Figured I would update this build since I can post now. The following pictures takes the build up to its current progress.
What they looked like before:
After wire wheel:
After some paint:
I got the Dana 28 out by myself in about an hour. Here it is laying out in the yard. It is going in my buddies '89 2wd Bronco II in a couple weeks.
Driver side beam bolted in with the "new to me" Skyjacker Class II brackets.
Passanger side beam installed. You can see the Class II driver side beam in this picture.
How I left it today.
New brake rotors, wheel bearings, and brake pads. I picked up a set of almost new Warn hubs off eBay for $30 shipped! Here is a couple pictures:
I got the Dana 35 under her on Thursday. I love the Skyjacker 6" coils. I picked up a set of F-250 2wd coil spring retainers so the upper part of the spring wouldn't pop out under extreme flex. I need to get a set of longer brake lines for the front. Here is a couple pictures:
New to me Skyjacker 6" coil spring:
I picked up a set of F-250 2wd upper coil spring retainers to hold the springs in under extreme droop:
Skyjacker Class II bracket:
Whole axle in (minus the diff):
This is how it sits as of today (8-17-08).
I am back to riding Cali again. I need to find a set of 4" lift blocks for the rear for a temp fix. I am going to order a set of Alcan springs to lift it 4" in the rear.
I got me a set of Explorer sun visors to replace the flappy stock ones. They are real nice. I need to find a power source to hook up the lighted mirror.
I also painted the stock stainless door seals. They were dirty beyond cleaning so I sanded them a bit and painted them black. They look much better than the raw stainless IMO.
I also took off the light bar. I sold it to a guy who is like a TrailBlazer broker (
www.ronbarthelt.com/trailblazer_lightbar.html). I took it off today. I can't decide if I want to get some KC's to put up there or leave it off.
I finally got my James duff dual shock hoops installed. I need to measure for longer shocks, so for now the shocks will stay in their stock location. I hope to measure tomorrow and order on Monday.
This is my dad cutting off the flange on the coils bucket (this is temporary until I can get a set of '79 F-150 coil buckets to install).
FIRE!!!!
After cut:
Hoop Installed (Like I said, I need longer shocks):
I did a little flexing before we started on the shock hoops. I like how the rear flexes, but the front still needs some more. Currently it has the 6" Skyjacker RBV coils in the front. I am going to save some money and get a pair of '79 F-150 coil buckets and a set of EB coils.
I got my dual shocks installed last night. I had to order them based on length since the shock hoop is considerably longer than the stock mount. They are '96 F-150 w/ 6" lift shocks. I like these because the bodies are about 1/4" narrower in diameter than the stock shocks; since the front mount is close to the spring, stock diameter shocks wouldn't have fit.
Did a little more flexing yesterday (9-16-08) after cleaning up some downed trees from Ike in the in-laws yard. This was in the front of my fiance's grandparents house. I wanted to see if it would be any different with the dual shocks; I think it did better.
I also installed a set of BellTech 6400 shackles today (9-17-08) to level my rear end out today. It was about a 45 minute job, and that included getting out and putting up the tools. I didn't need power tools, so no electric was nice (glad the electric finally came on so I could post up some pictures). I need to change my pinion angle now to accommodate for the shackles.
I got my E-clip eliminator installed tonight.
I think my welds look good considering I have only had a welder for about 4 days!
I got my Detroit EZ-Locker last week. I can't wait to get my case & carrier back all setup with my 4.56 gears so I can install the locker and get my trucks 4wd going!
I also got my BW1354 and Dana 35 TTB front drive shaft today; it too is waiting for my case to be installed.
I got the locker installed and the front end put back together.
So naturally now that I have 4wd, 4.56's, and a locker, I figured I should go try it out a bit. I can't wait to actually get to use it off road!
And for those interested, the shackles on a Bronco II will NOT hit the bumper. This was at full flex in the rear and it didn't hit on the driver side.
I started prepping the body for paint. I started on the hood today. I got the rust sanded off of the hood and got some build able primer so I could see where I needed to do some more sanding and add some bondo.
Before primer:
After sand and primer:
I will add more pictures the more I do. The top is as bad if not worse than the hood, so that will be fun.....NOT.
I modified the spare tire carrier so the spare tire sits a tad bit lower and out of the rear window.
Before:
After:
How I got it to work:
I installed a set of tow hooks on the front of my BII tonight.
I also took off the brush guard and lower air dam. I like it much better without the brush guard or the air dam.
I cleaned up my header panel and painted it today. I used Rust-Oleum on it so hopefully it will not rust out for a while. I by no means am going to paint my BII black. I want to paint under the hood black to clean it up a little bit.
This is before paint and some sanding:
After sanding to get rid of the rust:
Painted up:
