fordwheelinman
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2009
- Location
- Randolph County
After years without a functioning 4x4, the need to clean up some of the junk around my parents place, the want of something to drive through the woods, and the need of a backup 4-seater, I hatched a plan to turn 3 vehicles into one.
Started with this
What we have here is a 1990 Ford Bronco II, that was purchased some 18 years ago as a transplant for one my brother had, that got totaled. Was bought with a bad engine, as a 4x2 vehicle. The transmission got robbed for a manual swap on another Bronco II that my brother had, and this sat. Some time later, my dad gets the idea to 4x4 swap this. We ride to Atlanta, he buys a set of mid 80's BII axles with 4.10 gears and a limited slip. I ground and drilled the rivets for the pivot bracket, bolted the 4x4 bracket in, and we installed the axles. Back in the woods it went. We pondered doing a 4.0 conversion, but that never took much traction as my dad was concerned with the wiring differences. So this sat hidden in the woods for over a decade.
That takes us to about 10 months ago, when I decided to buy this from dad, strip my old green explorer for the transmission and t-case, strip his former daily driver BII for the motor, and get rid of 2 carcasses, and have a running 4x4 again. So I promptly worked out time with my dad to commandeer their garage, since I don't have one of my own, to start making things happen. I stripped what I wanted from the explorer, and promptly junked it. Pulled the engine and a few pieces from his old daily, and promptly sold it (what a dumbest move) along with another long abandoned project.
The gentleman drove from Canada, somewhere above Minnesota, and back in one day for these. Pulling this load with an 06 ish F150 .
I had some tires mounted up (as seen in the first pic already installed), put them on it, and we drug it from its hiding spot, to a temporary home.
And that's where it sat for a few months until this past Sunday, when I managed to get myself some more garage time, and set to work.
Around 3 am Thursday morning, I'm a day behind from parts not showing up on time (thanks DHL) and just normal life with two homeschooled sub 10yr old boys, I pull the junk engine that's been sitting on the mounts for the last God only knows how long.
I mounted up my turned 4.0 flywheel and new 4.0 clutch.
And swung that thing into place...
If you know anything about these, you know that isn't a 4.0 I'm putting in, but I have said "4.0 flywheel". That's because I have to use the 4.0 flywheel, clutch, and starter to be able to use the Explorer M5OD manual 5 speed in this thing. Which also means chaging out the starter wiring/battery cables to the 4.0 wiring.
After daylight hit, I cranked the tractor up, and headed to the shed for the transmission and transfer case. Set them off in the floor, and pondered my life's choices.
I got the transmission in, got the clutch hydraulics hooked up (damn new parts that don't fit they way they should), and that was it for now. I left semi defeated, and half ready to sell it due to finding out that my previous belief of all 4x2 Bronco II's using 4x4 transmissions and dummy transfer cases (its a real thing), some had true 4x2 transmissions (we thought the transmission in this one had been swapped in from a Ranger when we pulled it out) and therfore the speedo cable was about 12 inches too short.
Friday rolled around, I woke up 3 hrs late, and set about trying to make fuel lines (another model year change, no parts available snafu), found out I needed and hadn't ordered a clutch interlock switch, went to the junkyard for a replacement clutch fluid reservoir (original one stolen with the master and clutch switch to do the aforementioned manual swap) and generally spent the day defeated. I did manage to get the front brake lines loose, mount a new drivers caliper and line, and then have to leave having accomplished almost nothing, because it was a work night for me.
I'm at work currently doing this on my phone, pondering if I can get the other caliper/line on, brakes bled, clutch bled, starter, driveshafts, steering linkages, and y pipe in, all in about 5 hrs, to be able to push it outside so my mother can park her car back inside while she's home the next few weeks before returning to NJ to finalize her mothers estate.
Started with this
What we have here is a 1990 Ford Bronco II, that was purchased some 18 years ago as a transplant for one my brother had, that got totaled. Was bought with a bad engine, as a 4x2 vehicle. The transmission got robbed for a manual swap on another Bronco II that my brother had, and this sat. Some time later, my dad gets the idea to 4x4 swap this. We ride to Atlanta, he buys a set of mid 80's BII axles with 4.10 gears and a limited slip. I ground and drilled the rivets for the pivot bracket, bolted the 4x4 bracket in, and we installed the axles. Back in the woods it went. We pondered doing a 4.0 conversion, but that never took much traction as my dad was concerned with the wiring differences. So this sat hidden in the woods for over a decade.
That takes us to about 10 months ago, when I decided to buy this from dad, strip my old green explorer for the transmission and t-case, strip his former daily driver BII for the motor, and get rid of 2 carcasses, and have a running 4x4 again. So I promptly worked out time with my dad to commandeer their garage, since I don't have one of my own, to start making things happen. I stripped what I wanted from the explorer, and promptly junked it. Pulled the engine and a few pieces from his old daily, and promptly sold it (what a dumbest move) along with another long abandoned project.
The gentleman drove from Canada, somewhere above Minnesota, and back in one day for these. Pulling this load with an 06 ish F150 .
I had some tires mounted up (as seen in the first pic already installed), put them on it, and we drug it from its hiding spot, to a temporary home.
And that's where it sat for a few months until this past Sunday, when I managed to get myself some more garage time, and set to work.
Around 3 am Thursday morning, I'm a day behind from parts not showing up on time (thanks DHL) and just normal life with two homeschooled sub 10yr old boys, I pull the junk engine that's been sitting on the mounts for the last God only knows how long.
I mounted up my turned 4.0 flywheel and new 4.0 clutch.
And swung that thing into place...
If you know anything about these, you know that isn't a 4.0 I'm putting in, but I have said "4.0 flywheel". That's because I have to use the 4.0 flywheel, clutch, and starter to be able to use the Explorer M5OD manual 5 speed in this thing. Which also means chaging out the starter wiring/battery cables to the 4.0 wiring.
After daylight hit, I cranked the tractor up, and headed to the shed for the transmission and transfer case. Set them off in the floor, and pondered my life's choices.
I got the transmission in, got the clutch hydraulics hooked up (damn new parts that don't fit they way they should), and that was it for now. I left semi defeated, and half ready to sell it due to finding out that my previous belief of all 4x2 Bronco II's using 4x4 transmissions and dummy transfer cases (its a real thing), some had true 4x2 transmissions (we thought the transmission in this one had been swapped in from a Ranger when we pulled it out) and therfore the speedo cable was about 12 inches too short.
Friday rolled around, I woke up 3 hrs late, and set about trying to make fuel lines (another model year change, no parts available snafu), found out I needed and hadn't ordered a clutch interlock switch, went to the junkyard for a replacement clutch fluid reservoir (original one stolen with the master and clutch switch to do the aforementioned manual swap) and generally spent the day defeated. I did manage to get the front brake lines loose, mount a new drivers caliper and line, and then have to leave having accomplished almost nothing, because it was a work night for me.
I'm at work currently doing this on my phone, pondering if I can get the other caliper/line on, brakes bled, clutch bled, starter, driveshafts, steering linkages, and y pipe in, all in about 5 hrs, to be able to push it outside so my mother can park her car back inside while she's home the next few weeks before returning to NJ to finalize her mothers estate.