The bad news is that I'll have to travel 100+ miles to find another B2. The good news is I can buy whatever I can afford. My only experience is with an 88 model. Does anybody have any guidance of what to look for or avoid in the different model-years? I'm thinking about an 86 in Memphis.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Thank you.

 

they are all basically the same except for some interior/exterior changes..still the same motor and trans and rears. anything under 85 will be a 2.8L carbed and 86 up will be3 2.9L fuel injected.
..love my 86..4inch suspension lift, 3inch body running 35 inch BFG MT's and it spends every weekend offroad that the offroad park.

 

Personally.. I like the 89-90 models because of the interior and I like the front ends better. Just MO. There's a few differences with engine, and what trim levels were available and whatnot.. but whatever one you get, we can help you out on it.

 

like any b2 look at the heads make sure no leaks or cracks are there. take it out for a spin most of the time the person selling it doesn't want to drive for long knowing about certain problems only while moving. check radiator and belts look at water pump for any rust marks meaning leaks . ask about tune-ups
brakes trans any mods done to it. etc...

 

The front end components such as headlamps are much cheaper 89 and down then the "aero" style on the 1990. If I had a choice I would buy a:

1984/85 BII 2.8l/manual transmission/manual hubs/XLT loaded with a sun roof. The sun roof makes a big difference in enjoyment especially off road. I would ditch the computer and replace it with a Duraspark and 350 cfm small holley carb.

Watch out for vehicles with floor pans ripped or rusted out under the seats, front and back.

 

The later '90 models had a Dana 35 front end - much stronger if you plan to do any offroading. '89 and '90s are also easier to do a 4.0 swap if you want more engine power.

 

I'm looking at an 89 with great mechanics: new heads and rebuilt transmission in the last 20K. The seller (a mechanic) says the air conditioning system sat open for almost a year before he bought the vehicle and he never messed with it. The system was disconnected while the previous owner tried to decide what to do about the head problems. They finally decided to just sell it. The current owner says sitting open was not good for the A/C and I should assume it won't work.
Can anybody give me a worse case scenario of what my options would be for getting the AC system working?
As always, thanks for your awesome assistance.

 

You need A/C? I thought it was always cold and foggy in the UK! jk

Well, it could take some effort to get that A/C working again. I'd start with why was it disconnected in the first place? It must have leaked, so you're going to have to find out where and fix that. It could be a hose, the condenser, evaporator, compressor or a seal somewhere - or a combination of the above.

Then, you'll need to see if the compressor works. Having sat open for that long, I'd bet you'll need to go through that also.

You're going to need a new receiver/dryer because the dessicant in the dryer is shot.

Once all that is done, you'll need to have the system evacuated and recharged. Here in the US that isn't as easy as it used to be. Also, since this is a UK version, the air conditioning system could be completely different.

You're probably better off, cost-wise, to use the 2-70 air conditioning method: 2 windows open traveling 70 KPH.

 

I wish I could use the 2-70 method.Must be nice to be in WI. It's too humid and hot out here to use it though. I'm needing to fix my A/C.

 

I'm working in the UP of Michigan right now. It cooled off quite a bit since yesterday - it's a brisk 57* right now. I'll take that weather for working any day!

 

Shoot.. It's 97*F here today.

 

thanks for the excellent information. As I understand it the only thing wrong with the A/C was that it was in the mechanic's way as he did his exploratory surgery.

 

Well, then you should be able to put it all back together - except for the receiver/dryer - and have someone evacuate and recharge it. The reason you're going to need the receiver/dryer is there's a dessicant (absorbs water) in there that isn't any good after a year of exposure to the atmosphere.