Lifting a Bronco II For Cheap Any Ideas?

[fordman1978]

somebody wants to trade me a BII for my 79 fsb that is doa right now. but i was trying to figure out how i can fit 35"s on it for cheap. i was thinking turn up the torsion bars in front and blocks in the rear. or maybe longer coils up front and i saw something on another post about chev springs working. i am also thinking about trimming the fenders any ideas on how much to trim? im looking to get a fair amount of flex for cheap and be able to fit my 35"s on it (because i dont want to spend more $ to buy smaller tires when i already have the size i want. i also want to cut the back off of it to get more of a ranger look and to get rid of that hideous bubble window. but if you have any ideas just let em fly

[nated0g]

you can do xj coils up front.
leafs, blocks whatever in rear
i dont think your front or rear axle can handle 35's.

[bossman79]

you don't have torsion bars.

[fordnut]

fix the fullsize.

[Gouky]

wow, where to start.

the bII dosen't have torsion bars. unless it's a 91 or a late 90 it has a d28 front axle. don't even try putting 35" tires on it.

35's will fit with just trimming. take the front bumper off and the outer fenders then bash the firewall back with a sledge until the tires fit.

as for the rear, there's nothing but space to cut out back. just keep cutting.

as for lifting it, you can use explorer leaves in the back. ditch the overload leaf and reverse the center pin. for the front you can make a spacer that goes over the center spring bolt at the bottom and goes between the axle and the spring.

doing the above, your camber will be out for street use but you'll get about 2.5-3" in front and 4"-5" in back for practicaly free. but remember, if you have a d28 grab the front axle from that explorer at the same time it's a d35 and it'll bolt right in you just have to shorten the driveshaft a little bit.

*edit* and weld the rear diff solid.

[Jaycar]

Originally Posted by Gouky

wow, where to start.


as for the rear, there's nothing but space to cut out back. just keep cutting.

There is not endless space in the back for cutting, you can only trim about 2" at the most because any more then that and you are into the floor at the back. If it were me and wanting to do a cheap lift/build I would put a 3" body, do some trimming and put some skinny 33's or maybe some 34x9.50 swampers.

[fordman1978]

Originally Posted by bossman79

you don't have torsion bars.

thanks for telling me. b/c somebody on another post said to turn the torsion bars up un a BII/Ranger

[fordman1978]

Originally Posted by nated0g

you can do xj coils up front.
leafs, blocks whatever in rear
i dont think your front or rear axle can handle 35's.

thanks for the lift help. and about the axles i know they wont last they are just temporary until i tear down my 78 f-150 and pull the 9" and hp 44 out. then those are going on the BII and the rockwells and 53"s are going on the F-150.

[fordman1978]

this is just going to be a small project to keep me on the trails until i get my truck finished. and to keep me on after its to big to fit down the trails.

[bossman79]

the newer rangers do have torsion bars, but they stoped making the bII before that

[wanderer-RRORC]

Originally Posted by Gouky

wow, where to start.
.

he's right...

wow...didnt think I was gonna say that today...

[93chico4by]

Originally Posted by Jaycar

There is not endless space in the back for cutting, you can only trim about 2" at the most because any more then that and you are into the floor at the back. If it were me and wanting to do a cheap lift/build I would put a 3" body, do some trimming and put some skinny 33's or maybe some 34x9.50 swampers.

ENDLESS room

[fordman1978]

that's a pretty sweet BII that is basically what i want to do. except i would like to put the 1/2 ton running gear off of my 78 f-150. i have the 44 hp and 9" rear. i would like to leave full width. but that wont be for a few months. but what is about the biggest tire i can run with the stock running gear? and

[fordman1978]

Originally Posted by nated0g

you can do xj coils up front.
leafs, blocks whatever in rear
i dont think your front or rear axle can handle 35's.

what size xj coils should i use? i want about 4" in front and 3" in rear. so for the front should i get 4 or 4.5" xj coils? and put 3" blocks or add a leaf in the back? and how hard will it be when i put my half ton running gear up front? i can still use the springs and perches cant i?

[Jaycar]

Originally Posted by 93chico4by

ENDLESS room

Your right there, but I was under the assumtion he was wanting to leave the body pretty well intact, but if he wants a cool breeze than that would be the way to go.

Heres mine still has the floor but the top is off and the bed is doved, also has longbed ranger bedsides on it for the stretched wheelbase.

[fordman1978]

that looks badass!! i dont want to go quite that extreme though. it has to be a dd for a few months. so i just want to lift it for about 33"s for now. but the tops def coming off and tube bumpers and cage are goin on.

[4x4junkie]

Originally Posted by fordman1978

but what is about the biggest tire i can run with the stock running gear? and

Depends on what year (and MFG date) it is.

90% chance the stock driveline (the D28 frontend in particular) isn't going to do well with anything bigger than a 31" tire.
If you're getting a late-1990 BII with the HP D35 front, then 33s are possible (limited here by the 7.5" rear axle. The D35 is good to 35s with a couple mods, even 37s if you play nice).

I have 3" Rancho XJ coils on mine, they gave me about 2" lift, I had to add some spacers under the coils to get the full 3" lift out of them to match up with the brackets I'm using.

[fordman1978]

Originally Posted by 4x4junkie

Depends on what year (and MFG date) it is.

90% chance the stock driveline (the D28 frontend in particular) isn't going to do well with anything bigger than a 31" tire.
If you're getting a late-1990 BII with the HP D35 front, then 33s are possible (limited here by the 7.5" rear axle. The D35 is good to 35s with a couple mods, even 37s if you play nice).

I have 3" Rancho XJ coils on mine, they gave me about 2" lift, I had to add some spacers under the coils to get the full 3" lift out of them to match up with the brackets I'm using.

it is a 1989. 2.9 5 spd. could a 32 or 33 work temporarily being a dd and light trail rig for a few months? and how hard is it to swap in the 1/2 ton running gear i have? i am leaving it full width.

[Jrod-13]

the 28 will hold up Ok to those tires, but leave it open, AND weld a full bead around the u-joint caps.

I wheeled hard all season with mine welded, on 31's, with a healthy v-8 pushing it. I only broke two shafts on it all season.

[fordman1978]

thanks for the help

[MX489]

only 98+ rangers have t bars

I wouldn't run 35's on the d28/7.5 combo, I've heard of them grenading with just 31's if you get hung up in some deep stuff or something. If your going to do it, leave it open for sure, then be prepared to break stuff. And with that lift in the front like said above it won't be alignable cause your not using drop bracketry. Maybe spring for some camber/caster bushings if you want to get it near spec. Otherwise wheelbearings will go fast. If its a trail only rig then i wouldnt worry.

Grab a D35 and 8.8, pretty simple bolt up swaps and will hold up to those 35's.

[fordman1978]

Originally Posted by MX489

only 98+ rangers have t bars

I wouldn't run 35's on the d28/7.5 combo, I've heard of them grenading with just 31's if you get hung up in some deep stuff or something. If your going to do it, leave it open for sure, then be prepared to break stuff. And with that lift in the front like said above it won't be alignable cause your not using drop bracketry. Maybe spring for some camber/caster bushings if you want to get it near spec. Otherwise wheelbearings will go fast. If its a trail only rig then i wouldnt worry.

Grab a D35 and 8.8, pretty simple bolt up swaps and will hold up to those 35's.

i think i might run 33"s for now. and i dont want to waste the time on the d35 and 8.8 swap since i am putting my 9" and hp 44 on in a few months. to go with 35"+ tires. so it just needs to be temp.

[WHITE RHINO]

Trs Much?

[fordman1978]

well i should have it around 11 tomorrow. and then to start trimming and lifting. but how would 2-3" blocks in the rear and 2-3" lift coils up front work, with a little fender trimming? would it fit 32-33" tires? and would it still be somewhat roadworthy?

[93chico4by]

This is mine way back on d35 /8.8 with no lift and the fenders trimmed to fit 33x12.5s on 15x8s. It was so nice like this, i almost wish i still had it like this cause i think it would probably get me 80% of the places i want to go.

I pretty much jsut ripped the stock inner fenderwell liner out and then trimmed the shit out of the front fenders. In the back i cut the edge of the fender into a bunch of tabs and bent them up underneath. It worked well.

I did get about 1.5" of lift in the rear when i did the 8.8 swap due to a larger diameter axle housing and taller spring perches. In the front it really needed some leveling coils to make it sit a little better, but it was never really a problem.