So my Bronco's an ugly color, but it's rare....What would you do

[R.P. Coltrane]

First off, HI CLASSIC BRONCOS FORUM!

You guys are awesome. Been a heavy lurker since picking up an early Bronco a few weeks back. First post. New to Broncos. Not new to classic vehicles, rust, or forums.

So here is the situation at hand. Picked up a really neat 72, 302, 3 speed, 90K, extremely original other than a +20 year old repaint. Seller did not charge one dime extra for all the rust, which in some cultures, is a heck of a bargain. I'd like to get it back on the road for a summer or two of topless enjoyment (WOOO!) and then dive into a resto. Uncut EBs in stock(ish) form really appeal to me.

Here's the catch. It's a durango tan explorer sport. The only appearance of a brown explorer interior. A bit of a one year color/trim oddity.

According to the PO, this truck has been red since before 92. Somebody did a professional, complete color change. Do the math and it's possible it's been red longer than the color of dried Plochman's/French's.

So, as this truck and I enjoy the coming years, how should I view it in my head? A blank slate to be painted however? Red? The color of dried mustard?

Even dumber question.....If I restored and sold after a few years of enjoyment....do you think the mustard color would slaughter or enhance resale? Resale ain't what I'm about, but is a consideration with a project of this magnitude.

thanks in advance for all replies!

 

[bronconut73]

I like that color.
Kind of school bus yellow?

 

[Pa PITT]

... sORRY i THINK IT LOOKS LIKE THE ''SHORT BUS''.

I had one of those chevy 1972 short bed's that color.

 

[ntsqd]

I think that you're the only one who can answer this question. How much does the original color matter to you? There used to be a '57 Bel Air around these parts that was pea soup green. It was an order-only color for that year and the owner kept it original in color because of the rarity of it. Flip side is that it quite possibly is an uglier color than you EB's original color.

 

[TN1776]

With fresh paint in that color it would be nice.
There really is no wrong answer - chances are you're going to do other things to it that are not original, and a well done restoration/restomod will appeal to many EB fans. I don't discredit a color change when evaluating a nice vehicle.

 

[nathan_1970]

I've always been told to build it the way you want it and not to worry about what the next guy likes. Trends come and go, so if you build it the way you want it, restore/resto mod/full mod will always make YOU happy.

 

[Killer Frogs]

I've always been told to build it the way you want it and not to worry about what the next guy likes. Trends come and go, so if you build it the way you want it, restore/resto mod/full mod will always make YOU happy.

I completely agree. My bronco was originally green and painted orange by the PO. He put Ranger stripes on the bottom but not on the hood, which is not "correct." I don't care. I like the way it looks and when it comes time to sell hopefully someone else will. too I do think there are more potential buyers for a nice red bronco over a mustard bronco. When I bought mine I had in mind colors I would consider and ones I wouldn't. Just my taste, but any color that resembled a color that might come out of my body was off the list! That included green, again just my taste. Congratulations on your new bronco and welcome to the bronco addiction.

 

[thesnake]

I agree with Nathan and Killer. Do what appeals to you.

John

 

[JLBachs]

Welcome Roscoe,
I really wanted to go back with the original color, but I just didn't like how it looked on the truck. Now that I've seen how it can be complimented with flare color, grille color, etc, I will probably go hot ginger next time. Mine is red. There was already a red one I didn't know about down the road being stored, and now there is a red one in a neighboring town. Three red ones in a 15-mile radius. I hope to paint again soon.

 

[Mustangs2]

Bronco Color

Hello-
Welcome to the wonderful world of Bronco ownership.
My advise is build the best version of YOUR DREAM Bronco you can afford.
It's your Bronco so it should please you. I looked for a few years for the
"perfect" Bronco (for my taste). I finally decided to just build what I wanted. It's fun deciding every detail. If you like Red...do it. If resale is a factor...they do call it "resale red" for a reason. Red is a poplular color. In other words when you go to sell your "ugly color" Bronco you might find a smaller pool of shoppers. Thus it could take longer to sell your Bronco and might negitively impact price.
Where do you live? I am in Waukee, Iowa.
All the Best!
Jeff

 

[R.P. Coltrane]

Thanks for the responses everyone, lots of good points being made.

One of the main hangups is about 2 days per week, I actually like the ugly color. The other 5 days, not sure I could live with myself.

After modifying the heck out of everything else in the world, this one is going to be a stocker. That's part of the rub. Since EBs didn't change much over the run, there aren't many ways for a stock one to be unique. This one just happens to have a mini bragging right in that regard. Call it an ugly secret

Don't think the tan ones had explorer side stripes, but adding them would probably help.

And I just realized this is in tech instead of chat. Doh! Can a mod help out with a move? Sorry for drinking and posting ;D

 

[needabronco]

If your after a stock restoration with original colors, but don't like the color that yours came with, I think it would be somewhat kosher to change to a factory color of that year, just don't advertise it as a bone stock restoration. I'm kind of in your same boat as my early 66 U14 is Wimbleton White, and I'm thinking about painting it Arcadian Blue just to give it better contrast, as it will primarily be a show car and all white is kind of plain jane...

 

[techlaf]

Durango Tan is an awesome 70s color. Don't deny your truck it's true identity There are enough red and blue broncos out there. Enjoy the 70s Cool that the truck and color is.

Here are a few pics: http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220169

If it's too much of the color being a problem consider an Explorer Stripe kit or a special decor stripe. It breaks up the color and goes very nicely with a white hardtop if you are running one.

 

[WorkerBee]

First off, HI CLASSIC BRONCOS FORUM!

You guys are awesome. Been a heavy lurker since picking up an early Bronco a few weeks back. First post. New to Broncos. Not new to classic vehicles, rust, or forums.

So here is the situation at hand. Picked up a really neat 72, 302, 3 speed, 90K, extremely original other than a +20 year old repaint. Seller did not charge one dime extra for all the rust, which in some cultures, is a heck of a bargain. I'd like to get it back on the road for a summer or two of topless enjoyment (WOOO!) and then dive into a resto. Uncut EBs in stock(ish) form really appeal to me.

Here's the catch. It's a durango tan explorer sport. The only appearance of a brown explorer interior. A bit of a one year color/trim oddity.

According to the PO, this truck has been red since before 92. Somebody did a professional, complete color change. Do the math and it's possible it's been red longer than the color of dried Plochman's/French's.

So, as this truck and I enjoy the coming years, how should I view it in my head? A blank slate to be painted however? Red? The color of dried mustard?

Even dumber question.....If I restored and sold after a few years of enjoyment....do you think the mustard color would slaughter or enhance resale? Resale ain't what I'm about, but is a consideration with a project of this magnitude.

thanks in advance for all replies!

First of all welcome! It's funny that you ask this question because I am in the exact same boat with a 72 in original Durango Tan. From what I understand it's a pretty rare color. Too bad it's so ugly. Some days I love it, some days I hate it. I love the look of some modern colors but once I change there's no going back. Being that mine's original paint I am going to have a really hard time changing it. I've heard of people just clear coating it to preserve it but I haven't looked into it very far.

Here's an updated picture of mine if it helps. I think it looks better in low light, just like most people do.

You never know it might be so hideous you paint yours immediately.

 

[bigpitbull]

I owned a Durango tan 72 last year. Sold it to a guy that was going to restore it to original... 3 months later its cut, fuel injected and looked like it had been jumped off a cliff.

 

[ncsubronc]

I personally like the oddball/ugly 70's colors on Broncos. Durango tan looks pretty sweet to me!

 

[Justafordguy]

I like the old colors too but I say paint it whatever color you like.

 

[lowbush]

Personally no offense but the truck is nothing special (in a buyers market sense), if it was a 66-67-77, U13-U14 with a rare color maybe. I personally don't think all the little one offs in the other years really add value, they are novelties but I don't think they add value especially paint. You can always go back to the stock color if somehow that model becomes some super rare sought after color. I would paint it what you want.

 

[Apogee]

If the paint was original with a nice patina, I'd say leave it...but since it's not, I'd say paint it whatever you like.

 

[Scoop]

If you are doing an essentially stock DD build I would take it back to the original color. A stock looking Bronco in a somewhat rare original color will get lots more attention than a red or blue. ;D