We’ve seen a few 1st Generation Ford Broncos appear across the desks here at Barn Finds in recent weeks, but as restoration projects go, this appears to be one of the better ones. It will need a bit of work, but the starting point would appear to be a vehicle with hardly any rust issues to attend to. The Bronco is located in Purcellville, Virginia, and is listed for sale here on eBay. With 42 bids now submitted on the Bronco, the price has been pushed along to $8,000. At this point, the reserve hasn’t been met.

The owner provides a really good selection of photos of the Bronco, and the Rangoon Red beast only appears to have some minor rust visible in both rockers. It doesn’t look like these will require replacement, as I think that a patch would address both spots. The passenger side door has a pretty sizeable dent in it, and this extends down into the rocker. By a happy coincidence, this is the same spot where the rust appears to be, so the next owner can kill two birds with one stone. The floors appear to be really good, and while there is a coating of surface corrosion on the underside of the Bronco, it all looks to be as solid as the owner claims. One area of known weakness is under the hood in the rear corners of the engine bay. These areas look solid, as do the pillars.

In 1969 you were left with two engine choices if you were buying a new Bronco. You could choose the standard 170ci 6-cylinder engine, which delivered 100hp. If you needed a bit more performance, you could opt for the 302ci V8. With 205hp available, it would be understating things to say that this engine offered some noticeable improvements. The 302 is what you will find under the hood of this Bronco while shifting duties were confined to a 3-speed manual transmission. Apart from the Bronco being converted from a column shift to a floor shift, the vehicle remains mechanically standard. The owner says that the Bronco currently runs and drives, but I get the impression that it may not have seen an actual road for quite some time. It was found on a ranch in south Texas, and that appears to be where it has served its time for many years.

We all know that time marches on, and it seems to have marched right across the seats of the Bronco…wearing army boots. The seats will definitely need new covers, but given the fact that these are essentially the only upholstered surfaces in a Bronco, fixing them isn’t going to be a big job. What we can’t see is the condition of the dash, and especially the pad. Given the car’s life in Texas, and taking into account the state of the seats, I wouldn’t be surprised if the pad is also looking pretty second-hand. However, a search of the internet has shown that replacement pads are readily available for around $140, so this isn’t a huge expense. The rest of the trim items are just as cheap, with a set of seat covers costing around $145, and the correct rubber floor mat available for $200. Restoring the interior of this Bronco has the potential to be a fairly inexpensive exercise.

This Ford Bronco has all the makings of a great restoration project. As I’ve said in the past, it is possible to buy a Bronco for under $10,000, but a really nice one will easily push out over $20,000. This one needs a full restoration, but because it is such a solid example to start with, it would definitely seem to be worth the effort.