Bronco II/Bronco Hybrid

[grimmity]

If you have passed by the Eielson Hobby shop in the past .... 2 months :p you have probably seen one of.... if not both.... my vehicles sitting outside at one time or another. Its a long story but suffice to say I am taking the entire power train and both front and rear ends out of my 1982 Bronco and putting them under my 1990 BII. After alot of work here is the status.

The BII is totally gutted. I swapped both doors to have the manual windows and locks. I pulled the 2.9 V6 out and will be installing a tuned 302 and the Manual transfer case instead of the pushbutton one that came standard. The front TTB from the fullsize fits perfectly under the BII with one exception. I have to shorten or get a new passenger side axle to work with the reduced spacing between the drop brackets. I also have to move the spring perches and shock mounts on the 9in rear to work under the BII frame. Unfortunately I dont know how to weld so have a buddy of mine helping me out on that end. Anyone know of a place in town or Anchorage that will make my new axle for me without me paying an arm and leg???

We plan on boxing the frame to handle the extra torque and a roll cage as well.
As far as I am concerned the roll cage can wait until its running but it would be alot easier to do with everything torn out of the inside. Need a place to get tubing at a decent price.... any ideas??? Also need to use a tube bender.... anyone got one I can borrow?

Driveshafts..... not even sure where to start on this one. Any inputs?? Rear will ahve to be shortened an front lengthend. Any place in town that can do that work?

My new rims on the BII dont fit the hubs on the fullsize so I am selling those and using the stock rims from the Bronco.

In order to move the fullsize back home I put the front and rear from the BII underneath it. I now have a low rider bronco. Its actually pretty ugly but as long as it rolls onto a trailer it will work. I planned on using the frame for parts to box in the BII and the body will most likely wind up at MSI or the Salcha transfer site. If anyone wants it let me know. Its in pretty decent shape.

I have to (well my buddy is going to since he can weld) fab up some spacers between the coil buckets/upper shock mounts and the frame so the extended radius arms arent swung out as wide. Fortunately the James Duff arms have a 1 1/2" adjustable eye bolt so they have bookoo flex and lateral travel but I would still like it to be more or less vertically alligned.

The wiring harness is a nightmare but luckily I have another friend that is helping out on that. A previous owner had a viper car alarm and a sound system installed but it was rigged and the harness looked like a frankenstein. Spliced and stitched EVERYWHERE. Got rid of all the EFI crap, A/C, cruise control... you name it. I am taking it down to the basics. I have a MSD ignition that will go in and a new heater box (swapped with my wiring buddy) so there should be no trimming of the box to make room for the V8.

I am still stuck on the radiator mounts since the 90 BII has a welded radiator support that I cant remove without chopping. I would like to use the radiator out of the fullsize but I havent measured it yet. Worse comes to worse Ill reuse the one from the BII since it was designed for A/C and I shouldnt have a problem with overheating in the winter.

Other than that, I am keeping the 3" suspension kit and the 2" body lift. Still running the 33 BFG MTs but after my deployment in Jan I would like to size up to 35"s. I dont think I will have an issue with them fitting due to the extra wheel base.

I am hoping to have everything I can contorl DONE by the beginning of December. If I am waiting on the driveshafts and the axle thats fine with me.

Any thoughts, ideas, or comments are appreciated. Once its done I look forward to Kevin building the rear bumper since he did such a fantastic job on the front one. :cool:

[AKMark]

Sounds pretty cool

A full size 9" rear would be good. Those things were too tipsy from the factory. I have an uncle who's rolled four of them.

If you need wiring help, I can assist and have a shop in NP to work in.

For driveshafts, call Youngs and get pricing then call a few places down in the lower 48. Even with shipping you will normally get a much lower price from down there than up here, especially for extending drivelines, shortening is easier so sometimes Youngs can compete for shortening.

I personally like Jess at High Angle Driveline in California. He's a down to earth guy with great prices and awesome products. I just never seem to have enough money for anything.

[grimmity]

Got ahold of Jesse. Loving the prices and his quick response and feedback. Thanks for the referral. Going to finish grinding the leaf spring blocks to make sure the U bolts match up nice and snug against the springs. Its alot of grinding but the blocks rotate the pumpkin up to reduce the driveline angle. Then it's just a matter of welding up some spacers and brackets for the coil buckets and TTB's. After the suspension is all tightened up we are going to drop in the motor and tranny/transfer case. Hopefully this weekend. Once thats done its a matter of wiring and the wait for the driveshafts. I am hopinh to have it on the road by Jan. Just long enough to enjoy it for a few days before my deployment.

[78calico]

From experience, you may want to drop that motor and tranny in and get it sitting on the suspension before rotating your diffs. You'll find that alot will change with the extra weight. I've seen guys have to cut apart alot of hard work and have new drivelines modified more than once because they didn't consider the suspension settling under the rigs finished weight.
You are going to need the t-case installed and have your drive shaft in hand to set your rear pinion angle properly anyway.

Just re-read the previous post. You orderd driveshafts with no drivetrain installed? How did you get your measurements? I think you might be in for a tough time.

[grimmity]

yeah we are deff getting the motor and tranny/transfer case first so we can take the measurements for the driveshafts. I havent ordered the driveshafts yet. Just contacted Jesse to see about pricing. We DEFF didnt want to jump uphead of ourselves on THAT one. I dont want to have to redo the work.

[akram]

Sounds like a fun project. Just wandering why you are keeping the TTB instead of doing a solid axle?

[grimmity]

Money. Plain and simple. Not to mention I had two vehicles and I could only drive one at a time. So I figured... why not combine them? Not to mention everything I am doing on this thing is learn as I go.... so I didnt have the confidence to do the solid axle swap myself. Luckily some of my buddies have been helping with the big things .... like welding. Speaking of which... I will be at the Eielson Hobby shop today after work. So if your not doing anything around 1600 or so.... and want to get your hands dirty...... Come join us!!

[ChevyKev]

Glad you posted up times... I can't be there tonight (boys have swimming lessons) but what are your plans for work time Fri/Sat?

[grimmity]

Same time on Friday. Saturday they open at 1000 so I will be there from 1000 until they close at 2000, and more than likely there on Sunday from 1300 until 100 or so. I am really feeling the clock right now because Jan is right around the corner and I have to start outprocessing for the latest trip to the sandbox so lots of hours planned to get this thing at the very least driveable before I leave.

[grimmity]

Just wanted everyone to know we will be at the auto hobby shop on Eielson around 1630 today and starting at 1000 tomorrow. If you want to help... AWESOME. If you want to drop by and see the project...thats cool too!

[grimmity]

Well, would have liked to do more this weekend but alas.... it was not to be. Wound up working by myself most of Saturday. Did alot of grinding and took the wire brush to everything for about oh..... 5 hours. Had to be done.... but really would have rather spent my time getting the thing running. Here is the status after this weekend....

Motor is in but not mounted. Having a little bit of trouble getting it positioned to where it needs to be.

Wiring is still a mess.

Rear end is IN!!!

Front end is in.... but not attached. Still have to do the welding for the spacers.

Tranny, t-case, and pretty much everything else is still waiting on install.

Yeah.... more hands and some knowledge would definitley help.

Looks like I will be over there tuesday after work. Thanks to Rick (shop manager) for hooking me up with some decent prices for the time I am spending there.

[ChevyKev]

Sorry I wasn't able to make it out on Saturday. Had to help my brother getting his 454 installed and running, then plowed the rest of the day.

Tuesday is also booked for me...

Keep posting times - hopefully I'll be able to swing out sometime.

[grimmity]

No prob Kev. Figured most everyone is busy with family or their own projects. Just ready to start wheeling serious with you guys and want to get this thing done!

[grimmity]

Gonna be at the shop around noon today. Tomorrow too.

[grimmity]

Shop is closed today so will be there tomorrow. Serious welding going on this week. Hopefully we can get that done and start finishing up the engine/tranny install this weekend.

[grimmity]

Due to my buddy having to prove he could weld so he can use the shops welder we didnt do alot yesterday. I managed to clean the tranny really well. Nice to see the model numbers and big old Borg/Warner casting on there under all the dirt and grease. Still trying to decide if I should take it apart and make sure everything is in working order. Figured its the best opportunity but I know ZIP about the inside of a tranny. Soooooooo, probably not going to happen. Anyways, we shall be there tonight at 1600!!

[ChevyKev]

I really want to get by and lend a hand - see the progress, etc... But my folks are in town until Thursday and we leave for Anch on Friday...

[akram]

Same here. I'd like to come out and see it and such. But no time to do it.

[akcowboy76]

Thanks to me he got the blessing. LOL I do get to see the progress and it is coming along great, slow but great. Its nice to see someone clean things up befor it is put back together. Nice work man. Wish I could turn some wrenches with you but rules keep me from doing that.

[grimmity]

Thanks for that Brandon. Yeah it sucks when you only have a few hours after work and then the weekend to do a project like this. its like once you get into the work mode its time to clean up because the shop is closing. Anyways... what rules?! :confused:

So last night we drilled the new holes on the drop brackets to move the TTB arms out just a bit. I have to finish cleaning the holes out tonight. We also torched some steel and welded the pieces onto the drop brackets to reinforce them. now THAT was fun! Really enjoyed learning something new and working with metal is addicting! Anyways, I am pretty sure those brackets will never fail unless I want to jump over a few buses or something. So a bit of cleanup tonight and then mounting the front suspension :D FINALLY!! Lets hope we measured correctly!!

Still have to do the front spacers for the coil buckets but at least the arms will be bolted in place and I can get them off the jacks. 1600 again tonight... maybe a little earlier if I can scam some time.

BTW, tube for a roll cage. C&R downtown is my source but I cant decide what diameter to go with. Not to mention needing a tube bender... the 1 3/4 is ideal but EXPENSIVE. $180 for 20ft. 2 1/2 is $145 for 20 feet. ANY IDEAS?:confused::confused:

[78calico]

I have aprox. 350 feet of 1.75 x .120 DOM in stock.
$6/ft.

[88XJ]

my 2 cents


Anyways... what rules?! :confused:

Just a shot but I don't know you or Brandon that well nor the airforce rules, Senior NCO / Soldier or officer fratinization. Thats what they call it in hte Army. There are ways around it, but usually not on post / base. It realy makes it hard for some of us, espeacialy to help on base.



BTW, tube for a roll cage. C&R downtown is my source but I cant decide what diameter to go with. Not to mention needing a tube bender... the 1 3/4 is ideal but EXPENSIVE. $180 for 20ft. 2 1/2 is $145 for 20 feet. ANY IDEAS?:confused::confused:


I am looking for this too, I have looked at many different racing requirements in all sorts of motor sports to get a idea of what I should be using. It usually goes by GVWR, as a idea I am looking at 1.5" for my toyota for the main part of the cage w/ 1" for lesser support cross pieces. Most don't go over 2" for actual strucural roll cages. I have to do a little more research on thickness because it usually goes by the type of steel that you use to make your cage out of, with racers usually doing high dollar stuff. For stuff larger then 2" I have only seen old school "show Bars" or "Light Bars" that you bolt into your bed of the truck. Ole's price seems very fare for 1 3/4" and most places don't stock that size up here.

[akcowboy76]

to clarify "the rules" I work at the auto shop and I don't get paid to work on the car that are in the shop, unless they are FSS vehicles. I try to help with what I can but can't be in the stall all night long. It is cool that I get to see the progress from day to day. Looking good Jason! Keep this up and it might run before your DEROS LOL

On another note to ya'll that sit in front of the tube, Strech your legs over to the hobby shop and lend a hand.

[AKMark]

If I didn't have a build of my own going on, I would.

[akcowboy76]

You know Jason Pics would be nice!

[akram]

Yeah pics. I think this cool and can't wait to see it out on the trail.

[grimmity]

Yup pics are onthe way. I can't upload them from my iPhone and just got a new cam for the bday. Soooooooo if I can get decent wireless Internet out at the house I will upload some pics. Btw front ttb arms are on. Have to build the spacers for the coil buckets now. Hopefully today. Jimmy is working on the wiring as I type this and I am fast running out of things I can do because of my skill sets. Keeping myself busy cleaning the tranny and transfer case and frame and such. Plan on some paint in the near future. And the first coat of herculier is in the cab. Sorry about the fumes Rick! Lol. Well I better get back to work. I'll be here for the rest of the day.

[grimmity]

Tried uploading some pics this weekend but couldnt get a solid wireless connection out at my place so I will attempt it again today while I am on base. But, most of the wiring is done, got the first coat of herculiner in the cab. That looks pretty sweet. And thats about it actually. Shop is closed today so Ill be there tomorrow.

[grimmity]

Well..... if anyone is bored...... you know where ill be today after work! :yes:

[grimmity]

Panic Mode. Ok, so basically I am putting a call out to anyone and everyone who can assist me. I need to get this thing done ASAP and i am super fast running out of time. Not to mention relying on one guy with a family to do my welding for me is starting to cause issues. So, with that being said, I will be more than happy to reimburse anyone for their time and effort. I have lots of parts and $$ can be discussed as well. Here is a list of things I still need to do.

-Finish cutting the steel and welding the coil bucket/shock spacers.
-Cut spacers for engine mounts and mount engine.
-Install tranny and transfer case.
-Get measurements for drive shafts.
-Move rear shock mounts.
-Install gas tank and fuel lines.
-Put everything back in interior.
-Fab exhaust.

If there is ANYTHING that you can do to help I would really REALLY appreciate it. Thanks!!!!!!

[ChevyKev]

Seriously, I've been trying to get over there.

Here's a few suggestions - do what you have to to get it to be a rolling chasis - then bring it to someone's garage/shop that you could work on it at different hours. For instance - I have Mondays off - your truck's in a shop that is closed on Mondays. I can work easier from 8 - 12 PM (when kiddos go to bed) than I can from 4 to 8 PM. I think some people on here would be willing to lend/lease shop space at a cheaper rate than the auto hobby shop as well. Just some ideas. As well, I have a tow truck and a flatbed trailer for hauling.

I will try to get over on Tuesday evening...

[AKMark]

I have a shop that you can use and an area to store for much cheaper than the Hobby Shop.

Get it rolling, and we'll go from there.

[78calico]

I wouldn't mind lending a hand but it's too much of a pain to get onto Eilson. Like Kevin said, if you can get it moved you'd likely get more help.

[ChevyKev]

I stopped by tonight and took a looksee @ the build - way to really dig in and strip it down to do things right!

Why green?

Anywhooo... tomorrow is way too busy to swing by - maybe Thursday but I think that is booked, too.

Left you a voice message - give me a call when you have a minute.

[grimmity]

Well unfortunately Kev I had a last minute Air Force function I had to attend last night and wasnt able to make it to the shop like I planned. I just love getting in mess dress and hob knobbing with the upper management on my free time! Still, my troop won an award so it wasnt THAT bad of a night! Sorry I wasnt there to chat.

You ask green..... I ask.... WHY NOT? LOL Nahhh, just like green and thought it would offset well with the gray on the paint job. Not to mention I have to flash the Irish when I can!!

Yeah... part of me really wishes I DIDNT strip it down so far now!! LOL

Barring any unforseen circumstances I will be there tonight.

[ak_petey]

:nopics:

well. not worthless. but it would be helpful! :)

[ChevyKev]

Jason, left you a voice message...

Stopped by and was gonna take your plate steel with markings to cut stuff out for you, but it wasn't there.

Talked to Rick about the weling you need done. He said welding in the bays requires special permits from the fire dept as well as being done after hours. We talked about possibly doing this on a Monday (they are closed and it is my day off.) Let me know what time you plan to be there tonight and I will try to swing by, figure out what needs to be done next, and figure a plan to help make this happen.

Rick also said I could bring my welder up to weld stuff (it is a much higher uality welder and will penetrate the metal more.)

call me!

[grimmity]

PICS FINALLY POSTED!!! In the prospect member gallery. Enjoy! And thanks to all those who are helping me.