[whimpykid]

Here are the specs on them. Both are 4x4 with 2-doors.

Chevy Blazer 1986
Automatic 14/19
2.8L V6 EFI
125hp / 150ft.lbs torque


Ford Bronco II 1985
Manual 16/20
2.8L V6 Carberated
115hp / 140ft.lbs torque


Which is the better vehicle? Basically, I am going to have one strictly for off-roading. I am not going to get a title and have them pass emissions. I want to take them trailing, mudding, rock climbing, river running, ect. ect.
Looking at them, I would take the Bronco because it is a manual. Though, I want to know if someone around here knows which one has the better off-roading capabilities. I know with the Blazer even having the auto, that it could have a better system that would totally kill the manual Bronco.

If I remember correctly, I think that they both have the same size wheels and tires. Price is not an issue and they both will be free, or extremely close to it.

[oB8LI2kP]

how bout an old solid axle yota with a 350 swap?

dont even need the 350 but i figured your a v8 man

[whimpykid]

lol, both of those require money. I would love to have a V8 in one of these sometime, but I would figure that it would be run into the ground before I could do so. I would do it, but my car money is going to my 240z first before I waste money somewhere else. Rather get one money pit finished before I go and start another.

Also, I would imagine that one of the two would have a solid axle.

[oB8LI2kP]

im sure they both are solid axle. i would go chevy over ford but thats me. plus auto is much easier to handle off road. though not as fun.

where would you be going off roading?

[ZXRamon]

Range Rover or Land cruiser [yes] (sorry just had to mention them lol , unlikely that you want either too)

[whimpykid]

im sure they both are solid axle. i would go chevy over ford but thats me. plus auto is much easier to handle off road. though not as fun.

where would you be going off roading?

There is supposed to be a lot of stuff around here in Chattanooga and even along the Appalachian Mountains. Just that I need to go out and find it. There are mostly trails, hill climbing and mudding. I know of a few places around here to do some mudding already, and I have a few places that I can start tracking across some huge fields. I have some buddies though that can show me some places to go. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some creeks around here that can be ridden through for some distance.

[cxddfrxc]

of those two, the manual car

[CefGemYAffews]

Id get the first one, I have done some rock climbs/river run up near the blue ridge parkway, did a bit in a automatic Wrangler and a Manual wrangler, and the manual offered me nothing extra for what I did, I preferred the automatic in this situation, and I hate automatic cars!

But there might be a advantage in more extreme situations.

oh and the EFI is nice imo

[gvataler]

Here are the specs on them. Both are 4x4 with 2-doors.

Chevy Blazer 1986
Automatic 14/19
2.8L V6 EFI
125hp / 150ft.lbs torque


Ford Bronco II 1985
Manual 16/20
2.8L V6 Carberated
115hp / 140ft.lbs torque


Which is the better vehicle? Basically, I am going to have one strictly for off-roading. I am not going to get a title and have them pass emissions. I want to take them trailing, mudding, rock climbing, river running, ect. ect.
Looking at them, I would take the Bronco because it is a manual. Though, I want to know if someone around here knows which one has the better off-roading capabilities. I know with the Blazer even having the auto, that it could have a better system that would totally kill the manual Bronco.

If I remember correctly, I think that they both have the same size wheels and tires. Price is not an issue and they both will be free, or extremely close to it.

Ummmm
You are way off on the pony power & torque on both engines unless you have them already pumped up a bit....

The 2.8L GM engine stock was 96BHP/130 ish torque.
The 2.8L Ford engine was worse @ 89BHP/ 115 Torque.
The GM engine can be swapped out for a 3.1L & be a dirrect bolt up & with minor wiring can get going in place of the 2.8L plus the hydrolic lifters makes it more friendly in the long run in terms of maintenence.
The Ford engine is tough as nails as it is being a dirrect gear drive cam & solid lifters but is quite limiting in performance gains but they can be had at a cost..
Fuel injection is the way to go in most situations today because it gives you more economy but performance & control over the power band by comparrison to a carburetor, the only thing about a Carbureted engine is that you can gravity feed the carb to get you out of the trails where the fuel pump on a injected engine is it's life...

The GM IFS system would need some expensive work to get it Rock Crawling capable but the Ford TTB system does allow a better turning radius.
Stick shift on trails are great but the Ford manual in the Bronco II will fail in harsh off roading.

Just in case you think I don't know what I'm talking about...
I've owned a 1985 Ford Bronco II 4X4 like you have there & I put a lot a $$$$$ into it to make it off roadable for Crawling, from Boring, Polishing, placing a Comp Cam into my 2.8 to achieve 171HP/244 Torque "like I said very limiting," T18 trans, Atlas T-Case & 9" spooled rear & 35 TTB up front.
6" suspension lift & 35" SS TSL's.
It was fun but that was years ago...
Also, I Work as a Master Tech at a GM dealership with 21 years experience....

Personally I would opt for the Chevrolet, swap out the engine, beef the trans & axles with a minimum of Axle ratio of 3.73 but prefferred 4.10 & 35" or taller tires.
If you want a 350 engine & still play in the trails then get a full size because the first time you have a issue & have to get around the tighter areas because of the engine swap you'll wish you'd stay with the smaller engine...

[whimpykid]

Unless Wiki is wrong, the Bronco II is pushing 115hp which provides some 140ft.lbs of torque.

The Blazer has the same exact motor that my S10 has. I thought that the Blazer was going to be carberated which would have a lower output, but I was surprised to see if EFI like mine, which is rated at 125/150. 1986 was the year that it changed over, but before then the motor still had almost he same power with the carberators.

I am not going to put any money into new engines or tweaking the engines. With the carberators I am sure, depending on how tweakable they are, that I can modify that to really be a power pusher down low and I would think that it would be easier to handle as long as you know carbs. My 240z is dual-carb and I am extremely thankful for that. Made me hate EFI with a passion, at least pre-1996 so far. Fuel economy isn't too much of an issue for what these beasts are going to be doing.

Though I just notice that I am stating the crank power (advertised power) and you have doing bhp which is at the wheels, so after drive loss, we are both right.


Maybe what I can do is have them go face to face and who ever pushes the other backwards wins!!
But still pretty hard. Seems like most people are leaning towards the Blazer, and that was the way that I was leaning more towards over the Bronco.

[Srewxardsasv]

I'm pretty sure an old Landrover Defender would eat both for breakfast.

[QQ9ktYrV]

I am going to have one strictly for off-roading.

For that you require a Land Rover, son.

[ayWCZ7VT]

Toyota Land Criuser or Nissan Patrol. Lexus is good too Range is strong has pretty crappy and hydraulics, everything else isn't good enough for real off-roading.

[whimpykid]

[rofl] I am guessing that you guys don't read threads very much before posting, lol. [thumbdown]


There are a lot of things that I had rather have.
Dodge Ramcharger
Ford Bronco (early days)
Toyota Landcruiser (early days)
Jeep Wrangler
Jeep Cherokee
Jeep CJ
International Harvester
Land Rover
Chevy K-5 Blazer
ect.
ect.
ect.



But I am going to be getting at least one possibly even both of them for free. They don't pass emissions, so that would require a lot of money so I wouldn't take them even for free, but because they are 4x4, I now have a use for them without having to worry about emissions, but want to know which would be best for what I am looking for.

[Caluabdum]

Toyota Hilux?

[larentont]

The Chevy,it's going to be more durable.

[MaigicyuNinia]

A friend of mine used to have an 86 S10 Blazer with that same engine. His was a manual, but the thing was still the MOST under powered car I have ever been in. We all loved his car, and got a ton of use out of it both on and off road, but if he were to buy one again, he would have gone for the 4.3L option. The 2.8 in the Chevy is simply underpowered.

[oB8LI2kP]

hes in the US. which means any good vehicles you europeans can think of, he cant get.

[whimpykid]

Yeah the 2.8L is utter poo. It would be extremely nice to have the 4.3L. I have thought about getting a 295hp 4.8L V8 Vortec for just $500 w/ everything. Now that would be nice.

[orillaVar]

i don't think anyone has asked what condition the vehicles are in - I'd probably go for the one that is more likely to get me back - preferably the manual - if it has a roll-over bar even better!