While Ford’s new Bronco may be a technological tour de force, there’s a lot to like in the simplicity of today’s Nice Price or No Dice old school edition. Let’s see if that attraction includes its price.
It’s been said that knowledge is power, although looking at the political scene of late it’s pretty obvious that you can have power and still be a total dumbass. When it came to yesterday’s 1982 Ferrari 308GTSi, we all felt a certain sense of disempowerment as we couldn’t easily judge the non-running car’s $67,500 asking price due to the fact that the offering dealer hadn’t disclosed the reason for its out of service status. That led to many of you wielding the power of the vote and sending the Ferrari packing with an 87 percent No Dice loss.
A decade or so ago, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety undertook a crash test between a 1959 Chevy Bel Air and a 2009 Chevy Malibu as a way to demonstrate how far auto safety had come. Now, a lot of people still feel that everything older is better and stronger, usually punctuating that opinion by saying something along the lines of “they don’t make ’em like they used to.”
That Chevy on Chevy crash test, however, showed that, in the automotive world at least, that’s a bunch of baloney. In the video, the older Bel Air folded faster than Superman on laundry day while the modern Malibu faired reasonably well. It’s long been held that body-on-frame designs like that of the Bel Air were stronger and hence better. What we’ve learned is that, through proper design and materials usage, a unit-body car can actually do better in both durability and occupant protection. That, of course, is only true if the body remains intact.
Today’s 1994 Ford Bronco Eddie Bauer Edition is a body-on-frame truck, and considering that, on this one, a bit of that body has been lost to road rot, that may make it a better candidate for saving and rehabbing than would a uni-body truck like the modern Bronco. And, it should be pointed out that, not only is the rust here manageable, but the seller includes the replacement parts to remove it entirely.
That wouldn’t be a consideration if the rest of the truck was totally without appeal and fortunately, this Bronco has some other plusses that might make it worth overlooking a little Swiss cheese.
First and foremost of those is what the seller says is a rebuilt E4OD automatic that was professionally installed at 160,000 miles. There are 196,000 miles on the truck now, and according to the description in the ad, the entire drivetrain remains in excellent condition. The transmission isn’t the only mechanical upgrade either. The steering box has also been replaced, as has the alternator and what the seller describes as “all vehicle electrical cables.” Similar updates have been made to the cooling system with new hoses, radiator and heater core. These updates surround a 5.8 liter fuel-injected V8 that in this year was good for 210 horsepower.
Aesthetically, the truck looks pretty solid as long as you don’t spend too much time eyeballing the rear fenders. Knobby BFG AT tires fill the wheel arches admirably and are claimed to be only 3,000 miles old. The paint is about as good as you could expect and, as a nice bonus, there’s a Soft Topper cover for the rear section. No hard top apparently comes with the truck.
This being an Eddie Bauer Edition, the interior is pretty swank. Or, at least it once likely was. Now it’s a bit rough, with torn upholstery that’s also in need of a scrub and a non-factory center console that looks like it was crafted out of your accountant’s filing cabinet. The floor has been denuded of carpet and covered with what the seller says is “lizard skin liner.” That leads to a shiny metallic surface with some obvious brush strokes making it look like one of Joan Mitchell’s expressionist abstracts.
A clean title and the added bonus of some extra parts and manuals wrap up this Bronco with a bow. The final piece of the puzzle is its $6,500 asking price which you’ll all now need to ruminate over.
What do you say, is this somewhat rusty but still seemingly trustworthy Bronco worth that $6,500 asking? Or, does that price need to be whittled away just like the truck’s fenders?
You decide!
Washington DC Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Don R. for the hookup!
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