Good afternoon,

I did a search on bronco II's and all I cam up with were pics of sweet trail rigs. I have been looking at all the fun that you guys have with your trucks, and I do a fair bit of off-roading, but nothing like you guys do. two main reasons are. I don't want to pay X # of dollars for a 4" lift for my 04 ranger, and it is too nice to really beat the tar out of it. I have been rambling around the idea of buying a cheap reliable running Bronco II and building the snot out of it for a trail rig. The lifts are way cheaper, and I already have 33" tires on 8.5" wide rims for one. And I have owned several Rangers over the years so I am very familiar with them.

My question for you guys is:
What are some area's I should look at before purchaseing one? Common problem areas, stuff to avoid. I am a car guy so I know about the basics, but each of these older vehicles have their own unique set of demons and it would be nice to be aware of this up front. The last time I owned a non Torsian bar Ranger, was my '88 I had in '98 and I didn't take very good care of it, becasue it was my first vehicle. I do own a 91 explorer, but I just use it for plowing and if needs more than a n oil change I am going to junk it. It is rusty and smelly and have a bajillion miles.

Thanks and have a great day!
John

 

that exploder sounds like the perfect canidate! unless the tranny or engine is shot i say use that. they can make great trail rigs and its already paid for. plus u said its shot so u wont have to worry bout knocking it apart :-D.

seriously though, the X sounds like it may work...but if u wanna B2 id avoid anything older than 86...they had a carb'd 2.8. also avoid the auto tranny. 86-90 seems the best years IMO.

 

Using The explorer is out for two reasons, I use it for plowing and if I start wheeling with it it won't be a good plow rig and second the Reason Is it just has so many miles, and I really don't want to do major work just to get it to be reliable enough to take it on a trail. I picked a B2 in my mind as they are more agaile and jeep like than a ranger and they are dirt cheap. My girlfriend bought one a few years ago in beautiful shape for $1000. with a 2.9. It was an auto though. I am looking for a stck shift with a manual shift 4X4 and lockouts for ease of repair. Preferably a 86-88 as these are my favorite Rangers/Bronco II's. Decent body, but it doesn't need to be perfect, I just don't want to be replacing rockers and floorboards on Day 1.

~HJ

 

BII are nice and the TTB front suspension can be upgraded to a Dana 44 out of an F-150 or swaped out to a solid axel(not sure of host vehical).

 

my firts car was a 86 BII and i miss it every day... it has a few problem areas with rust (mostly in the area behind the liftgate) but it is a beast... make sure you get one thats 86 or later so that you get the 2.9 EFI engine and not the 2.8 carbed one... good luck hunting

 

You REALLY want to get an 89 or 90. All the problems from the previous years were corrected in the final 2 model years.

If you can find one made after 11/89 you'll also get the D35 front axle rather than the D28.

That being said, you can lift the blasted thing 7" for about $600.

 

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/333051

There is my old 88 b2 with a 2.9 and auto trany.

4.5 inch superlift with 33s. i loved that truck.

only thing i have heard wrong with the 2.9 the TFI module when it gets hot it will cause it to stall almost like a vapor lock situation. mine had that problem and a few other of my buddies with them had it too. i replaced mine and it was fine ... other just sold theirs ... i kept mine and then i found my truck and fell in love and sold my b2 .. wish i woulda kept that truck!

they are great 4x4 trucks ... that thing would go anywhere!

 

if you get a 89-90 model and want to do a 4.0 swap later it is a lot easyer than earlyer years because you wont have to do any wireing . And i would upgrade to a D-35 if you dont get one that has one.

 

2004 is too new to "beat the snot out of"? My truck's a 2003 and 1/4 of the body is missing and I cut the front suspension off.

 

I admire that! But I just can't do it. I have no problem driving down hunting trails and across frields for my Dog training. I even have been mudding a couple times. But I like having a truck that is in nice shape so I am a wimp when it comes to real wheeling with this thing. plus it is my Daily driver so I can't risk it too much. That is why I like the B2 idea. They are relatively cheap and have a short wheel base. and most importantly I can lift it and modify it for a fraction of the cost of my '04.

Thanks for the tips guys!

~HJ

 

Mine is my daily driver too. Don't worry my comment was sarcastic, alot of people think I'm slightly crazy for doing all of that to a 2003.