If you could pick one up, would you bite on a '95 with ~181k for $2,000? Looks to have a little bit of rust on the driver side front/rear side panel from online photos, but supposedly runs well.

If not, what year/range is best to look for? What type of issues would you zero in on aside from general overall quality?

Looking at maybe picking one up to battle the snow we'll see in CO (commute is about 5 miles door - door). Have always wanted one, and price might just be right.

bkag9824 said:

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If you could pick one up, would you bite on a '95 with ~181k for $2,000? Looks to have a little bit of rust on the driver side front/rear side panel from online photos, but supposedly runs well.

If not, what year/range is best to look for? What type of issues would you zero in on aside from general overall quality?

Looking at maybe picking one up to battle the snow we'll see in CO (commute is about 5 miles door - door). Have always wanted one, and price might just be right.

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If you're going to be in CO, driving it in the winter as a beater, I wouldn't worry about the rust.

I'd get the 5.8 in CO. The 5.0 is a little weak for the mountains. The 95/96 have the best version of the E4OD automatic. Expect lots of maintenance if it hasn't been well maintained. My 95 has ~130k on it, and I'm working on rebuilding everything. The TTB suspension doesn't age well.

Things I'd look out for:
1) suspension issues (ball joints, tie rod ends, rag joint in steering shaft, axle pivot bushing,etc)
2) Cracks at the cab corners. Check the rain gutters and cab corners where the camper meets the cab. Cracks here are extremely common and will cause leaks into the cab
3) get an OBD 1 code reader and pull codes. You can get a decent one on Amazon for ~$30. You can also use a paperclip and count blinks of the service engine light, but the code reader is easier

With the bodies that ford's haev, if there is rust on it, I'm bailing.

No reason not to find a solid body in any of those years.

BrazosDog02 said:

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With the bodies that ford's haev, if there is rust on it, I'm bailing.

No reason not to find a solid body in any of those years.

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They're hard to find in any areas that salt the roads. It's super common for the bottom of the tailgates and top of the rear fenders to rust out. I'd feel bad taking a clean, rust free Bronco into an area that salts the roads. If it's going to be a beater, a little rust isn't a huge deal and can be worked around with cut out fender flares, replacement panels, etc. OP is going to have a harder time finding a rust free truck in CO for a decent price

I know I am in the vast minority, but given it is a winter beater and not being driven that much why is rust so important? For a vehicle with a niche use like this - targeting low price, beater, fun - I personally would be OK with rust. Has anyone ever had to throw a vehicle in the junkyard because the frame rusted through? I bought an 80 series Land Cruiser 3 years ago for a very low price, it had rust but it's in no danger of a critical failure due to rust in the next 10 years. Back in the mid 90's, while at A&M, I had a 1974 Jeep CJ-5 REnegade that I could stick my foot through the rusted floorboard. Drove it to NC, got me around TX, sold it for what I paid for it after 3 years of ownership (still kicking myself for that sale 20 years later). I get not wanting visibly rusted body panels that make it hideous, but undercarriage rust or floorboards can be acceptable if the price is right and the use is specific. The biggest problem - and it has been a problem for me - is working on stuff when it's rusted.

I had an '89 Bronco for a while, it was fun especially with the hard top removed. Kind of a crappy vehicle mechanically, the AOD transmission failed me twice (second under warranty from first rebuild), but looked good in maroon and fun to tool around in. Plenty of parts and easy to work on.

Complete Idiot said:

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I know I am in the vast minority, but given it is a winter beater and not being driven that much why is rust so important?

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I took that because he has always wanted one, that he wouldn't want it to be a beater, but I agree with this statement. If it's just to battle snow and you aren't going to make a true pleasure vehicle, then a beater foots the bill without a problem.

No problem with it being an overall beater, I could replace/upgrade a few things here/there. More concerned about the thing becoming a huge money pit. Understood maintenance is most likely going to be an issue, but don't want to end up spending $2k+ to use the thing consistently.

There are other Broncos available up here in the $3-7k range that don't advertise the rust issues this one does, and with fewer mikes. Might just be easier to pursue one of them instead of this project.

Appreciate the info.

bkag9824 said:

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No problem with it being an overall beater, I could replace/upgrade a few things here/there. More concerned about the thing becoming a huge money pit. Understood maintenance is most likely going to be an issue, but don't want to end up spending $2k+ to use the thing consistently.

There are other Broncos available up here in the $3-7k range that don't advertise the rust issues this one does, and with fewer mikes. Might just be easier to pursue one of them instead of this project.

Appreciate the info.

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I've probably put $4k-5k in my $1500 Bronco over the last 2 years. If you get one on the low end of the price range, you will have a ton of deferred maintenance to take care of. If the front end hasn't been refreshed recently, expect to spend up to $2k to have a shop do it. Look for a truck that has had ball joints, tie rods, radius arm bushings, axle pivot bushings, bearings, etc all replaced recently.

all of those have rust, all of them. the panels were ****e, so its just part of the deal. That said, go as late 90s as possible

beefiedoubleoh said:

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all of those have rust, all of them. the panels were ****e, so its just part of the deal. That said, go as late 90s as possible

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No they don't. Mine has 0 rust on the body and the frame is pretty rust free. Ones from the rust belt will be rusty, but most other vehicles of that era will be too.

Obligatory.... Is this OJ Bronco???

AggieDruggist89 said:

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Obligatory.... Is this OJ Bronco???

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Actually....it is white.

Broncos make pretty awesome winter beaters. I picked up an '87 to run around in the snow up here in SD and I love it. Spent $1,500 on it, put almost that much worth of new wheels and tires on it and only have about $3500 total in it.

The 351 in CO might be a good idea. My 5.0 with 3.55 gears and little 29" tires did not like the hills or the highway. I put some 32's on it and it does alright on hills now, but I'm not sure about real mountains.