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Hi all, a buddy of mine and I have a 87 BII that we plan to baja race (as in the 1000 miles). Our plans include the explorer engine transplant, rear discs brakes. Choptop. All the regulatory race preps, of course. Our goal is to finish the race.

I have a few questions that I am sure a few people here either know the answers or where to find them. Is there a more performance oriented transmission we can get, or will a rebuild and an oil cooler suffice (it's a manual). Where can we get sturdier shafts? Differentials? I've been into cars for a long time, (mostly imports) but I really want to learn all about 4wd. I know a lot of the ranger stuff will fit it with minor modifications. I'd like to know if anyone has done something similar to this (like a racer or prerunner).

Thanks

Gabe.

Well, your transmissions options are pretty limited as they are all junk. The only one I would recommend would be the C5, which is pretty much the same thing as a C4 and can be beefed up a bit. I think the C5 only came in "some" early 83-85 BII's and rangers. I'm only guessing though.

I'd recommend a V8, which will open doors for better transmissions. But if you already have the 4.0L, then go for it.

For the axles, I'd recommend a 31 spline ford 9 inch with spool. Nice thing about the 9" is the drop out 3rd member. Perfect for racing because it's easy to pack spares.

As for the front, you might want to run 2wd I-beams. That's what all the stadium racers use. It's actually a decent suspension for prerunners. If you need 4wd, then you can use the Dana 35 TTB which came in explorers and rangers, and some late 1990 bronco II's. The wheel bearings on the dana35 might be a little light duty, in which case you might consider the dana 44 TTB which will match the lug pattern on the 9". NO WAY the dana 28 wheel bearings will hold up.

If you follow through on this, I'd love some progress reports.

thanks, that info helps a bit. We are limited the same number of cylinders that came in that kind of vehicle from the factory, from the same manufacturer. Since this is a budget operation, an explorer/van/ranger v6 is probably our best option. We need to keep the 4wd. And the same "suspension concept" (coil over shock in front, cross beams, etc etc. )

If we had unlimited budget, we'd choose a race prepped engine from any one of the stock series that use v6 engines. Hell, we'd probably not use a bronco to start with.