A few questions before I purchase my first

[chickman1313]

Looking to join the club and become an early bronco owner.

Can yall give me some advice on what some things are I need to lookout for when purchasing? For instance, if you would have known something was a pain to fix, you would have made sure the one you purchased didn't have that issue?

I feel pretty confident on the mechanical side of things, if I don't know it currently, I should be able to figure it out I think. Body work really concerns me... which is concerning considering the amount of rust that I have been seeing when looking for one. Body panels I should be able to replace fine if they are too far gone, but for just patchy rust I'm not sure what I would do, other than find something to guide me online. Also a lot of these have rusted out floorboards, either partially or completely gone. I have found them online to purchase, and guess I would need to find someone to weld them in for me...

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I haven't really had a project vehicle on my own before, but always helped my dad when I was in high school and younger. He can still help, but his main experience is with 78-79s, not 66-77s.

Thank yall, looks like I found the place to go to ask my questions, so you'll probably be seeing me a lot!

 

[BowHunter148]

Floor pans will need to be replaced in 90% of the Broncos out there and most will need new door jams/pillars and I recommend getting a wire feed welder and practicing
You will learn a lot and will be able to do anything to your bronco.

Make a budget and multiply it x3

Create a timeline and multiply it x2

I just hit 4 years on mine and will be driving it in the next 3 months!!

 

[DirtDonk]

Hey chickman, welcome to classicbroncos!

As you've seen rust is the biggest issue typically for most of us. Mechanical is basic, but important too, as some of these have been sitting so long that pretty much everything will need to be replaced to make it a reliable driver.
So that's still a big factor in purchase price. If you're going to need to spend another 10 grand to bring the mechanicals up to snuff, you might not want to pay 20 grand for a basket case!

Back to the rust, you can get a full body replacement for about $9k to $10k these days, so if you're planning on having the work done at a body shop, a brand new body starts to look pretty good for the money.
If you have a choice in rust, the front floor pans and the inner fender aprons inside the engine compartment really are not that technically difficult to replace. Time consuming? Yes. A bit of a pain? Yes again. But not something that a non-body person need shy away from.
And of course the bolt-ons you mention, like the fenders doors and tailgates and grilles and hoods are easy. But even brand new ones rarely fit without some body work to make them look like a factory fitted part. So keep that in mind too, when you're asking body shops for pricing. It just goes up more and more once they see how poorly some things are finished.

That's really about it. Almost everything is available today to rebuild your Bronco. Whether to like original, or custom modified. Most of it can be had for a price.

So price-wise then, even in today's market, I would pass on any rust-bucket that is going for $5000 or more. A decently clean runner that needs a little mechanical work for $20 grand will save you in the long run in that case. All the goodies add up quickly, even when you're doing the work yourself.
Anything less expensive than that is a bonus.

For value, most years are near equal, with collector minded folks looking at the first and last years more closely, as well as optioned out Rangers and such. A '73 or later is more desirable in my book, as it would have come with nicer amenities from the factory. Just make sure they're all still intact. You know... Just like buying any other 40 to 50 year old vehicle!

Good luck. Others will have more detailed info I'm sure. But that would be some of the basics.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

...Create a timeline and multiply it x2
I just hit 4 years on mine and will be driving it in the next 3 months!!

In other words... He'll be driving it in 6 months!;D

Just messin' with ya there BowHunter.

Paul

 

[JAFO]

The early Bronco body was not designed to last. Too many places in the body to collect mud and rot away. And it wasn't treated with anything to protect the metal. So expect most you view to be rusted pretty bad in the spots BowHunter148 mentioned. Sometimes the previous owner has hidden the rust from the uninformed buyer. Go look at this thread. This is one example of how bad it can be. Just remember, anything can be fixed given the patience and money.
If you are confident on the mechanical side, don't be afraid to tackle the body part. You need a wire feed welder to start and hand tools, and patience. Took me seven years to finally complete mine, but well worth the journey. I took seven years due to burning out a few times though. I can't say it will always be fun and games, but has its rewards. I cussed mine a few times over the years.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=262735

 

[BowHunter148]

 

[chickman1313]

. Go look at this thread. This is one example of how bad it can be.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=262735

funny, I was reading through that thread earlier! yeah, it looks like it can be pretty involved, no doubt.

 

[JAFO]

If you Google the words "early Bronco rust", then click on the images link, your mind will explode.

 

[jmangi62]

These rigs rust from the inside out,Bowhunter is doing an amazing job!If I would've known then what I know now,I would've purchased the complete body kit from Dennis Carpenter or whoever sells them now "Graveyard?" I'm going on 3yrs and hope to be driving this summer.I guess the best advise would be "don't get in a hurry",restos take forever and they take all ur $,sorry didn't mean to scare you,just telling it the way it is bro.;D

 

[sykanr0ng]

Mechanical work is easier and cheaper than body and paint.

Buy one with the best body you can find and afford.

If it's not running that just gives you more bargaining leverage.

 

[camp9k]

RUST...hidden rust...rust you find out after you buy sucks...IMO I would stay away from cowl and door post rust! Sometimes an original paint bronco with visible floor rust and a solid cowl and door post is a good find. Guys are good at hiding stuff too!

I bought a 73 with all kinds of goodies, new red paint and roaster doors...( roadster doors can hide problems) after a bit I decided to pull out the carpet and install reg doors. I found the previous owner had welded a complete floor on top of the old floor and a bad door post hidden with a fake kick panel and the cowl was rusted out but covered in bondo. I posted a pic of what it looked like when bought it and what was found later.

I also posted a white painted bronco with the most bondo I had ever seen.

The funny thing is the ugliest camo Bronco my buddy bought for under $6000 and sat on CL for over a year. It ended up being the most rust free Bronco I had ever seen!

Check it over good...bring a buddy cause a bunch of goodies on a bronco makes us all excited! reach and crawl under the dash to check that cowl! ( Im doing mine now and its a PITA!

Goodluck and buy one...I would rather drive a nice bronco around than almost anything else on the road!

John

 

[jeff_gates]

I picked up my 66 for 5K.
I got it with a 351W that seems good.
My floor pans and rockers are gone, but luck for me the PO put diamond plate over the rust.

I have added about another $6K in stuff
new/old seats
wiring
starter
heater core
rebuild the gauge cluster
steering wheel
tires 33's
wiper motors
transmission cooler and fan
electric radiator fan
wheel flares
fluids
radio
23 gal gas tank, and removed the leaking one from under my seat.
fixed the roll cage
new rear brakes

What I still need:
new front brakes
e-brake
C4 is going south
Dana to pops out of gear
spare tire
jack
power steering leaks and I think it's out of a Lincoln
e-brakes

 

[Whoaa]

Greetings Chicken!

Lots of good advice already from some really knowledgable guys.

Everyone has their preference. Some people want to spend a small amount of money on some wore-out POS with plans to spend years rebuilding it, and other want to spend a lot of money and drive their new Bronco today.

The mechanical parts of an old Bronco are very simple. Even a basic self-taught mechanic can work on these old rigs and learn as you go w/ the the help of this website. Quality body work is a different story. Even fixing someone else's previous mechanical mistakes is easy compared to body work.
*The poster JAFO is the rare exception....he rebuilt a totally rusted out junker to better than new condition. Not many folks can do this.

Rust is a deal killer for me. Most old Bronco have some rust. If you look hard enough and are willing to spend enough money you can find a few for sale that have a very little amount of rust. IMO spending the money to buy a good body is well worth it now, plus a good future investment.

best wishes sir.....

 

[weidjd]

Look and look some more. the more you look the better idea you get of what these vehicles are. I would look for 73 to 77 but that is just me.

 

[SavageBurro]

Some good amenities to look for are dana 44 front, power steering and power disc brakes. They can be added but are getting more expensive to do... and those factory parts are getting hard to come by.

 

[Whoaa]

And, depending on what your budget is I have a 73' model with all of the desirable goodies that I'd like to sell. Its a rare find that is 99% rust free, and 99% all original, low $30's.

 

[chickman1313]

thanks guys for all the advice. i dont necessarily want this to be a multi year project. In a sense I guess it will always be an ongoing project, but I'd like her to be pretty close to driveable when I buy it. we'll see, i'm trying to stop myself from just pulling the trigger. been looking like crazy, not much that is either within my budget or in good enough of shape, but ive only been looking a week. You'll know when i get one because ill be here constantly asking questions!