Tony Raine's Bronco II

[Tony Raine]

Alright, I sure hope I measured this right, haha. Only drilled 2 of the 4 holes, in case I have to move them around later.

Sticks out a little more than stock

Is the pinion supposed to point up this far?

I have no idea what “degree” bushings I have in the wedges (I’ll be getting new ones regardless)

Got some new F-250 shock mounts at a great price from a fellow forum member

I thought about grinding off the track bar mount from the SAS donor rig, but for price vs. time, this looks like a great value HERE

 

[Tony Raine]

I’ve noticed that since installing the radius arm extensions, I no longer need the full-size TTB RA brackets (they stick the end of the RA outside the frame). I can now put my stock RBV TTB brackets back in without bind. After I finish cleaning them up, I’ll put a little spray paint on and bolt them up.

Track bar bracket should be here soon….

Currently, I am taking the coil buckets off. Bought a craftsman air chisel that is leaps and bounds better than my old HF cheapie. The plan is to space the stock buckets off the frame with 2”x2” steel, and move them up about 2”. I have some neat adjustable upper coil mounts that I want to use, I just have to figure out how to mount a flat plate with a hole in the middle, in the middle of my stock coil bucket. Ok, that sounds confusing, I’ll get some pics up later….


I’ve also been drilling on those bolts in the radius arms, with little success.

 

[Tony Raine]

Alright, got the coil buckets off

I like to have my work at eye-level, so I lifted things up a little bit, haha

Got both coil buckets together, and did some thinking

The goofy bulge on the drivers side framerail always had me stumped. I wasn’t sure if the “hump” or the “flat” part was the correct distance from the nice flat passenger side framerail. After comparing the coil buckets, it looks like the “flat” is the proper place to build off of. This is good, since I don’t have to build off the old coil buckets. Time to get a little creative with some of this steel I have laying around….

 

[Kyle M.]

Lookin great, keep up the good work!

 

[Tony Raine]

thanks!

Decided to grind off the SAS donor rig’s coil buckets and go from there. The passenger side will be easy (for the most part). Grind off, drill holes, bolt on my frame

Driver’s side will be a little tougher, so I am starting on it first

I am going to make it look as much like the other side as possible, and notch it out for the frame bulge (and add some reinforcement). I will tack the parts together, then take them to work where a certified welder will weld it with a bigger welder.

If this doesn’t work, I’ve got some 3/8” that I could probably do something with

Since I am doing a lot of grinding/cutting, proper safety gear is a must

The water is for the area right under where I am grinding. I also have a large fire extinguisher nearby at all times.

And yes, many sawzall blades were sacrificed.

 

[Tony Raine]

teaser

 

[Kyle M.]

Tease!

 

[Tony Raine]

ok, too excited to not post this up

October 15, 2010

Made a big decision earlier in the week. Progress is painfully slow, and I need something to accomplish quickly. My order from James Duff arrived 2 days after I ordered it.

Their stuff is packed incredibly well, I would recommend them to anyone

Parts lineup

Turns out the lower coil mounts were either made backwards, or stamped for the wrong side.

This actually works in my favor….

October 16, 2010

Re-drilled lower coil mount for spring distance of the full-width, and having my axle pushed forward

Springs have a slight bow to them, but I’ll wait to see what it looks like after the engine is in.

Another pic, coil is not bowed as bad as it looks

Not sure if I will run dual shocks, so I have not installed that bracket yet

No, I could not get a Duff track bar bracket. I’ve got an idea, hope it works, haha….

I’ll probably sell off the stock radius arms and the extensions I bought. But, I’m keeping the adjustable upper coil mounts for a possible future rear link/coil suspension. The “mystery” black coils are really soft, so they may end up in the back as well. As for the f-250 shock mounts, I’m thinking outboard shocks in the rear like on the new F150’s.

Friend of mine is parting/scrapping an 86 F150 2wd, so in the next few days I’ll be getting its rear axle, wheels, and whatever other parts I want.

 

[Tony Raine]

I would like to extend a special thanks to "thatguy" on this forum. Along with Duff's tech support, he guided me through a barrage of smart and not so smart questions that I had.

These parts all fit like a glove, and are very well made. I am 110% satisfied with my decision.

 

[Kyle M.]

Looks sweet

 

[ThatGuy]

Tony,

I'm thinking you may need to move the RA mounts back another couple of inches. That bow in the coils looks to be because the axle is too far forward of the coil buckets.
I'd prolly try to mount the F-250 towers to the side of the coil buckets and run a single shock that way. The extra bracket for the duals won't work with the full-width axle. That's why we made the shock hoops for mine, to get a longer shock on and to move them out further. You have to get the top of the shock out far enough that the body wont connect with the RA.
Your pinion angle is tilted up too far, I just looked at mine and it runs parallel with the flat part of the RA. Do you have the C-bushings in the correct way?

You made a lot of progress with just a few bolt-on parts, I'll try to help you out with a track-bar mount if possible. Let me know what you're planning and I'll give you all the info I can get. If you need anything else, PM me and I'll be more than happy to do whatever I can to help out.



Also, since this still isn't a "kit" yet, I'm sure that the Duff crew would love some feedback from you. My Explorer is the only thing they've had to base measurements and such off of so a different RBV would help with the writing of instructions, etc. When you get things the way you see fit, drop them an e-mail with some measurements or any ideas you may have.

 

[Tony Raine]

Tony,

I'm thinking you may need to move the RA mounts back another couple of inches. That bow in the coils looks to be because the axle is too far forward of the coil buckets.
I'd prolly try to mount the F-250 towers to the side of the coil buckets and run a single shock that way. The extra bracket for the duals won't work with the full-width axle. That's why we made the shock hoops for mine, to get a longer shock on and to move them out further. You have to get the top of the shock out far enough that the body wont connect with the RA.
Your pinion angle is tilted up too far, I just looked at mine and it runs parallel with the flat part of the RA. Do you have the C-bushings in the correct way?

You made a lot of progress with just a few bolt-on parts, I'll try to help you out with a track-bar mount if possible. Let me know what you're planning and I'll give you all the info I can get. If you need anything else, PM me and I'll be more than happy to do whatever I can to help out.



Also, since this still isn't a "kit" yet, I'm sure that the Duff crew would love some feedback from you. My Explorer is the only thing they've had to base measurements and such off of so a different RBV would help with the writing of instructions, etc. When you get things the way you see fit, drop them an e-mail with some measurements or any ideas you may have.

yeah, the more i look at it, i may have to move them back. I'm going to leave it for now, at least until i get the motor in and see where my actual ride height will be. i drilled the bottom hole (for the elongated mounting hole in the radius arm mount) at the back of the adjustment. hopefully i can slide it back and drill out a different set of upper mounting holes.

not sure if you moved your front axle forward, i am trying to get it as far forward as i can with stock-ish steering. moving the lower coil mounts back helped, but not enough. thanks for the tip on re-drilling them, mine are each mounted 1" in, and about 3/4" back from stock.

i like your idea for the F250 shock mounts, i may just use the extra duff bracket for the rear axle instead.

as far as i can tell, the C bushings are probably stock. they are old, and fairly brittle. i'll leave them for now, and get new ones when this thing gets an alignment.

I wish i had bought all this stuff at the beginning of the summer. I took off everything i had done to the front suspension, unboxed and sorted the duff stuff, and put it all on, in one afternoon. all in the dirt, with hand tools and a cordless drill.


this is my track bar and mount

the track bar came with the SAS B2 parts donor, and the mount is from Ballistic. my plan is to make a frame mount out of some angle and have the mount welded to that. then i'll bolt it on and make a brace going to the engine crossmember.

i am going to cut off some of the "lip" on the front of the engine crossmember, and run the trac bar right in front of it.




I would be glad to help Duff in any way i can. this stuff was so easy to put in, i'm not sure how much help i would be, haha.

 

[Tony Raine]

Got my rear axle today. FW 8.8 w/ 3.50 gears and open diff. also got the front spring hangers and springs. Plan is to swap in the front spring hangers for a little more lift if the 4” RC leaves and belltech shackle combo doesn’t level out with the 5.5” EB coils.

The guy also has an old ramsey winch laying around. I think it’s a 12,000# model. Think that’s too big for a BII? I can get it for $200

 

[Robert_1967]

I'd get the winch, you could always use to stand your BII up in a tree when it's not being used......




Robert

 

[Tony Raine]

I'd get the winch, you could always use to stand your BII up in a tree when it's not being used......

Robert

hmm, that gives me an idea.... it involves using parts rigs for christmas decorations in a big tree.......