We bought a Bronco!

Facebook Marketplace may have finally financially ruined us. Although at least we scored a cool project? Get a load at Project Bronco.

Let’s be honest with ourselves for a minute here. We’ve all done it. We’ve all wondered what the outcome would be. But who amongst us is strong enough to resist? I mean seriously, they just leave that button sitting there. Taunting us. Tempting us. We were in this exact situation a few months back and we caved. Cruising through Facebook Marketplace annoying mates with absolute bargains on a Friday night. $1000 1974 Land Rover with no floor and an engine in the boot? Our mates definitely wanted to see that. An XD Falcon that hasn’t ran since the day it was new? You bet they wanted to see that. How about this 60 Series ‘Cruiser with a tree growing through the drivers door? Yeah I reckon we could fix that. Be stupid not to, really.

But then we saw it. Well them to be more precise. Not one, but three 3rd generation Ford Bronco’s. They were terrible. Full of rust. Not running. A pungent smell so vile you could smell through the photos.

We had to have them.

Much to the bitter disappointment of our better half, we quickly found ourselves in possession of possibly the most ridiculous project vehicle Unsealed4X4 has ever spun spanners. What have we done?

What did you buy?

The story went that the previous owner had daily driven one. An Aussie delivered right hand drive ’83 model. It came complete with a big lift kit, a spicy 351 Cleveland V8 between the rails, and a C6 backing it up. When the C6 went bang he pulled it apart, got the trans built, then realised just how much rust was hiding under the carpets. The hunt was on for a worthy donor to offer up some sheet metal. The orange specimen you’re looking at was sourced. It had no running gear or interior, but reasonably solid sheet metal… then the whole lot was promptly parked and forgotten about until we showed up with a chunk of change and a tow truck.

So what’s the plan with the Bronco? Well it’s a little sensible, and a little cooked if we’re honest. We’re absolute tragics for any old tin. With a unique look, plenty of off-road capability, and enough space for the whole family and a dog in the back, having a Bronco almost seems like a dream too good to be true. But it’s going to take a whole lotta work.

Is it running yet?

First thing’s first, we had to spec up some suspension. We reached out to U.S. based Desolate Motorsports and ordered up their Stage 2 suspension kit for up front and a matching package for the rear. We won’t go too into detail on that yet as we’ll be doing a full install soon with the crew over at Preload Performance, but rest assured, we got way out of hand there. Here’s a sneak peak.

Stuffing all that trick gear under the Bronco as she sits would be a little like putting a gold tooth on a rat. It simply wasn’t going to cut it. We gutted the interior and sent it off for trimming and stripped the old girl down to her bones and sent her off for sand blasting, body work, and eventually paint when we figure out how we’re paying for it.

Of course we did get a little side tracked along the way. Sorry Bronco. Years ago we had an old 60 Series riding on a set of Method Race Wheels. We figured it’d be a fitting tribute to the old ride to fit a set to the Bronco. We reached out to the guys at Race Wheels Australia and smacked the credit card down on a set of 301 Standards in the Bronco’s unique 5×5.5 stud pattern. We’ve had them powder coated in a pearl white for those old school vibes. White wheels are making a comeback, you heard it here first.

So what’s the end goal?

You know the old yarn about the dog catching the car and not knowing what to do? We’ve gotta be honest here, that might have been us. The idea of some sort of resto mod was thrown out, maybe a big turbo Barra engine and coil overs? We threw out the idea of just a good old fashioned beater too, but that seemed a waste. Finally we settled on something in between. It’ll be painted nice, but not so nice we can’t take it wheeling on the weekend with some mates. It’ll get good suspension, but not so good we can’t daily drive it. And the janky interior will get re-trimmed top notch, but not so nice we’re scared to throw some firewood in the back.

We’ll be months in the Bronco build, spend more than we can afford, and probably get side tracked on Marketplace again with those damn XD Falcons, but we’re hoping for something like the rendering we’ve put together below. So what do you reckon? Have we officially lost the plot here, or is this a once in a lifetime kinda build so go nuts?