Almost ready to start sas WARNING KINDA LONG

madmark · Post by **madmark** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 6:40 pm

Hi guy's
I think the BII is almost ready to move.I got the engine running pretty decent and all the brake and turn signal lights work.Things that still need to be done are
1.bleed the brakes
2.swap the doors
3.put 1 bolt in pass.side dash
Then I can drive it to my buddies house,he's letting me do the swap on his son"s basketball court.After I get the BII down there I have to get the 78 down there.Thats when the fun starts.
This BII had a heater blower motor fire and the guy I bought it from started to fix it and gave up so the heaterbox,blower motor a/c stuff that bolts to the firewall is all out.Might have to figure a way to cover the holes so the smoke from the oily exhaust manifolds doesn't gas me .LOL.
Anyway I will be taking the d44 and either the 9in from my 78 or the d70u I got from the local j.y. and swapping them under the BII.
How far out from the frame will I have to space the coilbuckets to get the springs to line up?I will be using the coilbuckets and shock/trackbar mount off the 78 also.
In the rear I think I might try to make a 63in cheby spring work.I read someplace that there is a body mount in the way.I also read a post about a guy that was gona move is leaf spring in so they would be directly under the frame rails.Any you guy's have any thoughts as to how well that might work?
I guess I am fishing for ideas and opinions.The truck will be driven to and from the trails so it has have decent road manners.
I have also read that when you do this sas you should move the axle froward a few inches.
So if I move the front axle froward 3inches and the rear axle rearward 2inches[so I can get the 63 in cheby springs to clear that body mount].
I have been giving a lot of thought to making a doubler also since I have a good np205 in my 78.
Here's a list of things that are already decided.
1.On board air
2.on board welder,made from a large case Ford alt.
3.Additional tranny cooler
4.Roll cage
Ok guy's here's your chance to have input on the build of an 84 BII,so let's hear some thoughts and ideas.All tech.advice welcome with open arms!
Thanx in advance for info and advice.

Post by **Nobody** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 7:30 pm

I advise against spacing the coil buckets. I think relocating wedges or narrowing the axle is a better solution. Of course with your axle the wedges are cast, so your only other option is to narrow the axle.

If you space out the buckets, your coils are going to have to stretch farther, which isn't really an issue, but the longer shocks will be an issue. You'll also have to figure out what to do about spacing out the radius arm brackets. And you'll have to shorten your trac bar.

You'll have issues with your tires rubbing the radius arms as well. Not a big deal, but if you moved the wedges, you would have lots of room.

Then you have legality issues with running full width. Kind of depends on your local law. Should be able to get by with some nice flares and flaps.

I just think it over complicates an otherwise easy swap. I have no doubt that you can make it work and be happy......others have.

Anyway, the full size axles are about six inches wider than EB width. So you'll need 3" on each side. Not really a whole lot.

As for moving the axle forward, I'd try for an inch. If you go much more than that, I think you will run into some steering issues.

For rear springs, I'd have to recommend your fullsize bronco springs. That's what I run. Nothing extreme, but they seem to work well. Best of all, you already have them. With my home made hangers, I moved the axle back about 2".

marinebroncoii · Post by **marinebroncoii** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:23 pm

The rear springs can be moved under the frame if you box the frame and have flat stock coming down off of it for the spring to go between. at the rear of the spring you would just have your shackle mounted in between the flat stock. you are gonna be moving the leaf perches on the axle anyways. The 9 inch is a really stong axle and the lower the gears the stronger it gets so I would use that and it matches the bolt pattern of the 78's D44. As far as spacing the coil buckets I think it complicates things and well give you problems. Can't mentally picture the 78 half ton 44 to remember if you could just weld on some wedges on the tube inward of the cast pieces, but that would be one way to go and still use the radius arms off the 78. The chevy spings give quite a bit of lift and would give more under the frame. And streching the wheelbase a little isn't a bad idea.

Phillippi · Post by **Phillippi** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 6:15 pm

marinebroncoii wrote: Can picture the 78 half ton 44 to remember if you could just weld on some wedges on the tube inward of the cast pieces, but that would be one way to go and still use the radius arms off the 78.

The spacing would not allow you to weld on the wedges with the cast in place. I looked into that before I cut mine down.

If you want EB size, its really easy to cut the weld on the long side and hammer off the cast knuckle/wedge part, cut the tube and reweld.

madmark · Post by **madmark** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 10:09 am

Thanx for the input guy's
I will probably box the whole frame,so it will be strong enough to take spacing the upper coil buckets.If I could get my darn scanner to work I would post some of my drawings so you'all could see how I plan to do it and think you 'all would agree that it will work.It may cause some steering linkage problems but I don't think it will be anyting I can't over come.I mean if it gets to trickyI can always go full hydro or hydro assist.
This project is giving me lots to think about and it's hard not to want to do all the radical stuff you read about on these ranger and BII web sites.
As for the rear radus arms,they will be part of a new cross member I will make.I saw a couple that some guy's on another site made,looked strong and flexed good.he said they been there a year and no trouble so far.
A lot of guy's seem to like the BC bronco 3.5 eb springs up front.Any of you know if they will fit in the 78 coil buckets?
I plan to the dura-sparkII and 2150 carb mods on the 2.8.Do any of you know of set of headers for the 2.8 that won't break the bank?

marinebroncoii · Post by **marinebroncoii** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 1:32 am

So you are going with radius arms and coils in the rear now too?
Duff headers - 308
Edelbrock Ceramic coated - 259
I thought Pacesetter made some too but can't find them. Summit sells the edelborcks though.

Post by **Nobody** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 6:07 am

You can get OEM headers from an astro van. I wouldn't bother though. They are only good for ~3% gain in HP. That's about 4HP with a strong tail wind. You're far better off holding out for a 4.0L. Even a 2.9L would net you far more HP than some pretty serious mods to the 2.8L.

I wouldn't bother boxing the frame. That's just a ton of extra weight. The Bronco II frame is designed to flex. Boxing it would probably cause more problems than it fixes. Keep the weight down. Have you seen or heard of a broken bronco II frame?

marinebroncoii · Post by **marinebroncoii** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 8:45 am

I agree about the frame and only meant to box it where you were making the hangers for the springs to be mounted uder the frame. I also agree on the engine swap being the best bet for getting more power, a 4.0 is a great upgrade, and a 5.0 isn't very hard to do either.

madmark · Post by **madmark** » Fri Apr 29, 2005 11:34 am

Thanx for the input guy's.The radius arms I was refering to are the rear end of the arms that go on the front axle,I will make a new crossmember and the radius arms will mount to it.If I could remeber what site I saw them on I would post a link,right now my mind is blank.It's been crazy here at work today.