Salvage 2 Door Badlands Gets a Second Life. Restoration & Modified Rebuild Planned

[Bikeric]

I purchased the Black Twill Bestop Sunrider from a fellow B6G member last Saturday. Met in Joplin, MO. Not a bad deal for me getting 65% off the new price!! I haven't installed it yet because I want to wait until the Spring.

Sponsored

 

[Bikeric]

The Havoc rear bumper has holes for lights, BUT they are too small for the typical 3"x3" pods. I called them and they told me they were made for 2"x3" lights..... My internet searches kept bring up 3" lights QTY=2.... Oh well, I just purchased some 3"x3" flush mount lights from Nilight and cut the holes bigger and drilled holes for mounting screws.

 

[Bikeric]

I did some more trail riding on Saturday. The front camera with the 12" screen is awesome!!

 

[Bikeric]

When I made the cutouts bigger for rear bumper lights I noticed that my mufflers smashed up into the Havoc bumper. The Flowmaster round tips are still round, but the bumper is dimpled.

 

[Bikeric]

I have found what is, to me, the achilleas heal of the Manual Bronco....SAND
Yes, drivers error can be attributed to it, but the manual Bronco does not go well in sand. You must keep the speed up in 4H and 1st gear. I could never get enough speed to stay in 2nd gear before bogging down, then you have to do a quick down-shift to 1st before killing the engine..... When you are stuck in a hole, the best thing to do is stop trying to drive out and just accept that you will be shoveling and winching.

 

[Bikeric]

I finally got around to wiring in my rear bumper lights to Aux Switch #5. It's a pain getting to the hidden wire.... It is closer to the passenger door than the rear of the Bronco. I poked a hole into 1 of the body grommets and ran my positive wire up to the White/Orange wire. Under the glove box I connected White/Orange to White. In the engine bay I connected White to Blue/Orange (Aux-5). This job also gave me the excuse to get in there and remove my rear seat belts. You need to add a 2.4ohm resistor into the reel wiring plug to prevent a dash warning light.

 

[Bikeric]

No more rear seatbelts and bright lights in the bumper. WooHoo!!

 

[Tricky Dick]

I have found what is, to me, the achilleas heal of the Manual Bronco....SAND
Yes, drivers error can be attributed to it, but the manual Bronco does not go well in sand. You must keep the speed up in 4H and 1st gear. I could never get enough speed to stay in 2nd gear before bogging down, then you have to do a quick down-shift to 1st before killing the engine..... When you are stuck in a hole, the best thing to do is stop trying to drive out and just accept that you will be shoveling and winching.

Yes I'd have to agree, it's much more challenging, especially hill climbs when you start losing speed.

 

[Bikeric]

I went downtown for lunch today. It's not very often you see 3 Bronco's at the same stop light. CO First Edition 4-door, Base 4-door and my Badlands 2-door owning the streets.

 

[Billnchristy]

I've not seen more than 2 at a time, with one of them being ours, other than car shows.

 

[Grumpy]

When I made the cutouts bigger for rear bumper lights I noticed that my mufflers smashed up into the Havoc bumper. The Flowmaster round tips are still round, but the bumper is dimpled.

That is completely crazy that a exhaust tip is unharmed but a steel bumper is bent. That's unbelievable!!!

 

[Mudlight]

I have found what is, to me, the achilleas heal of the Manual Bronco....SAND
Yes, drivers error can be attributed to it, but the manual Bronco does not go well in sand. You must keep the speed up in 4H and 1st gear. I could never get enough speed to stay in 2nd gear before bogging down, then you have to do a quick down-shift to 1st before killing the engine..... When you are stuck in a hole, the best thing to do is stop trying to drive out and just accept that you will be shoveling and winching.

Airing down in the sand is a must and going fast, baja mode. Lol. What is the land anchor you are winching to?

 

[Bikeric]

I decided to have the Dealership perform my first oil change at 4,000 miles and they sold me on the BG package. I figured since I have zero warranty from Ford it's not a bad idea to get some protection from BG in case anything happens in the future. I usually do ALL my own maintenance, but the BG lifetime engine warranty gives me peace of mind.

 

[Beachin 74]

I have found what is, to me, the achilleas heal of the Manual Bronco....SAND
Yes, drivers error can be attributed to it, but the manual Bronco does not go well in sand. You must keep the speed up in 4H and 1st gear. I could never get enough speed to stay in 2nd gear before bogging down, then you have to do a quick down-shift to 1st before killing the engine..... When you are stuck in a hole, the best thing to do is stop trying to drive out and just accept that you will be shoveling and winching.

The other thing that didn't help was the skinny Swampers.
I found Swampers love to dig too much but you can't beat them on the mountain trails!

 

[Bikeric]

I mounted Ditch lights using Seven Sparta mounts found on Amazon. These were just what I was looking for. Amazon.com: Seven Sparta Dual A-Pillar Light Mount Off-Road Light Mounting Brackets Compatible with 2021 2022 2023 Ford Bronco Accessories 2/4 Door (1 Pair) : Automotive
I did, however, drill holes into my cowl in order to route the wiring into the engine compartment. I wired into Aux#4.

Sponsored