My 88 Bronco II Build

[Ramoyer1]

Awesome now im hunting for a small shopping cart now.

 

[flatblackzj]

nice looking build, you have alot of time & some good looking fab work. i have an idea for the 2.9 for you, did one myself a couple years ago-a couple easy changes make them run cooler, quieter & last longer(it works on 4.0 fords just as well). these little engines love 5w-30, a high volume oil pump is a big plus, pulling the rocker shafts off, cleaning all the carbon goo out of the middle & aggressively chamfering the oil feed holes under the rocker arms for more oil flow. an even bigger plus is replacing the springs in between the rockers on the shafts with spacers and thrust washers on the ends-this keeps the rockers from deflecting with the weakened stock springs, comp cams used to make a kit for it, but with a little tubing and lathe time you can make your own for alot less. it makes for one of the quietest ford v6 valvetrains i've heard and they rev higher and make better power than stock.

 

[88 BII]

nice looking build, you have alot of time & some good looking fab work. i have an idea for the 2.9 for you, did one myself a couple years ago-a couple easy changes make them run cooler, quieter & last longer(it works on 4.0 fords just as well). these little engines love 5w-30, a high volume oil pump is a big plus, pulling the rocker shafts off, cleaning all the carbon goo out of the middle & aggressively chamfering the oil feed holes under the rocker arms for more oil flow. an even bigger plus is replacing the springs in between the rockers on the shafts with spacers and thrust washers on the ends-this keeps the rockers from deflecting with the weakened stock springs, comp cams used to make a kit for it, but with a little tubing and lathe time you can make your own for alot less. it makes for one of the quietest ford v6 valvetrains i've heard and they rev higher and make better power than stock.

i wish i had seen this when i had the engine out a couple years ago. i'm thinking i'll just be swapping in a 4.0L from an explorer or ranger though. with the small size, the 4.0 is a beast in b2's. thanks for the info though. if i decide to keep the 2.9 i'll def do that stuff.

 

[88 BII]

thanks to the guys at 4WP, i got the old bushings returned and exchanged them for some weld on flex joints. those guys are badass up there. this is my first SAS and they've helped out a ton.

gonna be running these where the arms connect to the axle.

my ballistic order has shipped and the ruff stuff order got here yesterday. just need my 2x2 box and i can start getting serious about throwing this thing under there.

 

[Ramoyer1]

here is one b2 that was givin to me that i lifted and put 33s under it

 

[a98z71on39s]

nice b2 you got there. i sold this one about 3yrs ago, that i had built during high school. there great rigs..wish i could find this one again to get it back.

 

[88 BII]

just build a new one! lol

 

[88 BII]

started centering the lower perches on the axle this weekend. had a guy that has done this swap before tell me that the track bar angles are funky if you dont. hopefully my front drive shaft will still bolt up but i have an extra if i need it.

also got my drive side upper link semi put together. once i make the main arms, i'll get it cut down to size and throw some gussets on it for good measure.

my ballistic order should be here this week with my square tube adapters. then i just need to get the metal and i can start laying everything out. i need a frickin plasma cutter!!!

 

[88 BII]

got the lower coil mounts moved last tonight

i drilled a hole in the middle of the perch and welded a grade 8 nut to it, i'm gonna make a coil retainer out of some plate and use the bolt on top to secure it.

here's the lower arm skid plate i forgot to take pics of. i'll finish welding them once i get the flex joints and make sure they fit.

got my tube adapaters from ballistic too

gonna try and get my tube tomorrow so i can start building the arms, then i just need the flex joints to show up at 4WP

 

[88 BII]

started modding my coil buckets this weekend

this is what they'll look like, i just need to make a plate for the top and i'm gonna use a jeep style coil retainer. then either make some shock mounts or use some f250 shock towers

frame was pretty nasty as well, wire brush and ground it up a tad then threw some paint on it

 

[88 BII]

welp, the flex joints i got are tiny, so they arent gonna work for the arms. grrr. i am gonna keep one and use it on on the track bar. i'm gonna get a weld on leaf spring bushing from ballistic and use it. they're 2" in diameter, .250" wall and 2.625" wide (which is the lower mount width on the D30 axle)
so this weekend, i wheeled the axle under the front end finally. hooked up the coils to get an idea of where the shocks are gonna go and how high to make my towers.

made my lower shock mounts too, just need to tack them into place. welded the nut on so i dont have to fool with 2 wrenches to tighten everything

the one inch bolt isnt working for my tire carrier, the threads are too long and it wobbles really bad. it's chewing up the inside of the DOM tube. so i bought one of this trailer spindles. it has a 1" diameter as well, it fits nice and snug into the DOM. with a grease fitting it'll be perfect.

bad news, found a coolant leak. i have no idea where it's coming from either. must have hit something when i was taking out the steering box i guess, cause it started after that

 

[88 BII]

bit of an update

lower shock mounts burnt in

lower bushings made

coil retainers, just need to put everything together and tack them in. it's such a pain to keep taking the buckets in and out. getting close though

 

[88 BII]

picked up my 2x2x.250 arm metal on friday afternoon from bobby gregory welding (very nice guy btw). it was too hot to get out in the garage this weekend. 102 on saturday and 105 on sunday. wral says it's gonna cool down this week and next, so i should have the axle under the truck soon. FINALLY

 

[88 BII]

arm # 1 all welded up

arm # 2 waiting til after work today

also got my pitman arm in from rock auto, it's out of an 83 f150.

 

[88 BII]

got arm # 2 all welded up last night

both bushings installed

and got both my coil retainers in (tacked til i figure out how long i need them to be)

 

[250krawler]

lookin pretty good, cant wait to see it all together!

 

[88 BII]

me too!!

here's what i did last night:

figured i better get the steering box back in so i know where the pitman arm is gonna sit. then i can make sure it wont get in the way of the track bar.
so i started out by replacing the seals that came in the seal kit and putting the box back together. what a PITA. i think i'll just buy a new box if it ever leaks. i think it's back together correctly, but i wont know til i install it.

i tossed the axle under the truck as well. i'll get the box in tomorrow night and start looking at the track bar layout.

coil retainers look like they're about perfect, but i need to flex it out to be sure.

the arms come back to the x member, so it should be pretty easy to build a new one.

track bar angle may be a little weird though

i think i may start laying out the new cross member and brackets tonight, but i dont know yet.

 

[88 BII]

got the brackets and new tranny cross member almost done this weekend. ran out of welding wire yesterday, so i couldnt finish. got more this morning before work, so i can finish up today and get it mounted.

 

[250krawler]

Have you tried to cycle the suspension at all? Most people build at full stuff, and at full droop that axle is going to push forward some when you put some weight on it. Basically just wondering if you accounted for that?

 

[88 BII]

i cycled it a little with a floor jack and 2x4. everything looks good, plus i still have about 3 inches of adjustment on the johnny joints. i'll fine tune it once i get the track bar set up.

 

[88 BII]

got that bastard in there tonight. welded it up and bolted it in. it was PITA though, i think it warped while welding. next time it comes out, it's getting rebuilt.

hooked up the arms

just need to run out and get more grade 8 bolts, only had a couple.

 

[88 BII]

made the driver side upper arm tonight, added 2 gussets to it. that thing isnt goin anywhere

bolted it up, just need to design the rear bracket for it

started looking at my track bar position. good news is the factory TJ track bar is gonna be plenty long enough to use. i just need to make sure it isnt gonna hit anything since it has the bend in it. i'm thinking about sleeving the end with some 1.5"x.25" wall DOM i have left over. then putting a heim on the end so i can adjust it. like so

getting the steering box in tomorrow after work so i can see where the pitman arm is gonna sit.

 

[Caver Dave]

Get on with it! I'm watching

 

[88 BII]

will do, should be able to get a lot done this weekend if the weather will cooperate

 

[250krawler]

You work fast, seems like every time I log on you have more done. Looks great so far.