84 or 89?

[Broncodude]

I have an 84 BII, stock, C-5 automatic, a little bit of rust, new tires, engine needs rebuilt, leaking oil, exhaust manifolds leaking, etc. I have a chance to buy an 89, which mechanically is better, but needs painted, not so good tires, has the auto/overdrive tranny. are these two mostly swappable far as motors, trannys, wheels swappable?, or should I try to find another 84 and rebuild the same year engine? The 89 really looks like crap due to primer, paint mess, my 84 looks pretty good, good drivetrain, locker in rear end... what to do??

 

[Broncodude]

Anybody know how much of the 89 will swap to the 84?

 

[Forcus]

I can't really say except that it would be a carbed to fi'd conversion which in and of itself is a little tough. The fuel tank, lines, etc, MAY need to be changed, and the wiring harnesses will need changed. This wouldn't be super tough except for rust on the fasteners and brittle harness tape and connections. No real way to tell if the "new" engine is much better than your old one.

I'd go with a rering / rebearing / regasket kit ($150 on eBay) and possibly some carb / ignition upgrades on the 2.8 before attempting the swap. It's not a bad little motor.

 

[Broncodude]

thanks for the tip on the F.I. I don't really want to change gas tanks, etc. Sounds like pulling the motor is the way to go..

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I'd go with a rering / rebearing / regasket kit ($150 on eBay) and possibly some carb / ignition upgrades on the 2.8 before attempting the swap. It's not a bad little motor.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Put the 84 Body on the 89.

later,
Dustin

 

[Will]

The C5 is a lot better tranny than that A4LD. The 2.9 is better than the 2.8. The 84 body is better than the '89 as far as the durability of the headlights into trees and shrubs is concerned. I like the look of the earlier trucks. I like the interior of the '89 better. Once I learned that the big hole in the Gen 1 dash was for a box of Klennex--that pretty much did it for me. If you get a box of hankies with a truck--nah. I'd rather have a condom machine on the dash. Maybe Ferrari's have that?

 

[Broncodude]

Thats too funny. Well, what I'm doing is rebuilding the 2.8 from the pan up. modified heads, holley carb, msd ignition, headers, super 40 flowmasters. It should run better, even get better than the 14 mpg it was getting. And if it doesn't get better mileage at least it will sound good..