This 1971 Ford Bronco is an appropriate topic because as I sit here writing, my across-the-street neighbor has a ’73 that he’s been wrenching on for at least the last two years and I fear that it is getting the better of him. He’s pretty calm and only lets fly with some garage language occasionally but I can hear the beating and banging. Yesterday some cutting and welding was going on and I’m almost afraid to ask what he’s doing – running well has not been in his Bronco’s repertoire! Back to the subject at hand, these first-gen Broncos (’66-’77) can ring up some serious $$$ so at a firm price of $25,000, I thought this was one to review. It’s located in Gig Harbor, Washington and is available, here on Facebook Marketplace.

The seller tells us that this Bronco has 52K original miles and has “rust in the normal places” which means the rockers, quarters, cargo bed, and driver’s side floor pan. Beyond that, there is surface rust, bondo, dings, and lots of faded Code O, Sea Foam Green paint – that’s a lot of obvious wear on a 52K mile example. I’m a green fan and I imagine that this Bronco was a looker in its day. It’s all there and complete but this primitive SUV is going to need a lot of restoration work unless the next owner is good to go with it as is.

Good to see is the 205 gross HP, 302 CI V8 engine powering this truck as opposed to the standard 170 CI, in-line six. The seller states, “Runs, Drives and Stops“, not a strong endorsement but at least it does the minimum. Everything under the hood looks like it’s there and original, including the unusual offset air cleaner assembly. Connecting up to the four-wheel drive transfer case is a three-speed manual transmission shifted via a three-on-the-tree column shift.

The surprising thing that I noted about this Bronco’s interior is the blue door panels and dash pad – why blue? The white vinyl upholstery has seen better days and there’s even an off-white rubber floor mat – seems unusual. If you take a look at the images you can spy the floor damage in the driver’s floor pan and the cargo area. In spite of the upholstery’s condition, everything is there including a sideways-located rear seat, a feature that I haven’t noticed in other Broncos of this generation.

So, back to my neighbor’s rig, he has a fuel-injected 5.0 engine from a Fox-body Mustang handling the motivational aspects and I think the rewiring has proved to be a major challenge. And it’s been lifted and has suspension mods so there’s a lot going on. This Bronco gets points for its originality and completeness but it’s going to need a complete redo. I think it’s a viable candidate for that undertaking, how about you?