1985 Ford Bronco Custom Barn Find Survivor Rust Free Solid Body Rare Truck

1985 Ford Bronco Custom, WD, 51 V8 4 BBL Carb. This is a rust free Bronco from the Southwest, hat was moved to NY. All original sheet metal, aint, hrome, ngine, nd transmission. Very desirable barn find original paint, nmolested Bronco with the 351 engine. Clean AutoCheck Vehicle History report. Truck is CLEAN underneath! This generation bronco is RARE, heck for yourself on Ebay, nly 2 other 3rd Gen Broncos for sale at the time of this listing, oth starting over $8,000. This is NO RESERVE! This truck will go for a steal.
This truck was in a photo shoot for jean company Cult of Individuality! (photo #2) Pictures were in their Fall 2014 Lookbook and used to be featured around their website. Behind the scenes photos can still be found on photographer Hassan Kinley's personal website. I can provide winning bidder with all photos I have from the photoshoot.
Beautiful black vinyl bench seats front and rear, erfect for packing in everyone for a trip to the beach, r cruising around on a friday night with the lady in close.
I recently had the following work done to the Bronco: Flushed and changed all the fluids, ew brakes all around, ew shocks up front, ew valve cover gaskets, ew Moog radius arm bushings, ore powerful Saginaw power steering pump swap, ew thermostat and water pump, ew U joints and centering yoke, ew outer tie rods, ew rear power window motor with upgraded bushings, ew weatherstripping almost all around, ew front rotors and hub assemblies, complete tune-up, nd many other fixes.
Original jack with handle under the hood. Original factory AM/FM radio in great condition. Presets and all work. I have OEM Bronco front fender emblems, revious owner removed from vehicle, hey have not been put back on. Original engine and transmission (both rebuilt, nknown mileage). Odometer is only 5 digit and shows ~91,600, ut I do not know how many times it has rolled over.
Very rare stock Ford under hood tool box. I have been offered a few hundred dollars for this box alone. It is a great way to safely store some quick tools or part under the hood.
This truck is mostly original. Very few items have been modified or upgraded. Changes that have been made:
New front and rear speakers. Didn't want to, ut the originals just were no longer cutting it. Now speakers are crisp.
Original interior was ripped out (original had ripped up and old vinyl flooring and ripped up cloth seats), he bare metal floors were lightly sanded, leaned, nd painted with Rust Bullet Black Shell paint (Last picture) to create a super strong rust proof floor. Rust Bullet is very expensive paint that is very effective as a rust proofing agent. The floors and rear fender walls were then layered with sound dampening material before the flooring was laid down. All NEW Vinyl flooring from Bronco Graveyard. Seats were replaced with great condition black vinyl seats. I will include both the original black carpeted lower door kick panels, s well as some custom vinyl kick panels I made that look amazing, ust not installed (I would recommend some self tapping stainless steel sheet metal screws would look sharp). Dash pad was cracked up like most Broncos of this generation at the 5th speaker area, o all chipped vinyl was removed off of dash pad, nd a fiberglass resin was applied over the top. It looks pretty good, ut I think it would look better with a skim coat of bondo to smooth it out, nd repainted for a real slick look. It has a manual choke for cold start, an fire right up if sitting for a few days, eeks, tc. I did the Saginaw steering pump swap, ou can use 2 fingers at idle to turn wheels back and forth, reat for offroading. I had plans to add hydroboost brakes, ut never got there. Again, am sure I am forgetting things, ut I will try to add info as it comes to me.
This Bronco is in excellent condition. Body needs minor attention. In most areas, he paint is in great condition for being original (please see pictures for issue with passenger side door and hood where attention should be addressed to). Tires are less than 2 years old and have very little wear/miles on them. Comes with a full size spare. Truck recently passed NYS inspection. Nice Ford Racing headers and air cleaner. Not pictured, have a rear cargo area pan to protect the rear vinyl flooring also included in purchase.
Since I have purchased this truck over 2 years ago, t has been babied. I bought it from a guy who got it as a real barn find. Literally the truck sat in a barn for years, hich is why it is so clean. Never taken offroad by me. I put a lot of money into this truck, ith the intention of bringing it to local shows. Unfortunately, got married and that never happened lol.
Now, will try and highlight everything that needs attention:
Engine appears to run hot. I dont know how easy/hard this repair could be. I have tried everything within my ability to resolve the issue (flush radiator, ew thermostat, ew water pump). No problems in winter, ut runs hot in hot summer weather, r stop n go driving. I keep an infrared thermometer in the truck to monitor the temp. It appears the radiator is removing the heat, ut sometimes can get really hot, o I shut it down to avoid doing any damage. In my opinion, he water temp gauge is not 100% accurate, hich is not that big of a deal. If the gauge shows the truck is running hot I always check the temp with my infrared gun, nd everything is ok. It could be as simple as adjusting the carb to correct the engine idle speed, o make sure the water pump is circulating enough water at idle.
Windshield wiper pump not functioning (I have a new pump in box, never got around to replacing it, his is included in sale. Super easy to replace).
Rear window goes up and down great, ut on a rare occasion, t feels like it is getting hung up on the wiring harness in the tailgate, nd you will have to lower it a few inches briefly before continuing to close the window.
AC is not cold enough. This is an 85, o it uses R12, ot R134. I had some R12 in a tank and added what I had, t made it cooler, ut I did not have enough. I feel like this should mean a full charge will cause functioning AC, s the system does not appear to be leaking refrigerant, ut I cannot confirm that info.
Previous owner sanded down part of the passenger side door for some reason(see pictures). And the hood has a dent on the passenger side (looks like someone tried to shut it with a tool in the fender?). Other than that, he overall paint is in good condition for its age (it is a 30 year old truck).
Gas tank sending unit is probably bad, ery common. I track the gas in the tank based off the mileage, ince the gauge is inaccurate. All other gauges appear to respond properly.
I made new rear inner panels, ut they were not made great. I would recommend replacing them at some point. The panels can be used as a template to make new panels out of any desired material. Diamond plate panels would look pretty cool.
Hard top clips and bolts could use new ones. Previous owner lost some of the originals, nd I replaced some with larger generic clips/bolts, ut never loved how it came out. I wanted to get all OEM clips and bolts, ut never got them. I have the trim that goes over them, was going to paint them black to go better with the interior, ut never did. They come with the truck, ninstalled.
You can smell exhaust, nd the engine is loud. I believe this to simply be an exhaust donut gasket. Not a hard fix, ust soak the bolts as long as you can ahead of time to prevent breaking them, nd take your time, s those bolts can break during that job, aking it 100x harder.
Previous owner cut all vacuum lines associated with the smog system(this is a common hotrod technique to increase horsepower). All smog components are still there, e charcoal canister, ut vacuum lines were cut. Be sure to know your local smog laws. Most states do not check smog on vehicles over 25 years.
Anyone familiar with this generation truck knows that the gas filler neck has a small exhaust tube compared to the newer trucks, o you cannot fill the gas tank at full gas pump speed. You have to throttle the pump handle in order to fill the tank. I will include a newer gas filler neck to the purchaser of the truck (easy replacement. 3 screws and 1 hose clamp to swap).
Some other plans I had were to install heated seat pads and keyless entry/power locks. I have a heated seat pad with switches, nd power lock actuators available if the winning bidder wishes to do the same. I have tons of parts available that I have collected over the years for this generation bronco, hat can be added to the deal for the right price.
This vehicle needs to be seen to fully appreciate, nd would welcome anyone interested to view and drive vehicle before purchasing. Disregard all stains on the driveway. I underestimated the amount of oil in the truck and did not have a big enough drip pan during a recent oil change lol. Don't hesitate to email me with any questions. As you can see, have been as honest and forthcoming as I can. You will not find another truck in this condition North of the Salt Belt. I love this truck, nd wish I did not have to part with it! I would also assist with setting up shipping if needed. Clean NYS title in hand.
This truck is listed for sale locally and I hold the right to end the auction early at any time. I have described the truck to the best of my ability, ut it is the buyers responsibility to inspect the vehicle prior to purchase. This vehicle is sold in "as is" condition with no guarantees or warranties, ither expressed or implied, or the vehicle. A non refundable $500 deposit is due within 24 hours of winning the auction. Thank you