Bronco vs Blazer Vs Ramcharger: War of the 80's 4x4's

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Given the choice of cheap full size 4x4 SUV's of the 1980's that are available for less than $1500, which would you choose? The full size OJ Simpson style Bronco, with the split axle front end and a 302 or 351W in it, The 1973-87 Chevy K5 Blazer 4x4 with either a 350 or 305 in it, and twin solid axles, or a Dodge Ramcharger with a 318 or 360 and solid axles? The Chevy and Dodge both use Semi-Elliptic leaf springs front and rear, and have manual hubs on some years, as well as 2 speed gear selected transfer cases, while the Ford uses the split axle front end on coil springs with leaves out back. The Bronco is more expensive to lift than the other two, but seems to be more plentiful at a low cost. It also has some years with electronic transfer cases, which may not be a good thing. The Dodge is reputed to have the best axles of the three during the 80's with a Dana 44 front and Mopar 9.5 out back. It also came with the Torqueflite 727 transmission which is pretty strong too. The Dodge, though did not have a removable roof in the 80's, while the Chevy and Ford did. The Chevy had a TH 700 R4 transmission in it, which can be crap in this application without modification, and the axles may or may not be good depending on the year. So, given a choice for a fun, cheap truck to go do some moderate off roading without spending too much money, what would you buy? I will also throw in the full size Jeep Wagoneer/Cherokee as an option as they tend to be available cheap and were also full size truck based during these years. Power in them was usually an AMC 360 with a TH 400 transmission and a variety of part and full time transfer cases.

Emphasis in this would be on the one that is the best right out of the box, without major changes in hardware and equipment. (This is another thing I am considering getting in to with the money from when I sell off my AMC Spirit project that I don't want anymore)

 

[TBRtat2]

blazer all the way.

Replacment parts arnt to bad, everyone makes stuff for the blazer.

The front axel is wider then the rear in a blazer which does a couple things.
1 handle better in a higher speed turn
2 puts your front tires in a slighlty different track then the rears, less likely
to get stuck in a rut.

depending on the year you pick, you can get part time 4 wheel, or the full time 4 wheel.

If you decide to modify it, chevy parts are usually cheaper to buy then the rest (at least thats been my experience)

And to top it off, its a chevy

 

[78mali350]

I am voting ramcharger because it has the best axles out there. You won't find yourself replacing those anytime soon. I would say NEVER get a blazer only because of my mother's past experience with them. She daily drove one to high school back in the day. It dropped the transmission in it 4 times in one year with daily driving. My grandfather never owned another full size chevrolet after that. But i also know that they are cheap and affordable to lift. I just don't think with the potential problems that they are quite worth it.

 

[BrownGP83]

I vote Ramcharger because of how tough they are. My brother has an 86 with a 360/auto and it will go through a lot of mud and snow. The 727 has got to be one of the best auto trans ever made. If you wanted to, get one with a NP435 4 speed. Those thing are even tougher, thats what i have in my 79 1/2 ton, and i have not been able to kill it with hard abuse. We have 5 Dodge pickups on our farm with that trans and have never had a problem with it. The front axle is tougher than hell, but the vaccum actuator for the 4X4 up front is a piece of sh*t. I believe Dodge, Chevy, and Ford all ran that setup and had problems. Look for manual lock out hubs or replace the vaccum junk with a cable posi-lock no matter what brand you go with. If you want a removable top, then Dodge is a hard one to find no matter what year. They didn't make many of them even in the 70s. Another nice thing about Dodge is they ran the same drivetrains and chassis/suspensions from 73 to 93 so parts are plentiful and reasonably priced.

 

[axisg]

hands down 100% Ramcharger. The axles are tough to beat and a variety of engines can be had for cheap. I have a 440 from a late 60's Polara to go into a friends project '78 Powerwagon ( like Simon and Simon ) if he ever gets some money to throw at it.

I love the look of the Jimmy but the trans would fail and I will never own another Ford if I can help it.

 

[jrm81bu]

Why does everyone keep saying the trans in the blazer will fail? I kinda understand it if your refering to the 700r4 in the early and mid 80's blazer. Although he included the older blazer as well, so your talking 350 and 400 turbos too.

And the fullsize solid axle blazer doesn't use the vacum engagement junk like the ifs blazers do.

 

[Blake442]

K-5 Blazer gets my vote.

I had an '85 about six years ago that I got for free from the original owner. It was a two-tone blue '85 that had been used for plowing snow since day one, and it sat during the summer... Needless to say, it was pretty rusty. It had 80K miles, and the 700-R4 was all original and shifted great, but featured no park :lol: . The original 305 was gone and had been replaced with a 350 crate motor with only 20K miles on it. After I drove the truck for about two and a half months, I pulled the motor and put it in the 442, and junked the truck. I'd love to have another one someday, it was a fun truck, just I'd need one that wasn't rusting to pieces.

Sure the early 700's had their share of problems, but in the case of most of those trucks still on the road, they've probably been taken care of by now. And parts, whether replacement or after market, for Blazers are pretty affordable. But don't forget about the rust and peeling paint issues. Mine had both... :lol:
I have 3 friends that have had a combined total of 6 Bronco's and all I ever hear about is what junk they all were. Two other friends of mine have had good luck with their RamChargers, although one of them did have a trans go out on them. And 4 other guys I know have had good experiences with their K5 Blazers. The guys with the Bronco's and the Blazers all four wheeled, a lot. The Bronco's broke a lot, if not every time and the Blazer's held up much better. I can't say anything for the RamChargers though, since the two guys that had them kept them on the pavement.

The choice would come down to the Blazer and the RamCharger for me, with the win going to the Blazer, because the removable roof is the sh*t.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The thing is, the earlier (70's) ones are getting pretty hard to find in regards to any of them, so it will probably be from the mid 80's. I am leaning towards the Ramcharger myself, with a 360 and a carburetor-with a preference for a manual transmission. I figure that if it is a vacuum axle thing, I can get a manual axle cheap enough off a Dodge truck (around $100). I have seen really nice Broncos cheap, but that front suspension is crap, as is the AOD trans used in some of them. The Chevy is cool unless it has the weak 80's 700 trans, or a 305. The other thing is "junkyardability", which means upgrades will come from the U Pull it, Craigslist and Ebay and not full price new parts.

 

[bishop gp]

If this is still under decision ramcharger or trailduster(plymouth version)

 

[CWPottenger]

I would pick the Ford Bronco every day. Look on the road... Broncos are still driving around in plentiful numbers. Blazers there are a few. The Dodges are for the most part non-existent... The Bronco shares the driveline with the F-series truck so if you are in love with solid front axles it is a straight forward swap from the TTB ifs to a Solid axle.