I purchased the Bronco in April of 04. The Bronco spent most of it's life in Texas, which is why it is hard to find a spot of rust anywhere. After months of searching, I found it on Autotrader and flew down to Fort Worth to pick it up. It was just what I was looking for. I wanted an '89 or '90 model, automatic with manual hubs and transfer case. I also was happy to find one without any rust and already with a lift kit. I picked it up in Fort Worth and immediately started the 20+ hour journey back to Utah. The Bronco made the trip just fine. The long hours driving gave me a chance to think of all the things I wanted to do to it. The first thing I wanted was a paint job. After a few other mods, paint didn't seem as important anymore and I decided it could wait.
This is what she looked like when I found her...
It already had a 6 inch Skyjacker suspension lift, 31 inch BFG All Terrains on American Racing wheels, a rebuilt 2.9L motor and rebuilt transmission, and Flowmaster single exhaust. Here are a few pictures I took when I made it back to Utah.
I really wanted something cheap with 4 wheel drive, and it had to be a Ford, so this fit the bill perfectly. At the time I was enrolled full time at the University and working full time also. Commuting to work and school I put over 80 miles a day on her and she kept me going until I graduated a year later. After running her hard on some Southern Utah trails, the overdrive on the transmission started to go out on me. Rather than pay to fix the old transmission, I decided to just buy a whole new motor and transmission. Thats when the fun really started...
I found a wrecked '97 Mercury Mountaineer and pulled the 5.0L V8 motor, transmission and complete wiring harness and Computer. I kept everything, including the AC. Knowing what I know now, it would have been much easier(and cheaper) to use an early 90's 5.0L. Despite the extra cost, I have no complaints with the new added power and the custom tunabilty the OBD-II system provides! This allowed me to add 33 inch tires and still whoop up on Jeeps, S10's, Tacomas and Dakota's! She will keep pullin' hard all the way to 85mph and up!
Although it performs well as a daily driver, my real intentions are to build a very capable trail rig. The 6 inches of lift and 33 inch mud tires are a good start. My future plans hope to include:
-Dana 44 Solid Axle up front, locked with 4.88's
-8.8 rear, Superior 8.8 kit, locked with 4.88's
-Disc brakes front and rear
-35" BFG Mud Terrains----DONE!!!
-Bushwacker cutout fender flares----DONE!!!
-Early Bronco long travel suspension
-Extended wheelbase
-Full Custom Cage
-Custom rock sliders
-Who knows, maybe someday I will get around to that paint job....***started May 06!!!***------DONE!!!
-Page 1: Intro
-PAGE 2: You Are Here
-Page 3: Modifications
-Page 4: Frame Off Restoration
-Page 5: Moab 2005
-Page 6: Moab 2006
-Page 7: Just Playin' Around
-Page 8: Solid Axle Swap
-Page 9: Moab 2008
