For Sale: 1973 Ford Bronco in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania

THE CAR

This is a 1973 Ford Bronco in half cab configuration, taken apart to the frame and rebuilt as a modern driver. It wears a custom Charcoal Gray finish with black accents, and it shows 504 miles since the build was completed.

The half cab is the version people forget Ford made. Instead of the full-length roof over the rear, the cab stops behind the front seats and the back becomes an open bed. It's the configuration that makes an early Bronco look like a small truck rather than a small SUV, and it's considerably less common than the wagons you see at every show.

Underneath, almost nothing is stock, and that's the point. This was built to be used.

WHAT IT HAS

A small block Ford V8 crate engine with aluminum cylinder heads, backed by an M5OD five-speed manual and an upgraded transfer case. Dual exhaust.

That driveline combination is the part worth slowing down for. Early Broncos left the factory with three-speed and four-speed manuals that had no overdrive, which meant highway driving was loud, buzzy, and short on gearing. The M5OD gives you a fifth gear, and on a truck like this it's the difference between something you drive around town and something you can take an hour down the road without regretting it. A crate engine with aluminum heads means you're not nursing a fifty-year-old block either.

The rest is built to match. Power four-wheel disc brakes, power steering, a 3-inch body lift, custom-made front and rear bumpers, and a Superwinch electric winch mounted in the front bumper. It rolls on five-spoke alloy wheels.

Inside, the upholstery is new throughout, with dual bucket seats and a center console. Dakota Digital gauges, a tilt steering column, and a Kenwood touchscreen audio system.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

The 3-inch body lift changes how you get in and out and raises the center of gravity. It's a body lift, not a suspension lift, so the suspension geometry is unchanged, but the truck sits taller than stock and drives like it. Worth knowing before you put your spouse in it.

The half cab means the rear is open. There's no weather protection back there unless something is fitted over it, and there's no lockable storage. That's inherent to the configuration, not a flaw, but it's a real consideration if you were picturing a wagon.

This is a crate engine, not a numbers-matching original. We're not representing it as anything else. A frame-off Bronco restomod is bought for what it is now, not for what left the factory in 1973.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Ford built the first-generation Bronco from 1966 through 1977, and it's become one of the most sought-after American vehicles of its era. Clean originals and good builds both command real money now, and the prices have held in a way nobody predicted twenty years ago when these were still cheap trail trucks.

The half cab is the sleeper of the three body styles. Ford offered the Bronco as a wagon, a half cab, and an open roadster, and the wagon dominates what survives today. Half cabs were produced in far smaller numbers and a great many of them got converted to wagons over the years using aftermarket tops, so finding one still configured the way this is takes patience.

1973 also sits in a good spot in the model run. By then the Bronco had picked up the improvements of the earlier years without yet reaching the final seasons, and the body is the same clean early shape throughout.

The honest case for a truck like this one: an original 1973 Bronco is a charming vehicle that drives like a 1973 truck, which is to say loudly, slowly, and without overdrive. This one keeps the shape and the character and gives you five gears, disc brakes at all four corners, power steering, and a fresh engine. It's the version you'll actually drive.

HOW TO BUY IT

The truck is at our shop in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania. We're happy to shoot a walk-around video and send additional photos, including underbody shots. Third-party inspections are welcome. We charge no documentation fees. We can help coordinate out-of-state transport, but the carrier choice is yours.