Over this past weekend, I was having dinner with a fellow enthusiast (gearhead?) and the conversation turned to the Ford Bronco – both new and old. The new one seems to engender a love it or hate it reaction, it just depends. I will say, to be objective, you have to see one in real life and not base an opinion on images. From there the conversation turned to the original, compact Bronco (1966-1977) and the conversation was rather definitive. And not just this conversation, several others regarding that version of the Bronco have trended the same way. With that in mind, let’s take a look at this 1972 Ford Bronco which is located in Medford, Oregon and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $31,500 with 53 bids tendered so far.

The old Bronco conversation seems to center around three different facets, appearance, ride/creature comforts, and price. And most of the comments seem to focus on the outsized price this generation of the Bronco can command, followed by less than complimentary comments about the other two facets, especially when considering what you’re getting for that price. Let’s face it, appearance is subjective, primitive nature and ride not so much so. The Bronco did well in its initial twelve years of production with about 225K finding homes. It was typical for utility vehicles of the ’60s but by the mid-70s it was getting long in the tooth. Nevertheless, that didn’t adversely affect sales as the Bronco’s best sales year was ’74 with 25K units rolling off of the Wayne, Michigan assembly line.

Our subject Bronco shows well and the seller states, “Great body, original paint, very little rust as shown…” If the finish is original, it looks great for being almost a half-century old. There is some surface rust in various places with the passenger footwell appearing to have some actual perforation. But all-in-all, this Bronco appears to be sound and the alloy wheels, combined with the added lift, really spruce up its exterior attitude.

Power comes about courtesy of a 140 net HP, 302 CI V8 engine spinning a three-speed manual transmission which is actuated by a converted floor shifter. The seller mentions that the 2Bbl carburetor has been rebuilt, an aluminum radiator has been installed, there are new disc brakes and power steering up front, and a new fuel tank out back. The seller adds, “The vehicle runs great and is mainly used for weekend drives“. There is no mention of this Bronco’s 4X4 capabilities, we’ll have to run with the assumption that this truck with its 88K recorded miles off-roads as intended.

Other than the previously mentioned gear shift change, and an aftermarket steering wheel being employed, the interior of this Bronco looks pretty similar to the way it did when new. There is no image of the front seats provided but the rear brown vinyl upholstered piece shows well. Instrumentation is minimal though a steering column-mounted tachometer has been added. The previously mentioned surface rust is most evident in the interior.

The current bidding for this Bronco is not surprising considering the pricing trend that has been established for this generation. I have come across examples in considerably worse condition than this example, which is actually quite nice, that generate some outrageous numbers. I’m afraid that I don’t get it, how about you?