For many years, the first-generation Bronco was not an auction-house darling but a truck that worked for a living. Many of them had jobs plowing snow, and if the eBay ad for this ’76 model is to be believed, it’s still on the job; the Iowa-based seller (in Iowa City) says that “it is unstoppable in snow.” It was apparently purchased years ago from a farm who used it as, you guessed it, a snow plow. Being that its duty was fairly single-minded, it wasn’t subjected to much road salt, but it is far from a rust-free example. Still, it’s fairly solid for what it is, a stock 72,770-mile truck that has never been restored.

By 1976, the standard engine in the Bronco was the trusty 302 V8, but being as it was the mid-’70s, the horsepower rating was an unleaded-fuel-burning 125. This snow-pushing Bronco has the optional automatic, a C4 with a Dana 20 transfer case. The seller says that the entire fuel system has been rebuilt or replaced, from a new tank up to a rebuilt Motorcraft two-barrel carburetor. It also has a new brake booster, master cylinder, brake lines, starter, and exhaust system. It’s been well-maintained by “an old timer at [the seller’s] local mechanic shop.”

The interior looks well-used but not used up; in other words, it’s an original interior in a working rig. The gear selector for the C4 is on the column and the stick for the four-wheel-drive system is on the floor, and it works as it should.

Being a farm truck, it makes sense that there have been some practical repairs done not for show but for expedience, such as the screwed and riveted sheet metal patches over the rocker panels and sections of the fenders and quarter panels. The floors and frame don’t look too bad, but the seller does say that the floors are “rusted out in places” and the frame has a problem area at the passenger side rear bumper mount. The doors still open and close, however, and I’d say this is fairly average rust for an early Bronco.

Being an early Bronco, the bidding has been active, regardless of its worn-in aura. The seller says that it is one of 372 examples with a factory snow plow (I have not been able to verify that fact; my materials list the snowplow and accoutrements as dealer accessories); whether or not that has enticed bidders is hard to say. With almost a week left on the auction, the high bid is already $14,250, not bad for a work truck. Bronco auctions are always interesting, and I’m anxious to see how high this one will go. Place your bets, as they say.