Anyone Familiar with 80's Broncos?

I'm going to look at an '86 Eddie Bauer Bronco tomorrow for a friend.

Is there anything in particular I need to look for?

Seller claims runs great and 4WD works. There is some rust. Apparently the radiator is bad, seller is vague, but a radiator is no big deal.

I'm hoping this is a 302 with the AOD and not the 351 with a C6.

Watch out for Al Cowlings.

Depends on what you're after - if you want to tow you probably want the 351...

No, no towing.

Elway was pretty good. They won a couple of Superbowls I think. Oh, crap. That's not what you meant at all.

are we talkingabout a full size Bronco or the smaller Bronco2?

Full Size

Tailgates ALWAYS rust out and are not the same as the pickups. Very hard to find used and expensive new.

Contact Ted Nugent.

All I can offer is that I repeatedly slam one into a snowbank with any time it snows. Makes a great plow vehicle and the short wheelbase makes it surprisingly maneuverable. They love to rust above the wheels, and I have not seen one without holy fenders in quite some time. Otherwise seems to be pretty stout.

All I know about them is that I had a friend in college with one. His dad was an old Nascar engine builder so his had a swapped 460 with something like 600hp. It looked totally stock. even stock wheels and tire size.

It was seriously fast in a straight line, but you didn't get that much speed sensation accelerating. The speedo would just wrap around so fast you thought it had to be a mistake.

The only time he ever took it to the drag strip it outran a hemi road runner without even trying hard. It was the ultimate sleeper!

I knew a guy who had one and I drove it a couple of times. The IFS has a severe camber curve as it travels and thus gives it some strange handling traits, but if treated like the big, old truck that it is, it'll be fine. Can't toss it into a corner like a modern, more road-oriented SUV.

I've always liked them, but like the older 78/79 versions better.

So, I've had a '79, '85, and I currently have a '96. I love these trucks.

The 351 is a much better engine to have than the 5.0. You'll get the same mileage with either (just looking at engines here), but the 351 has noticably more go to it.

I don't believe that the AOD was put behind the 5.0... maybe they changed things for the later trucks, but my '96 is a 5.0 and has the E4OD (C6 derivative), my '85 was a 351 and had the same.

It's not IFS, it's TTB. It's not quite the same. If you have weird wear on the tires, it'll need an alignment - make sure that the alignment shop knows TTBs; there's something wonky about how to align them properly, and I'd go so far as to say that most shops don't know how to do it right. Once it's dialed in, though, it usually doesn't go out.

The autolocking hubs suck. I've never seen a set that actually worked. Luckily, swapping to manual locking hubs runs about $120 if you buy all-new high-end parts, and it takes about 20 minutes a side if you like to stare at things and drink a beer while you work.

I also recommend staying away from the push-button transfercases. Ford started with a floor-shift type, and toyed with push-button, then went back to a floor-shifter.

If the top has been taken off, it likely will leak. Luckily, Broncos were designed so that even if they do leak, it doesn't affect the driver or front passenger. If you look at where the top bolts down and can see the bolts, it's likely been removed. (Ford puts covers over them, people who like to pull the top usually are too lazy to put the covers back on).

There's just enough room in the back to make you think you can sleep back there comfortably with the seat folded forward. If you're over about 5'6", that's unfortunately not true. With the seat removed, however, it's fantastic. So, if you're going car-camping, pull that back seat out.

Check that the rear window rolls up and down properly. They're a power unit, and they're a right bitch to get at the motor when it goes out.

If your state allows for it, get rid of the Y-pipe cat unit. Things are horribly restrictive. You'll probably want to keep the single-exhaust just for packaging reasons (there's no good way to fit a decent dual exhaust system under there with the front driveline in place), and I recommend keeping at least some sort of cat in there, but that y-pipe cat thing is particularly bad.

If the timing set hasn't been done, do it. That's what killed my '85. I guess Ford decided to use a fiberplastic timing gear... you can guess what happens to one of those when it's had a timing chain pulled over it for 100k miles.

Hope that helps!

Oh, forgot to mention - FSBs were offered with a single shock and dual shock configuration up front. I've had both, I never noticed a huge difference between the two (dual shocks ride a little nicer/handle a little better), but the dual front shock trucks are rated with a slightly higher GVWR.

I had an 85 and loved it. Mine had 250K+ on it, but never skipped a beat. I only used it occasionally when I lived in Denver. That thing would sit for months on end, and always start and run great!

Beware--- 10-13mpg awaits you

Joe Gearin wrote: Beware--- 10-13mpg awaits you

Word. My '79 got about 12 (400, C6), my '85 got about the same (351, auto), and my '96 has seen as high as 17 but I usually get 10 (5.0, E4OD). If those numbers seem to not make sense, it's because I did a lot more highway driving with the '79, and my '96 usually just does in-town commuting duty.

If I could afford the gas, I would DD a Bronco.

+1 on cheking out the tail gate window.

Hey, you can always go with the upgraded model:

"II" means it's better, right?

Front suspension and u-joints. problematic on my Eddie-150.

In reply to aircooled:

At least Ford figured out that the Bronco II should come out after the regular Bronco. For the other way to do it, look at Chevy. Chevy II Novas were followed by Novas. I think they got it backwards.

This truck is honestly going to be a beater, I just wanted to know of anything major to look for