How about some tips, what to look out for and avoid from the pros?

thanks!

Why just them years?

You know they made them from 66 to 77 right?  the 77 had the cool duel tanks and the fuel doors to the gas fill.

I wish I still had my 70 pickup model....it was wore out but it was a fun ride....

Red

Break out your wallet...........

later models will have the D44 front axle, power brakes and power steering.

I’ve owned a 66 and 68.  Wish I had kept one.  Those years will get you power steering and brakes.    Damn fine trucks anybody can work on.

Some say 76 and 77 were the best.  Lots of owner wants and desires were addressed in 76/77.

I have a ‘77.  But it was dumb luck that I got a late one...bought it in England.

Holy cow.  Fully restored they are going for $$$$.

Have you owned an old car before?  Is this going to be a daily driver or something for weekend fun?

Either way, a 40+ year old vehicle (especially 4x4) requires constant maintenance.
Like, damn near every time you drive it.
They simply require a lot of attention, unless you buy a $100k resto-mod custom.
In which case you can afford to pay someone else to tune on it

Wrong. A 40 year old car won't need constant maintenance and not nearly everytime you drive it. You don't need $100,000 to buy really anything without rebuilding it yourself. Stop with this crap. People on this forum shiver thinking of a car older than 10 years.


Op, get under over and inside of one if you haven't already. Realize getting one isn't that hard, an original one with ac, power steering/brakes, radio, newly redone parts and paint is gonna be much much more expensive. So kinda decide what you really really want. All the "amenities" might not mean that much to you, or you might want upgrades suspension or an upgraded motor instead. A factoryish truck without a bunch of extras might be what you want, or it could be a Broncoish looking truck with all new everything. Whatever it is sit down and think your wants out.

Don't be afraid at all to walk away. Don't be afraid to be the only one who likes it.

You go with that

Buy the nicest one you can afford and roll with it. If you haven’t been paying attention the prices will surprise you. I too am curious as to why you’ve omitted the last few years unless it’s a local smog deal or similar.

40+ YO vehicles needed constant attention 40 years ago, they haven't improved with age.

Have been and will continue too

They didn't then, and they don't now. Do you know what year it is? Do you know what the word constant means? Cars from 60 years ago didn't need constant attention. If they/yours did, their owner/you wasn't fixing them right.

absolutely no reason why even a 60 year old car would need constant attention or even 1/4 the time. Yeah a broken machine is broken. Fix it or have someone else do it and it should stay that way for a long time. Things will need adjusted yes. I'm not saying old cars are just as good or better than new ones at anything. But some of you really do seem to believe the CONSTANT MAINTENANCE baloney. It's not true.




OP sorry to hijack. I've been on forums where people seemed to think anything made after 1980 or anything electronic is junk . I feel like most people know that's not true and can see through it. But there's this circle jerk here of hating classic or antique vehicles that's just not warranted and I'm tired off seeing people being told it.

I had a 70 Sport with dealer added a/c. At the same time I had a 96 grand Cherokee with the janky quadra track. That jeep was much more capable than the Bronco.

But, as mentioned before find the latest version and preferably with a C-4 automatic and Dana 44 front axle.

That’s a bit over-dramatic. More maintenance than a 2020 Corolla, yes, but not necessarily something where you have to constantly work on.

The first is a legit question, being that expectations and usage need to be determined first before good recommendations can be made.

@Rival14 give us a rundown of what you’re looking for specifically and what you want to do with it.

Valid point that I must concede.

I own an 50-year-old eleven-second street car (obviously far from ‘factory stock’).
It scares the shit out of every passenger I take for a ride.  Bare-knuckled, brutal power.
Far more power than the available traction.
I estimate the ratio between wrench time and seat time is 2:1.

So, sure.  Required maintenance every time out might not be necessary depending on a lot of factors.
Then again, it is not out of the realm of possibility.

It all depends on what you want to do with it.

Owned several over the years before they got over priced. Buy a newer whatever and customize it to your tastes before wasting the money on a nice bronco.

It's a fad now and your getting in at the wrong time. Prices will come down just wait. Remember the prices on Harleys a few years ago?? Now you can pick them up cheap. Broncos will be the same.

Wait till you see one on the street.  They are a lot smaller than you expect.

We had a '95 but the '78-79 models are what really interests me. I saw one for sale online maybe 2 years ago that looked fantastic; super clean, classic '70's manly vibe, just a big old SUV from the days of full-size 2 door SUVs.

@Rival14

As my name says, I have a 1977 Bronco Sport, one of the last to roll off the assembly line....

I bought mine used in 1995 and had a 1982 and 1990 before that.  At the time I always wanted an early Bronco, seeing the famers drive them around my grangmothers home town growing up

Dont limit to yourself to those years, 1966-1977 was essentially the same with exception to engine, tanks, disc brakes, exterior lights and other things.

What you need to look out for is any prior work that was done to the Bronco, especially with the body panels.  These things are known for rust, especailly those from the northeast and southeast, not made well to keep water and mud from causing rust.

When I bought mine, I was not that aware of the issues....I paid $3000 for it, 60K miles and it looked great until I started to take it apart to make repairs....found the previous owner bondoed over rust, the floor pans were not installed correctly and there was rust in a lot of places....

I started to do a complete frame off in the late 1990's and bascially stopped due to other priorities   The Bronco sat in my garage until February of this year after I found a guy about 20 miles from me that does nothing but Bronco work....anyway we are in the middle of completing the Bronco and when I am done I will be north of $40K into the truck, but it will be done right and my way.

The downside is you have picked the worst time to buy a vintage Bronco like those looking for an AR....the prices are insane right now,  you have to decide how much you want to spend and how much work you want to do for yourself....even the simple wiring harness for the Bronco is now $900 from the aftermarket.    I just spent $500 on dash switches and temperature control cables.  There is a 1977 on Ebay Motors that is selling for $99K

Mine is now on the body roteserie and will be completly seal welded, body putty everywhere and truck bed coated on the underside, the tub, under the hood....I have the original 302 V8, bored .030 over, Competition Performance Cam, Edelbrock 4BBL carb, ceramic headers and high performance ignition....

What ever you do, take it from me, do not jump too fast, look real good, look under the rocker panel, under the fenders, especially around the floor pans....

The 76, 77 years bascically have all of the best factory add ons, front disc brakes, dual fuel tanks....Dana 44 front, 9" Ford rear end (most of the years had Dana and 9" rear), and the J type transfer case, which I think is better than the T shifter transfer case.

Dont let the wrenching scare you....the target for my build is relaibility.  The best thing about these is they are simple.  Carburated engine, no O2 sensor, no codes, minimal electrical, transmission, T/C and drive system.  We are going to focus on relaibility so that I can get in the Bronco and drive 300 miles or longer and not have any worries.  We are chaging everyting that can leak: water pump, gaskets, P/S, all new differential gaskets, all new body gaskets and glass...

Sorry for the long rant, but you hit a good nerve when you asked this question and I like to write  

Any way, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions....will be glad to help