There’s nothing quite like a No Reserve auction to bring the potential buyers running, and this 1972 Bronco is quite a good example of that. After opening at $6,500, the bidding has risen to $8,700, and at that price, it still seems to represent a pretty respectable buy. Located in Castle Rock, Colorado, it is listed for sale here on eBay.

The owner of the Bronco is pretty candid about its condition. The frame appears to be nice and solid, with only a light coating of surface corrosion. The body and floors have some rust issues to address, but these could definitely be undertaken at the new owner’s leisure. The vast majority of the rust in the body seems to be confined to the lower extremities of the vehicle, such as the rockers, lower fenders, and lower quarter panels. Apart from the rockers, it looks like the rest of it could be rectified with patches, rather than wholesale panel replacement. There is also some rust visible under the hood, but this seems to be confined to the inner fender on the passenger side. The trim looks good, and while the majority of the glass also appears to be in good condition, I think that there might be a couple of cracks in the windshield. The wheels fitted to the Bronco certainly give it a fairly muscular look.

The muscle in the Bronco extends to under the hood, where you find a 302ci V8 engine and an automatic transmission. Steering and brakes are both manual, while the combination of that engine, transmission, and the 4-wheel-drive system should allow the Bronco to boldly go where no man has gone before. Okay, enough of the Star Trek references. The owner says that the car runs and drives as it should, with no smoke or weird noises from the engine, the transmission shifts smoothly, while the 4WD system works well.

The best way to describe the interior would be tatty but serviceable. The dash pad has started to crumble rather badly, while the seats have a few splits and are quite dirty. There is also a roll-bar in the vehicle, but this doesn’t actually appear to be attached to anything, so I’d either bolt it down or get rid of it completely. In the event of an accident, it’s not something that I’d like to have hitting me in the back of the head. There is also an aftermarket stereo fitted to the Bronco, and I’d probably be inclined to leave it where it is. In all honesty, new seat covers, a new dash pad, and some really solid cleaning could have the interior looking quite presentable.

There are a few options open to the new owner of this Bronco. It could certainly be transformed into an unusual and distinctive rat rod quite easily. It could also be a nice vehicle fully restored. The final alternative is to fix the worst of the problems and then use it for its designed purpose as it is. The beauty of this vehicle is that you could use it as it stands for going off-road without having the stress of worrying about the occasional scratch or scrape. That sounds like a pretty decent idea to me.