Practical mechanical upgrades like power steering and power brakes plus a 2.5 inch lift have this 1966 Ford Bronco ready for a new owner and a new life. Ford called this enclosed cab version the “Sports Utility,” “Sport Utility,” and this classic outside Fort Worth, Texas avoided the ravages of rust, according to the seller. The lack of engine or cab pictures leaves some questions unanswered, but the description here on Craigslist invites legitimate potential buyers to phone the seller for details. The $35,000 asking price suggests an awareness of the tricked-out first-gen Bronco market and the $80,000 to $250,000 or more they bring after extensive fabrication and upgrades. Maybe a person can still snag a decent old never-restored 4×4 for under $10,000 and drive it around, but it won’t be this one.

First of all, credit the seller for cleaning up this rig but not attacking it with close-but-no-cigar rattle can paint. The honest used but not abused look can’t or at least shouldn’t be replicated. They are only original once. Of course the mild lift and power steering and brakes are not original for this truck, but those changes add utility while offending only the most ardent self-elected museum curators. I’ve known older collectors who let their old trucks go mainly because of manual steering. Not every Bronco has to become a Coyote-swapped monster truck.

While single-row cabs have gone the way of the Dodo Bird, two or three-across seating served the truck world for decades before people bought trucks because they like to “sit up high.” While the bed of this Sports Utility Sport Utility Bronco may seem barely useful, you could put an engine in there, or a decent amount of gravel or firewood, or two or three dead deer. The pocket-sized first-generation Bronco goes places in the woods that your F250 King Ranch can only envy from afar. Will this Bronco ever need Four-Wheel-Drive or should it be put out to pasture with gentle drives to Cars & Coffee?