Tony Raine's Bronco II

After years of doing just enough to get it to run, taking the easy way out, and lots of sitting in my backyard, it’s time to get my BII back on the road/trails. This truck has been in my life since I was 2 years old, when my mom bought it (1 year used) to replace her rusted out Early Bronco. It has traveled with me from upstate New York, to south Texas, to NW and NE Arkansas. I dug it out of a field when I was 12, drove it through high school, and it sat while I went to college. It was then resurrected as a cheap play toy for a couple years, but cheap fixes only last so long.

Here is a little time line:

That’s me on my first day of kindergarten


High school


Short but sweet “play toy” stage








Now I have a strong desire to visit some dedicated Off Road Parks. Since there are none very close, breaking down 100+ miles from home would be very bad. Yeah, I have access to a truck and trailer, but I would still need to be able to get the BII back to it. Plus the embarrassment of having a “hack” rig when around more than just a couple close friends.

According to the state of Arkansas, my BII is now an “antique.” Classics are fun to drive on the road as well, so the BII needs to be street friendly.

Ok, enough rambling. I’m taking everything apart and starting over, so I’m making a new build thread. Plus I am writing this out ahead of time in MS Word, so I’ll always have a backup. Here’s what I’ve collected:

One sad, slightly running, 1984 Bronco II


4” RC full suspension system, replaced drop plates with Skyjacker 4-6” brackets

Yeah, I know, still need to drill some holes and put in the rest of the bolts

99-00 disk brake Explorer rear axle, 3.73 LS, Ruff Stuff Specialties “Simple Swap” kit


302/np 435/dana 20


Also have some VDO gauges and other little stuff.

First step is the biggest, swapping motors…

August 8, 2009

Removed front clip and a whole bunch of wires.


Notice my custom carb cover, haha.




Some of the rust on the underside of the core support. Not as bad as I thought


Stock radiator in great condition. Going to the for sale forum


A lot of spot welds to drill out


Little rust spot to patch

Keep those pics coming!

I've always loved your BII!

Can't wait for more pics.

thanks ya'll! I was lacking time/ambition to work on this thing for way too long. Getting the 302 combo was a big "kick in the pants" to get to work. mainly because i want it off my trailer, because the trailer makes/saves me money (hauling scrap metal, random freebies, helping people move, etc....)

I boogered up the inner fender structure a little on the passenger side, it was rusted on solid. currently debating whether to fix it, or make a new front clip out of square steel. round tube looks cooler, but i don't have a bender and notcher. Plus I can get 20' sticks of square for cheap.

I'm thinking just a simple surround mimicking the stock clip (that i can hang the fenders/hood latch/grill off of), then add bracing and mounts as i go. any suggestions for size/thickness of square stock? I'm thinking around 1.5", but not sure about thickness.

August 11, 2009

Borrowed an engine hoist from a friend. He also gave me a big chunk of steel to use for swap plates. And a door handle for my explorer. Nice guy, has some cool 60’s stangs. No pics because by the time I got home and got it unloaded, mosquitoes had taken over (only bad thing about this area)


August 16, 2009

Today I removed the alternator and power steering pump. Also removed the carb and bolted on the lift plate. Still need to get a few washers before I tighten it down. Removed the rest of the wiring and hoses from the motor as well.








Still need to figure out how to disconnect the clutch line, I think it separates here


Motor mounts unbolted easily

The clutch unbolts the for the fire wall and unpins from the clutch pedal. 2 minute job. along with the resevor. You have an external slave cylinder....mine is an internal.

This thread reminds me of my ranger that was given to me that I am working on now. I basiclly grew up in it.

Keep the pictures coming.

good work tony , suprisingly little rust for a new york vehicle ( my 2000 Ranger core support is more rotted than yours ) , keep it up

WNY964x4 said:

good work tony , suprisingly little rust for a new york vehicle ( my 2000 Ranger core support is more rotted than yours ) , keep it up

Click to expand...

Well, that depends on how long it was kept in NY. It looks as if it's in a different state now.

Thanks ya'll. i still have the original paperwork from the original owner. it was special ordered for a man that received it in Ellsworth Maine. little over a year or so later its in my mom's hands in northern NY (LaFargeville, outside of Watertown. military people will recognize the area by Fort Drum.) My mother is very mechanically inclined, and i give her the credit for keeping the rust on this truck to a minimum. she always made sure to keep the undercarriage clean in the winter, to keep the road salt from taking its toll.

Winter time is hard on a RBV. I can see through my floors plus I'm falling through it slowly!!!! I'll fix that after this next winter.

good work man keep it up

little timeline

1984- maine. old guy's winter truck (to keep his car nice)
1985 to 1990- upstate NY, multiple trips into Canada. driven year-round, been stuck in a few snow drifts.
1991 to 1997- south texas, incl. san antonio and corpus christi. so hot the dash turned black.
1997 to 2004- NW arkansas
2004 to today- NE arkansas

Tony Raine said:

little timeline

1984- maine. old guy's winter truck (to keep his car nice)
1985 to 1990- upstate NY, multiple trips into Canada. driven year-round, been stuck in a few snow drifts.
1991 to 1997- south texas, incl. san antonio and corpus christi. so hot the dash turned black.
1997 to 2004- NW arkansas
2004 to today- NE arkansas

Click to expand...

so only 5 years in ny , not to bad , but like you said , your ma took care of it

August 17, 2009

Today I moved the BII into the carport to make it easier to work underneath. Backed it in with the towbar, hooked to my explorer. Once inside, I moved it back and forth (by hand) to get it closer to the edge, to make room for my wife’s car. I’ve always been amazed at how easy this thing is to roll around.

Still plenty of room for my wife to park her car (we’re getting some storms), and there is a lot more room on the driver’s side.

August 23, 2009

I had a very productive afternoon. I was determined to have the motor out. Both roll pins for the clutch line were rusted in, so I just unbolted the slave from the bellhousing. Pulling the motor was actually the easiest part of all this. This was the first time I have ever pulled a motor, and I used only hand tools and the hoist.