I've been a lingerer here for the most part and currently own a '96 F150 2wd w/ 302 for my daily driver but been looking for a 4wd truck and a friend of a friend is trying to get rid of his Bronco because he's moving in less than a week and don't have room to work on it at new place.

I'm curious on everyone's opinion on this..... okay here's the specs

'88/'89 bronco XLT 4x4 I'm thinking '89 judging by the manufacture date but the owner hasn't confirmed as of yet. manufacture date is 11/88

He's only asking $200 down from the $500 he wanted about a week ago, since he has to get rid of it fast.... thus why definetely considering it.

The good:

clean title

351W EFI in good shape, ran before needing work on the body

Transmission code is K, which I've read is the C-6 (and the owner confirmed it was rebuilt and rock solid as of 2 years ago)

longpipe hooker headers on the 351W and exhaust is in good shape

body is in fairly decent shape and interior isn't bad but needs cleaning

the top needs minor fiberglass work but he does have a second top for the truck that is in good shape just different color



The bad:
the axle code said 18, which as far as I've found is 3.08 non-LS which seems a bit tall for what I want to use it for eventually which is running a 4-6" lift and atleast 33" or 36" tires

minor dents in roof from a tree from the past hurricane, and cracked windshield from the same reason

Power steering needs a little work. I forgot exactly what he said but something to do with the power steering won't hold fluid for very long and will run about $80-90 to fix.

ignition switch in column is weird, he would just turn key and have to start it from under the hood. so this would need to be fixed or just rig up a start switch which probably will be my choice.

the main problem though, the frontend got busted up from sliding into a pine tree while offroading. he has a replacement grill/fenders from an '86 or older eddie bauer. it wouldn't bother me to have the different looking fenders since I'll probably cut the fenders eventually and repaint the whole thing but I just want to make sure they will bolt up fine. still need a new bumper but not worried about that, will poke around the junkyards or have a friend weld up something for me.

and it has automatic hubs for the front which I'm only familiar with manual hubs..... anyone have any opinions on the automatic hubs of this year or how much work it takes to convert to manual hubs?



But, that's pretty much it. the truck didn't look that bad at all from back, just the front seeing things detached and hanging looked a little rough and trying to figure out how to haul it on home and where to store it to work on it..... but just curious on opinions on whether or not it's a good deal and wondering about those front fenders if things will fit up just fine or take some modifications?

Thanks for any advice/info/opinions. I need to make my decision by Wednesday of this week, otherwise he's just giving it to his brother-in-law.

 

You need the 3.08 if your planning on doing any highway driving. The C6 is a 3 speed non OD tranny...Really strong, but sucks on the highway. The non LS is good cuz you are able to put lockers in it.

The selenoid is probably bad on it, I had to do the same thing on a 75 until I put a new starter selenoid on it.


That's a heck of a deal for a bronco. My neighbor is selling his for $3500. I have one I paid $850 for, but the only reason I got this good of a deal is because it was a buddy of mine selling it.
Here's mine...



This is the second day I had it...just washed it and cleaned it up. I got a steal on it

 

I honestly don't plan to do any highway driving on the bronco. it will be almost purely for offroad playing. I have my F150 2wd w/ 3.55 gears and E4OD when I do anything on highway so not worried about gearing being too low. As far as a locker, I was honestly thinking about an idea my friend said. Since it will be almost purely for offroad, to just put a spool in the rear.

Sorry for such a stupid question but I forgot to look at the rearend closely when was out there looking at it, but would that be a 8.8" or 9" in the rear of that bronco? I'm guessing 8.8 but I'm not too familiar with these particular years of bronco or F-series. went from '70s F-series to my '96 so kinda skipped that area.....

it's defintely a good price on the bronco which is why giving it a good consideration. Just need to make sure I have the time and $$$ to put into it because I don't want it to sit around too long before getting it going heh plus, the *cough* female in the house doesn't want a truck just sitting in the yard very long lol otherwise I hear _ALL_ about it heh

Any ideas on how much time and effort I'm looking at for mounting those different year fenders onto that body?

Also, the owner said he replaced the solenoid when he replaced the starter, but it still wouldn't crank. Just kind of guessed was something screwy with the switch in column on start. he said all it took to crank it was turning key and then getting under hood. not sure, guess I'll figure it out.

and good looking bronco you have there

 

Well, the front shell won't work with the different fenders...so unles you are planning on putting the front grill off of a 80-86 i'd say sell those and get you some other fenders. Check out lmctruck.com, they have pretty much everything you'll need to get this thing fixed up.

 

The ignition switch issue is very common on that vintage F-series and Bronco. A quick search of the forum should yield info. The topic has been discussed several times. There is an actuator in the column (made of potmetal...care to guess why it cracks?) that, once cracked, no longer activates the start contacts in the ignition switch. Its a fairly simple fix but requires removing the steering wheel as I recall.

By 89 it most likely has an 8.8 in it. The 8.8 has a rear inspection cover, the 9" doesn't...quickest way to tell. I also recommend AGAINST the use of a spool unless you plan to trailer it to your wheeling sites. Spools can get real scary real fast on pavement and will chew the heck out of those big meats on every single paved corner you turn. Seems a waste to spend less on the spool than a locker just to spend more on tires because cornering eats them alive.

Toss the auto hubs out the window first! You will thank yourself (and maybe even me) the first time you are wheeling and DON'T detonate a hub in mid trail. Heck, those things are known to fail just because they haven't been used in a while. The swap is as simple as unbolting and removing one set and installing the other.

In truth the front end from your 96 will fit that Bronco really well with some minor mods. A lot of people do this just because they like the look of the 92-96's. My local parts dealer just did this to his own 89 Bronco.

 

ah thanks for the info, I'll look around for that. Guess off the top of your head you wouldn't have a good link would you? if not, it's fine lol searching is easy enough

ah true, especially considering the cost of the tires I would like to get.... although, atleast at the beginning, I was planning to trailer it since I don't plan to register it and get it on the roads. Atleast for 8-12months it will be just for offroad play. depending on how things go over the next year will decide if wanna actually get it running on the street.

Yeah, I was looking at the auto to manual conversion topics and looks rather simple and worth it. I figured trusting automatic hubs would be a bad idea heh any recommendation on manual hubs or they all pretty much the same? the only ones I've been around were warn but seen people talk about milemarker and a few other brands so just curious.

ah.... just realized in my last question I forgot the mention the parts were from '86 or older (don't know exact year) for the front fenders, etc...... My '96 F150 is my daily driver so it's staying in one peice lol


although, depending on how the '86 or older fenders would match up, I may just poke around in the junkyard for the '92-'96 parts and just try that as yeah I agree, the '92-'96 front looks much better.


So I'm guessing by the responses so far that I should jump for this opportunity? the only thing really keeping me still stand-offish is about curious how much time/effort it will be to get the front put back together with parts that match up and the whole fact that it's going to be sitting in the yard until get it running..... the female of the house doesn't particularly like seeing things sit in the yard she might consider something like that as "junk".....

heh any opinions on an excuse? lol anyone with experience with wives/fiances/girlfriends on excuses to explain a new truck sitting in the yard?

 

I read a artical a few years back where a guy put a spool in a daily driver (Jeep) and he said it was all lies. He said he had no problems. He said it drove better that a Detroit locker because it doesnt all of a sudden let go. He didnt see any unusual tire ware. Everyone says that spools eat tires. It makes since and I bought lockers. But I've allways wondered. It seems like everyone that dislikes them doesnt have personal experince. I have to agree on the ditching the hubs. I have personal experince there.
I got no help on the excuses. My wife thinks mine is junk, and it is driving. LOL

 

I just finished a buying trip to central Texas two weeks ago. I prefer the 92-96 models and they are getting to be expensive. I looked at 8 Broncos, all of which had under 100K miles and were well optioned. I only bought two. A White '94 with 53K ($2650) asking price was $3500. The other is a very clean '96 71K monochrome red ($4000) asking price was $5500 (it needs brakes and tires and he was going to replace them in the original price). Both are rust free and have good maintainance records. 2 of the others were under 50K miles and priced over $7500, the rest were rejected for either rust, abuse or high miles. I was a little concerned about the $$ on the '96 but after it was detailed got new shoes/brakes it sold for $7850. The '94 will get a full make over. I spoke to dealer in Killeen, TX who buys a lot of Broncos and he said he has been paying a $1000 more this year than last year for the good stuff. He also said demand for the good ones is way up. He sent 6 to an auction in Wisconsin and they all brought crazy high prices.

 

Check with Jeff's Bronco Graveyard. Or a Ford truck dealer (the heavy truck/Sterling dealers usually have better pricing than the car dealers on truck parts). The piece is only about 2.5-3" long with an odd curved end to it. Its pictured HERE and carries a $12 pricetag.

 

[QUOTE=slackwolf]
and it has automatic hubs for the front which I'm only familiar with manual hubs..... anyone have any opinions on the automatic hubs of this year or how much work it takes to convert to manual hubs?
QUOTE]

I have a 91 FSB which if i'm not mistaken is identical (but dont quote me on that) and i switched out the autos for manuals last Wednesday. I got the warn premiums for 90 bucks i think. it took maybe an hr at the most in the dark. i'm no mechanic either if that helps. drove across the state this weekend without any problems.

(i had the 5 bolt auto and didnt need the conversion kit. from what i've read if its the 3 bolt auto you'll need the conversion kit)

 

The power steering pump with two new hoses, provided it needs tham will run you about 55-60 total, plus about 2 quarts of fluid. Taking your time, it's about a 3 hours repair and not complicated at all.

If you are jumpering the starter solenoid to start the engine, then your problem is most likely the neutral safety switch. I have had to replace two of them and as I recall they cost about 30-35 dollars. Another easy repair, btw.

You basically bought my truck (mine is 1/88) and even the color and the wheels are the same!

Hope this helps...