Vehicle Description
America's most notorious 4x4 is also becoming a great collectable.
This 1985 Ford Bronco 4x4 is now eligible for AACA shows and
remains the pinnacle of full-sized Bronco fun. Very nicely
preserved, this is the one to own if you've always admired the big
Bronc.
Ford did gangbuster business in the late '80s with their upscale
off-road machines, and not many full-sized off-roaders were more
admired than the Bronco. While the most famous one was white, this
handsome two-tone Bronco is elegant yet sporty and it's hard to
believe that these went out of production more than two decades
ago. I mean, this sucker's in incredible condition! It was
repainted a few years ago, so it's showing a bit of age but nothing
critical and it certainly speaks highly of the care it has received
over the years. The chrome bumpers look great, the grille and
headlights are excellent, and the tan removable roof adds just the
right contrast to work with the center stripe of paint to give it a
heavy-duty look. Go ahead, just try to find one this clean and
without any questionable modifications; they just don't exist like
this anymore!
The interior is another very pleasant surprise, offering cool plaid
cloth buckets and lots of space for five. Ford insisted on upscale
appointments in the top-of-the-line models, and the fabric chosen
when it was reupholstered a while back is tasteful and durable, but
pretty close to what it was wearing in 1985. Nice carpets are
showing some age and wear but still feel plush, and as the most
expensive of the Ford SUVs, this Bronco sports just about every
feature in the book: A/C, cruise control, and a power rear window.
A wide center console offers plenty of storage as well as a handy
place to put your coffee and the dash is one of the more car-like
features of this big truck. A full array of big, legible gauges are
in front of the driver, with the climate controls and AM/FM/CD
stereo waaaaay over there in the center of the dash. The nicely
appointed back seat looks barely used and the cargo bay is
positively massive, fully upholstered and with the spare mounted
out back, you can take pretty much everything you own.
Ford's erstwhile 302 cubic inch V8 is a great choice to move all
this sheetmetal, providing plenty of low-end grunt that never feels
strained. Despite a vast aftermarket for the venerable 5.0, this
one remains quite stock, from the long intake hoses from the remote
air filter to the intake that was specifically designed to bolster
the torque curve. The engine bay is as clean as the rest of the
truck, and if it's ever seen anything rougher than a gravel
driveway, I'd be surprised. With a 4-speed automatic overdrive
transmission and a 2-speed transfer case, this truck is equally
happy at highway speeds or crawling at barely a walking pace and
the suspension is built for off-roading that would strand one of
today's "cute utes." The exhaust system uses a custom Flowmaster
muffler with twin outlets, but it's otherwise quite stock. Handsome
polished aluminum wheels are in fantastic shape, wearing
32x11.50-15 BFGoodrich All-Terrain radials which are pretty pricey
all by themselves.
If you grew up in the '80s, you know this is a cool truck, and you
just won't find more full-sized go-anywhere transportation for less
cash than this. Call today!
