Well delurking here finally after picking up my 76 Ranger a few weeks ago. New to early broncos but not Broncos in general as I own a "modified" 94 Fullsize as well.
Anyway on to what you really care about!
1976 Ford Bronco Ranger - I have always wanted a early bronco and I have been looking for years, but everyone wanted so much money for one without rust or one that was a basket case.. finally found one in Butte Montana and flew from Denver to Butte and drove her 800 miles home!
The Good:
Unrestored, 97.5% rust free, no real dents and never been in an accident or offroad incident, disc brakes, power steering, everything pretty much works as is.. just needs a good going through and refresh and then think about what I want to do next.. has 99,998 miles on her as she sits... Iam keeping it stock, with safety and tasteful upgrades for the future and its not getting cut.. maybe LUBER? hmmmm
The Bad
There is an area of rust on the back passenger side quarter panel and I dont know how bad it is yet.. its just in the seam but will have to remove the inside covers to get to the fender well and see.. as always I expect surprises and would be surprised if the rust wasn't worse after i start looking through the body and inner panels... we shall see.
There is an electrical gremlin, headlights like to flicker off and on periodically over rough road spots.. probably a short in the wire harness.. have a feeling its near the taillights. no biggie after chasing a short in my 94 fullsize... after I go through the drivetrain i will chase down the electrical problems and fix them.
Transmission has a slight leak, I think its from sitting up in the dry cold of Montana.. so the seals probably need to be replaced. Again not a big deal, i will pull the trans and TC and rebuild or reseal them as needed.
Anyway here are some more pics.. all with my phone for now but hopefully have some better shots soon.
My plans are to keep her stock and upgrade with reliability and safety in mind. My original plans were to restore the truck to factory specs and as she would have been new. Unfortunately the original engine was removed in 1983... so that kinda frees me up to do what I want with her. Now I thinking a LUBAR is in order and upgrade the brakes, suspension and interior to be a reliable and fun DD. The original color was Yellow, haven't pulled the tag info so not sure the exact color but I will do that soon. I kinda like the blue/white so one day I will have to pull the tub off and have it professionally done... but for now the paint is good enough
First thing I will be doing is removing the front bumper and winch as I really have no need of either.. I have the original bumper from the original owner and will put that back on, then I will have to get it registered here in Denver. Unfortunately thanks to our prior governor a few years ago i will have to get the truck to pass emissions since i live in the city.. crossing my fingers on that. Then.. well then we will see, i have a few other projects going and need to get them off my plate to proceed with this one
I guess I can leave a photo of my other rig
Hope to be posting soon with some progress!
Anyway on to what you really care about!
1976 Ford Bronco Ranger - I have always wanted a early bronco and I have been looking for years, but everyone wanted so much money for one without rust or one that was a basket case.. finally found one in Butte Montana and flew from Denver to Butte and drove her 800 miles home!
The Good:
Unrestored, 97.5% rust free, no real dents and never been in an accident or offroad incident, disc brakes, power steering, everything pretty much works as is.. just needs a good going through and refresh and then think about what I want to do next.. has 99,998 miles on her as she sits... Iam keeping it stock, with safety and tasteful upgrades for the future and its not getting cut.. maybe LUBER? hmmmm
The Bad
There is an area of rust on the back passenger side quarter panel and I dont know how bad it is yet.. its just in the seam but will have to remove the inside covers to get to the fender well and see.. as always I expect surprises and would be surprised if the rust wasn't worse after i start looking through the body and inner panels... we shall see.
There is an electrical gremlin, headlights like to flicker off and on periodically over rough road spots.. probably a short in the wire harness.. have a feeling its near the taillights. no biggie after chasing a short in my 94 fullsize... after I go through the drivetrain i will chase down the electrical problems and fix them.
Transmission has a slight leak, I think its from sitting up in the dry cold of Montana.. so the seals probably need to be replaced. Again not a big deal, i will pull the trans and TC and rebuild or reseal them as needed.
Anyway here are some more pics.. all with my phone for now but hopefully have some better shots soon.
My plans are to keep her stock and upgrade with reliability and safety in mind. My original plans were to restore the truck to factory specs and as she would have been new. Unfortunately the original engine was removed in 1983... so that kinda frees me up to do what I want with her. Now I thinking a LUBAR is in order and upgrade the brakes, suspension and interior to be a reliable and fun DD. The original color was Yellow, haven't pulled the tag info so not sure the exact color but I will do that soon. I kinda like the blue/white so one day I will have to pull the tub off and have it professionally done... but for now the paint is good enough
First thing I will be doing is removing the front bumper and winch as I really have no need of either.. I have the original bumper from the original owner and will put that back on, then I will have to get it registered here in Denver. Unfortunately thanks to our prior governor a few years ago i will have to get the truck to pass emissions since i live in the city.. crossing my fingers on that. Then.. well then we will see, i have a few other projects going and need to get them off my plate to proceed with this one
I guess I can leave a photo of my other rig
Hope to be posting soon with some progress!
