What Do You Think of the Bronco II?

"for Michigan" (formichigan)
06/26/2015 at 00:26 • Filed to: ford bronco II, old cars, opinion, ask

The Bronco and Ranger seem to get a lot of love around here, so I’m curious to see what everyone thinks of the Bronco II.

There’s an incredibly clean one that just showed up at a car lot down the street from work and even though I’m by no means a truck guy, I really want it. It’s all butter-cream yellow with blacked-out grille and headlight trim and some silly-looking cladding. No clue what they want for it, though.

Thoughts?

DISCUSSION (28)

HammerheadFistpunch > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 00:31

They are generally considered...whats the nice word... turds .

for Michigan > HammerheadFistpunch
06/26/2015 at 00:34

Yikes. I thought Rangers were generally considered pretty solid. How is it that a Ranger with a covered bed is riddled with problems?

EDIT: Oh, that’s for that whole generation of Ranger. Missed that. Didn’t realise those ones had so many common issues.

PowderHound > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 00:36

Kinja'd!!!

Buck and bronco for your consideration.

for Michigan > HammerheadFistpunch
06/26/2015 at 00:41

Taking a closer look at this, it seems that a not-insignificant number of these problems are reserved for Rangers produced after the Bronco II went out of production. Or for pre-facelift Bronco IIs.

wafflesnfalafel > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 00:42

A cousin bought a first gen new years ago - nothing but problems.. (leaks, - both oil and windows, power steering, radiator, transmission, seat broke, ate shocks for breakfast.) Not one of Ford’s finest moments.

boxrocket > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 00:43

Design-wise (body and interior) I love them. Mechanically - all the underside, that is - they’re apparently not that great. I’d love a new iteration in Ranger and F-150 (and even Super Duty) sizes.

wiffleballtony > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 00:43

It was very popular at my high school back in the 90s.

HammerheadFistpunch > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 00:44

its true, and the Bronco II isn’t THAT bad, but its not great either. Put it this way, how many have you seen lately?

6Cylinder > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 00:44

Why Bronco when you can 4Runner? Why Ranger when you can Toyota Truck?

My buddy has a Bronco II and he's trying to sell it. No one will buy it, even for table scraps.

for Michigan > HammerheadFistpunch
06/26/2015 at 00:46

About as many I would expect considering how many were sold compared to the contemporary Ranger. They’ve been rather rare for as long as I can remember.

for Michigan > wafflesnfalafel
06/26/2015 at 00:48

Ouch.

Sounds like your cousin got one that was assembled on Friday.

for Michigan > boxrocket
06/26/2015 at 00:52

Pre-facelift (83-88) is my favorite. It’s the perfect no-nonsense small truck look and it works great on the Ranger and Bronco II.

HammerheadFistpunch > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 00:53

They sold a fair number of them, but it was only in production for 7 years total.

BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 00:54

My dad had one up until I was three I think. I’m pretty sure it was red and silver over red cloth, with a manual. I have two memories of it: barely being able to see over the door sill to gaze at the glorious 90s interior, and when he sold it to get a suburban, as my little brother was on the way. I think he was sad to see it go, though.

for Michigan > 6Cylinder
06/26/2015 at 00:55

4Runners are bigger than I like and relatively speaking, first gen Rangers/Bronco IIs can be had for basically nothing.

6Cylinder > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 01:02

True, I will say the price of a Bronco makes up for its shortcomings.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 01:18

Dad bought one new. Said it was the worst car he ever bought. If you want one, just get a Jeep instead; which is exactly what he did

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 01:28

That gen... Mechanically speaking was a turd. I have a 93-97 ranger, its been nothing but reliable

Dunnik > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 01:49

What do I think of the Ford Bronco II? I think of the Ford Bronco I.

Kinja'd!!!

for Michigan > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
06/26/2015 at 02:31

That’s the basic gist I’m getting here, but I have no interest in a CJ or Wrangler, so I think I’ll stick to cars for now.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 06:53

I’ve always liked the theory of them. The square Rangers were good looking trucks, so the Bronco II version made a sharp looking SUV. My neighbor used to have a really nice red one he bought new, maintained the hell out of it. Then one day I got home and the whole nose was smashed in, and he sold it shortly thereafter. Cool trucks to me though.

BigBlock440 > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 07:49

My parents used to have one when I was young, I don’t remember too much other than it had over 200k when they sold it.

jariten1781 > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 07:58

I had one for about a year...it wasn’t as terrible as as all the comments here, lots of small problems but nothing terminal or that left me stranded. It wasn’t anything special though, slow/agrerarian/etc. It is just a midling pre-modern SUV. I had an 88 suburban at the same time and it was vastly superior in every way other than navigating parking garages (and got around the same real-world gas mileage...which was awful on both compared to today’s standards).

But hey, if you get one, get drunk, drive off a cliff reaching for your phone, and roll it over 3 times Ford will give you a couple million bucks:

http://articles.latimes.com/1997-03-25/spo…

505Turbeaux > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 08:08

I love them. Had one myself with the V6 for some time. Not a great car but totally very good and capable

Connqr > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
06/26/2015 at 09:15

It’s only good if you can get it for cheap. Also, I love your never dying post I accidentally commented on a few days ago.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 09:43

Properly equipped it’s not bad. By Equiped I mean if it has a blown V8 with Slicks.

Kinja'd!!!

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 09:46

Its a shame because just like you said, its a pretty cool looking truck. Its exactly why he bought it. But it was gone within 6 months since it always seemed to be leaking something and having ignition issues and never working right when he really needed it

bryan40oop > for Michigan
06/26/2015 at 14:09

I’ve seen some that are complete crap, and some running over 200k.

Then again you can’t expect much, 80/90s electronics will fail, thats one of the biggest issues.

Also, replacement parts, not that expensive, and junkyard availability is top notch.