Here we have a true classic barn find Bronco! This 1966 Ford Bronco was recently pulled out of a barn after some 35 years. Currently, there have been 12 bids pushing the price up to $13,999. It is located in Harriman, Tennessee and has an original yellow Tennessee title. The owner had a friend list it for them, but hopefully, they can answer any questions. Unfortunately, no VIN is listed, but it has a claimed 53,150 miles on the odometer. You can view more here on eBay.
According to the listing, the truck has its original factory 6 cylinder engine with a three on the tree manual transmission. There is no mention of it being able to run and drive.. The listing is sort of confusing on who owned the truck and when, but one thing is for sure, it is a true 4×4 as indicated by the floor-mounted shifter.
Inside, the seats are still intact and the ceiling is in good condition. The floors and rockers all seem to have surface rust, but nothing alarming based on the photos. Even photos of the underside of the truck show lots of surface rust, but no large holes. The seller notes that there are some bad rust spots though, especially around the hood. I suppose it will be up to your definition if this Bronco has bad rust or not.
The seller mentions that the truck has original glass that is complete and a 5 lug bolt pattern. In the listing, they mention that it was going to be a project truck, but because the desire to have a 2 wheel drive truck was the goal, they stopped working before taking away the originality of this Bronco. It is a good thing they did because this truck has a lot of potential and being a first-year Bronco means it is quite desirable to collectors.
This basic red and white first year Bronco brings back a memory, the only substantial difference being the memory involves a half cab, which as you will see is a part of the story.
My dad worked the shoestring oil fields of southeastern Ohio. His work truck at this particular time was a stripper two wheel drive 1966 Ford F-100 Flareside. The company could not afford all-weather roads to the wells, so during rainy or snowy weather lots of walking was common.
One of the other local workers had a 1966 Bronco, which of course was four wheel drive. Sometimes he and my dad would arrange their schedules such that my dad could ride with him to a well, since his four wheel drive had a better chance of making it.
One cold and rainy day I was tagging along when this meet-up occurred. What to do with me, the gangly ten year old who wanted to ride along, but there was no place to sit? “We’ll just put a couple rags down on the transmission hump between the seats, you can ride there.” So off we went, jostling and careening and bouncing through the mud down what one would loosely call a road.
I can still recall that very rough ride. I think my tailbone hurt for weeks.
Wonder what this basic early Bronco will fetch?
Hey Bobber, Did you see the video from Collins Bros Jeep in Texas ?
They are rebuilding one … Dennis Collins said it was the last Bronco they would ever work on, due to rust, spot welds, both or what ….
They look cool on big tires with no top, but beyond that I don’t get the fetish for these.
Going to need some work but this one is surprisingly a lot less rusty than many of them you see. Those seats are from a later year truck.
needs a good inspection, but looks decent. Not as bad as some northeast rust buckets. That 6 is pretty anemic, but this cutie is so cool in its simplicity, Love the studded snow tires. Like Bob said, wonder what this will go for?? Goood luck to the new owner.
Cheers
GPC
My wife just showed me a 77 Bronco here in KCMO area on facebook marketplace for 14K that looks ten times better than this one and comes with spare parts and extra motor. It has a V8 / auto trans 1/2 cab and spare full top. I want it but we are preparing to sell our home and move to Tennessee next year and I have too many vehicles to haul now so she said NO !!!
That was kind of mean of your wife, showing you something that she knew you would like and then telling you that you cannot have it. That would be like taking your kids to a toy store or a candy shop and then telling them that could not have anything.
@CatHouse, yeah but she wants one as bad as me but we both decided it was not feasible at this time, she was just showing me there are still reasonable ones for sale out there.
Hey Jimmy, here’s hoping that once you and your wife get settled in your new home you will be able to find another good deal on a first gen Bronco.
Thanks CATHOUSE !!!
Bronco prices are absurd. There’s no point in paying this kind of money for that truck. As a matter of fact, wait for the Correction (2020) and then buy one. I’ll bet the prices take a dive.
Or when Ford puts the new redesigned Bronco into showrooms the interest in the original ones will go even higher, and that could drive the prices of original higher as well. When Chrysler put the then new Challenger and Charger into the showrooms the price for original ones did not drop.
I have owned 5 first gen Broncos. They are a great rig once everything is sorted through. The 6 is very underpowered which is why those that came with the engine stock had them swapped out for a V8. The bidding has already gone much higher than this truck is worth. There are MANY later model parts in and on this rig. It has been repainted at least once as evidenced by the painted over bronco emblems. Rust looks very bad in the vital spots on these. The odometer has gone over at least once judging by the overall condition of the truck. My honest opinion is this is a bag of worms that somebody is trying to pass of as a low original mileage wonder. Certainly a good candidate for a complete restoration but NOT for the money they are asking. It is a definite pass in my book.
Thanks Scott for the info. Always good when someone with first-hand knowledge chimes in.
A thought on mileage: for something like this, the mileage doesn’t really matter any more. The vehicle is what it is. I’ve seen plenty of trucks which had heavy off-road use (which would fit the description of many early Broncos, such as the one I referenced in my earlier post) which were used up, but had relatively low miles. Oil fields, for example, are tough on vehicles.
Bob I agree completely about mileage. The only reason I mention it at all is because the truck is being listed with 53,150 miles and in this case I do not believe it is close to accurate. It is a solid candidate for restoration. Too bad the uninformed hysteria has pushed the price way too high.