Truggy build ideas/help thread

[BigTim55]

So I purchased an offroad rig for $500 it's a ranger cab on a bronco 2 frame.

Hyde has been giving me ideas on what I could do to it. I thought I could get some more ideas/help from the rest of the nation.
For now I plan on throwing some explorer axles on it because my local offroad group is all explorers lol :banghead: but this is gonna be an offroad only rig so I wanna go all out on it. It will definitely be a trailer queen soon. Thanks guys!

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[dhyde79]

well, first things first, give us details on what axles, engine, trans type, etc.

what year's the chassis?

 

[dhyde79]

easy answers for ya: if the chassis is newer than 86 it's got the 2.9L fuel injected V6, if it's pre-1990, it's a dana28 TTB front unless it's been upgraded, if newer than 90, it's got a dana35 TTB (which is the same as most jeeps). rear axle is a ford 7.5" obviously, the advantage would be to grab the front and rear axles off of a bronco, since that'd get you a dana44 TTB and a ford 8.8 rear.

http://www.broncoiicorral.com/common_upgrades.htm

if you're gonna go totally custom, find yourself a junkyard bronco and snatch the 302 or 351W out of it, since, well, who cares, if you're going full on custom, it doesn't matter anymore

obviously the tube exocage would be a requirement, I'd suggest getting a welder and getting proficient with it first, so you can do a lot of the fab work yourself thus making it truly custom.

 

[BigTim55]

Engine in 2.8 carbureted, manual trans, I believe 85 chassis



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[dhyde79]

Engine in 2.8 carbureted, manual trans, I believe 85 chassis
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(used to be a die-hard ford guy)
ok, so it's a D28/7.5" combo, manual trans is good, as long as the previous owner didn't beat it to death... to do any engine swapping you'll need to go to a different trans and t-case too, so, there's that to keep in mind.

I'd say your #1 priority is getting a GOOD welder and some practice so you can learn to do the fab-work yourself. start putting cash aside for the costs of materials, and find out if someone you know has a bender you can use, or if you have to buy one of those too.

once you have that, we can bust out some paper and sketch out the plans for whatever you may need.

if you're doing axle swaps and changing geometry, there's a TON of design math that comes in, with lots of formulae that you need to keep in mind. I've gone in and done the suspension math quite a bit, since I've done more than my fair share of custom crawler designing for RC crawlers, and, the same math applies, so, I can certainly try to help out there....

initially, is it going to sit in a garage until you get it built the way you want it, or what's the plan?

 

[BigTim55]

(used to be a die-hard ford guy)
ok, so it's a D28/7.5" combo, manual trans is good, as long as the previous owner didn't beat it to death... to do any engine swapping you'll need to go to a different trans and t-case too, so, there's that to keep in mind.

I'd say your #1 priority is getting a GOOD welder and some practice so you can learn to do the fab-work yourself. start putting cash aside for the costs of materials, and find out if someone you know has a bender you can use, or if you have to buy one of those too.

once you have that, we can bust out some paper and sketch out the plans for whatever you may need.

if you're doing axle swaps and changing geometry, there's a TON of design math that comes in, with lots of formulae that you need to keep in mind. I've gone in and done the suspension math quite a bit, since I've done more than my fair share of custom crawler designing for RC crawlers, and, the same math applies, so, I can certainly try to help out there....

initially, is it going to sit in a garage until you get it built the way you want it, or what's the plan?

I'm gonna change the trans. Idk how to drive a stick lol. So I might as well swap engine trans and tcase since i'm already changing the trans. The plan for right now is swap trans engine tcase and throw the explorer axles I'm gettin on it then playing with it while I get everything for the big job for it.

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[BigTim55]

Or I may for now just swap an auto exploder trans in it for cheap so I can play with it and get all the stuff I need together.

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[dhyde79]

I'm gonna change the trans. Idk how to drive a stick lol. So I might as well swap engine trans and tcase since i'm already changing the trans. The plan for right now is swap trans engine tcase and throw the explorer axles I'm gettin on it then playing with it while I get everything for the big job for it.

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I wouldn't waste any $ on explorer axles, they're the same as what you already have under it, with exception of the 35 in the front. I don't think the explorer trans will match up either, so, use the thing as is to learn to drive stick and then you're golden. I'd rather have a stick than an auto for a trail buggy, that way I have 100% control over what gear I'm in at all times.

my personal opinion is this: if you're gonna do engine/trans/tcase and axles, go find a donor fullsize bronco or F150, don't pull from an explorer, they're the same hardware as the bronco2 already has. the only difference you'd get is the fact that the explorer would have a 4.0L v6 instead of a 2.8L v6, but, if you do that you'll realize how much you miss having as much power as your VQ40DE has, and be upset that you didn't do a V8 swap instead...just sayin...

 

[BigTim55]

I'm not gonna pull from an explorer I will more than likely find a donor bronco and pull the stuff from it. The explorer axle i'm gettin is from my buddies truck and i'm gettin it practically free just to hold me over for now. It's got a locker and 4.10 gears. I appreciate all the help bud! This really is a learning experience for me

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[dhyde79]

unless you're getting BOTH axles, that one does you no good though (though it sounds like a pretty badass deal). you need a pair of axles with 4.10 gears or none...mis-matched gearing = bad

 

[xterror04]

Does it run and drive now? Do you have a way to tow it to the trail? If the answer is yes to both of those I'd throw a cage on it and drive it till it breaks

This is not meant to be a negative comment.. But when building a tow like this you have to keep in mind that you will never get your money back out of it... So I would just keep that in mind... With that short wheel base and light weight...that thing should make it around easy

 

[BigTim55]

All it needs at the moment is a starter and one new tire.

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