Over the past 35 years, the early Bronco has established itself as a great off-road rig. And during that time, a lot of different suspensions have come down the line to give them greater clearance and better articulation. One of the problems that suspension manufacturers have had to deal with are the notoriously short factory shock mounts, which greatly limit the droop factor. Aside from building a custom four-link with coilover shocks, Bronco owners really had no bolt-on options for overcoming this problem.
Well, the engineers at James Duff Enterprises decided to take a closer look at the situation, and what they came up with was a new 3-1/2-inch suspension. At the heart of this bolt-on kit are a couple of innovations that make this system unique. First are the new heavy-duty tubular radius arms built with 2-inch OD tubing. For better articulation and stability, they are 11 inches longer than stock, and they come equipped with oversized spherical rod ends for increased flex. Interestingly, the new arms are slightly curved to provide greater inside clearance for larger tires. Second, this setup comes with new shock hoops and a set of Duff shocks that offers a full 15 inches of travel. These long-travel shocks also feature oversized bushings to make them more articulation friendly. Rounding out the kit is a set of extra-long progressive coils, a pair of very flexible 11-leaf rear springs, and all the necessary bushings and brackets.
Because the new shock hoops are much taller than the stock mounts, you will have to install a 2-inch body lift in order to clear the inner fenderwells. The new hoops can actually accommodate shocks in any of three positions, although the two rearward positions (behind the coil) will provide the softest ride and the most travel.
While talking to the tech guys at Duff, we got a couple of tips about installing the new suspension. When bolting in the new radius arms, it is important to tighten each bolt a little bit at a time. It is possible to twist the arms slightly on the C-bushings, which will cause the Bronco to lean slightly once everything is installed. Also, for the best performance, take careful measurements to ensure that the arms are parallel to the ground.
Once we had the kit fully installed, we bolted on a set of 35-inch BFG Mud T/As to give the suspension a quick test on a 30-degree index ramp. With the new traction bars on the rearend, the early Bronco ramped a respectable 900. Translated, that means the Bronco got one tire more than 40 inches off the ground, while the others stayed firmly planted.
Not bad.With 5-1/2 inches of total lift, the longer radius arms and softer coils smooth out the typical Bronco buck-board ride and enhance the performance of this early trail rig both on the road and off. Whether you ever actually use the full 40 inches of travel, wouldn't you like to know that you could?