1987 Ford Bronco or What Hadn't Rusted

    I got married to my wife in 2005.  Her parents and extended family all lived out in the country on farmland that has been their family.  My father-in-law has been a big classic car fan since forever, restoring a Ford Falcon for 20 plus years and constantly buying and selling cars.  He reckons he's had 100 cars in his life.  He had a '87 Bronco 4x4 that he got from a guy that owed him money. I was able to tow it home on a dolly, after having to change the front tires to something smaller so it would fit on the dolly.

 

    The Bronco was badly rusted and needed a new carburetor which my FIL supplied.  It had a Beach Ford emblem and it looked like someone drove it in the beach weekly and never washed it off.  My house didn't have a garage and barely room to park two vehicles in the driveway, so I took the fence gate off and took out a section of fence and drove the Bronco back in the woods; "the riparian buffer."  I got  the carburetor on, but there was a host of other problems; brakes barely worked, gas tank needed changing, etc.  And the worst was that anything you wanted to work on was rusted tight, no matter how much PB Blaster you sprayed on it.

That summer, I believe, Budweiser came came out with their michelada beer.  It came in handy working outside in 90° heat, 90% humidity.   I gave up on the gas tank, but got through enough of the brake lines to make it driveable within walking distance.  My urban neighborhood used to be a farm field and the neighboring 'hood was just starting to be cleared.  This made a great area for four-wheel driving.  I used to get in a mood and would load up the dogs and see how crazy I could get over there.  This usually involved dogs, or friends, flying out of their seat as we hit a big bump.

The Bronco had a 351 and factory mpg was 10, 11mpg.  I can't imagine what the fuel economy was being that old.

Anyway, I had to come to a realization that I wasn't going to get very far without a garage or place to store tools.  Plus, I didn't think the Bronco would even make it to the beach if I didn't want to go off-roading.  So, I sold it to guy who wanted the engine for $500.  I told the guy that the brakes weren't great.  He took off after handing over the title at full speed.  The guy was a regular at the pool hall, so maybe he liked taking chances...

Thanks to Automobile Catalog