So I am fairly new here to the OB community but I have always had a keen interest in doing longer overland routes. I recently inherited an 1987 Bronco that I learned to drive in (I am 40 now) after my father passed. It has sat idle for 18 years once it quit running on him. I recently resurrected the old 300 CID L6 (sheared distributor gear roll pin was what sidelined it). Now she is getting built with the goal of overlanding to the Expo West next year. I will keep things updated as I make slow progress on the build (I work fulltime as a systems engineer and have a 2 year old). I am excited to get started learning in this community and share my creations with you. I am developing some custom electronics and some fun little conveniences you all might like to see. I will post a before picture in the next couple of days and update as I can.
Starting the 1987 Full Size Bronco Build
- Thread starter JACSEng
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mface7
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Love these older American SUVs...looking forward to seeing what you come up with. 2 year is going to make it slow...for like the next 16 years or so. Welcome aboard!
I've always thought these full size Broncos and Blazers were some of the original Overlanding vehicles in the US. Short-ish yet truck mighty and lots of room. Very utilitarian
I am partial to the Ramcharger...but there is nothing like owning a vehicle with memories.
Bronco, Blazer, Ramcharger are all nearly equal and alot of stuff made for them will interchange.
Good luck with the build. And get that 2 year old interested. They love to be hands on, you just got to slow your pace and find patience.
He was riding his bike in between helping. He is 8 now...knows more about trucks than most men I know.
And some crappy old pics of one of my Ramchargers. From back when we did this before it got a name...lol
Bronco, Blazer, Ramcharger are all nearly equal and alot of stuff made for them will interchange.
Good luck with the build. And get that 2 year old interested. They love to be hands on, you just got to slow your pace and find patience.
He was riding his bike in between helping. He is 8 now...knows more about trucks than most men I know.
And some crappy old pics of one of my Ramchargers. From back when we did this before it got a name...lol
YES! The RamCharger is definitely included in that short wheelbase truck, 4x4 kickass group. I had a Blazer, one of my friends had a Ram Charger, and one had like a 78 Bronco. This was late 1980's, mid 1990's extending to maybe 5 years ago.
Chevy missed the boat not bringing back a full size Blazer for the 50th anniversary. It would have sold like hotcakes. Dodge / Ram shod do the same. The trucks make the biggest margin for them seems natural they could expand that segment. Good on Ford for doing it. So they have a new Bronco, they have a Bronco sport to take the place of the Bronco II, a d I think they need a Bronco "XLT" or something, based on the F150 platform. That would complete the family
I am curious if there is a market for Overland-ready 80s and 90s full size SUVs? I would love to start building and selling them full-time. Down here in southern New Mexico, we have tons of full size Bronco's and Blazers/Jimmys/80's - 90's Suburbans (I don't see very many ramchargers) that can be bought up and they have zero rust on them. We have 10% humidity and almost no rain year-round so things last forever.
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I have a lot of good memories in full size Broncos. Here's a pic of my buddy's from way back when:
I can tell you, if you go THAT big in a stock FSB you'll end up with a bent frame, tweaked TTB, bent rear axle housing and a good bit of wavy sheet metal (including the doors touching the front fenders at the top, but having an inch gap at the bottom).
-TJ
I can tell you, if you go THAT big in a stock FSB you'll end up with a bent frame, tweaked TTB, bent rear axle housing and a good bit of wavy sheet metal (including the doors touching the front fenders at the top, but having an inch gap at the bottom).
-TJ
Advocate I
It's definitely and interesting idea. If you look at Davis AutoSports and what they charge for "resto-mod" XJs... it seems to indicate that people will pay pretty good money for builds like that.
I really like the FSB as a platform, because it's a bit of a jack of all trades. They can fit 35"s at fairly low lift heights (2-3"), and they can be setup with long travel while retaining 4WD (including the low-range t-case). Aftermarket support for suspension stuff is very strong. While I don't think Overlanders want to pre-run the Baja 1000 at full speed, I do think the long travel suspension would actually be very nice for Overlanding. Tune it more for taking the jarring nature out of small water breaks and washboard, vs. "hucking" and Baja-type desert running and it really could be something. Combine that with 35"s and a low range and some lockers, plus pretty good articulation and it'll get you out of some tight jams as well. It's a big vehicle, so plenty of room for gear and a RTT, but a relatively short wheelbase (104.7" compared to a new JLUR at 118.4" or a 127.4" for a Double Cab Short Bed Tacoma) to make it nimble on tighter trails.
Clearly I have a thing for 90s/00 SUVs, but I'd really love to build a nice late-5th Gen FSB.
-TJ
Id like to order up a stock1994 Chevy full size Blazer Silverado 5.7 350, please, sir. Thats the last year of the full size Blazer name. Between then and '99 even the 2 doors were called tahoe...Manual trans if you can find it, but they were rare even by then. Yes I like the older ones where the top comes off, but the '92, '93, and '94 are solid roof, like the Ram Charger was, so there is almost always a roof rack to put the kayaks on.
Please and thank you
Yep. Final years full size Blazers were 111 inch wheel base, almost 188 LOA, 1500 pound haul capacity, 7,000 pound tow capacity. 200 hp but 310 torque. Not bad, really
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I may look into
That's all exactly what I was thinking. Some decent coilovers to adjust for payload with adjustable damping to smooth it all out. I can find parts all day long for these things for reasonable cost. Designing and building a decent roof rack is a necessity as well as a well thoughtout cargo space organizational systems.
Definitely an interesting and fun project to undertake. Might be worth doing one at least.
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The Bronco and K-5 have a HUGE fallowing, unfortunately modified 80’s Fullsized SUVs aren’t fetching as much as almost stock specimens. A buddy of mine just sold his 89 FSB for $30,000 it had 120k miles and was very clean. On the other hand another buddy had a 95 FSB with a 460, SAS 1 tons and 37” BFGs on 20’s, he got 10,000 for it, even though it was just as clean as the 89.
My 89 FSB when I bought it was worth the 1000 bill I spent, and now it’s worth 15k in the condition it is in.. with a little paint and finishing the interior I’m looking at a 25-45k rig.
BTW, I bought my FSB to be a beater truck, but with the increasing demand for these old guys I see it not getting wheeled like I had previously envisioned.
Had to replace the rear window regulator, motor, inside and outside wipers, upper window guide and clean everything up. Sitting for 18 years did this no favors. One thing at a time. Fuel tank is next. It is full of varnish from ancient gas. It has gummed up everything so far. The fuel tank is the last of the fuel system to be replaced.
