1987 Bronco Upgrades

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B-Co Kid

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Haven't been on here in a while, but i have been slowly moving forward with the B-Co. My two cents so far:

i can only speak for 1987 bronco, 5.8L 351w, borg warner 1356, c6 trans, carb application, duraspark II ignition system, without EEC (from factory).

If you plan on upgrading your cap and rotor to MSD cap and rotor, the MSD 8242 WILL NOT FIT (despite what MSD tech support says). The rotor is totally different. MSD support will not ask if you have a duraspark system, they will just rattle off whatever pops up in their computer. if you have a DURASPARK II system, with the canister ignition coil, your cap and rotor MUST BE the MSD 8450. There is also another cap and rotor set, for DURASPARK II application, that has a dizzy spacer, MSD 8414, but if the clamps that attach the original cap are ok, and the body of the original spacer is ok, you do not need the MSD 8414.

If you are upgrading your "canister" ignition coil to a MSD blaster coil, and your DURASPARK II system has the horseshoe connector, you can easily swap the stock canister ignition coil with the MSD 8205 because the connections are made especially for the horseshoe connector. You will not need the MSD resistor MSD 8214, the DURASPARK II system has a resistor pre-made into it. If you are considering buying the MSD canister ignition coil holder, MSD 8213 (for show), be advised that the original coil holder has a bolted connection to the coil holder that appears to be a ground or something. mounting this connection to the new MSD 8213 bracket may, or may not, be necessary. On a side note, I had a problem with my B-Co dying abruptly after driving. I upgraded my fuel line, from pump to carb, with all metal lines using AN fittings, and covered it with heat shield, assuming the dying was due to vapor lock. Turns out, i had a faulty coil. I replaced the coil with a stock coil, and i havent had that problem since. when i tested the battery, with the engine running, my voltmeter read roughly 13.3v with the stock coil. When i upgraded to the MSD blaster coil 8205, my reading was 14.5v.

If you are replacing your heater core with an aftermarket core, ie. summit racing vista pro ready aire heater core, be sure to get the smaller 6" core, or you will have one helluva time trying to fit the 7" in the dash (but the 7" will fit, forcibly).

If you are upgrading your 2G alternator to the 3G alternator, you will most likely need a 3G alt from a 1990-1993 ford taurus 3.8L with 8.25" ear to ear. I tried both the 7" ear to ear and the 8.25" ear to ear. The 7" definitely will not fit. The 8.25" fits but appears to stretch past the end of the tension bracket. An easy fix is to get a shorter than stock belt. problem solved.

If you are wanting to replace your front grill, many of the aftermarket grills will fit according to the year/make/model; however, be advised that the oval FORD name plate emblem varies. Most vendors will automatically offer you the flat oval name plate emblem. Some B-Co's may, or may not, call for the flat name plate emblem. My application need the oval name plate that was not flat, but more of a cup shape, part number E7TZ-8213-AA. before ordering your oval ford name plate emblem for the front grill, be sure to remove the grill and look at the grill emblem to see if it requires the flat emblem or the cup-like emblem.

If you are replacing the complete headlight assembly (including park lights), it is not necessary to remove the windshield wiper fluid reservoir. I considered having a body shop do my headlights/park lights bcuz i didnt want to deal with the hassle. Actually it was easy to replace. Again, windshield wiper fluid reservoir removal is not necessary.

If you have the time, energy, patience, money, etc., the dry rotting, flaking interior trim pieces can be sanded, primered, and painted (excluding the door panels) for a drastic improvement. The only reason painting the door panel would be advised against, is because sweating and rubbing against the panel will ultimately lead to discoloring of the panel and paint residue on your arms and elbows. I repainted my fender panels, speaker grills, ash tray, camper trim, a-panel, etc. Duplicolor worked very well.

Ive done several other mods, but the mods listed required unfortunate trial and error (and unnecessary $$$). Hope this helps the next!!

 

90bronco86

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That was very helpful, thank you, but one question I plan on doing the 3g alternator upgrade, do you think I will have any different problems cuz my bronco is a 90 with fuel injection, and do you have any more tips?

 
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B-Co Kid

B-Co Kid

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I don't have any experience with the wiring for fuel injection systems, but I'm sure one of the site moderators can weigh in, they know just about everything.

As far as other mods, I have a 3" body lift and 6" stage 2 pro comp lift. At first I thought it would be too much lift, but it sits exactly how I wanted it to, and looks good on 35x12.5x15 bfgs and 15x10 pro comp wheels. No rubbing on the radius arms.

Since you have fuel injection, this wont apply to you but may to others with carb'd applications. When I first got my B-Co, I swapped out the factory carb with a Holley street avenger 650. It ran ok, but when I really hit the gas, it would nearly stall. I'm sure it could have been tuned to perfection. A few years ago I rebuilt the engine and decided to go with Holley 570. Much better performance than the 650. I got a lot of info from the guys here @ bronco zone!

If you are in need of a tailgate, periodically search eBay. There is a guy in Arizona who sells completely assembled tailgates with new or refurbished internal parts. I picked one up for $700. I didn't have to do anything to it but install it. Everything worked, was free of rust, and matched my exact paint color!

If you are looking for one of the original ford bronco spare tire covers with the bucking bronco, good luck; however, there are a couple of oversea ebay vendors who sell replicas. I picked one up for about $45. Took about a month to get it, but it looks almost identical to the original ones.

 
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Rons beast

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Hey Kid,

Great thread with lots of good info.

Some carb knowledge for you: what you described was a bog, caused most times because the secondary jetting is a little small for the sudden increase in the amount of air being sucked in. Increasing the secondary jet size usually takes care of that.

90Bronco86: Having FI will not effect the 3G alt upgrade. The wiring you change (if any) is limited to the alternator and feeds to the battery. I did the upgrade on the Beast when I went to an electric fan, and it went well. I do recomend upgrading the cables from Alt to battery, and adding a "**** fuse". I'll try to get the info on where I got all my stuff and post it here later.

Good luck, and thanks again Kid

 

Seabronc

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Nice content BK. I'm going to pin this at the top of the forum.

peace.gif


 

trydntru

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Haven't been on here in a while, but i have been slowly moving forward with the B-Co. My two cents so far:

i can only speak for 1987 bronco, 5.8L 351w, borg warner 1356, c6 trans, carb application, duraspark II ignition system, without EEC (from factory).

If you plan on upgrading your cap and rotor to MSD cap and rotor, the MSD 8242 WILL NOT FIT (despite what MSD tech support says). The rotor is totally different. MSD support will not ask if you have a duraspark system, they will just rattle off whatever pops up in their computer. if you have a DURASPARK II system, with the canister ignition coil, your cap and rotor MUST BE the MSD 8450. There is also another cap and rotor set, for DURASPARK II application, that has a dizzy spacer, MSD 8414, but if the clamps that attach the original cap are ok, and the body of the original spacer is ok, you do not need the MSD 8414.

If you are upgrading your "canister" ignition coil to a MSD blaster coil, and your DURASPARK II system has the horseshoe connector, you can easily swap the stock canister ignition coil with the MSD 8205 because the connections are made especially for the horseshoe connector. You will not need the MSD resistor MSD 8214, the DURASPARK II system has a resistor pre-made into it. If you are considering buying the MSD canister ignition coil holder, MSD 8213 (for show), be advised that the original coil holder has a bolted connection to the coil holder that appears to be a ground or something. mounting this connection to the new MSD 8213 bracket may, or may not, be necessary. On a side note, I had a problem with my B-Co dying abruptly after driving. I upgraded my fuel line, from pump to carb, with all metal lines using AN fittings, and covered it with heat shield, assuming the dying was due to vapor lock. Turns out, i had a faulty coil. I replaced the coil with a stock coil, and i havent had that problem since. when i tested the battery, with the engine running, my voltmeter read roughly 13.3v with the stock coil. When i upgraded to the MSD blaster coil 8205, my reading was 14.5v.

If you are replacing your heater core with an aftermarket core, ie. summit racing vista pro ready aire heater core, be sure to get the smaller 6" core, or you will have one helluva time trying to fit the 7" in the dash (but the 7" will fit, forcibly).

If you are upgrading your 2G alternator to the 3G alternator, you will most likely need a 3G alt from a 1990-1993 ford taurus 3.8L with 8.25" ear to ear. I tried both the 7" ear to ear and the 8.25" ear to ear. The 7" definitely will not fit. The 8.25" fits but appears to stretch past the end of the tension bracket. An easy fix is to get a shorter than stock belt. problem solved.

If you are wanting to replace your front grill, many of the aftermarket grills will fit according to the year/make/model; however, be advised that the oval FORD name plate emblem varies. Most vendors will automatically offer you the flat oval name plate emblem. Some B-Co's may, or may not, call for the flat name plate emblem. My application need the oval name plate that was not flat, but more of a cup shape, part number E7TZ-8213-AA. before ordering your oval ford name plate emblem for the front grill, be sure to remove the grill and look at the grill emblem to see if it requires the flat emblem or the cup-like emblem.

If you are replacing the complete headlight assembly (including park lights), it is not necessary to remove the windshield wiper fluid reservoir. I considered having a body shop do my headlights/park lights bcuz i didnt want to deal with the hassle. Actually it was easy to replace. Again, windshield wiper fluid reservoir removal is not necessary.

If you have the time, energy, patience, money, etc., the dry rotting, flaking interior trim pieces can be sanded, primered, and painted (excluding the door panels) for a drastic improvement. The only reason painting the door panel would be advised against, is because sweating and rubbing against the panel will ultimately lead to discoloring of the panel and paint residue on your arms and elbows. I repainted my fender panels, speaker grills, ash tray, camper trim, a-panel, etc. Duplicolor worked very well.

Ive done several other mods, but the mods listed required unfortunate trial and error (and unnecessary $$$). Hope this helps the next!!
This is fantastic information, thanks for the thorough write up!
 

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