I know I’m not the only one who laments the fact that there are very, very few small vehicles being made these days. If a person has several kids, I could see owning a giant SUV, but otherwise, the ones I see are mainly in the left lane being used as texting driver deflectors. This nice, small, 1988 Ford Bronco II XL Sport is listed here on eBay in Canton, Georgia, and they’re asking $20,890.
The new 2026 Ford Bronco is between 14.5 feet long and 16 feet long, so they aren’t huge. This Bronco II is just over 13 feet in length, so about 16″ shorter than the shortest new Bronco. They are small, and I know that the vast majority of Americans like to have huge vehicles these days. Somewhere, there are stats on whether they are safer or if they just make the owners feel safer. I’m guessing it’s about 50/50. The deep-dish aluminum wheels are standard with the Sports Appearance package. The seller says this Bronco II is one of just 436 specified like this, according to the Marti Report.
Ford made the Bronco II for model years 1984 through 1990, and as 99% of you know, they came in this one body style, a two-door with a rear cargo hatch. Speaking of that, here’s what the rear cargo area looks like. We’ve seen some really nice ones here on Barn Finds, but this has to be one of the nicest, not to mention one of the nicest spec’d ones. This is an XL Sport, a somewhat unusual trim level compared to the XLT or Eddie Bauer versions we usually see. You can see dual exhaust poking out of the back; that’s more than a bit unusual. Those chrome tips would go away within the first five minutes that I owned this one, but that’s just a personal preference.
That long 5-speed manual shifter is great to see, and the almost perfect-looking Scarlet Red interior goes well with the Raven Black exterior on this XL Sport model. The back seat looks perfect, and I’m wondering what a Bronco II owner would keep in that open cubby hole above the glove box? The underside has been coated, as seen in the many underside photos. The tube bumpers are original to this XL Sport, as is the front brush/grille guard, according to the seller. Here’s a fun brochure of the ’88 Bronco IIs.
The seller has included over 120 photos, so please click on the eBay link and check out this great-looking Bronco II. The engine is Ford’s Cologne 2.9-liter fuel-injected V6 with 140 net horsepower and 170 lb-ft of net torque when new. Backed by the transfer case and a Mitsubishi-sourced five-speed manual sending power to all four wheels as needed, the seller says it was sold new in Georgia, and everything works as intended. Hagerty is at $20,100 for a #2 excellent-condition Bronco II, and this one looks that nice to me. Any thoughts on this Bronco II XL Sport?
Good write-up SG. These were nifty little rigs. This one looks to be in great shape. The 5-speed would give it a bit more of the fun factor. I agree, the XL Sport isn’t commonly seen.
In the World of Bronco, the Bronco II’s are kind of overlooked. I wouldn’t do any off-roading with one so nice, but it would make for a fun run-around vehicle.
These were everywhere when new, but have become all but extinct, coming from an area where rust isn’t an issue that helps tell a story. There are fans, but $20,000+ generally requires more than a fan, at that price level you’ve really have to want one. Since it’s a dealer, the price will be aggressive and they may have a hard time finding a buyer.
Steve R
The reason you’re not seeing really small SUVs is it costs almost as much to make them as it does large ones, so they’d have to be priced accordingly. There’d be few takers. The black on red color combination on this Bronco makes it especially attractive. Ford used this on countless vehicles over the decades.
I had an ’84-great truck! Bought it with 104k and solid with 225k still running great!
$20,000+ for a Bronco II. Wow, ten years ago, no one wanted them. I figured it was only a matter of time before the good ones that were left, came out of hiding. The same thing has happened with the “big” Bronco’s, ever since the originals started bringing stupid money. A rising tide….
Great looking BII! Bob_in_TN you are correct in not taking it off road. These are tippy. I used to keep 2-3 roof panels in stock at all times. Keep them on their feet and they are good little trucks.
At the time these were being sold there were some tests that showed this had a huge roll over risk. There were a lot of articles with potential solutions. If I remember right one solution was the attachment of these arms that stuck out like training wheels. They looked pretty stupid
Same kind of tests that showed the Suzuki Samurai rolling over? Those tests were proven to be manipulative & urban lore was that Jeep/AMC paid off Consumer’s Union to run a smear campaign because the Sammy was outselling Jeeps 3 to 1. Of course it’s lore but I tend to lean toward there being some truth to it. Even CU later admitted the risk was only under very exceptional circumstances the average driver would never encounter. Of course by then the damage was done & we lost an incredibly cheap, capable off-roader.
Why is it so difficult for the average troglodyte to realize they aren’t driving a sports car, take a little responsibility for their own safety & slow the fark down when driving something like this? Alas, if common sense was lard, there wouldn’t be enough in most households to grease a frying pan.
From Wiki: “It was estimated that 260 people had died in Bronco II rollover crashes, a rate that is several times more than in any similar vehicle according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.[11] By 1995, Ford had paid $113 million to settle 334 injury and wrongful death lawsuits.”
Including famous jockey Willie Shoemaker, who ended up in a wheelchair the rest of his life after rolling a Bronco II. It may not have helped that he was “intoxicated” at the time…
I bought one new, almost exactly like this, but mine had 2-WD.
That little rig was unbelievable.
The speedometer cable went-out when it had 195000 on it, after which I drove it for another ten years. By the time I sold it, it was pretty rusty, and all the seals and gaskets leaked. But it still ran great. Other than regular maintenance and wear items, the only significant repair it ever required was a water pump.
My best estimate is that, when I sold it, it probably had accumulated close to 300000 miles. I sold it mainly because I knew it wouldn’t pass emissions anymore. A farmer bought it as a project to work-on with his young son. Apparently the Dad had one of these himself as a kid. Paid me $350 and drove it home.
As for THIS one:
*The seat-covering looks unoriginal
*These came out of the factory with Goodyear Eagle GT tires with RWL.
*That red accent stripe is unoriginal.
* The original spare-wheel cover would have had a large embossed bucking bronco image on it…in white.
I love this Bronco!
This one ended with no takers at that price.
Thank you, sir!
It was common knowledge that these were as likely to tip over off-road as a drunken cow on roller skates. Here’s one of many articles: https://www.broncoiicorral.com/articles/ford-bronco-ii-rollovers/. You mention the length difference between the current Broncos and these Bronco II’s. The angle of fore / aft departure is different and it matters. The driveshafts are about as wide as a little girl’s wrists and about as stout for windup from bigger tires needed to increase the safety width of the footprint. The vehicle’s intention was to be a fuel economy leader for that time period v. the full size beasties of the day. Personally, I owned a 82′ 2WD Ranger and various F-model trucks from 87′ to date. I’d trust the safety of those vehicles to a family member any day. However, a short wheelbase SUV, I have and would only captain that ship myself.
I sold many of these from my Ford years 84′ til’ 87′ about half were manuals. I ordered all trim levels with both automatics and manuals and the fancier they were, the easier they were to sell. Now that I am retired, I dream of a Ford Escape or a Maverick with a manual transmission. I think that the Subaru Crosstrek is available with a manual, but are hard to find. Even back then, there were very few dealers who realized the demand for manuals, and now the wimpy powderpuffs that order cars think there is no market for manuals. Of course if you order one with no optional equipment, you don’t understand that customers like the control of a manual and that same control issue expands to cars with lots of buttons. If these same powderpuffs trade a 3 series with manual, guess what they drive home that night.