I have plans to lift my 87 B2 4x4 in the future. I want to use the 8" Skyjacker kit. What size tires will that clear? 35s would be great! And If the 35s dont look good enough for me ill 3" body lift it and throw on some 37s haha.

 

8" should be plenty for 35s. I've seen 5.5-6" lifts with 33s on 1st Gen BIIs. My question is, are you going to do at least the Dana 35 TTB swap up front and re-gear your differentials?

 

the gears will be changed. the Dana 35 will come later when money allows. im 16 so u know how that is.

 

I remember all too well. What gears are you planning on running? You can get by with 4.10s if you don't plan on doing much in the way of steep inclines or rock crawling, and you'll retain somewhat stock performance on the pavement. Otherwise I would suggest 4.56s or 4.88s. You may want to do some junkyard diving and see if you can find at least the Dana 35 with 4.10s and find 4.10s for your 7.5 rear (or a 7.5 with 4.10s and limited slip differential to swap the entire axle in). Optimum would be doing an 8.8 axle swap in the rear as the 7.5 is only somewhat bulletproof up to 33" tires -- then again, that all depends on your driving and what you do with your BII.

 

well how hard is the D35 swap anyhow? could i do it right in my driveway in a day? would i need the front driveshaft from the donor as well? and i will be doing hill climbs in the truck when its all done but thats gonna be about a year.

 

The D35 is pretty straight-forward and bolt-in swap. If you have access to air tools in case anything needs persuasion and plenty of penetrating oil, it shouldn't be too difficult and could be done with the truck on jackstands. The most time-consuming part is getting the coil springs disconnected from the TTB arms. There should be some info in any Haynes or Chilton's or online repair guide on taking things apart. I personally would get the front driveshaft from the donor, but if you are going to lift it, you may want to consider having some custom shafts made unless you have access to a welder and shaft balancing machine as the lift will affect the length of the shafts required. You will also want to ditch the GKN design rear shaft and get a U-joint style with the double-cardan CV setup and ensure your rear pinion angle is good to go so you don't blow U-joints all the time. Just some thoughts. A little time and money and good planning will help the outcome a LOT.

 

Thanks. How well do u think i could get a 2.9l to perform without porting the heads cuz thats too pricey at the moment.

 

Depends on how much time and money you want to spend on other things. For one, I know there are performance cams out there available for under $300, but, that is probably also out of your price range at the moment. There are several tips and tricks to modifying the 2.9 and getting the most out of it. Unfortunately, one of the biggest sources of information is no longer in print and costs over $100 for a copy used. Some of the same information, although no pictures involved, are the copies of the old Kunz Korner posts on TRS. Most of the available aftermarket parts for the big pack of punch can add up as far as the money involved, though. Even in it's stock form, the 2.9 is a pretty capable engine, especially mated with the right differential gearing. I took my '87 through some trails that larger tires and lower gears than I have are recommended on and faired well, despite some operator errors. Like I said, time and money and planning, and not everything is going to be cheap, but there are ways to save some of the cost, if you look hard enough in the junkyards.

 

I never buy cheap engine parts. In fact I am about to go dump $200 in ignition parts to Summit. Bosch Platinum plus2 plugs, Taylor 8.2 Thundervolt Wires, Accel Module, Accel Cap and Rotor. Accel Coil. Total is $195

 

> Bosch Platinum plus2 plugs, Taylor 8.2 Thundervolt Wires, Accel Module, Accel Cap and Rotor. Accel Coil. Total is $195

imo, You are totally wasting your money on these items. The most important thing are good 8mm. wires and a spare TFI module in the glovebox. Buying these brand name parts instead of the cheaper auto part stores will not improve performance one bit. Probably just the plain Bosch plats are best. If anything, just buy a cheap cap and rotor with the brass vs. aluminum.

> im 16 so u know how that is.

imo, Any 16 year old driving a short wheel base vehicle (4" shorter then a Wrangler) with 33-35" tires is just a death sentence waiting to happen. Especially in a snow state. Even with 31s, they are squirrelly at best. Very easy to slide off ice onto dry pavement and flip it.

Run 31s as the biggest tires with stock axles and add lock-rights. You might be able to fit 31s without a lift if you raise the rear a bit with a leaf or two.

The stock axles are not suitable for anything bigger. It is easy enough to break the right front axle (been there done that) just running P235s.

Spend your money on good mud tires in P235/75r15 size. Then back it up with lockers and a winch.

> i will be doing hill climbs in the truck when its all done

A Bronco II, especially with an automatic is a dog with any tire 31" or larger, imho. Hill climbing (as in racing), especially in mud with large tires is a no go. The engine just can not spin the tires fast enough to fling the mud to clean the treads and you end up sliding back down.

Invest your money in a good front and rear bumper to protect the sheet metal and to have a good attachment point for a pull or tow strap so larger more capable vehicles can pull you out. It does not take much to slide into something and destroy the front end of a BII when you only have the stock bumper.

 

The fact that I am 16 won't effect me in my driving because I have driven since I was about 10. I have a driveway thats around a half-3/4 mile long. I mean sure sometimes I might have a little fun dropping the clutch(I won't drive automatics anymore they aren't any fun.) on turns or tryin to see how fast I can go on the long straight thats about a 1/4. One time in this 92 Chrysler New Yorker I hit 95 before letting off to slow down and i had plenty of room left. I haven't had the Bronco over 50 because I am afraid I might roll it coming around the first straight to the 1/4 one. i only do about 15 on that bend then smash the pedal back down. And I was not talking about Hill Climb races I just want to climb nice and slow over some little hills to have some fun. I already have a James Duff front Prerunner bumper on the bronco. Actually heres a link http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2710643 ....... I have a 2" rear block in so does that mean I can clear 31s? I don't think the front would allow that. The reason for those ignition upgrades is because I have a backfire problem and I refuse to buy cheap parts that more than likely won't last as long as a more expensive one. Always remember you get what you paid for!

 

When I was a teenager....lol.....I spent way to much time worrying about what parts I had to get and how I wanted my trucks to look instead of just throwing some good mudders on and getting out there and beating the damn thing around.
Theres no fun in having a pretty truck out in the bush, not saying thats what youre going for..just a piece of advice.
I know this is not what your post asked for but my advice to you is just get as much lift out of your stock axle pivots brackets as you can (2") and cut your fenders. That wont cost you much at all, the $200 you are spending on the ignition parts will cover all that.
Then invest in a set of good 31-33" off road tires and a winch. I guarentee that with a set up like that you will have a very enjoyable rig...in the meantime just keep your eye out for some explorer axles. Because youll nuke the D28 eventually.
You dont need the biggest tires and the most lift to have the most fun...and fun is what 4xing is all about!

 

Well heres the thing. I am **** about everything. I can't have anything look odd or hacked up. Its the way I am. And thats why I am gonna have my own custom shop some day.

 

I would opt for the MSD-6 Offroad ignition for aftermarket ignition add-ons. Bosch or Autolite Double Platinums will work well with either the MSD or Accel units, although, I am not that big a fan of Accel stuff anymore... had a set of 8mm Accel spark plug wires go bad somewhere between 1 and 3 months after install. Taylor makes some good wires, though. One thing I have to agree about is brass terminal distributor cap and rotor. They hold up the best and last longer, whether they are the 'cheap' ones or the expensive ones.

Your backfire problem could be a timing issue or injector issue, but I would definitely look into that before doing anything else ignition-related other than routine stuff.

As far as what size tires to run and what lift, that's all personal preference. Like I've said... I ran trails that 31" and 33" tires were recommended on and I had 30" tires, open diffs, stock D28 and 7.5 axles and 3.45 gears (that is the only thing that killed me... 4.10 gears would have made things much easier) and I made my way through some pretty fun rocky terrain and didn't break any drivetrain components (then again, I don't hammer the throttle that hard, either). With mud, yes, wheel speed / momentum is your friend (same with the lower-end rocky stuff, not the same when you're trying to crawl over big rocks, though) and you have to gear your differentials accordingly so you have both power and speed to keep from bogging down. If you go with taller than 4.10 gears, regardless of the axles with 35s (4.56s or 4.88s), you'll still have enough speed at the wheels while having more power from the engine than you would with 4.10s or 3.73s and below.

 

Yeah that low gearing is real helpful. My friend has a 83 Silverado S/B with a 4" lift and 35" tires(about 12"-14" wide) with a crate 350(70,000 miles) and a 350 turbo trans.(If anyone is interested he is asking $4k and its a real nice truck.) He runs 7.11s front and rear and that thing will climb anything that wont make it drag its front or rear bumpers and thats pretty steep. It can spin them pretty easily too if you brake stand it.