1969 Ford Bronco

Convertible

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

U15GLF95025

Gasoline

My name is Karl Smith and I have one of the largest Early bronco collections in the USA. As owner of a shop in Tucson, AZ (1st Rock 4x4 & Auto) we work on lots of 4x4's and Rock Crawlers in general and Early Broncos in particular. Since I've worked on this rig over the last couple of years (rebuilt transmission and general maintainence) I've agreed to help my friend and client sell his steed as he & his wife just had a baby and he's decided it's just too much vehicle to give to his oldest son who just turned 19. This Bronco was first registered 2/69 and was bought for just under $3 grand. My client bought this Bronco in L.A. for $10 grand back in 2002 and has since invested another $38k. His loss will be your gain since virtually everything important on this exceptionally clean, rust free truck is new or improved. It's truly the ultimate SUV, a real head turner, which runs & drives better than new. Unfortunately my client has a hectic career that requires him to travel to France frequently so less than 5000 miles have been run on this truck since it's been rebuilt. There is absolutely no rust, rot or cancer anywhere on this vehicle. It's been in the desert its entire life. Underneath the truck looks perfect: just the normal patina of a vehicle that's been in a very dry climate for 42 years. When bought in 2002 the truck was equipped with a C4 3 speed auto tranny, 302 V8, Dana 30 front axle and small bearing 9 inch rear with hard top and steel doors. Now it has a built 351 Windsor, a built AOD 4 speed auto trans, a dana 44 disc brake front axle with power steering and a big bearing 9 inch rear end plus 4 inches of lift. The axles and power steering are from a 1977 Bronco. The original unrestored factory hard top and steel doors ARE included with this sale if winner wishes to have them. ENGINE: 351 Windsor built by Control Dinamico De Masas in Mexico which specializes in competition racing engines. I've never heard of them but did a Google search and read on a forum that: "They are the best, but not cheap. His work is worth every penny, and sometimes more." The specs from client's notes are as follows: 351 STD; 406 stroke 4" crankshaft; connecting rod "H" 6.200; Keith Black hypereutectic pistons KB319; Hasting power flex piston rings; Manley intake and exhaust valves; Edelbrock aluminum heads, high performance harmonic balancer, high performance cam and lifters, high performance oil & water pump, Demon carburetor; Howe aluminum radiator, single serpentine belt drive pulleys, MSD ignition; Edelbrock air filter. The builder claims close to 400 horsepower and I believe it since it pulls harder than the 350 horsepower 302 CID Bronco of mine that I sold here on eBay last year for around $17k. This motor is really nice. Step on the gas and the front end lifts up and you're gone like a scalded horse. The fat flange header exhaust is custom (not sure of the make but definitely looks like high quality by the coated metal and 1/2" thick flange) and sounds great. Not too loud but definitely menacing. TRANSMISSION: Ford 4 speed AOD automatic transmission was just rebuilt with shift kit, 2000 RPM stall converter and remote cooler run to the front end. It's mated to the stock T-shift Dana 20 transfer case via a $500 Advanced Adaptors AOD to D20 adaptor. Shifts smoothly via a B&M floor mounted shifter. BODY: $5k invested in custom silver paint job. Very nice paint although it was done shortly after he bought it so there are some minor scuffs and chips that are really only noticable when you get close up. 6 point roll cage. James Duff fender flares and fiberglass roadster door inserts. Duff diamond plate rocker panel guards. Custom front bumper with Dick Cepek off road lights. Custom rear bumper with heavy duty swing out spare tire carrier. Fiberglass hood scoop. Custom Rhino lined interior panels and rhino lined wheel wells. There's is absolutely no rust or cancer anywhere on this vehicle. Currently the vehicle is set up to run a black Kayline soft top with soft doors which are included but not pictured. The original unrestored factory steel removable hard top and both steel doors are also included if wanted. INTERIOR: BMW 325i leather sport seats with lap belts. 35 gallon fuel capacity via multiple tanks. Tuffy lockable center console. Custom stainless dash with VDO gauges including tachometer, voltage, coolant temp, engine oil pressure, engine oil temp and transmission oil temp. Grant GT steering wheel. There's 2 keys needed to start the vehicle. The 1st is in the center lower dash by the shifter and it turns on the electrical. The other is the normal dash key to start. You do need to flip on the electric fuel pump switch. WHEELS - SUSPENSION - AXLES For reasons I haven't quite figured out, this is the nicest handling Bronco I've ever driven. There's a 1" body lift and what appears to be about 2-1/2" or 3 inches of suspension lift of an undetermined make with 4 Rancho 5000 shocks but the ride and steering is amazing. Very tight yet supple, it handles like a race car. Very smooth and rattle free. The wheels are 15" aluminum and the tires are 33" BFG mud terrain with lots of life left. The axles and power steering gear box are from a 1977 Early Bronco, the most desirable year for the big bearing 9" rear end, the disc brake Dana 44 and quick ratio steering gear box. The gear ratio is stock 3.54 in the front and stock 3.50 in the rear. Both differentials are open. Mechanically this truck is very sound. I wouldn't hesitate to drive it cross country. It does have a couple very minor issues that I'd probably address before such a trip. 1) The high dollar VDO electronic speedometer doesn't work for some undetermined reason. I called up VDO to try & sort it out but it was a runaround and I gave up. 2) I'd probably install some 1" wheel spacers as sometimes when the steering wheel is cut all the way, say in a tight parking situation, the lugs on the BFG's will slightly rub the radius arms, a fairly common problem with Early Broncos shod with big tires and rims that don't quite have the optimum offset & backspacing. 3) The engine is so incredibly powerful that when you full throttle from a complete stop you can detect some axle wrap (a common Bronco problem) so I'd solve that with a "Wrap Trap" sold for about $150 at WildHorses.com which works great at eliminating axle wrap. 4) For folks in cold climates it should be noted than when the motor & dash was redone the factory heater was eliminated. These were always inadequate heaters from the factory anyway and better aftermarket setups can be had for around $200 according to classicbroncos.com : http://classicbroncos.com/heatercraft.shtml For any questions call Karl 520-977-0112 Shipping considerations are all up to the buyer. Vehicle located not far off I-10 on the Northwest side of Tucson. A $1,000 PayPal deposit is required within 72 hrs. of auction close. Full payment is due within 7 days of auction close via either PayPal, bank wire transfer, cash in person, or certified check. On Feb-09-11 at 13:48:45 PST, seller added the following information: Note that the original heater box with core and blower motor are still in tact under the dash.On Feb-09-11 at 15:24:42 PST, seller added the following information: It should also be noted that in the bid history the original bidder "dequeljoe" retracted his bid due to his own careless impulsiveness. I wouldn't even mention it except for the fact that he left a totally bogus exceuse for retracting his bid, namely, that "seller changed description." That's a complete fabrication as I changed nothing and below is the actual email he sent me before retracting it which I can FWD to anybody interested. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hi mini-dishes, Thanks for your quick reply. Unfortunately, I should have asked this question first before bidding (I am the sole bidder at this point). As I would need to pick it up and drive it back to SoCal I would need doors and top installed back onto the vehicle. I don't have the budget for shipping costs and was going to fly to Tucson on a free airline ticket. Given this, can you remove my bid? This is an incredible Bronco and I'm sure I would be outbid anyway in a few days, but just to save any grief later on. I would retract it myself, but I would need to put a reason for doing it that may misrepresent the situation. I feel like you're being very honest about the top & doors in the ad, but I just didn't do my homework before bidding. My fault. I really apologize for this, but unfortunately it's a sticking point on my end. Please let me know if this will be an issue. Thanks for your time and sorry for the trouble. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ I explained that his bid is a legally binding contract for sale that he entered into and if wants to not honor it then he should retract his own bid; and that I would not be willing to reinstall the 2 included factory doors though if the buyer wants the unrestored factory hard top I will have to secure the top with at least 4 bolts for shipping and use some blue masking tape to protect the paint. The factory doors, soft doors and soft top + hardware will have to be secured in the back of the Bronco for shipment.