Bronco, K5, Ram Charger. What is the positives and negatives on these trucks? Which one is the ultimate 4x4 for minimal investment? Just want to hear some experience on these 3.

 

Not b/c I'm just a chevy hater, but I hate chevys for all reasons. I've seen how fast they fall apart after regular use, and even faster when you try and really use them.
The Ram Charger isn't my taste(looks wise, and neither is the K5).
The Bronco would be my choice, but what year and what will it be wheeled in(mud, rock, sand, snow)????? That's the big question. A 66-77 Bronco is just about as strong as the full size 78 79 full size Broncos, but are alot lighter and would be good in everything, and the 78 79 Broncos are great for mud and can handle the rest pretty well. The 80-96 Broncos wouldn't be one of my choices, unless you want to do a solid axle swap up front(which is money I'd rather spend upgrading my existing axles in a solid front axle truck(66-79).

 

Mud and some trails nothing thats in need of major lift or anything like that, I was thinking bronco I like all body styles whats the best for mud and some trails

 

Can't go wrong wiht a 78-79 bronco, but for moderate stuff you should be fine with any year bronco, i personally like the looks of the bronco more than the others, but thats subjectice, obviously.

 

Well me and captain p4 will tell you to pick a 78 79 Bronco, but that's b/c we love ours. And for good reason: They come with no engine smaller than 351, and you can get a 400, and it's really easy to swap in a 460. Transmissions= Auto C6, which is very strong, or standard NP435, granny low first gear and even stronger. The axles are strong enough for what you want to do, and beat a chevy 10 bolt any day.The NP205 t case is as strong as they come(if full time 4wd the NP203 holds up it's own).

 

Oh definetly, i've only had it for like 2 weeks and i'm in love. haha

 

blazer good all around cheap truck to mod. pros- comes with leafs, V8, and straight axles.. anything body / frame wise will swap from 73-87. easy cheap swap to one tons (60 front and 14bolt rear). cheap to lift. removable top. fits 33s stock.. tons of cheap chevy parts. cons- body rots, 10bolt front & rear suck for anything over 33s, a lot of them come with fulltime (ugh) 4 wheel drive. and lastly, it is a chevy.

ramcharger- not really in the same class with the other two. big&heavy and non-removable top. good quality mopar stuff is high dollar and it is harder to hard big CI motors, and if you do, it is $$$$. not saying it wouldn't be a good platform to build up, but you'll have a lot of work into making it managable. You could big up a Geo tracker to be hardcore, but still a lot of work.

bronco- pretty cheap and abundant. around here, it is easier to find cheap broncos than blazers.. don't know why.. seem to rot out the same as a blazer (although ford frames seem to rot out quicker). 78-79 only year for solid axle and come with factory slug 351M/400. easy swap to 460 (351M/400 share the same bell housing as 460). removeable top. probably has a better ride than a chevy (with the 3 link front). older ones come with 9" rear (way better than a 10bolt) and 44 front is slightly better than the 10bolt (yes, older chevies have 44s too, but they are all Lo-pinion). newer bronc have a TTB front (which has a great ride but really suck at life with anything bigger than 35" tires). harder to swap in a 460 (different motor mounts and bell housing) and later models came with lame 8.8" ford axle (same crappyness as a 10 bolt). a high pinion dana 60 is an easy swap to any of them... (it would be 3x harder to put a HP axle in a chevy).

I'd still pick the ford though cause I hate most chevy owners..

 

early BKO with full width 1 tons, beefed dana 20, 4 link rear with coils, wristed front with coils, 4 speed and small block of your choice and a cage

 

This sums up what I was going to say.

A Bronco or a K5 either one would be a good choice, depending on what kind of deal you find on one.

.

 

Bought somes it up, thats what i was expecting on the ram charger i like never see them either they went extinct around here lol. Bronco or K5 was what I was expecting I was thinking about going for a 78-79 before just becuase of all the hardcore stuff allready on them but I had hard time finding one. Id prob end up with a newer like 85 and up or whatever I can find really. And K5, I seen a 89 K5 with 6 inch lift 35s red with tinted windows and I thought it looked pretty bad *** and It was like 5k but Id prob buy a bronco over K5 cuase i like the bronco for everything it offers and if I can find a 78-79 with a 460 Im set for life,lol. Thanxs...

 

i'm gonna have to second this vote!

o and BTW MBBFord, the EB's are not nearly as strong as the BB's! just for future reference. get some 1 tons and slap under it, beef the D20 with HD outputs, and then yank the crappy 3-on-the-tree tranny's that came in most of them and you have a stout setup!

-cutts-

 

the ebs are unbeatable, pull the top, doors and fold the windshield and it like you arent even in a vehicle