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The Little Red Broncette


ab_slack

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1987
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Manual
I debated making a thread for her as she isn’t technically a build and "under construction" is only in the very loose sense. I am not planning any customization but to me she is a restoration project of sorts and the list of things I have done thus far chasing my goal adds up to quite a bit already. Yet there is a long list of things still I want to do to her.

I’ve had her for 2 years now. She is a pretty much a stock 87 Bronco II with 2.9L, manual trans, manual transfer case, manual locking hubs. She has a solid body, some small dents, some surface rust but no significant structural rust or any rust-thru. She had been re-painted at some point by the previous owner. The clear coat is starting to peal in a few spots on the hood. I am her second owner.

When I got her she was in running condition good enough to be a serviceable daily driver if one isn’t too picky and one doesn’t take long trips. 4WD worked after a fashion, but vibration and some metallic sounding pings when front hubs were locked suggested issues. She showed 4K miles on the odometer when I got her. Claims were made that she only had 104K miles on her and I have some reason to believe that. Some other things suggest more like 204K miles. I doubt I will ever know.

As for me, well I am picky and want her to run as smooth as she can. My original 88 BII was purchased brand new and drover her 192K miles. I know what a BII is capable of when running well.

As for the Little Red Broncette my objective is to get her mechanically running, handling, driving on the road and snow like I know she can. I want to preserve the body as well as I can, get the few body issues fixed. Deal with some interior issues and make her more like a 4 year old with 50K miles than the old lady that she is.

I suppose I didn’t start out this ambitious. Some of the earlier done I had a shop do the work as I wasn’t so confident doing too much myself. As the shop has fallen short, failed to do good work, or showed they really didn’t know what was going on I had to educate myself (largely with the help of users in the forum here) and started getting more ambitious and doing more myself.

The Good:
  • Body was in good shape with a few dents.
  • She had been repainted at some point and paint was generally in good shape.
  • She didn’t live in the salt belt. Most of undercarriage had surface rust but no significant structural damage from rust nor anything approaching rust-through on the body. She has much less rust than my 2002 Explorer.
  • Transmission and transfer case shifts and operates fine.
  • Engine ran and drove okay, low power
  • No issues that kept her from being driven.

The bad:
  • With hubs locked there was vibration and front driveline made occasional pinging sound.
  • Wandering in steering when going over uneven pavement
  • Although she didn’t seem to have oil leaks, engine was dirty and freeze plugs were leaking.
  • Significant exhaust leaks after the muffler.
  • Liftgate latch wasn’t working properly.
  • Air conditioning not functioning
  • Clicking from rear drive shaft when accelerating in first
  • Tires not matched although they had some tread left.

Work done on her to date: (in no particular order, I indicate items I had a shop do in blue. I got shop involved because either too big, I didn't have the knowledge/tools, the weather, or just the hassle.

  • Remanufactured Heads
  • Cap, Rotor, Wires, Plug
  • High/Low beam switch (headlights had become intermittent)
  • Tighten Steering Wheel
  • Transmission Oil
  • Front Differential Fluid
  • Rear Drive Shaft replaced with a u-joint shaft (address clicking issue)
  • Clutch and throw out bearing
  • Liftgate Latch Repair then broke it again and then replaced it completely
  • O2 Sensor (to address low fuel economy and running oddities)
  • Front Wheel Bearings (left bearing got severely overheated due to collapsed brake line)
  • Front Spindle Bearings (front driveline work to address front driveline vibration when hubs lockded/4WD engaged)
  • Left wheel shaft u-joint
  • Right wheel shaft outer u-joint
  • Corrected right wheel shaft phasing (cause shop didn't pay any attention so while bearings and u-joints shop did helped wrong phasing caused vibration)
  • Front Drive Shaft U-joints (part of the front end vibration problems, only became major issue after other front driveline work had made big improvements)
  • Front Brake calipers and rubber brake lines (a collapsed brake line caused vibration and drag on one wheel, caliper on other side was sticking)
  • Front pads and rotors
  • Transfer Case shift lockout plate adjustment (to resolve issue where it would not stay in 4H)
  • New Radio to replace the non-working aftermarket radio
  • Dash light bulb replacement (nice to be able to see how fast I am going when dark out again)
  • Muffler and tail pipe (got a year out of it before it got loud)
  • Passenger seatbelt latch
  • Alternator (bearing was growling and its belt was squealing)
  • Belts (while alternator was off since they were in marginal condition)
  • Hood latch adjustment
  • Tires (get a balanced set for smooth 4WD operation)
  • Tie-rod ends (one failed completely while driving, this was the big culprit causing the wandering)
  • Fan clutch (fan was always engaged)
  • Battery
  • Shocks all around
  • Coolant flush
  • EGR Valve, EGR Position Sensor and EGR Control Solenoid (was getting a code for the sensor, resolved that code, EGR valve was just very dirty inside)
  • PCV Valve and Grommet (what a mess, I can't believe the shop put old PCV valve back in after changing heads)
  • Vent Hose Grommet
  • Liftgate pneumatic cylinders
  • Rear window pneumatic cylinders
  • Thermostat (had started to run cold)
  • Warn Manual Locking Hubs (the collapsed brake line caused that whole wheel assembly to severely overheat and melted the plastic knob in the original locking hub)
  • Air Charge Temperature Sensor (original was caked with crap, part of an overall emissions review)
  • Ignition Coil (due to some intermittent operation in wet weather)
  • MAP sensor (my error here, I did diagnostic wrong, new part acted the same, upon review found using correct diagnostic procedure the original part was good, left the new one in, kept old as spare)
  • Catalytic Converter (after running thru everything else, replaced this and resolved the emissions issue, I had shop do the actual installation)
  • Liftgate striker rubber replaced (to reduce rattle)













 
Last edited:


ab_slack

Member
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New Joisey
Vehicle Year
1987
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
2.9L
Transmission
Manual
At the moment she is running pretty well but the left rear parking brake is frozen partially engaged and or brake cylinder is resulting in that brake to drag intermittently so that is the top priority right now.

This is my short list of items I want to address. Outside the brake item most are minor issues but often the work isn't exactly trivial..

  • Rear Brakes - completed 5/27/2014
  • Parking Brake - completed 5/27/2014
  • Rear Differential Fluid
  • Front Driver Side Seat Repair
  • Floorboard crack under Front Driver Side seat
  • Right side wheel shaft inner u-joint
  • Underbody rust repair and paint
  • Emblems
  • Steering Wheel Leather Wrap
  • Left front fender adjustment.
  • Body Dents
  • Resolve Intermittent Reverse Light Switch
  • Full Brake Fluid replacement - completed 5/27/2014
  • Replace Radiator Fan for one better balanced
  • Radius arm bushings
  • Tripometer
  • Speedometer clicking
  • Tachometer, resolve stickiness
  • Windshield
  • Front Window Seals
  • TTB Center Pivot bushing
  • Steering wheel
  • Water leak on front passenger
  • Rattle Reduction
  • Fuel Injectors
 
Last edited:

jhammel85

Guest
That's a very clean truck! I wish my firewall was that clean. It's starting to look a little like swiss cheese..
 

bobbywalter

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Location
woodhaven mi
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Make / Model
FORD mostly
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
BIGGER
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
sawzall?
Tire Size
33-44
My credo
it is easier to fix and understand than "her"
nice b2---


not a trivial list or current set of completions for damn sure.


that list is a shit-ton of work.


i would take that decent body platform and do the intended body repairs, shitcan the axles and powertrain, swap in modern low mile stuff with a custom gauge assembly and then go to rattle reduction. though rattle reduction would likely not happen... would get a better stereo or something..


much less work as i am a lazy fawker .:D
 

ab_slack

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New Joisey
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1987
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Ford
Engine Size
2.9L
Transmission
Manual
nice b2---
i would take that decent body platform and do the intended body repairs, shitcan the axles and powertrain, swap in modern low mile stuff with a custom gauge assembly and then go to rattle reduction. though rattle reduction would likely not happen... would get a better stereo or something..
I think that is beyond my abilities but who knows that the future will bring. High on the list is dealing with the rust. As I was doing brake work I was noticing how much rust she got this winter.


As far as better stereo...vs...rattle reduction...already use the radio to hide the rattles lol
 

ab_slack

Member
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Joined
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Messages
755
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New Joisey
Vehicle Year
1987
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
2.9L
Transmission
Manual
Wrapped up rear brake work. New brake shoes, springs and hydraulic cylinders. New parking brake cables and a full system brake fluid change. She is rolling smooth again so I got her back to daily driving as I want! :yahoo:
 

racer1044

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Man that thing is clean! Wish I could have found something that nice to start with. I got tired of looking at my rusty box and couldn't find a decent replacement so I had to build my own. lol Id probably hack that b2 up and wheel it but its cool that you are keeping it factory don't see that too often.
 

ab_slack

Member
TRS Banner 2012-2015
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Messages
755
Reaction score
12
Points
18
Location
New Joisey
Vehicle Year
1987
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
2.9L
Transmission
Manual
That's a very clean truck! I wish my firewall was that clean. It's starting to look a little like swiss cheese..
Man that thing is clean! Wish I could have found something that nice to start with. I got tired of looking at my rusty box and couldn't find a decent replacement so I had to build my own. lol Id probably hack that b2 up and wheel it but its cool that you are keeping it factory don't see that too often.
thanks, had to go outside the rust belt to find her. She has some peeling clear-coat on her hood and some areas of surface rust particularly in the wheel wells after two winters ...so definitely on my list to start doing what I can to protect her.

Who knows what the future will hold. I've taken her off road once but she clearly isn't setup for any serious off road driving.
 

bobbywalter

TRS Technical Staff
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Joined
Aug 9, 2007
Messages
23,470
Reaction score
4,667
Points
113
Location
woodhaven mi
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
FORD mostly
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
BIGGER
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
sawzall?
Tire Size
33-44
My credo
it is easier to fix and understand than "her"
a stock b2 is a monster compared to the vast majority of 4x4s off road...


you need a sami to out manuver one.
 

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