[1618]

B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

recently i've been forced to start working on my 87' bronco 2 and so far i have gutted it and im now shoppin for a 5.0l to drop in with a new manual tranny and t-case from whatever fullsize donor i find. QUESTION IS will i be happy with a 2" body lift or should i go 3". i realize i'd have to do a lil work for the raise with the steering shaft, kits i've looked at come w the extension for it, and i know about the linkage prob i'll have to fix but any other things to look for/worry about b/w the two sizes?? future plans will include possibly a chopped 9" rear, and 44 front. i dont care about gaps so throw that thought out the window.

any and all opinions except for "throw it out and get a fullsize" are greatly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

I suggest you get axles in before you lift the body and don't chopped them. You'll need all the width you can get to stablize it. BII's are probably the squirliest vehicle in the world and the TTB up front is too soft. A body lift would only increase that problem so swap in full length axles before you lift.
Take my word for it. I went flying off a road in one of these doing 50 because of the squirlyness. I ramped it off a raised drive way. I must of at least got 4 feet in the air. But the BII took it like a battle tank. All I did was pop a tire. If you swap the running gear and dropped a 302 in it, it would be invincible.

 

[1618]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

thank you at least for replying but thanks to some other boards i will already have ordered a 3" kit. i can't wait till i do my axles b/c as i stated im putting in the 302 as soon as i snag one. i'm handling the power and torque prob first then going to suspension. im not going to be driving this like a maniac or offroadin it till it is COMPLETE. that is after engine tranny new axles roll cage etc etc are done.
yeah i could wait but if i did i wouldnt bother with a body lift. im just doing it for te bonus room i'll get which will ease the engine swap and save me some cutting and banging

 

[Grapehead]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

good choice on the 3" , im almost finished swapping a 302 in my ranger and the more room down there the better. my kit came with the steering extension. the only thing you have to do yourself is parking brake cable relocation and thats not a must right away. find a f250 to pull the whole drivetrain. it takes a lot of work out of the swap.

 

[1618]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

precisely what i was thinking the more room the less pain in me ass. prob now is whether i can find a donor w a T5 mated to a 302 or not..

 

[Grapehead]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

t5 shmee five, i got a np435 in mine they are much more plentiful! 6.69:1 granny too! just no overdive

 

[1618]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

hmmm no od but nice granny... gonna have to throw that on my list and check lenghts an all thatjive. ok so that'll dent my decision on the t5 but more choices is always better. thanx for throwin that out there.

ok grabbed my book to check out the 435 now it'll be diff for my b2 but did you have to cut or mod ur floorboard, and did you need to change shift handles?

 

[1428]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

I think full width axles would be the way to go, the one bronco II that I wheel with has a 302 and a 3 inch body lift. He said the same thing, that it gave him alot more room to fit everything.

 

[Guest]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

Hey mobyguzzer, you got any big pics of yer B2? That one pic looks pretty bad to the bone but it's hard to see.

 

[1618]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

im sticking with stock axle lengths of a sort. i may be grabbing a 9" rear and sexy solid 44 for up front if a certain someone ever replies to my offers. 3"er goes in tomorra which means this week i start shopping around and i will be snaggin my 302 and NP435 soon, last decision is on t-cases but that'll be settled after a lil more research

 

[990]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

yeah, im still lookin into those 67 bronco axles. Hopefully they are still for sale. If you feel like waiting, when i get home tomorrow i will assist you with the body lift

 

[1618]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

i didnt start it so if ya want drop in... but if ya have other pans call first cuz im gonna look at the body mounts an see if i want to replace them right now or not. even if i do we could still put it in, i'd just order a set of new mounts tomorra then and theyd be here before i get engine and junk so theyd be easy to swap out.

 

[1428]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

Sorry lowgear, its not my ride but heres another pic

 

[Grapehead]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

glad to hear you decided to go with the np435. i think you will be pleased. btw, what transfer case are you going to run? i got a np205 in mine just out of luck it was bolted to the np435 i found... its a heavy drivetrain, but one that should last.

did you get the body lift done yet? i remember it taking us a little over an hour to do my ranger, and that was amidst beer drinking. let me know if you have any questions, like i said mine's almost done and have probably already dealt with everything you will.

 

[1618]

Re: B2-2\" or 3\" body lift, ur opinions

after a few emails with some guys from james duff im going with a dana 20 t-case. simple compact and strong enough. thought about 300 but itd be a pisser changing thigns around to accomodate the outputs. didt put the lift in yet though i wanted to do it many times. biggest prob is this freezing ass cold coupled with an uninsulated garage, which i am insulating right now (just got done with 7 sheets earlier) second thing is i just ordered a new set of body mounts and zinc plates cuz the old ones were nasty and many of the rings were pretty much gone. love that salt. lift will go in no prob nothing hard to do when doing it, well when theres no engine or tranny in it anymore that is heh. i get to skip right to like step 10 outta 12 kinda.