Funny stories of how you got a bronco

[Boss Hugg]

Saw the other post asking about the funniest thing you’ve been offered...

Let’s turn that around. What’s the funniest story of how you acquired a bronco?

I’ll start, tho it’s not THAT funny...

I was about 22 and a neighbors dad has passed away. He had all kinds of vehicles in the grown up woods at his place about 30 minutes away. We brought home a 75ish hi boy f100 with a locked up engine for all of $25. I swapped one we had in it and got it running. Then Dad brought in this bronco that had been wrecked/rolled and it was bad. Claimed it belonged to my uncle and they parked it next door at his place. Several months go by and I caught him talking about getting something off that bronco for his. I cornered him about it, and told him I’d sell the hunky and take the bronco. And that was that. It’s still a work in progress!


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[okie4570]

71' bronco originally sold in Denver. At some point in the mid 90's the bronco was taken by the owner to a shop in Utah to be lifted, rear locker, etc, etc. The owner paid half and would pay the rest upon completion of the work. Some time passes, work is completed and the shop attempts to contact the owner. Attempt after attempt was made with no luck. More time passes as in almost a year is what I was told, and the shop receives a letter in the mail with a set of keys and a title. The wife of the owner told in the letter that her husband was now in prison for money laundering, embezzlement, etc........so the shop puts the bronco up for sale, it sells and makes its way back to Colorado. It ends up for sale again, and the guy I bought it from buys it. He has it for a couple of years, decides to build a house and puts the bronco up for sale and I bought it. From the time it left the shop in Utah to the time I bought it had been driven less that 2k miles lol.

 

[Madgyver]

it caught on fire. PO insurance company totaled it. I bought it for 1K, got it running and registered it under my name within a week.

 

[Boss Hugg]

The wife of the owner told in the letter that her husband was now in prison for money laundering, embezzlement, etc

I left out the part that the PO on mine had gotten his third DWI as a result of rolling this thing (with young daughter inside). So he was in jail, in a divorce he probably didn't know about yet, and she sold it with the title he had already signed...

 

[sprdv1]

Back before inflation right.. good story

Saw the other post asking about the funniest thing you’ve been offered...

Let’s turn that around. What’s the funniest story of how you acquired a bronco?

I’ll start, tho it’s not THAT funny...

I was about 22 and a neighbors dad has passed away. He had all kinds of vehicles in the grown up woods at his place about 30 minutes away. We brought home a 75ish hi boy f100 with a locked up engine for all of $25. I swapped one we had in it and got it running. Then Dad brought in this bronco that had been wrecked/rolled and it was bad. Claimed it belonged to my uncle and they parked it next door at his place. Several months go by and I caught him talking about getting something off that bronco for his. I cornered him about it, and told him I’d sell the hunky and take the bronco. And that was that. It’s still a work in progress!


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[triracer67]

'67 Bronco

Sorry about the lengthy story, but, it's funny. When I went to look at my current Bronco, I was met by Buz Kaido, an older man smoking a pipe, and telling stories of offroad racing in Baja, and his friend Bill Stroppe. While the bronco was dirty, and very rough, I was very curious. Scrawled across the glove box was some 70’s style artwork of a lady silhouette leaning against a cactus, with the words “Honey Bunnes” written next to it, and “StroppeTeam” stickers on the rear quarter panels. There was something about this bronco, Buz talking about prerunning Baja in this truck, and working with Bill Stroppe. I didn't buy the Bronco that day, because I wanted to think about it. The next day I called Buz, since I hadn’t heard from him, and told him I wanted to buy the Bronco. Much to my surprise, he told me some dude was coming the next morning to pick it up, I was in shock. We chatted for a few minutes and I recalled him telling me that the first person with cash would get the Bronco, so, I told him I would be there in 90 minutes to give him cash. He questioned my sanity since it was almost 10 pm on Sunday, but, I was set on getting this Bronco. When I arrived at his central Missouri home, he definitely thought I was a little off my rocker. Come to find out, Buz was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's, and I was the only buyer. When I loaded up the Bronco, he mentioned that I should reach out to Jim Brightly, he was the first owner, and former writer for Four Wheeler magazine. That's where things got really interesting...

 

[Boss Hugg]

That's where things got really interesting...

I totally took the bait... waiting for more!

And BTW, ya'll, that alzheimers and dementia is terrible for EVERYone's lives....

 

[svastano]

Great story!

Sorry about the lengthy story, but, it's funny. When I went to look at my current Bronco, I was met by Buz Kaido, an older man smoking a pipe, and telling stories of offroad racing in Baja, and his friend Bill Stroppe. While the bronco was dirty, and very rough, I was very curious. Scrawled across the glove box was some 70’s style artwork of a lady silhouette leaning against a cactus, with the words “Honey Bunnes” written next to it, and “StroppeTeam” stickers on the rear quarter panels. There was something about this bronco, Buz talking about prerunning Baja in this truck, and working with Bill Stroppe. I didn't buy the Bronco that day, because I wanted to think about it. The next day I called Buz, since I hadn’t heard from him, and told him I wanted to buy the Bronco. Much to my surprise, he told me some dude was coming the next morning to pick it up, I was in shock. We chatted for a few minutes and I recalled him telling me that the first person with cash would get the Bronco, so, I told him I would be there in 90 minutes to give him cash. He questioned my sanity since it was almost 10 pm on Sunday, but, I was set on getting this Bronco. When I arrived at his central Missouri home, he definitely thought I was a little off my rocker. Come to find out, Buz was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's, and I was the only buyer. When I loaded up the Bronco, he mentioned that I should reach out to Jim Brightly, he was the first owner, and former writer for Four Wheeler magazine. That's where things got really interesting...

 

[jhill52]

My brother and I were at our cabin in N. Mi. A Jeep went by and my brother said we should get a one. I said ya but we are Ford guys lets get a Bronco. We talked about finding one. A few days later I was at home all of a sudden DUH! I remember a friends Bronco was setting behind my shop. He had towed it over when the starter went out. It had been there for 4- 5 yrs. I even mowed around. So I called him and said either you are coming to get it or I am going to own it. He sad make me an offer. I said $1800. Sold.
I put a new battery in it and it started right up and drove away.

 

[Boss Hugg]

I said $1800. Sold.
I put a new battery in it and it started right up and drove away.

Awesome! I love that feeling when you're thinking about how you need something, and you realize you already have what you need hidden out back!

 

[75Denver]

Where to start! Almost every Bronco I've bought has a great story but the best ones involved a 71 Stroppe. It was uncovered one day on a car hunt. Sitting, wrecked, on the back end of a property was an abandoned Bronco. Closer inspections revealed it was a true Baja. The house was under foreclosure and the only number was on an old crinkled up flyer ad for the property. I finally tracked the owner down but was told they'd be in touch to sell it since they only had a few months to clear the property. Fast forward 2mo, countless calls but zero response. On a whim one day, I drove up to the house to discover a cleanup crew dragging it out of the backyard to be hauled off to the scrap yard. I asked them how much would they'd get in scrap metal and offered them $100 over that amount and a promise to tow it off the property. Needless to say, I walked out of there with a $250 Baja.

 

[McCoyBronco]

My bronco came from a high school buddy of mine and it was his families old hunting truck. It had been battered and used for decades, but I have restored him back to even better than when he was brand new.

 

[FordBronc]

I was setting in Dubai (for work) back in 09 (?) and I was cruising the back home/state next door to me Craigslist, and there it was. I emailed the owner, and we talked condition and I got a few more pics.

We talked some more and I was going to send a "hold it" partial payment. I still had about a month or so for work over there. He said no payment necessary, he would hold it. So as soon as I was home and over jetlag, I had the truck and trailer headed to Oklahoma.

A quick look over, test drive (it died on that drive) the deal was done and we used a backhoe to push it on the trailer. Been in the family ever since.

 

[RM70]

I had reserved a new bronco and we were talking about them in a thread on a local forum. Guy mentions he'd sell his 73 for a fraction of the price of a new one. Couple months go by and I had canceled my new order because I didn't want to wait a year and decided to buy my wife a car. So went on the hunt for an old mustang but couldn't find one, even went to a fairly large car show and there wasn't anything good in the swap meet. So I hit him up and went to see him just days after having a hernia surgery. Overdid it that day looking it over but I knew it was coming home with me, and the wife said she wanted it and I wasn't going to argue with her. Two weeks later I brought it home and through a Marti Report found out it was actually a 1970.

 

[Golfball]

My wife commented one day that she wanted a j33p, my response was "don't be a sheep in a j33p" We are Ford folks. Found an ad in a local online classified for a 75 Bronco for $2000 and sent her the link as a joke more or less. When we got off work, she said she had called about the Bronco and we were going to look at it "now". Test drove it topless and doorless in Nov of that year and shook hands with the seller and made the deal. Since the wife claimed that one, I had to find another a couple of years later.;D

 

[sprdv1]

Not funny, but just word of mouth..

funny thing was the old wore out front axles in it when I received it.. Broke on first trip out wheeling

 

[Yeller]

Not funny, but just word of mouth..

funny thing was the old wore out front axles in it when I received it.. Broke on first trip out wheeling

Yes they did...
But we had fun anyway;D

 

[Eastwood]

Not really interesting, but the shows how much the prices have gone up. In 2010 I sold some tractors and decided to finally get a Bronco. My dad sold his 77' ranger in 1995 and I wanted another one ever since. I found a 2nd owner 77' sport special decor, uncut in original condition. My winning bid was 10,105.00.

 

[mebco09]

I was setting in Dubai (for work) back in 09 (?) and I was cruising the back home/state next door to me Craigslist, and there it was. I emailed the owner, and we talked condition and I got a few more pics.

We talked some more and I was going to send a "hold it" partial payment. I still had about a month or so for work over there. He said no payment necessary, he would hold it. So as soon as I was home and over jetlag, I had the truck and trailer headed to Oklahoma.

A quick look over, test drive (it died on that drive) the deal was done and we used a backhoe to push it on the trailer. Been in the family ever since.

Ha! This story is probably the only true "I'm in Dubai and want to buy your Bronco" story on the internet. I bet the Seller was surprised to see you were real.

 

[67sport]

1995. I answer an add for a "67 sport, parts or project Bronco". The seller had dragged it out of a farmer's field 4 hours away because he wanted the front gas tank for his Bronco. I was a kid, and bought it for $1400. It was rough. Too much at that time, but they were few and far between where I live, and I was determined to own one.
10 years later, and I answer an add for another parts bronco, a 74, no motor. All I want is the 44 and the big bearing 9 inch for my 67. I don't remember the price, but it was $600-800.
The truck is sitting in a wrecking yard, and the back of it is filled with bronco parts. Axle shafts, driveshafts, brake parts, transmissions/transfercases, interior parts, you name it (no front tank though) - And it's the truck that buddy had when I bought my truck 10 years earlier..... unmistakeable, same paint, same firefighters sticker on the driver vent window, but a different seller. I load it up, and bring it home.
It gives me great pleasure to have those axles in my truck.
Guess mine wasn't the parts truck after all!
I'm still sitting on a bunch of those parts, and have bartered and traded with them ever since.

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