General Buying questions.

Is there a list of general questions i should ask when looking at a bronco to buy? This such as how many miles on the engine? When was the engine last rebuilt? Is there any rust issues? Anything else i should keep any eye out for.I would like to purchase a bronco soon and dont want to get screwed over in the buying process.

-Frame vin must match title vin
-learn where the rust areas are, door pillar rust is the worst to replace imo
-if you see the words "all original" in the ad, remember that
most EB owners don't know what was original anyway
-take someone knowledgable in EB with you to look or take a ton of pics and post them here
-many times spending more up front will save you money in the long run
-be as knowledgable as possible and be patient

okie4570 gave great advice. Engines for these vehicles are inexpensive compared to other vehicles.

And replacing and or rebuilding an engine is much less of a task then a repairing a rust bucket.You came here first! That's a great start. Keep asking questions on here. We hate to see new bronco owners come here after they made a bad choice.

Good luck with your search.

Yeah - watch for rust in the door pillars as stated, and also on the body line of rear quarters...a little is ok and lower quarter replacement is pretty low impact but if rust is heavy and both upper and lower quarters need replacement then it’s a bigger task. Also rust below the windshield can be a big one to replace the cowl. Original wiring is a risk, so finding one that has had wiring harness replaced is great. Early models had manual brakes and steering so if that’s the case you will probably want to replace both which are an expense to plan for. If you haven’t already done it, review the Bronco history for which features were added each year, so you know what years you might prefer...or at least what you are looking at. As stated, find someone from the forum near you to go along if possible...most love to help and like the chance to see another Bronco.

Concentrate on body condition and rust.... These are "simple" compared to most vehicles and parts are readily available and for the most part can be had at a reasonable price. Outside labor is what is going to kill you (like a body shop).

Like okie said, "take someone knowledgeable." Priceless.

I took my neighbor with me looking at '67 Vettes when I bought one. We looked for months, as he was an NCRS Corvette judge and left no stone unturned. In the Corvette world, the saying is "buy the best one you can afford." That certainly applies to Early Broncos also!!

Pictures lie... they can be taken in a manner that leaves out what the Seller is trying to hide.
You should see it in person and as stated, if you are not knowledgeable take someone who is.
Be patient... Broncos at the big auctions are somewhat over priced, IMHO

Great advice above!

And I'd add to pick up this book to learn about when Ford added different options, etc.
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299200&highlight=bronco+book

Norm

Body condition is biggest concern. Replaced metal can sometimes be worse than existing rust and rot. I'd be really suspicious of fresh paint, it usually masks recent body work, which means something is hidden. Ask for receipts for proof of work, and parts. Most honest folks will have them, quick flippers won't.

As far as the body is concerned take a magnet with you as well. That way you can see if there is a ton of bondo with fresh paint covering up a rust patch. Not always a perfect indicator but it will help. Keep an eye on the Broncos for sale by members on this site as well.
Good luck with your search.

What everyone else says above.... look on member list here and find someone near you that will go with you.. There are a lot of friendly enthusiastic Bronco fans on here.... VIN: as stated above, its the FRAME stamp VIN that counts with the title more than the glovebox door as those are easily removable.

No dealers and no auctions. Best advice is to have a knowledgable Bronco guy to look it over with you.

Mechanics are much easier to deal with than body, rust and paint.

I would chime in and say make sure you have an idea of what type of bronco you’re wanting and let that guide your way. If you’re just looking for a daily driver, there’s a lot of stuff you’ll pay a premium price for that won’t be worth it e.g. upgraded axles, suspension components etc. if you don’t like the look of uncut fenders, stay away from an uncut because those sell for a premium and then you’ll just need to cut them yourself.

Find the best condition ride that will require the least amount of work to get to your dream bronco. Trust me on this - when you’re estimating work it has a nasty tendency of ballooning on you. Sometimes it’s worth it to pay more for one that requires less work.

And don't let the seller say it's a "numbers matching" vehicle. In the Bronco world, that just does not exist.
Sure, you can decode casting date codes and the like, and that can give you an idea if the engine is "most likely" original (which does not enhance price much at all on Broncos by the way) or not. But there are no VIN numbers to match on any of the parts, like on some other vehicles.

Be wary of low mileage claims. Most old vehicles, including Broncos had odometers that only read to 99,999 and then turned over. Most Broncos have turned over.
There are exceptions of course, but not many these days. Lots of claims though.
Check out the thread here recently regarding the "495 mile Bronco" or something like that.

Rust areas:

1. Up between the grille and radiator core support hidden up inside the wheel wells.
2. Rear corners of the engine compartment fender aprons where the two panels overlay with no sealant. Rust-through is common.
3. Inner kick panels in passenger compartment.
4. Door pillars.
5. Door panels on the outside (skins) visible as rust-through at the bottom edge of the doors.
6. Rocker panels
7. Rear bed corners.
8. Tailgate bottom edge.
9. Floor panels in the front very often.
10. The cowl between the windshield, firewall and dash panel. It's a hidden double-layer pocket of rust magnet. Can be perfect, or can be ready to fall apart. Only a close inspection can tell, and even then not always.
11. Sometimes the floor pan in any other part of the vehicle, which almost always indicates EXTREMELY SUBSTANTIAL RUST IN OTHER LOCATIONS.
12. If the frame is more than just a tiny bit of surface rust, look at shock mounts and spring hangers. Shock mounts in the rear are usually the first to go.

If all you can do is crawl underneath because you can't get inside for some reason, look at the floor pans to see if they have been patched.
Be wary of bedliner sprayed all over the interior. If they can't produce pictures of the process, showing clean metal beforehand, just ASSUME THE WORST and that the bedliner was used to quickly cover rust.

Rear wheel bearings are often overlooked, just as transmission and differential gear lubes. Except with automatic transmissions, which get serviced more reliably by most owners. Manuals tend to get ignored.

And that's just a beginning list!

Good luck in the hunt!

Paul

langester said:

As far as the body is concerned take a magnet with you as well. That way you can see if there is a ton of bondo with fresh paint covering up a rust patch. Not always a perfect indicator but it will help. Keep an eye on the Broncos for sale by members on this site as well.
Good luck with your search.

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If you bring a magnet, bring a thin Pierce of felt or old flannel. Nothing worse than a person dragging it and scratching paint with a gritty magnet. Don't ask me how I know

Don’t let the “I wanna make it ‘mine’, so I’m gonna change ‘this’, add ‘that’, and completely remove ‘those’” mentality come into play...AT ALL!

In other words, don’t buy one with an AX15 (a popular 5 speed transmission swap) with thoughts of switching it out to a 4R70W [popular, but overrated (IMHO) automatic transmission swap]. Or, buy one with a 5 1/2” suspension lift with plans to drop it to 3 1/2”.

This happens far too often. You are paying for custom work, only to have to pay MORE to undo that custom work. Then, you guessed it...you get to pay for more custom work to “build it your way”. I can’t tell you how much evidence of changed work that I have had to cut off of Broncos only to add more changes. That adds up fast!

I tell my customers: shop labor is the same whether I am fabbing custom mounts, or shining the tires. Don’t spend the same dollar twice...it always costs more than the first time you spent it.

Also, learn to recognize the differences between the ‘66, and all other years; the 67-68, and other years; the changes made in ‘71, ‘73, and ‘76; and the peculiarities of the ‘77.

If you arm yourself with that, you can buy the closest thing to what you want, the first time. I have built several customers’ “second” or “third” Bronco when they didn’t buy right the first (or second) time.

Finally, if all else fails, build it “new”, from scratch! You can literally build the Bronco of your dreams...and there are several ways to get there.

Fry said:

Is there a list of general questions i should ask when looking at a bronco to buy? This such as how many miles on the engine? When was the engine last rebuilt? Is there any rust issues? Anything else i should keep any eye out for.I would like to purchase a bronco soon and dont want to get screwed over in the buying process.

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Where are you located and what's your budget? I agree with most that mechanically, these rigs are simple, and a new engine or transmission is a drop in the bucket compared to what you would spend to completely restore even a moderately rusty EB. If we know what region you're shopping and how much you have to spend, we can probably give you a pretty good idea of what you can expect in your budget.

Apogee said:

Where are you located and what's your budget? I agree with most that mechanically, these rigs are simple, and a new engine or transmission is a drop in the bucket compared to what you would spend to completely restore even a moderately rusty EB. If we know what region you're shopping and how much you have to spend, we can probably give you a pretty good idea of what you can expect in your budget.

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Houston Texas/Louisiana area. Id say i got around 30k to spend.

I would consider buying from a member here if I was looking to spend that much.

In the classifieds there is a section for "sale by members only"........I trust the CB family

Tim