painted it 12 years ago. Here's same view, but a better "after" shot:

Another idea for you on the paint. I did mine with Tractor Supply tractor paint (with a spray gun) and rattle cans for the trim. One gallon of Ford Blue, and one quart of "something else" White, and just mixed the light blue. Cheap but effective; about $250 all-in, with new door felts.

 

[BroncoNewb]

She looks like a beaut! have you done anything on the interior?

Here is a pic that we are trying to base our color pick off of.

 

[gaz]

BroncoNewb,

Here are a couple pics of the old style James Duff hoops. Front is to the left as pictured ..)