71BroncoSport - how's the hunt for a donor engine? Did either the 96 or 97 you looked at the other day work out?
Thanks for asking!
I bought a 96 Explorer. Craigslist ad, a little over an hour away. Asking $1,000, no pics. Said it was "Rusty"
It had been sitting for 3 years (When a brake line went out), outside I believe. They've owned it since 2004. 160,000 miles. The kid fixed the line recently and was going to make a 4x4 toy out of it. Decided it was too far gone.
It needed a jump, but it started and ran great. Idled smoother than any of my cars. The tires are dry rotted, so it's not road worthy, along with a rotted out exhaust. I put a scan tool on it, and it had a MAF code and an EGR code in the past, but no CEL light shining. He said there was a mouse parked in the air box, so he took the filter out.
I did take it up and down his building parking lot. As soon as I got going the Check Engine light popped. Scan tool said it was the MAF. Probably only got through 2 gears in the limited space.
I'm mating it to my NV-3550 so I don't need the 4R70W tranny, but I would like to tell a buyer that it shifts in all gears...
I'm hoping that all of the wiring is good since it ran good. I am a little worried about the rust on the motor (Brackets, valve covers, etc...) Hopefully they all clean up.
It does have green leather, which I'll try to patch up, paint, and put in the Bronco.
So I got it for $700 which includes him delivering it. Should be here this weekend. Since my 71 runs now, my plan is to pull everything I need out of the Explorer this winter and start to dress up the motor, re-wire the harness and figure out a way to get the PCM reprogrammed. Along with some interior stuff (Carpet, rollbar). If that all happens early enough, I may do the swap before spring. If not, I'll probably enjoy the limited nice Cleveland weather and do it next winter.
I'm excited.