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Building an '88 Bronco

greenjeep

greenjeep

Cause it's green, duh!
Location
Moab Local!
So, after taking my neighbor out a few times, the bug bit him enough that he now is hoping to build his full size Bronco. I know these may not be the ideal trail vehicle because of their size, but he already has it and it has a 351, auto, and 9" rear, it also can fit his family of 5 easily; so you build what you got, right!

What does the need to know to build this thing right? I know a solid axle would be great, but is it needed immediatly, or will the TTB be ok for a while? He's thinking 4" lift (who makes a good one?) and 35s, with any required fender trimming, and probably a rear locker, possibly a mini spool. This will basically be a trail only vehicle with minumum DD duties. He's shooting for 4-4.5 type trails. Cheap is good to appease the wife.

Ideas, suggestions, advice?

Thanks.
 
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Rick B

S.E. Utah Native
Location
Moab
It sounds like he wants to build what I already have, except mine is an 89. Have him PM me with any specific questions or if he would like to actually see a local Bronco almost exactly like what you described. Mine will be getting the solid front axle very soon though, so if he wants to see one with the TTB he needs to act fast. It is capable of running anything rated up to a 4+ without a second thought. I'd be happy to show anything I can or demonstrate it's capabilities for him.

One thing though, unless someone changed it for some reason he doesn't have a 9" rear, the 88's came with an 8.8, which is for the most part a better axle. Mine does have a 9", but that's because it was cheaper for me to buy the 9" with the correct gearing and the Detroit locker all ready to bolt in than it was to just buy the locker for the 8.8.
 
greenjeep

greenjeep

Cause it's green, duh!
Location
Moab Local!
Rick B said:
It sounds like he wants to build what I already have, except mine is an 89. Have him PM me with any specific questions or if he would like to actually see a local Bronco almost exactly like what you described. Mine will be getting the solid front axle very soon though, so if he wants to see one with the TTB he needs to act fast. It is capable of running anything rated up to a 4+ without a second thought. I'd be happy to show anything I can or demonstrate it's capabilities for him.

One thing though, unless someone changed it for some reason he doesn't have a 9" rear, the 88's came with an 8.8, which is for the most part a better axle. Mine does have a 9", but that's because it was cheaper for me to buy the 9" with the correct gearing and the Detroit locker all ready to bolt in than it was to just buy the locker for the 8.8.
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Thanks for the offer of help and advice. He'd like to come by and see yours, you want to pm or email me your number? So why do you say the 8.8 is a better axle? What are you doing with you old TTB stuff, he might want it if it's available.
 
R

Rick B

S.E. Utah Native
Location
Moab
The 8.8 has a higher pinion, giving it both a better driveshaft angle and better protection for the pinion. Otherwise the 8.8 & 9 use the same axle shafts & brake parts. Many also say the 8.8 is a stronger differential, it's definitely at least comparable.

PM sent with phone number.
 
thenag

thenag

Registered User
Location
Kearns
there is way to eliminate the c clips in the ttb/d44 which makes trail swapping the ttb axle shafts much easier. ttb stuff is cheap and all over the place. so trail spares are easy to get ahold of.

if he starts to have rear end trouble and wants to go d60 up front at some point the ttb can be swaped to 8 lug using chevy parts.

the 8.8 and the 9 are both good rear axles. he should have a 8.8 if his RABS is still hooked up, i don't think the 9 ever got a tone ring.

don't ever pay for a ford REAR d60, the 8.8 is probably just as strong, the 10.25 is much better and just as cheap, if he doesn't mind losing the RABS a gm 14bolt is "bomb-diggity" or a d70.

hanging a straight axle up front usually requires fab work. fullsizebronco.com has a thread just on doing that.

he has the good motor and the good auto.

np203/np205 doubler is a great tcase upgrade when his bw1356 starts to fail, and doesn't cost much more $ than rebuilding the 1356.

I wouldn't mess around with lifting the ttb. 35's with full size and a ttb d44 leads to frequent breakage, people do it all the time and I am sure I will get flamed for saying that but seriously if the ttb worked fine 35's why do so many people do a SAS

my 87 was stock, i got a non running 96f350 for $1900, rebuilt and installed the 7.5L for $2900 and installed the d60/10.25/35's for $1900. but i didn't sink any money into my 8.8, my ttb, or my 300-6. went from stock to one-tons and a 460 in two months, at the time it was my daily driver too.

he will clear 33's with no lift, so if he can save up to build it right and just run 33's for now that will probably be the best thing to do. especially if he can fab some good front and rear bumpers and doesn't mind trimming the body a little.

he can pm me with questions, have him check out my superford page

nathan
-87 bronco with the goods from 96f350
http://www.supermotors.net/clubs/superford/vehicles/registry/194
 
R

Rick B

S.E. Utah Native
Location
Moab
thenag said:
I wouldn't mess around with lifting the ttb. 35's with full size and a ttb d44 leads to frequent breakage, people do it all the time and I am sure I will get flamed for saying that but seriously if the ttb worked fine 35's why do so many people do a SAS
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Compared to how many Broncos/F-150s there are out there hardly anyone does a SAS. I've been running the TTB all over Moab for 6 years & never broken anything in the front end. The reason most people do the SAS is to get rid of the unpredictable IFS handling off road & keep both front tires planted instead of frequently pulling one up in the air. Many others simply tire of constantly spending the money to do the maintenance required to make the TTB live when wheeled heavily. That's what breaks TTB, failure to do the necessary maintenance.
 
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durango man

Member
for the money my opinion is just do the solid axle conversion I had a 80 bronco that I did it on u just need the front setup out of a 78 or 79 bronco or truck those years for the disk brake setup, besides you can usualy pickup a doner bronco that dosnt run for about 300 to 500 dallors or just find the axle and build costum radius arms PM me if you would like the specifics on how to do it on the cheap. as for the 9 inch vers the 8.8 stay with the 9 it is substantially stronger & easier to set up with gears & lockers
 
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