Modifying a '94 Sport

[what the...]

Okay, so here's the deal.

My dad and I have been wanting to get a car for the two of us to work on for a while. At first, we were looking at classic sports coupes - until he wrecked his daily by plowing it into a stand of trees, two of which he split head-on. He walked away from that one, but he was driving a modern sport sedan with front and side curtain airbags. We decided that maybe a '64 MGB with a V8 probably wasn't the safest bet.

So he says to me, sell the sploder and we'll put the cash towards an old Jeep. We'd love to have something to go shore fishing in, and do a little trail riding, as well as some light-duty towing when needed. Well, he wants to spend maybe $5k on a Jeep.

I'm thinking, with $5k we can do a lot of work on the sploder and have a better rig than some old jeep.

My question is this: What can be done with $5K? I know this is an open-ended question, so here's what we're looking for:

1. Suspension: A simple lift - probably just blocks or something, and some new tires. Don't need anything for crawling, just something wider/bigger than regular A/T tires.

2. Engine: Refurb the factory six or swap in a V8. The engine's not throwing codes, but it has 185,000 miles (!!!) and we might as well spend some money getting it right.

3. Transmission: replacement/overhaul. The transmission shifts like ass. Haven't bothered to see if the cable just needs adjusting, but I damn near have to beat it through the gears.

4. Lastly just some accessories. Not a big expense as the truck already has a nice stereo to start from, and we probably wouldn't go with a sub. Just replace the old aftermarket speakers.

So if you guys had maybe $4k to do these things, would it be feasible? Just trying to get an honest estimate from the enthusiasts before I go talk to a shop.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

I'll bump this for ya

Probably start with deciding exactly what you're going to use the rig for then decide what size tires you want to run. Wider will be better for sand.
New tires $600-$900 add rims for another $400 or so
Stock can run 31" (puppy dog)
33" takes 3"-5" of lift (suspension, body or a combination of the 2) (porch dog)
35 takes 5"-6" of lift and probably some fender trimming. (pack dog)
Lifts range from $200-$2000

(big dog) is SAS/SOA with D44/9" locked loaded and caged.

Once you've settled on tires you'll know how much lift and whether you'll need to regear $2000 or so for a shop to do it, considerably less if you can do it youself.

It's going to be tough for anyone to make suggestions cause ther are so many options and it's mostly personal preference.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

Okay, so here's the deal.

My dad and I have been wanting to get a car for the two of us to work on for a while. At first, we were looking at classic sports coupes - until he wrecked his daily by plowing it into a stand of trees, two of which he split head-on. He walked away from that one, but he was driving a modern sport sedan with front and side curtain airbags. We decided that maybe a '64 MGB with a V8 probably wasn't the safest bet.

So he says to me, sell the sploder and we'll put the cash towards an old Jeep. We'd love to have something to go shore fishing in, and do a little trail riding, as well as some light-duty towing when needed. Well, he wants to spend maybe $5k on a Jeep.

I'm thinking, with $5k we can do a lot of work on the sploder and have a better rig than some old jeep.

My question is this: What can be done with $5K? I know this is an open-ended question, so here's what we're looking for:

1. Suspension: A simple lift - probably just blocks or something, and some new tires. Don't need anything for crawling, just something wider/bigger than regular A/T tires.

2. Engine: Refurb the factory six or swap in a V8. The engine's not throwing codes, but it has 185,000 miles (!!!) and we might as well spend some money getting it right.

3. Transmission: replacement/overhaul. The transmission shifts like ass. Haven't bothered to see if the cable just needs adjusting, but I damn near have to beat it through the gears.

4. Lastly just some accessories. Not a big expense as the truck already has a nice stereo to start from, and we probably wouldn't go with a sub. Just replace the old aftermarket speakers.

So if you guys had maybe $4k to do these things, would it be feasible? Just trying to get an honest estimate from the enthusiasts before I go talk to a shop.
Thanks for your help.

first off! only 185K, mine has 265K, never been TOUCHED! except for the air intake. Treat it right, it'll last a while. My engine has a bunch of pull left in it, only problem I have is brakes/suspension are slowly tearing down.

 

[what the...]

Thanks for the input guys!
Follow up questions -
Can I run 31x10.5's on the stock rim?

Do any of ya'll know where the clutch pedal/clutch adjustment cable is on the vehicle? I want to check out the rough shifting, and I figured I might as well start with the simplest thing and move up.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Yes, you can run 31's on stock rims. I do when not in trail trim. (those are 31's in most of the pics in my busy thread)

When I had the BII, I remember reading something either on broncoii.org or in the service manual that the manual trannies worked beat with a certain brand/type/wieght of fluid. Had something to do with the syncros.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

oh yeah, you mentioend you wouldn't want to go with a sub, and i can understand why, but what if you found the enclosure that molds into the rear panel, in the cargo area?

at least that way, it'd be out of the way, and it'd give a little more fill? it's just an accessory, but you might like it lol i always keep an eye out for one in the junkyards, cause i can run my own amp/sub in it.

 

[Four0Sport]

Ive had my 93 Sport for over 6 years and just now started modifying it for light off road use and some camping/fishing trips. so far i have less than $200 on a 2" suspension lift and $200 in some good 31s. i already have a rear spare tire carrier in the works and some other little things that will help with what im using the vehicle for. thats the key.. figuring out what you are going to do with the vehicle.

some things you might want to consider if youre changing the tire size and adding a lift is the gearing of the vehicle. im unlucky enough to have 3.27 open diffs but that can change with a trip to a junk yard, im close to deciding on swapping in a 3.73 LS rear disc 8.8 and getting a 3.73 front pig.

as far as the engine goes i dont see why you should replace something that runs, but it would be nice to have a 302 out of a 2nd gen under the hood of a first gen 2 door. you should keep some money away as an 'in case of emergency' fund if/when something happens bc if theres one thing ive learned owning explorers.. anything and everything will happen.

hope this helps you some.. but like i said and others have mentioned, the first step is deciding what you will be doing with the vehicle, you dont wanna build a hardcore off road trail rig to drive back and forth to home depot.. you know? in the same sense you dont want to underbuild if youre going to be abusing the vehicle.

 

[leefhead]

something no one else has said is lockers...if you dont mind some noise and not being able to turn it on and off, you can lock both rear and front for around 550$, makes a world of a difference.