1985 Ford Bronco XLT 4X4

Description

America's most notorious 4x4 is also becoming a great collectable. This 1985 Ford Bronco 4x4 is now eligible for AACA shows and remains the pinnacle of full-sized Bronco fun. Very nicely preserved, this is the one to own if you've always admired the big Bronc.

Ford did gangbuster business in the late '80s with their upscale off-road machines, and not many full-sized off-roaders were more admired than the Bronco. While the most famous one was white, this handsome two-tone Bronco is elegant yet sporty and it's hard to believe that these went out of production more than two decades ago. I mean, this sucker's in incredible condition! It was repainted a few years ago, so it's showing a bit of age but nothing critical and it certainly speaks highly of the care it has received over the years. The chrome bumpers look great, the grille and headlights are excellent, and the tan removable roof adds just the right contrast to work with the center stripe of paint to give it a heavy-duty look. Go ahead, just try to find one this clean and without any questionable modifications; they just don't exist like this anymore!

The interior is another very pleasant surprise, offering cool plaid cloth buckets and lots of space for five. Ford insisted on upscale appointments in the top-of-the-line models, and the fabric chosen when it was reupholstered a while back is tasteful and durable, but pretty close to what it was wearing in 1985. Nice carpets are showing some age and wear but still feel plush, and as the most expensive of the Ford SUVs, this Bronco sports just about every feature in the book: A/C, cruise control, and a power rear window. A wide center console offers plenty of storage as well as a handy place to put your coffee and the dash is one of the more car-like features of this big truck. A full array of big, legible gauges are in front of the driver, with the climate controls and AM/FM/CD stereo waaaaay over there in the center of the dash. The nicely appointed back seat looks barely used and the cargo bay is positively massive, fully upholstered and with the spare mounted out back, you can take pretty much everything you own.

Ford's erstwhile 302 cubic inch V8 is a great choice to move all this sheetmetal, providing plenty of low-end grunt that never feels strained. Despite a vast aftermarket for the venerable 5.0, this one remains quite stock, from the long intake hoses from the remote air filter to the intake that was specifically designed to bolster the torque curve. The engine bay is as clean as the rest of the truck, and if it's ever seen anything rougher than a gravel driveway, I'd be surprised. With a 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission and a 2-speed transfer case, this truck is equally happy at highway speeds or crawling at barely a walking pace and the suspension is built for off-roading that would strand one of today's "cute utes." The exhaust system uses a custom Flowmaster muffler with twin outlets, but it's otherwise quite stock. Handsome polished aluminum wheels are in fantastic shape, wearing 32x11.50-15 BFGoodrich All-Terrain radials which are pretty pricey all by themselves.

If you grew up in the '80s, you know this is a cool truck, and you just won't find more full-sized go-anywhere transportation for less cash than this. Call today!