New Member - New Bronco Build - Same old question

[countrybronco]

I'm sure this question has been asked a hundred times and there are a hundred different ways to answer it, but i'm looking for opinions on a new build. I am switching over from a 79' f250 extended cab, dana 60 and 70 on 40's (dang near a bus/tank) to a bronco. I have a near stock 73 with a 351, body is in poor shape. I want to be able to take it out to Moab and have a little fun, trail ride on occasion. I do my own work, pretty handy but not a master mechanic by any means. Being in my early 30's with a lot on my plate, i want something that is on the cheaper but functional end, and will likely come back in 10-15 and rebuild again for looks and function. I'm trying to decide on lift and tire options, 33's or 35's with a 3.5" or 5.5" lift, what type of lift, how much custom work, etc. Any input is great.
Thanks,

 

[RPM289]

Welcome to Bronco's I have never done Moab so I can't give much advice on what to build but there are plenty of great guys on here to give you some direction.

 

[bronconut73]

33/35 are very popular.

Lots of flare and no lift "can" fit 33's.

Going 35's will require a little lift, in reality you are better off with some suspension lift even for 33's.

The most cost effective way for some of us was to buy a little at a time...
Duff coils (3.5")
Duff drop brackets
Duff bushings
Duff leaf packs
Duff steering linkage
I think you get the Duff idea here...
Lol.
dufftuff.com

All the vendors (DUFFS) have kits. Kits are great, but I had to buy my stuff in stages.

I now basically have Duffs baddest kit but with F-250 shock mounts up front.

 

[sprdv1]

Welcome welcome and good luck

Minimum 35s 3.5SL and 2"BL seems to work well. Running 37s here

Would have to do some trimming and cutting

 

[countrybronco]

Thanks for the background and the info. Would you guys push shackle flips, new leafs, or go to coils in the rear? Is Duff by far the leader over the Broncograveyard, jeffs, etc? Is there a reason to go to the body lift or only to get the tires on? What are the thoughts on stretching it out to a longer wheel base? It has a 3-speed in right now but have an auto and C4 sitting in my shed but looks like i would need to stretch it out a bit to get it in there. It looks like going to 3.5" is fairly straight forward, once you go over 3.5" it gets more involved. Did you have to trim for your 35's with 3.5" and 1" bronconut?

 

[OPCJeff]

I'm running 37inch tires with a wild horses 5.5" front lift and BC broncos rear 5.5" leaf springs. I have the the gorilla flares that I mounted pretty high for tire clearance. I run the duff longer radius arms and they are awesome! although if you dont run dual shocks you may find the mounts will bend(ive had them a while maybe they've changed the mounts). I would highly recommend using a track bar riser not the drop bracket. That helps keep your roll center high and closer to center of gravity which reduces the sway you get with a bigger lift. I slowly progressed to this and the big thing I noticed was going to 35s I stopped hitting most rocks with the body. at 37s the holes got so small my suspension hardly needs to articulate anymore. 33s IMO are just not big enough for off roading unless you have good rocker guards or are prepared to do some more body work. In MOAB there are all kinds of trails some smooth and steep and some just freaking insane(like drop off a 8 foot cliff and hope for the best) So I think you can enjoy it with 33s or however big you decide to go

 

[Boss Hugg]

Offnote: look up a thread called "map of members" and tag yourself. ;-)

For the record, I'm running 35's now with stock suspension, 3BL, and the front is not cut yet. Over the next year, I'll be moving to full width axles, homemade long wristed arms, dual front shocks (I hope), wider coil towers (to match the wider wedges of FW axles, and very soon I'll be going to 5.13 gears.

I like to do my own fabrication and such...