Long before trucks had Tow/Hall Mode, Adaptive Cruise Control, or even heated seats, Ford’s first-generation Bronco answered the call for a reasonably compact and rugged vehicle capable of traversing rough terrain in all sorts of weather. As a sort-of road-going tractor, the Bronco appealed to buyers who were smart enough not to ask questions like “How does it ride on the highway?” Despite a missing engine and frame rust, one look at the pictures has many enthusiasts making motor sounds with their lips while picturing the little Ford crawling over loose rocks and fording a stream to reach the good old hunting cabin. This 1970 Ford Bronco U15 in Windber, Pennsylvania has seen better days, but few would cruelly send it to the crusher. At least a half-dozen bidders have raised the value of this four-wheel-drive Ford above $4500 here on eBay.
The dash board calls to mind a valve-control panel in a Kennedy-era refinery. This spartan nature may be exactly why early Broncos have become extremely hot in the classic market. Instead of fretting about how to control the massage seats on your F250 King Ranch, just get in the little Bronco, twist the key, and leave the 21st Century far behind. There’s only about six knobs on the dashboard, and even if they’re not labeled you’ll find the right one quickly through trial-and-error.
The inline six-cylinder engine is gone, but the three-speed manual transmission and rear end remain. Putting this Bronco back to factory fresh may be out of scope, but even a destiny as an updated driver beats rotting in place. Close your eyes and imagine the possibilities. It’s the early ’70s and many Americans still remember the simplicity of a day spent rabbit hunting. Just after dusk you’ve loaded guns, dogs, and game into the little Bronco. It’s cold and snowy but you twist the key with 100% certainty that it will start quickly and safely return you home. Concerns about parasitic battery discharge and faulty fuel pump controller modules are decades away.
The pickup truck-like bed of this U15 model could transport nearly anything that could be inserted into it. Big block engine? Slide it on in! Dead deer? Just hose out the blood later. A separate U14 model differed primarily in that the roof covered only the front seat, delivering even more of the miniature pickup-truck feel. Even the tail lights look like pickup truck parts. How do you picture yourself using this resolutely 20th-Century vehicle?
I could be wrong, but I believe the taillights are identical to those on a ’66 F-100. With no engine or front seat, but more than its fair share of rust, bidding on this little horse is downright crazy.
find a river bank that need erosion control hit this with a backhoe and bury it in the river bank be thankfull it will rust in peace
I agree, but I haven’t checked it out either…
I bought a ’66 U15 (called the “full cab”–the “half-cab” was the U14 (but fact-check that!), and the Sport (which had no cab at all and drastically cut-down doors) was the U13.
This Bronco–rust and all–is a perfect starting point because you don’t hafta pay for an engine (you could go with a 5.0 liter DOHC TiVCT V8 from an F-150, a late-model Mustang, or a crate–or any of Ford’s many big-blocks. You can list the 3-speed manual (so good that Pontiac flipped GM the middle finger and made that rugged 3-speed manual the standard transmission in all its models that did not come with an automatic or 4-speed as standard equipment) on e-Bay. That rusty steed has a Ford 9″ differential in back–the classic lightweight racer’s delight! The brake system is toast, I’m sure–but you’d want to replace the entire brake system anyway with disc brakes on all four wheels. The bodywork is burnt toast–but the entire body (or just select parts of the body) can be purchased in fiberglass or steel–and several companies sell reproduction frames and even frames made out of strong steel tubing for lightness and strength. Great tires and some pretty fabulous wheels have been available for early Broncos (“early Broncos” like the one in the photo are the model years 1966 through 1977) since day one and some terrific suspensions are available, too. Get yourself one of these and change your life!
That’s one Bronco that’s ready for the glue factory…
You can buy about every Body part new from LMC
You can buy a whole reproduction body from Dennis Carpenter out of North Carolina!!
$4500 and climbing? I just don’t get it.
Read on, Comet!
BTW, back in late ’72/early ’73 I owned a ’69 Mercury Comet Cyclone CJ428 (the “CJ” in “CJ428” stood for “Cobra Jet” and the “428” stood for the engine’s 428 cubic inches of displacement. Great, fun car–but too thirsty (8-10 MPG on either Sunoco 260 or Super Shell Premium).for a guy about to quit his day job and go back to college full-time.
Sigh…….
A lot of coin for a few usable parts and a title. Someone must really need a title and VIN tag, that’s about what you got here.
At $5100, this makes me sick when I sold my perfect rust free Bronco in 1995 for $5500. I guess I will never own a 3rd one because I will not pay these prices !!!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Nope.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again if didn’t already own one for 40 yrs now I couldn’t or wouldn’t buy one now.
$5100 for a rusty roller!!!
No thanks!!
Somebody put two extra zeroes in their bid.
same yr as mine. If I sold it (recouped some big bucks) how coud I afford another?
Don’t C a wagon w/a bulkhead often. 50 yrs can turn up anything…
Frnt’n rear chunks, nice x-fer, shafts present. Is plenty here (compaired to the 3, 4 it took to make my 1 in ’83) but like U guys, not so sure on 5,600$ (right now) for what’s there. 1 yr = 40K$ ? may be…
This really bums me out.
I had a 68 – 302/3 on tree and 32’s on it. I used to swap between full cap and a fiberglass half cap. I came across an oriental rug and cut it to fit lol
I ruined it jumping a sand dune and nosing into the beach. I love these things
For years I’ve thought about getting a nice one with full cap and keep it looking stock outside, but doing a fully loaded luxury interior.
BUT! like a few of the others here,
I will never be able to afford a decent one.
Actually I’m sure a few of us could but as much as I love em I’m not paying 30k+ for a nice one or 10-15 k for ” runs but needs restoration”
I’ve never cared for these or Jeeps and I certainly don’t understand why either one commands the prices that they do these days. But, to each their own.
Back in 1999, one of the big-circulation auto mags did a special series entitled “The Greatest Off-Road Vehicle of All Time” (or some title like that–my issue was lost decades ago or I would post quotes from that series here). In those articles Hummers, Panameras, Jeeps, various GM and Chrysler vehicles touted as off-road capable, Land Rovers, a Lamborghini (yeah, really!), all Asian vehicles touted as off-road capable, and probably some off-road vehicles that I have long forgotten were all considered on their sometimes considerable off-road abilities. The judges were automotive engineers, automobile industry executives, off-road racers, and off-road magazine editors. The automobile industry executives pretty much voted for vehicles that their companies manufactured–but the off-road racers, the engineers, and the off-road magazine editors won the day and picked the early Bronco to be “The Greatest Off-Road Vehicle of All Time”. The early Bronco got few (if any) first place votes, but a long string of second-place votes gave the early Bronco the highest points total of any existing off-road vehicle available in 1999 and thus the title as “The Greatest Off-Road Vehicle of All Time” in the competition.
Today, we can say for sure that the early Bronco was “The Greatest Off-Road Vehicle of the Twentieth Century” but eventually some vehicle may come along and establish itself as demonstrably better—————–maybe…
Could it be the new 2021 Bronco?
Until that happens, those of us who won’t settle for anything less than the greatest will demand early Broncos. What you see in those photos at the head of this discussion is Greatness waiting for a caring off-road addict to restore it to what it CAN be. That addict won’t be disappointed!