The 'Punisher' 1988 Bronco II

This 1988 Bronco II is the creation of Jason Raney of Doniphan MO.

It started out as a trail/mud truck that was modified to be capable of playing at the local mud runs, but be flexible enough to work good on rough trails and a little rock crawling.

Jason started out by stripping the truck to a bare frame, boxed it for strength, and replaced all the stock crossmembers with stronger ones. He made a wishbone rear suspension, extended the front radius arms, and made custom coil towers.

He had an EFI 351 V-8 built with new heads, and mated it to a NP435, 4-speed and NP205 transfer case. He used a High Pinion Dana 44 and Ford 9-Inch rear from a 1979 Ford F150. The axles were equipped with 5.13 gear’s, and the rear differential was welded. The front Dana 44 used a full spool. All the bearings, seals, ball joints and brakes were replaced with new equipment. Then a set of 38.5x15x15 Boggers were mounted to 15×10 Mickey Thompson wheels.

The interior remained stock with just racing seats and 5-point harnesses, and the body was set back on the frame.

After about 6 months or so of doing some mud runs and a lot of trails, he decided it was more fun on the trails, than in the mud. After knocking out one of the big side windows, he decided that it was time for some major surgery, and a rebuild.

Round 2:

The wheel base was a little too short for the trails he was running, and the radius arms weren’t holding up. The panhard bar was causing problems, and the James Duff front coils wouldn’t stay straight at all.

First went the back cab half. Then he took 16-inches out of the floor, and doved (angled it in) the rear body.

Next was the wheelbase. He needed a longer wheelbase, and a lower gear ratio than the 5.13’s. Jason ordered a doubler kit from offroad design, and put an NP203 in front of the NP205 with triple sticks.

He moved the front forward about 6-inches, and took the radiator out so he could mount the winch under the grill. The front axle was upgraded with double cylinders for full hydro steering and 4340 chromoly axles with superjoints. The front coils were replaced by 8-inch lift XJ coils. These coils flex really well, and hold up the heavy V8.

The rear axle was moved back about 15-inches. He had to cut the bodyside and re-skinned it with long bed Ranger bedsides.

The radiator was relocated to the rear, and a fuel cell was recessed in to the floor.

Next he added some tube doors with spider webs to go along with the CreepyCrawlers theme.

He kept the original doors so he could switch between them and the tube doors using a release pin.

Round 3:

After wheelin’ for 2 years, Jason decided it was time for a drastic change. The Dana 44 with chromoly’s just wasn’t cutting it anymore, so he upgraded to 2.5-ton Rockwells. He also decided to swap the 4-speed manual for a built C6 automatic.

The Rockwells were shaved for more ground clearance, and sealed back up with 3/8″ plate.

The rear Rockwell is steered using hydraulics and a joystick. The tires were upgraded to 44-inch Boggers. A new 4-link suspension was built out of 2″od x 1-1/4″ id DOM tubing to mount the Rockwells.

The interior was stripped down to nothing but a full cage, custom dash panel, and only what’s need to operate this beast.

Make sure you heck out the photos below.

Want to read more about this beast? Click HERE to read about its build in the forum.