Hard to believe, a first-gen 1976 Ford Bronco that has been literally reduced to yard art. Popular, today, beyond one’s wildest dreams, and with corresponding, stratospheric trading prices, it’s difficult to fathom that this most desirable early, and primitive, SUV has become an object to mow around. The listing states, “The vehicle needs work“, gee, ya think? OK, let’s see how much work we’re talking about. Located in Bonner Springs, Texas, this sad-looking Ford is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $1,725 with twenty-two bids tendered so far.
There’s not a lot here to consider, this Bronco is mostly stripped and the remainder is pretty rusty. It has likely been poached for parts with little of any value left. Interestingly, all of the lights have been removed, and probably the wiring harness as well, or it’s certainly damaged to the point of no use. Obviously, the hardtop and one of the doors are MIA, as well as the axles and wheels.
Under the still attached hood is what is believed to be a 289 CI V8 engine, even though a 302 would have been correct for a ’76 model. If you examine the passenger side rocker cover, you can make out the “Remanufactured” decal so maybe it is a 289. Regardless, it’s stuck and the transmission is missing.
Inside, I got nuffin’! The seats, steering wheel, gauges, etc are all gone. There is a glovebox door and what looks like a bell housing, however…
The seller mentions that he’s owned this Bronco for five years but it honestly looks like something that was found on the side of the road, picked over, and left for dead. And now that it has been sacked completely, it’s being bled for a little more scratch. Being a ’76 means that this is one of about 15K assembled that year out of a total twelve-year (’66-’77) production output of 225K. So no, these are not rare but fully restored examples can easily trip the six-figure barrier. The next stop for this Bronco? Probably a Nucor recycling yard and it pains me to suggest that for this Ford or for any old, interesting car. Some might say that’s a hasty call, and this Bronco is really just a blank canvas. Well, it looks more like a blank canvas without the canvas in my book. What’s your thought, salvageable or fuggedaboutit?
The VIN plate and a new tub, and now you got something…
8banger is right – if the guy has a title and the frame VIN matches it, that currently is worth several thousand $$ to people. Velocity Restorations was, and may still be, offering $5K for frame/title combos. Yeah, the rest of the truck isn’t worth anything. Strip off the few goodies that might be left (glovebox door, wiper assembly) and scrap the rest.
We had a yard here in Phoenix for many years (Driven 4×4 Parts) that was our local go-to Bronco graveyard. Randy had hulks sitting there that had been there for 20+ years in some cases – years had passed since anyone had pulled anything from them and although you always hate to see something crushed, the reality is that there comes a point that there just isn’t anything usable left on a rig.
The sad reality is that most people are now using new reproduction parts to assemble these rigs instead of re-using/re-purposing old stuff like we did back in the day when parts were less plentiful and the folks driving these rigs were in a different tax bracket.
I see Nothing…NNNNOTHING….Sgt Schultz
Cheers
GPC
A 76 will need to be smogged here in California, plus it’s rear fenders have been cut, I’ll pass.
After a quickie restoration, this will show up at Barrett-Jackson and hammer for $100k.
One side note about Gen 1 Broncos is that they have a very high center of gravity which is no surprise to anyone. We had a light blue ’66 Bronco as a company vehicle where I used to work.
It was around the early ’80s and our maintenance man was making a parts run for the plant. On the way, a car pulled out of a side street right in front of the ol’ Bronco. The maintenance man cut a hard left to try to avoid that car.
And the Bronco just flipped in a heartbeat. He told me that one second he was upright. And then the next second, he was upright again after making a full rollover!
That caused me to NEVER want a Bronco.
Any one paying for the privilege of hauling this carcass off is nuts!! You should get paid, not pay to remove this scrap pile. There isn’t much here worth salvaging.