I put a 97.5 mountaineer 5.0 drivetrain into my 1988 bronco ii along with the obd2 conversion 20 years ago now (2005)
My bronco was the guennea pig for torque monster conversion headers (ttb trucks)
I still have my 1988 dash
My conversion is legal even in California as the bronco believes 100% it is a mountaineer. I even added a fuel tank pressure sensor to the Bronco ii tank
Oh yeah and my Bronco has a slight body drop
There was lots of firsts in that build and tons of custom wiring, which is kind of my thing
I can make a 5.0 explorer engine run on a stand if needed (stand alone setup)
I have since converted several gen I and rangers explorers from 1983 all the way to 2007
I also do sohc conversions and 4.0 ohv
In the future I would love to do a coyote a Ecoboost and possibly a bt4 or diesel of some sort
I’m already planning my next personal build have been collecting parts for over two years including a Dana 44 ttb and now it looks like a 351w, this should make Joshp very excited (sorry no lesbians involved)
Pretty certain that I could now too. At that time I was trying to do too much on that ranger. Attempted to go way beyond just engine, I had the grand idea to incorporate the entire Explorer body harness and make it work with the Ranger dash and controls. Probably could have done it, but I did not have the time, place, or patience. (Respectively that would have been none, the on the grass in the middle of my backyard, and none.) Unfortunately I figured that out after I'd already stripped the Ranger and hacked up its entire wiring harness. If not for the damage I did to that Ranger's chassis harness it probably would have been built and running years ago. Instead the V8 went into the 99 and I realized I wanted something different out of the first gen.
My first truck was a 84 long bed, 2wd, V6 manual, with a blue interior. I planned to lower it, hop up the V6 a little more than it was (2.8L, ported, cammed, long tubes, offy intake, holley 4bbl, and duraspark II), and drive. I totaled the 84 in 2009, but have wanted to build a clone of what I wanted it to be since. The one I butchered was an 86 or 87 regular cab, short bed, 2wd, V6 manual, with a red interior and a bad engine. Never wanted the short bed, but it was all I could find at the time and I though it was going to be a relatively quick drop my engine in and go. Shortly after getting it I found the first V8 donor Explorer thus the V8 swap was born, things snowballed, I butchered the wiring, and got overwhelmed. Basically I tried to do too much, it never recovered, and I lost interest.
In 2022 I found an 85 (I happen to be an 85 too) long bed 2wd high optioned, 2.3L auto with dual tanks and blue interior. Happened to be the same color my 84 originally was, and located in the same city that I got it from. Originally I thought to install the V6 that I still have from my 84, but then decided I wanted to play with a turbo on the 4 cylinder or swap in a late model turbo 4. It was originally a high trim level with carpet, the full door panels (first gen panel that goes up to the window), bucket seats, and center console which was a apparently a somewhat rare option in an 85 Ranger. Unfortunately it had been swapped for a worn out bench at some point. Given the high options and dual tanks, I've decided to restomod.
Someone had already installed upgraded swaybars like I was going to, to include a 1" BII rear bar, and swapped in a 3.45 rear axle. (Between the 2.3L, dual tanks, and gear ratio, this thing was set up to cruise the highway.) I've acquired the proper center console, just need to dye to match. I recently acquired a set of FloFit bucket seats, same thing that Saleen put in the '88 Rangers that they sold. I've got all components to swap to 95-97 knuckles and lower it. I've got all parts to install Cobra 13" disc brakes in the front. I've got an Explorer disc brake LS axle to pop in the rear. The accessory drive was is in pieces and some were missing, tracked most of that down. Was diagnosing a no crank condition. I tried to go under to check out neutral safety switch
(seriously only tried the truck is too low, need to put on stands or ramps) I discovered that the DS floor pan is swiss cheese and that's where I hit the pause button. It's too weak in critical areas for seat mounting, and I've got too many projects ongoing to tackle a floor pan replacement at the moment. When the time comes I'll cut patch panels out of the 86 cab or the totaled 84 that I have still held onto.
Instead of building the first gen as a "muscle truck" it's going to be built as a peppy, sporty daily driver. One that will hopefully get pretty decent MPG if I do it right. Also be my first foray into forced induction and megasquirt based EFI. If I'm not satisfied with the handling of the lowered TIB, or with the performance of the Turbo Lima and auto trans, I'll probably install an AJE SN95 conversion K-member and a late model Ecoboost engine. Want to try old school, but not afraid to go modern to get what I want.
