About what year(s) did the market start to rise, on the prices/values of EBs
TIA!
~CLK
They have been rising steadily over the last 10 years. Right before the economy took a dive, they were headed very high, then cooled off or leveled, and have started to climb again.
I used to get calls wanting to sell me $300-$500 parts Broncos every week. Those days are long gone for anything that is remotely usable for good parts.
When we paid $7K for the Bronco in question, most non-Bronco people would think that was way too much, but I knew it was worth more than that and would only go up in value. The 2nd owner got a very good deal, but not one that was totally unheard of then. I actually ran into him at the Hershey show last month and chatted with him a bit. He still has another Bronco (sold a couple of his others as well), but life changed and he built a huge new shop, so he had to sell off some of the toys.
Knowing the Bronco well, I would say it was possibly the nicest survivor Broncos I have seen (certainly in the top 5). For those of you who are familiar with our 77 Ranger, it was as nice, but just with a couple tiny nicks in the paint and a few scuffs on the top of the rear seat, and under the hood was not quite a spotless as our 77, but it was all stock, all there, and very clean for a survivor. Easily a $35-$45K rig in today's market if marketed correctly or sold at the right auction.
One other oddity about this is that in the Hemmings story and his previous post on CB, he said it was a manual transmission. I thought it was an auto, but was not 100% sure since I did not drive it much and we have had a lot of Broncos over the years.
I asked my dad, and he is certain it was an auto. I am confident that the person we bought it from did not convert it, and that it was 100% as he bought it other than he might have taken off the running boards and put the correct wheels and hubcaps back on. I will call Mike to ask him.
My dad said he also recalls there being holes in the lip of the fenders where the mud flaps were installed.