While Barn Finds has featured a lot of stock and cossetted first-generation Ford Broncos in the recent past, this assuredly isn’t one of them! The seller states that this has been his four-wheeling, hunting, and trail riding car for the last 30 years and it has been equipped appropriately. It’s listed for sale here on eBay, where almost 30 bids have taken the amount to over $11,000, but the reserve has not yet been met. The Bronco is located near its natural habitat in Williston, North Dakota.
The seller tells us that the vulnerable body tub is solid, with no rust in the door pillars or anywhere in the tailgate area and wheel wells. There do point out that there is some rust in the underhood area near where the hood meets the body and also some in the floor at the base of the roll cage. However, the entire undercarriage has been epoxy coated. The seller points out the obvious shortcomings of the front sheet metal, but to be honest. if I were continuing to use this Bronco on trails, I’d just leave it alone! You’re just going to bend any new panels eventually anyway, right?
Among the modifications listed (and it’s a long list) are front and rear tube bumpers, a Superwinch S9000 with removable (front/rear) dash controls a remote and snatch block, and of course the full roll cage. Even the rocker panels have been reinforced with heavy gauge rectangular steel tubing.
If you’ve made it this far, make sure you look at the original listing and focus in on some of the dash plaques from events this Bronco has been to. This vehicle has some real history! Certainly if this capable off-road could talk, there would be some great stories and a lot of “been there, done that!”
The original engine has been replaced with a remanufactured 302 V-8 and it’s connected to a heavy-duty C4 transmission. Many precautions have been taken to prevent you from getting stranded on one of those “out there” rides. While the odometer is showing 81,000 miles I’m pretty sure we can agree that doesn’t matter much in this case. Want to go trail riding? Let us know about your off-road experiences!
“Offroad Ready”? Junkyard ready is more like it!
You know, there was a time not too long ago, I’d agree with you, but seeing where these went, doesn’t surprise me.
Have to disagree with you on the junkyard ready opinion. You are entitled to your opinion I’ll freely admit. This one isn’t rusted beyond all help or hope. It also is not been treated to a restoration and too darn nice to use as was originally intended. It’s very refreshing to see one you can actually use without fear of damaging your high dollar investment. These and Toyota FJ Land Cruisers were intended to be used not garage or car show queens.
That would be one lucky junkyard.
This is how so many of the Broncos look (or looked) back when they were used as trail rigs and not coiffed cars and coffee cruisers.
I’ll be out on the trails on Sat in mine!
Just because it’s a trail rig doesn’t necessarily mean that it must be trashed. Bent fenders and cracked flares could’ve been easily fixed before putting it up for sale. There’s a difference in how you treat it and how you try to pass it over to the next owner. However I’ll easily admit there’s something relaxing about a vehicle where finish isn’t a priority.
My ’71 K5 sees occasional trail use (that’s why I bought it in the 1st place) and while it isn’t an all out off-road vehicle like this Bronco scratches and dings MUST be expected. Unless you only like to bring your Bronco to car shows and brag about how much you’ve spent on having someone restore it for you I’m pretty confident you’ll have much more fun with this ’77
I agree, however, somehow, we lost our way, and Americans need every nut and bolt shiny, cost no object,,,it seems. I too, am not that particular, seeing where I’m planning on taking one, and I realize a CJ is non-existent without at least some rust, but this truck is a POS, will be nothing but headaches for the next owner. Clearly trying to cash in on the “1st gen Bronco” craze, before it goes bust, regardless of condition. Got to be some sort of buyers remorse, as I’ve ridden in these, and this is what happens to them. Bottom of the barrel here, there just aren’t that many nice original ones left.
I appraised one of these in similar nasty condition but meticulously maintained and great running, last year. The wife drove it daily to her exercise class too. Final appraisal came in higher than the present bid on this one. Expect it to go higher.
funny, if I ever get mine ‘upa notch’ I’ll use this paint scheme (way he’s done his sides anyway). But yeah, mine, not a rec vehicle (the ones they may have scheduled time in for cosmetics) most of its life – the next iteration will be “somewhat shinny”. Definatly no time for that right now. No bums or bruises like this, plenty of scratches & aged paint tho. As a woods work horse it wasn’t but a few yrs ago I got all the panels same color. For a sawyer its ‘progress not perfection’…
Notoriously ‘hot under hood’ he’s got that fixed w/a gaping hole (screen porch?) and a look at each side’s rear 1/4 shows no ’77 turn signals leaving 1 to wonder is it really a ’77?. Let’s C a VIN tag’n ask bronchohio for their decoder…
I think the seller definitely got his money’s worth!