1987 full size bronco 2wd conversion

I just picked up a decent 87 bronco with front hub issues that I am going to convert to 2wd and eventually lower a bit,ever since I found out that 2wd parts will bolt on this swap has been lurking in the back of my mind for years so now its going to happen. I got enough money from the wrecked crown vic to buy the bronco and get the suspension parts I need so I am going to collect the parts and after I get the 66 f250 painted I will start on the bronco,one thing I like about this bronco is it has electronic shifting for the 4x4 so no hole in the floor to patch and it has the wiper switch on the dash and the dimmer switch on the floor instead of on the column like the newer ones.

Maybe I'm missing something. Don't take this wrong. PLEASE. I'm not trying to be a jerk but?? Why? I can see and old Scout or something slammed and done up but just don't get why you would do that kind of work for a 87 Bronco.

I have seen pics of them done up that way and they look sweet,there was a prototype 2wd made by Ford in the mid 90s with the lightning drivetrain and thats what I am trying to duplicate. If it was a early bronco (66 to 77) I would keep it 4x4 but not this one,its not going to be slammed where its not drivable but enough to look good. GM made 2wd blazers and Chrysler made 2wd ramchargers so why not a later bronco.

I got ya.. I just never heard of it before. I have been 4 wheeling in those before and they are not all that tough in the mud. I spent the better part of a night on Rt. 8 by the dam stuck in a mud hole years ago.
Are you planning to leave the stock engine or is this a V8 plan? I'd think those would be pretty light weight with the 4X4 crap gone.

It has a 302 now and plan on a 351 in the future and do it up like a lightning with the mass airflow EFI system,the 38 gallon gas tank will have to go and the rear tank from a dual p/u system looks like it will fit and will get it down to 20 gallons. Removing all the 4x4 parts should get me better gas mileage and might be going with a little taller gears but will try the 3.55s for now,if the bronco had manual hubs and transfer case they would go in my 95 F150 beater but dont want to mess with the electronic stuff. For now I am just going to put regular truck suspension parts on it and will be looking for a set of used dropped beams,it should drop it about 4 inches in front and I will be removing the spacers in the rear and get about 2 inches lower. Aux trans cooler was leaking so I replaced it with another factory cooler I had in stock plus I need to look at the factory p/s cooler since I think its leaking but will most likely just remove and bypass it,after I get back from down south tomorrow I am going to hit a few junkyards on the way home to see if they what they have.

Did ya find any parts on the way home. We left soon after eating and headed north because somebody want to stop at the outlet mall. That turned out to be a no go since it was pouring down rain when we were there. I was surprised at the number of Hot Rods and people, but it seemed like they had enough grub. It was nice to see some of the people out even though the weather was a little humid.

I stopped by a yard in Middletown and they had the front suspension but want to find it a little cheaper,went to mahaffeys right at closing so I will have to go back. The rain kept me from stopping at a few so I will head out next saturday morning and first go to Busy bee and see what they have,even with heat and good wipers it got a little hard to see and glad I took the back roads home.

Are you still going to the deal down in West Chester next Saturday AM? I think both Dave abd Dennis ate going to be there pedaling their wates.

After searching for a while, I'm glad to have found someone else currently doing this. I'm not going to sue the 4x4 past this summer, so it will be good to learn from someone with a bit more experience than a newbie like me. Hope it's coming along great.

Any pics yet???

Not yet and have not started to tear into due to the rain.

Still need to get it a couple inches lower,will see if springs will do it if its still can be aligned correctly

Cool!

There is just enough differences so the truck lowering parts wont work on the rear so I am going to order a new set of rear springs in a couple weeks,the springs on a F150 are 2 1/2 inches wide and the bronco is 3 and was thinking about lightning springs since I heard they are the same width as a 4X4 but are one inch longer in the rear so no cheap junkyard parts this time.

I just got a call a few minutes ago and have found a set of dropped beams and a axle flip kit cheap so its going low,I came close to ordering a set of custom lowered rear springs and glad I waited.

Did ya get the drop beams?

What's happening with this thing? Pics?

Not much happening with it right now,got the dropped beams and axle flip kit but the frame will need to be modified alot for the flip kit so I am going with lowered springs for now so I can get it on the road before the snow arrives. The beams and flip kit will go in the attic of the garage for now or sold to finance the rear springs,these beams are made for the 82 to 86 balljoints so in order to use them I will need to find a older set of spindles and to use the new calipers I will need to find 86 spindles. I am thinking about trying to find a decent 82 to 86 shortbed to put those parts on and sell so I can make some money for more upgrades on the bronco.

Sold the wagon yesterday so I am ordering new lowered rear springs monday.

Now that the 55 is ready for Florida the bronco is in the garage for the winter to install the new rear springs and get the 4X4 trans and transfer case out and a 2wd AOD in,while I am at it I need to change valve cover gaskets and install a new fuel pump. The pre 90? trucks have a goofy two fuel pump system and the pump in the tank is bad,if the pump in the tank goes out it will still run but hard to start after sitting a few days and starve for fuel at highway speed but I am thinking about getting the tank and lines of a newer bronco and just go with one pump for simplicity. It has 3.55 gears and thinking about changing them to 3.08s or something close to 3.25 since the heaviest thing it will pull might be a motorcycle on a trailer since the 66 will take care of heavier items.

Dropped the tank for the pump replacement and broke a fuel line connector in the process but parts are available,was going to change the rear springs but the bolts are giving me a fight so I might let the frame shop do that for me. As soon as the pump is in its time to change the trans and with the tank out I would like to replace it with a smaller tank as I am not looking forward to fill that 30 something gallon tank.

Pump is in and working and need to refill the rear end and then its on the changing the trans,I pulled the cover since the vent tube was broken off so I needed to see if the rear end was full of water which it was not.

I thought you bought a fancy new camera? Where's the pics?
Doug sounds like he's coming to the X mas party. You coming?