The Juice Box Revival (Blake.'s Bronco Build)

[blake.]

Well figured it was time to start one of these.

what i have to work with-
1986 Bronco II
2.9L v6
5-speed trans
ES transfer case
stock gears
stock axels
lifted by the PO









and now lets throw in some variety
3/5 of my "garage"

The


The Plan (realistic)
Build a capable yet street-able trail rig.
manual t-case swap
"half" doors
pre-runner style front bumper
mount the KC lights i've had forever
gut the inside and "waterproof" it
re-do the suspension right and achieve just enough lift to clear 35's with minor trimming
re-gear to turn those meats
lockers front and rear.


Extra stuff that would be cool.
sliders
rear tube bumper
make a new dash
chopped top and cage


Background
Once upon a hot as hell day in south GA July, I traded a Honda Recon that i snorkeled for this truck.

Reviving the Juice Box

PO brought it to the house and the next day i was screwing with the transfer case shift motor. It will turn when the low range button is pushed, I dont know about 4hi bc that button does not work, and i had no 2wd. Did i mention the truck wont move at all? Well i grew tired of messing with that and decided to try to turn the shaft manually. VISE GRIPS but the transfer case would not click into gear. it felt like the shaft was sprung. when i would turn it then let go, it would spin itself back to the original position.

i already really did not like the fact it was push button 4x4 and With all the searches I had done and everything i read i grew to dislike it even more. I decided to search for a manual t-case.

after calling every Junk Yard in my phone book (i believe there's about 12), I only found 3 that had 80's model B2's and rangers. and only 2 of the 3 had a manual transfer case. and only 1 of the two had everything i needed to do the swap. he wanted a little too much for my pocket and i decided to check the all expansive interweb.

Found a member on another forum who is parting out his truck. Meeting up monday to get a t-case and everything i need to do the swap, 2 doors with all the guts and both panels, and a rear hatch with the glass that opens.

tuesday i should have the case in and be able to drive the truck for the first time. also i will start on those half doors. hopefully will have at least one of the half doors done by the next week.

well that's where i stand at the moment.

[KyleQ]

Looks like fun - lots of potential there. I rarely see those around my neck of the woods, they rusted away before I could get a driver's license :P

[blake.]

yeah. i've only seen a handful around here and none that have been made to wheel.

[5BrothersFabrication]

Originally Posted by blake.

3/5 of my "garage"

No offense, but 2/5 of your garage is junk. You won't find anything but blue ovals in mine! Well, the '83 Honda Magna, but bikes are the exception.

[blake.]

lol i like all of 'em. i dont really get the whole brand bashing attitude but that may be just me.

the 3 in the pic L-R
86 Ford Bronco II
85 Chevy S10
96 Dodge Dakota

Not pictured
78 Suzuki GS 550 bobber
69 Ford Mustang

Looking for
Toyota 4x4's tacos, pickups, hilux, fj 40's
Jeep 4x4's typical "jeep," or the cherokee

I'm not what you would call brand loyal. if it looks cool and has potential then it's ok in my book.

[5BrothersFabrication]

But in the 80's and 90's, all of the were junk. Except anything 1 ton and toyota 4 cyl. solid axle trucks. You have to MAKE anything 80's/90's cool.

[blake.]

i cant complain with what i have.

[5BrothersFabrication]

I have an '85 F-1 and a '94 Ranger, believe me, I know. Loveable junk.

[blake.]

haha yessir.

[blake.]

so i pulled the Electric Shift t-case this morning before i went to work.
VVV Dad's shoe. i have the truck at his house bc he has a shop and stuff and well i kinda live out of a duffle bag. lol


put it on a table to take it apart just to see the insides but i dont have a socket/wrench to fit that big ass nut.


i know its not really exciting, but its an update.

[Havok450]

Originally Posted by blake.

i know its not really exciting, but its an update.

Pulling your T/C is more exciting than waiting for a crank shaft to be machined at a machine shop, I can't pull my motor until i have all the parts to get the job done right away lol

[5BrothersFabrication]

Don't worry dude, lots of builds have started out this way.

[blake.]

Originally Posted by Havok450

Pulling your T/C is more exciting than waiting for a crank shaft to be machined at a machine shop, I can't pull my motor until i have all the parts to get the job done right away lol

pickin up the new one tomorrow along with some extra door and a hatch

Originally Posted by 5BrothersFabrication

Don't worry dude, lots of builds have started out this way.

i know but im ready to do something that looks like progress.

[Rangerman4158]

subscribed I love BII and rangers

[blake.]

awesome.

Goin to meet the guy at 12 in a walmart parking lot in a town that's an hour from here. I hope i can get the transfer case with everything to swap it to manual plus a hatch and 2 doors in the back of my dakota. should be interesting.

[blake.]

everything fit quite nicely there's 2 doors and a transfercase and a few other odds under there.
gonna try to get that new transfer case in tomorrow morning.

[IROK Cherokee]

The big nut on that case should be a 1 1/8. Why the extra rear hatch? Does the glass open seperate?
Ahh yeah the parts collection, that is fun too, just wandering around the jjunkyard to spot any 1 tons.....

[blake.]

yes sir, my original hatch glass doesnt open. this one does. and i wanted to have a spare for the half hatch idea i have in my head. we'll see how that goes...

[blake.]

hey look half my interior vacated.









what's that over in the corner?


yep, thats a hole in the floor.


and just one more hole/crack.


transfer case in. the truck moves now


shift boot.


shifter floor plate thingy


t-case shifter (still not hooked up.)

[blake.]

old hatch off


new hatch on



extra doors






doesnt look like a whole lot but it sure felt like a lot.

got to drive it finally and it drives pretty nice. shocks in the front end are bottomed out and its extra bouncy. brakes need to be looked at. but over all it was a decent ride. didnt check to see if the hubs locked in or not i'll do that later. i was just excited to get it moving.
i also too off the spare tire carrier.

[blake.]

o i found out today that the door locks take a different key than the ignition. i dont have a key for the door locks. and i was not having any luck with the coat hanger so i got creative.

there is a hole in my floor just in front of my seat mounts on the driver side. so i got a crowbar, stuck it in the hole, got a buddy to direct me and used it to roll down my window.

today i broke into my Bronco with a crowbar through the floor.

[kris97ranger]

ive seen worse we were out wheeling and my buddy's gf locked his keys in his f250 so he had a small rust hole in the bottom of the door and then peeled the skin back far enough to reach his arm up and push on the bottom of the door lock lol

truck looks good i wish there was any b2s around here but like was said b4 all of them rusted away b4 i had a lisense too

[blake.]

haha that's pretty bad.

and thanks man I'm ready to get this thing road worthy so i can get it to the trails!

get paid next week, so i'll be getting some sheet metal to fix my floors and get the half doors goin.

[blake.]

so i've settle on some BFG M/T's.
now i REALLY want to run 35's and at only 5 bucks more per tire than the 33's i cant think of a reason to not get em. plus im not scared of some trimming. so thats not a problem.

i've seen guys running 33's and 34's with 3 inches of lift and with no or very little trimming. I'd like to run the smallest lift possible with these. so i believe a 3-4 inch will do the job.

best price i've found so far...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

[Dr.Danger]

Next time you visit the junk yard find yourself a Dana 35 TTB.