Bronco II to Ranger project

[lukeburris53]

Well guys, I rolled my Bronco II over. I was on a county road, I guess it was icy, slid off the road sideways, dug in rolled over and was stopped by a tree. I came out without a scratch, but the B2 didn't fair so well. All windows but the driver and rear hatch were busted. The top is pretty well crushed. Other than the bumpers and a dent in the front quarter panel, that I don't care about, the rest is fine, as far as I can tell.

So now the project. The vehicle is only bad from the fire wall back, so I am thinking I will pull the bronco body off as a unit (thats the way it would come, correct?) and find a regular cab Ranger to put on it. As far as years go, would I have to have a '90 for everything to mate up easily or is it flexible? I assume that it will mount right on the chassis, right?

Behind the cab, I am thinking about constructing a bed from wood. Maybe a flat bed with removable sides. Any problem with this?

Thanks. Feel free to give any input.

 

[CheapThrillB2]

the rear two cab mounts ont he ranger cab do not line up with the B2, but they can be easily fabbed up

 

[lukeburris53]

I can weld so thats not a huge deal. Thanks.

 

[dgndngrngr]

i have an 86 ranger body on a bronco II frame. i didnt do the chop work but if you run into problems/questions i can crawl under mine and look

 

[Shran]

I'd pull the front clip off, including the inner fenders and core support, and reuse them like you said, then just unhook all the wiring and everything, pull the body off, and drop the new cab on and build the body mounts.

You can use anything from 89-92, but the easiest route would be to find a truck with a 2.9. That way you don't have to mess with wiring or anything like you would with a 2.3 or 4.0 or 3.0.

 

[lukeburris53]

Thanks guys. I assume ill have to pull everything out of or off the firewall to remove the body, right?

Are there any legal issues I need to deal with? I assume I should pull the VIN off the B2 and put it on the new one to minimize insurance, license, and title issues. A friend mentioned the wood bed would be an issue with insuring it, something about a modified vehicle, anyone know anything about that?

 

[97BlackBetty]

Depends on the local and state laws. A flat bed wont be an issue, but in some states (Michigan) the insurance costs go up for some reason.