MoabB2's 1989 Bronco II - July 2009 Feature Truck | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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MoabB2's 1989 Bronco II - July 2009 Feature Truck

This month I have decided that we needed to get a more mutable truck in for our Feature Truck. So what would be better than a BII


Here is MoabBs's Bronco II Registry:



When it was new: Version 1.0
Brand new in 1989 sold in Fort Worth, Texas.
2.9L V6, auto trans, BW1350 manual t-case, manual locking hubs, power windows, doors, AC, 60/40 split bench, Dana 28 TTB, 7.5 rear, 3.73 ratio.

I bought the truck in April, 2004 from the second owner. I flew to Fort Worth, handed over the money, and drove it back to Salt Lake City. It had a few modifications at that time. I was told it had approx 150k miles, but I suspect it was 250k.

Then it had: Version 2.0
-Rebuilt 2.9L V6
-Rebuilt A4LD automatic
-6" Skyjacker coils and shocks, drop brackets and pitman arm, lift blocks
-31" BFG All Terrains
-Flowmaster exhaust
-Sweet pillar mount spotlight
-Warn hubs
-Panasonic CD Head Unit
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I used the Bronco to commute to college and to work for about a year. I put a lot of miles on it and wheeled it a lot. I towed 4 wheelers often and took the family camping in it. I made a few minor upgrades.

Once I got through college, I figured I would reward myself and start the V8 swap. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. I figured a 5.0 was a 5.0.... I located a wrecked '97 Mercury Mountaineer and got a great deal on the drivetrain, wiring, and PCM. 3 years later we are still working out the bugs related to the swap, but overall it has been a huge success and has worked VERY well. OBDII proved to be a huge challenge. I then upgraded to 33" Cooper SSR's and 15x10 wheels.
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I never was too fond of the faded brown paint. And, I wanted to take my truck to another level. I found Ratstang Restoration and Richard was able to help do that. A Frame-off body restoration took about 10 months. Every nut and bolt was removed.
Restoration: Version 3.0
Restoration Thread
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The bronco was then the Cover Bronco/Featured Ride for Bronco Driver magazine. It was the first Bronco II to ever grace the cover. :)
Magazine Thread
BroncoDriver.com

After wheeling for a few years I started to realize what the bronco needed to be able to keep up on more hardcore trails. It had done fine the open diffs and weak axles for years, but I wanted more. SAS time!

Say bye-bye to everything below the frame: Version 4.0
SAS Thread
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Currently the truck serves as a daily driver for about 6 months of the year. Future plans include rock sliders, full roll cage, CAI, xCal3, sound/video system, glass and body modification, and who knows what else...:D

A current list of the ever changing mods: (I'll try to keep this up to date)
BODY:
-Frame Off Restoration, show quality body and two-tone paint.
-Buckingham Blue Pearl Metallic and Chawton White.(Land Rover)
-Custom tubed front clip and radiator support.
-James Duff Polyeurathane Body Mounts.
-Bushwacker Cut-Out Fender Flares, custom mounted.
-Custom inner fenders
-Custom grill.

DRIVETRAIN:
-5.0L V8, GT-40p Heads. (donor, 1997 Mercury Mountaineer. 65k)
-4r70w, AOD-EW transmission.
-OBD-II PCM and Diagnostic Port.
-Custom dual exhaust with dual Flowmaster 40 series.
-Torque Monster Headers.
-Aluminum Radiator
-B&M Transmission Supercooler with Temp Guage.
-Manual BW1354 Transfer Case, 34.4:1 Crawl Ratio
-Solid Axle Swap: Early Bronco Dana 44
----Fully rebuilt
----Disc Brakes
----Yukon chromoly shafts, 4.88 gears, Superjoints
----Warn Premium manual hubs.
----ARB locker
----Cage Offroad trac-bar mount
-Rear end swap: Early Bronco big bearing 9"
----Fully rebuilt
----Drum Brakes
----Yukon 31-spline shafts, 4.88 gears
----ARB locker
-Custom heavy duty driveshafts.
-Custom brake lines, front and rear.
-Dual sump oil pan
-Die Hard Gold battery

SUSPENSION:
-All new suspension
----3.5" Cage Offroad Early Bronco front coil springs
----Cage Offroad Early Bronco extended radius arms & mounts.
----4 Cage Offroad shocks
----James Duff Zinc Plated Coil Buckets
----Cage Offroad shock mounts
----Skyjacker Bronco II 6" Leaf Springs
----96" wheelbase

WHEELS AND TIRES, Offroad:
-35x13.50x15 BFG Krawler TA
-35x12.50x15 BFG Mud Terrain KO spare tire.
-5 Cragar 15x10 5x5.5 Series 397

WHEELS AND TIRES, Onroad:
-35x12.50x15 BFG Mud Terrain on 15x10 Cragar steel wheels.

BODY PROTECTION/ARMOR:
-James Duff front and rear receiver bumpers with full size spare tire/Hi-lift Jack swing out.
-Custom rock sliders in development.

OTHER:
-Hella 500 off road lights, Xenon driving lights, rear offroad light.
-Panasonic CD player with JBL speakers, Midland CB radio with antenna.
-Yakima Loadwarrior basket with axe/shovel brackets.
-Hi-Lift Jack
-Custom FX4 Decals

My cardomain page: CLICK HERE


Some of my Favorite pic of his:

Nothing like a good stripped down truck

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AHHHH :)

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Here is to a awesome BII
 



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Still my favorite B2 ever. So clean...and wheeled so hard...for something that shiny anyway.
 


















congrads
 






...Congrats on having the Featured Truck of the Month...:salute:
 






I always giggled when I seen the little bronco 2's!! But now I have a new respect for them!! What a Great Truck!!
 












I got to wheel with Josh in Moab in '07 when it was version 3.0 and this thing was super clean. With the addition of the SAS that just adds the cherry on top.
Bronco's run deep in Josh's family with his dad and brother owning some nicely built EB's but that's worthy of it's own thread!

Belated congrats:cool:
 






nicest BII build around!! congrats! only a handful of BII's can hang with the EB crowd, this one makes some EB guys jealous! Nice work! Cant wait to wheel with you guys again!!
 






Yea, this is one of my favortie B2's also, when I got my Bronco Driver magazine and it was in there -that was the 1st time I had saw it, loved it.
 












That is one of the coolest Bronco II's Ive ever seen. I used to have one or two of these over the years, but they never looked or worked like that. NICE!!!!!:thumbsup:
 












Very nice! I too believe this is one of my favorite RBV's. Great build.
 












I'm likeing the front bumper i got the same one. I got mine painted OD green with some camo on her. It's looks pretty decent
 









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