Got an early Bronco in restoration? Here’s an opportunity to pick up a parts car in Atlantic Mine, Michigan. Yeah, as the Rolling Stones said in Faraway Eyes, “There she was sittin’ in the corner, a little bleary, worse for wear and tear….” – with rust along her flanks, a broken windshield, and hubs half sunk into the ground, we have a bleary Bronco on our hands. But bidding has been creeping up inch by inch in this no-reserve auction, so surely there’s a thing or two worth having off this carcass. Let’s check it out.
First off, the VIN indicates this ’69 Bronco was originally equipped with a 302 cu. in. V8, and sure enough, that’s what we find in the engine bay. The engine turns by hand. The transmission is a three-speed manual with the gearshift moved to the floor, and yes, of course, this is a 4WD, with a T-handle shifter and manual locking hubs. Underside photos are not reassuring, with a heavy coat of rust everywhere and more than a little see-through metal. Still, the engine is worth a couple of bucks, and perhaps something is salvageable from the transfer case and gearbox. The Bronco sits on a short wheelbase with a wide track – the ride is just north of a horse cart, but there’s nothing better in the snow: our old Bronco was a champ in bad weather.
The interior is equipped with what remains of a front bench seat – no buckets, dang it. A gauge, the glove box door, sun visors, the steering wheel, and a few trim pieces are still present. The removable roof might be repairable. The rear bench seat is also intact. The Bronco received two-speed wipers for ’69 and better cab insulation to prevent water incursion.
This workhorse retains most of the apparatus to carry a snowplow in the front, though the blade is missing. That, along with a front PTO, a winch, and a swing-away spare tire carrier were dealer-installed options. The rear bumper’s a little iffy, and the sheet metal is a “holey” mess. One rear tail lamp is missing. Back-up and side marker lamps arrived in ’67 and ’68; a couple of these are still installed. We mentioned that this Bronco is in a no-reserve auction; you can find it here on eBay bid to $1700 thus far. What do you think – are there enough parts here to make it worth a bid?
I just love these rusty beaters, makes me feel right at home. Don’t see a lot of total rust buckets in Colorado, but in Wisconsin, this is the kind of stuff we worked on and quite frankly, I don’t miss that. I can understand how someone from a rust free area will gasp in horror, but for wintery regions, this is or was, the standard issue, ubiquitous snowplow. Nothing more, like a lawn mower or other yard implement. Its useful days as any sort of transportation are over, and every farm, cabin and business had one. It’s just what we did with older 4x4s. The farm I lived on, had a Dodge pickup and a Bronco ll, deplorable condition, similar to this, but come a snowfall, it still did the job. Judging by the condition, I’m sure that’s all this truck ever did. Heck, the plow setup is worth that alone and with almost 300 viewers and 7 bids, I think people are finally realizing just what these trucks are. In this case, I’d almost hate to see it restored, lose a nice snowplow.
This is one I would love to mess with and get it running and driving. This is one when you’re cruising the highway and turn your signal on they let you in because in their mind you don’t have insurance on it.
This one still has the vacuum wipers since the change to electric wipers didn’t come until mid-year ’69 and those are reflectors on the fenders – not marker lights. Those came along for the 1970 model year.
Thanks for the corrections, appreciate it.
This may make a good plow if towed behind a tractor! It’s plowing or driving days have long passed.
Bet you can’t get it on the flatbed without it breaking in half. But yeah, a jerry can, some starting fluid, a roll of baling wire, a can or two of Fix-A-Flat, new battery, some gas line, and a rosary. Would get you a nice going to town rig.
For you Bronco experts, this is a curiosity question. But a serious curiosity question. Assuming its future is as a parts vehicle, what on this unit would be worth the $1750 bid price? Isn’t the aftermarket parts world for them pretty strong?
@Bob_in_TN – good question. Yes, nearly everything is available in the aftermarket. The real value of this rig, at this point, is the frame and the title – and assuming the VIN on the frame matches the one on the title.
I’m not familiar with how all the details work on this, but the builders who build entirely new rigs (ICON, etc.) with new frames start with an existing title and frame. Velocity Restorations in FL who builds a lot of these rigs had an ad in Bronco Driver magazine a few years ago wanting to buy frames/titles from trucks like this. They were offering either $5k or $7k at the time.
I’m an old guy now and I can remember just a few decades ago when we sold frames w/titles for $100!
There’s nothing left of the body. What a mess.