I was hoping all you could help me. Can you give me an estimate on value of a 1979 Bronco with the following details:

1979 Bronco
25K original miles
Painted 3 years ago ($2K paint job) Original paint was faded, no signs of rust
400 V8
Power Steering
PDB
NO A/C
No Rust
Aftermarket CD player
Leaks a little bit of oil, as most old trucks do.

Body appears to be a 9.0 out of 10. Engine compartment looks like it's never been maintained, and appears at one time to have a power brake leak. Original owner drove the truck from 1979-1999 and put 21K miles on it, garage kept. Second owner has put 3.5K miles on it in the last 3 years, including some small maintenance items.

Overall, it's a decent truck, but I'm concerned with the low mileage, it hasn't been very well mechanically maintained. Just parked for long periods of time, and rarely driven. I had another car I bought with low miles, and after driving it regularly, it started leaking from every oriface within 6 months due to the gaskets being hard as a rock.

Without writing a book, what would you estmate value to be at?

Set me up with some opinions..

Thanks for your time.

 

With the paint job and brake leak, I'd be really cautious of the mileage. I'd believe it a lot more if you put a 1 in front of that 25k.

In northern Colorado, a low mileage 79 in perfect condition, with verification of mileage (repair receipts, fuel receipts, registration, something) would probably bring $3000 to $5000 depending on options. It would have to be a perfect specimen, though. A 79 in very good condition with no rust and a nice interior would bring $2000 to $3000.

BTW, take a look at the brake and gas pedals. If that thing truly has that few miles, there should be virtually no wear on the pads. If they're worn smooth, or through, someone's lying. Same thing with wear on the carpet. At 25000 miles, the interior should be near perfect with only light dirt and/or light staining.

 

It's a true 25K mile survivor. However, the owner wants $6500 for the truck, thinks it's made of gold, and I passed on it.

Everything was in really good shape, except the engine bay. The original owner was one of those people who drove the truck and did little else. Interior was perfect, paint was decent, no rust, but the engine bay was very dirty, the master cyl leaked a little and the paint on the motor was about 50% there. This tells me he drive it very rarely, but wasn't a stickler for upkeep.

Thanks for the feedback. I now know what to better expect. I just sold my 1976 Bronco, and am more familiar with them and their extremely high price tags. It appears the 78-79 Broncos aren't worth near as much.

Thanks again.

 

yup 300 miles or 5 years what ever comes first

hey if he can provide about half the regastrations i will find the money
hey my 78 says 50 but i know its been around at last once probally twice by 3 the T-chain may of give out 25 years or 300k whatever comes first

 

that wern't exactly coherant was it

well change the oil every 5 years or 3000 miles whichever comes first

my granny' renault(shut up the rear brakes are ford) has 60 and its an 86 sitting runs as new for 5 years

 

Is it just me or am I finding it difficult to understand battered_bronco. J/k

 

It's on traderonline.com. Look for the green 1979 Bronco with 25K original miles. Email me if you want pics of the engine compartment. I would say the motor will start leaking once the truck is driven due to the gaskets being hard as a rock, the C6 tranny will last a year, and the suspension will need to be gone through. I passed.

 

Actually, the driving might SEAL the leaks. This happened to my friend's 1979 SkyHawk--front & rear main seal both leaked. Drove it 40-50 miles/day for 3 months. No more leaks.

 

One of my questions would be why the blocks behind the rear wheels on such a small slope?
I agree with the low mileage as being a problem.

I am looking at a bunch of Bronco's at the present time and am leaning towards the 94 - 96 models with 80,000 - 100,000 miles on them. They seem to look more like a good, drivable vehicle that needs very little work.

 

horsepower: 200 - 300. HAHAHAHAHA. Stock ford 400's were around 165hp for that year.

No way would it have been higher than that. IT should also have catalitic converters under it as well as a air pump. if it is missing these things it very well may have been removed from high millage. Should also have a 2 barrel Motorcraft carb on it.

 

Would a 49-state truck have cats in 1979? I've seen some (admittedly all 3/4-ton & above) with no cats as late as 1985.

I would expect a Thermactor, though--

 

'79
cat - yep
air pump - yep
2v m/c carb - yep
thermactor - hmmm, too many moons ago. did it come from the back of the motor with a rubber hose - that thing that rusted and i pluged......

200-300hp hehehe

not sure from original hp but Headers and mods will make it fun to drive

 

If I remember my Ford smog-crap-naming correctly, Thermactor is what they called their smog pump setup.

160HP for a 400 sounds right. 400HP for a mildly-tweaked 400 also sounds about right.

1979 must have been the first year for Broncos to get cats, because I saw a 1978 (351M/auto/49-state) that said right on the sticker "NON-CATALYST".

 

Through 1978, only vehicles with a GVWR under 6500 pounds needed a cat. I believe 1978 Bronco's were rated at something like 6750 lbs. After 1978, that limit was increased to around 8500 lbs to catch 1/2 ton trucks, and I think the Bronco's GVWR fell as well. More fun and games with the US Gov!

 

I picked up my '94 with about 150k on it 2 years ago, and it still runs great. Now it's got around 180k on it, and the only major problem I've had was one of my automatic hubs breaking, but other than that, the other problems I've had are so small they didn't really matter.