As a Former owner of a 1988 Bronco II with the 2.9 M/T 4WD. It was one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. Per witnesses. I did put on 1 wheel twice and I think I had it on 3 wheels once. (no verification, just the feeling and sound of tires.) I considered the vehicle as safe as other vehicles on the road. My hang up was not having rear bucket seats to prevent back or neck injuries. I installed Smitty Built tube steps to give me more side impact protection. I also installed front high back bucket seats out of a wrecked Explorer to give me and front seat passenger better protection. Weird, I was never concerned about a roll over. And despite having the vehicle on 1 wheel twice, It never felt unstable or like I was out of control. Never. I have been blessed to have owned some great cars of the past. 67 Mustang coupe with a 171 inline 6 and 3 speed M/T, with a limited slip diff. (the engine was out of a Maverick) 94 2 Door Explorer, 4WD, M/T 95 T-Bird 4.6L , Awesome car. Pearl White with red cloth interior. Set of Blizaks and it was unstoppable. And currently a Proud owner of a 2021 4 Door Bronco Big Bend with a 2.3 automatic. Fantastic vehicle. My current commuter with almost 14k miles in almost 6 months. Worst sub compact car = Yugo Best family sedan of 80's and 90's is subjective at best. But considering what the Taurus did in sales, and design for the automotive world. it would be #1.
As someone that grew up in Poland and now lives in the UK and has an interest in automotive history these videos are fascinating. The closest we use to get to american motoring was the Jeep Cherokee or the Chrysler Voyager. You'd see some Lincoln Towncar limos as novelty wedding cars but that was mostly it. This is great insight into lesser known american car models.
I absolutely agree! I am from one of your neighbouring countries, and seeing american cars here is really a rarity. I really enjoy this series of videos, seeing as it gives me and many others an insight into american car culture and their history!
Chrysler had an European assembly operation where Jeep and Chrysler cars were assembled in Austria for the European market, like the Voyager, Cherokee, and Chrysler 300.
" This is great insight into lesser known american car models." I beg to differ. This video isn't particularly "great insight" where the subject vehicle, the Bronco II, is concerned. What really stuck in my craw was the "should have forced a re-design" comment made in the video. The Bronco II wasn't designed with off-pavement driving as a mere afterthought. It was what it was as a byproduct of meeting a specific engineering goal of providing the off-pavement capability of a stock CJ Jeep while being a more civilized vehicle to live with on the highway. If it had a longer wheelbase, a wider track width, and less ground clearance, it would not have been capable of meeting that objective. Here's the reason why that was an objective deemed worthy of meeting. Here in the U.S.A., we have vast tracts of wild, undeveloped public land that are administered by the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau Land Management. Travel on those lands is often on unmaintained dirt roads on rough tracks. There are fewer open, legal routes on those lands now than there were when the Bronco II was launched. In 1972, congress passed a bill, signed into law by the president, directing federal land management agencies to adopt "Travel Plans" with a stated goal of protecting fragile habitats. It took several decades to fully implement that law. If you could go back in time to a place like the San Bernardino National Forest in 1972 to 1984, you'd encounter a lot of vehicle routes that were little more than two tracks meandering across the landscape. In some cases, they were trails blazed by people in CJ Jeeps in the immediate post World-War II era. In other cases, they started life as maintained dirt routes for horse-drawn vehicle travel (like the famous Rubicon Trail in California, for example) 150 years ago, but were co-opted by CJ Jeep owners in the immediate post-war era. In other cases, they might have been a "fire break" cut by the BLM or USFS with a D-8 bulldozer, which were quickly co-opted by CJ owners. That the routes that remain open and legal on U.S. public lands today even exist is due in large measure to "historic use" by people owning CJ Jeeps. When the Bronco II was launched, there were significantly more open routes for vehicle travel on most BLM and USFS tracts than there are now. The reason they were there and hadn't been overcome by mother nature is because of "historic use" by CJ Jeep owners. If Ford was guilty of anything, it was that they made the Bronco II to do off-pavement what a stock CJ Jeep could do, and presumed that only people with a planned use for that capability would be interested in buying a Bronco II. The full-size Bronco, based on the full-size F-150 pickup truck, is too wide and too long for a lot of trails and routes that were still open to vehicle travel back in the 1980s. The current 2022 Bronco would have been, too. Going back to the San Bernardino National Forest, I picked that as an example because I'm intimately familiar with it and have literally been on every single currently open vehicle route upon it. Access for me was via FS Route 3N14 from the High Desert. That route runs from the desert, through the mountains, and terminates at the community of Fawnskin on the shore of Big Bear Lake. It started life as a toll road in the horse-drawn vehicle era. It remains open to vehicle travel today. But a LOT of routes that formerly intersected with it do not. As an example, where 3N14 passes a place called Coxey Meadow, there used to be two routes that were still open to vehicle travel when the Bronco II first went on sale. One of them followed Coxey Creek for about 2.5 miles from Coxey Meadow to Carbine Flat. That trail was so technical that the last time I used it, it took me four hours to go from one end to the other. It was originally "blazed" in the immediate post-WWII era by civilian CJ Jeep owners and anything much bigger than a Bronco II or having less ground clearance than a Bronco II would have had a very tough time traversing it. Another example: There used to be a trail leading from Coxey Meadow to very near the summit of Shay Mountain. That route was originally a "fire break" meant to keep a wildfire from spreading. It was co-opted by immediate post-war Jeep owners. If the Bronco II had less ground clearance, it couldn't have handled that trail. But while that trail was still an open route, the Bronco II had no trouble traveling on it. Why? Because it was meant to be able to go where a stock CJ could, road or no road. The lower, longer Ford Explorer meant to be the Bronco II's replacement offering sucks off-pavement precisely because its "street manners" were higher on the priority list when it was being developed.
I never knew that Bronco II's had such a high rollover hazard, I owned one for about five years and even did some sketchy off-road crap with it. I do have to agree with Ford to a certain degree about driver error, you can't operate a small SUV with a high center of gravity the same way you'd drive a low to the ground hatchback.
I know people that rolled Bronco's but I also know people that rolled Blazers and Pathfinders Jeeps etc... bottom line they were driving them too fast around a hairpin turn or were acting stupid on a dirt road going too fast for conditions or tried to do something crazy off road. People that drove them slower and used common sense did fine with them.
Having done a flat 540 coming to an emergency dead-stop facing oncoming traffic from 65mph on a wet, blind highway curve I tend to side with Ford, you have to go above and beyond to actually roll the truck.
I agree, partially. While it's true that you can't drive them the same way as a sedan, the J turn testing is NOT designed to test whether or not the vehicle will flip when driven like a mad man. These tests are designed to simulate everyday emergency maneuvers.....such as a sharp turn to avoid a child running out into the street.
Mine rolled and it almost killed me. But a mustang did run a red light and T boned me at 90 mph. So can’t blame the truck. I loved it and i want another one tbh.
@@trevorburns5260 I lived in Colorado. With a good set of snow tires it would literally drag itself through the snow. I plowed snow for the city so when I went to work no one plowed. And I was in a rural area so we would stop plowing at about 5:00 p.m. and wouldn't start until 4:00 a.m. . I also towed a small boat and it never gave me any trouble.
One of my uncles had a Bronco II in the early 90's, and never had any issues with it from what I recall, and that dude who was drunk behind the wheel should not have won that case whatsoever, and with those scenes from The Breakfast Club you have me wanting to watch that movie all over again lol!
@@kevinbarry71 I never said it wasn't an unacceptable risk, just that it never happened to him thankfully, and he never had any issues with his Bronco II because he did all the scheduled maintance on it himself just like he did for all his cars, trucks and farm equipment, while keeping them washed, and stored out of the weather in his large barn when he did not need them.
I've owned 2 Bronco IIs. I've never felt like it was in danger of tipping, however I drive carefully, cautiously and also run wider, off-road tires. I think it's a very sharp looking suv. I get compliments every time I drive it. Hoping to get a larger fullsize or new version to pair with it someday.
I owned two Bronco ll's. I had an 86 and an 88. I loved them. They were used extensively off road and during harsh winters and always got me home. You could tell just by looking at them that they would be unstable in tight turns. Drive easy, and it would be fine. I never had a problem.
I had an '86 Bronco II XLT, 2.9L, 4x4, 5 spd standard. I absolutely LOVED it. Rode it until it rusted apart and replaced it with a 2009 Escape. What a downgrade that was.
Thank you so much for this video! I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned some things I didn’t know. My very first car was a 1990 Bronco II 4WD 5 speed. It had the optional 4.10 gears. It would really go anywhere. I miss that vehicle. Now they’re worth anywhere from $10k- 20K!
My Bronco II was the same but a 1989 model. 4WD , 5 speed with the 4.1 rear gears. Great vehicle that could handle a lot. Replace it with an explorer about the mid nineties and the explorer was not near the vehicle.
Great video, but I did noticed one error. There were actually 3 Ford vehicles that used the II Roman numerals in their name in the 1970s. The third one being the LTD II which was built between '77-79.
Ford also used Mustang II on a show car back in 63 (I think). It was to differentiate that from the original Mustang 1, a small, mid-engine, V4 powered sports car, of which they made two. One is in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. All these cars were made before the introduction of the Mustang on April 17, 1964. Possibly Ford used the II because of Henry Ford ll, aka Henry the Deuce.
I had the ltd ii....it was a cool car, I put blue fur on the dashboard with white dingleberries under it, fur steering wheel and dingle berry's around the windows, it was a 2 door sports coupe, a very large long car. I got really drunk when I was 16 and ran a red light and smashed a car that was waiting to turn left, my engine was pushed back to where it was literally sitting next to me. The family tried to sue my dad's insurance company but they were illegal aliens, my dad knew some gov people and got the whole family sent back to Mexico! Now that's a very very bad day for a family, they get into a wreck they think they're going to be rich suing someone but instead get kicked out
The history of the Bronco II is kind of special to me. It was released the same year that I started working at the Ford dealer in late 1982. It sold like hotcakes here in the Southern California desert where thousands of dirt roads criss cross the desert all the way to the Nevada border. I always favored the old 2.8 V6 that had mechanical lifters requiring periodic valve adjustment. It was a bullet proof engine. The only downfall was if one was climbing at too steep an angel, gas would go too far out of the carburetor float bowl and stall the engine. Backing down a hill without power brakes is never fun. The fuel injected 2.9 V6 solved that problem but I still preferred the rattle prone 2.8. I drove enough of the 4X2 Bronco IIs to call CRs story a bunch of crock. Any vehicle in the wrong hands can be rolled. Any idiot should know that you can't turn corners in an SUV like you could a Porsche. This is the fault of the driver, not the vehicle. I sometimes think CR creates these stories to sell magazines. Finally I would like to add that the Explorer was a terrible replacement for the Bronco II. Ask any mechanic that was around when the Explorer debuted. The 4.0V6 suffered from oil leaks so badly that Ford came out with several Technical Service Bulletins to address the problem. This was in 1989 before the internet which meant TSBs were released in print. Mechanics were left to their own device to reseal the 4.0. Finally Ford had us pulling the engines to reaeal them with updated gaskets and seals. Then came the cracked heads at number 1 and number 6 cylinders; opposite corners of the engine. The heads would crack from the spark plug hole to the exhaust port creating an exhaust leak. No one ever remembers those problems. Maybe I have been a mechanic too long. At 57 years old I have too many stories to tell
I had an 84 Ranger with the 2.8L V6...never any problems until the local Ford garage touched it...never ran right afterwards :(. My first Bronco 2 was an 84 and again the 2.8L V6 did just fine, rest of the truck was rusted all to hell though LOL. I currently have a 88 Eddie Bauer Bronco 2.
@@wildbill23c I also had an 84 Ranger that I bought in 1992. I got it at an auction when one of the local mining companies was shutting down. I think I won it for about $1100. They had beat the hell out of it and did minimal maintenance while they owned it. But the 2.8 under the hood started and ran flawless. The Mitsu 5 speed was noisy in all gears but 4th, clearly the countershaft bearings were shot. I think they must have ran it out of oil at some point. I had to use a Port-a-power to get the crossmember out because the frame was a bit tweaked. I drove that truck all over the desert and taught both my daughters how to drive stick shift with it. I ended up selling it in 1996 and bought a 1989 Nissan pickup. Worst mistake of my life. The Nissan was an okay pickup but getting parts for it wasn't so easy. In 1996 buying parts online was still kind of hit and miss. And in this remote part of the desert, parts sources are a little scarce. I spent a couple of months starting the Nissan with a screw driver until I could find an ignition switch.
@@rtwice93555 I had an 89 Nissan D21 4x4 which had an ignition switch that any key fit, and if you had a key in the ignition it would fall out when you'd go around a corner LOL.
At 57 years old myself, I would like to hear them. I had a 1994 Mazda Navajo (Rebadged Ford Explorer Sport) and my dad had a 1988 Bronco II. I never had a problem with the 4.0 in the Mazda. I guess it was fixed by then. We never flipped the Bronco II.
Technically the original Ranger was out of production after MY 2012 in the US and the new Ranger is the same as the World market Ranger which is slightly larger and vastly different
For most purposes the Ranger was NEVER DISCONTINUED (which is why our Narrator won't do an episode on it) as the 4G brought overseas in 2012, immediately after US discontinuation on the 3G, was the same on the outside (figure the usual lighting and superficial differences) as the one the US got (still 4G or T-6) in 2018. What substantially differentiates the US version are the lack of any Diesel engine, different suspension bits and interior. Now there will be a 5G (modified 4G) sold globally in the '23 MY. The Raptor version will be sold as a '23 overseas and '24 in US, both with a (different outputs of the 2T-3.0L depending on market) V6 gas / petrol engine.
@@abpsd73 Exactly! And how about the fact that the Ranger name was used on the full sized pickups before coming out with the compact little 80s truck. And to add to that one of the Edsel models was called the Ranger. I own a 1987 Ranger and I can tell you that it has nothing in common with any of those vehicles or the current version Ranger being sold, so this guy can safely do an episode on the 80s generation of Ranger and not ruin his reputation.
The funny thing about it was on the visor on my bronco ii it told you that this is a high center of gravity vehicle and sharp turns should be avoided at all costs for rollover risk I never had any problems with my broncoii I put over 380,000 mi on it
Had a Bronco II years ago. Loved that thing. I don’t feel they were dangerous, just had to know it was not a Ferrari and to not drive it like one. Was always curious as to the rear side window design and why they went with a window that curved into the roof. Kinda like it now but at the time always though a more traditional window would have looked better. Probably would have been cheaper to produce as well
If you ever rode in the back seat of a first generation Bronco with a hardtop, you'd know why Ford did what they did with the big side windows on the Bronco II. Ford did focus-group surveys of gen-one Bronco owners, asking what they liked about the original Bronco AND what they didn't. One of the complaints was poor back-seat ergonomics and poor outward visibility for passengers seated back there. One solution was "safari windows" like on the rear of a Land Rover Discovery / Discovery II. They went to the one-piece window partly because there was an idea to make those readily removable as an option, which turned out to be problematic and very short-lived.
@@jerroldshelton9367 I think I seen a few that had pop out windows ages ago. I always just thought that was aftermarket lol I miss those mini Broncs Not the smoothest on the highway but off road and in the winter they were damn near unstoppable.
I think one of the best family sedans was the 1978-1990 Chevy Caprice/Impala. One if the only times where GM made the downsized model look better than the previous one. Plus many options and good quality (at the time)
The 2nd generation Bronco you mention at approximately 3:44 was actually made from 1978-1979. Bronco II was produced alongside the 3rd and 4th generation full-size Broncos from 1984-1990. There have been 6 generations of the original Bronco label (1st - 1966-1977); (2nd - 1978-1979); (3rd - 1980-1986); (4th - 1987-1991); (5th - 1992-1996); (6th - 2021-current).
I bought one from my neighbor in '98 because the price was right and it was really solid and clean. I forget what year it was now. I had fun with it for a brief time, sold it to my brother in law and it moved from West Lafayette, Ohio to live in NYC.
I had two Bronco II's and loved both of them, and both had over 200K miles when I sold them. I'd buy another if I could find one like both of them- manual trans with front locking hubs and Lariat edition. Anything?
I lived in the mountains of Colorado. The town plowed snow till 4pm. I got off work at midnight. With decent tires the Bronco always got me home. Sometimes the front bumper was pushing snow. Then I got a Subaru. Nope, the Bronco was better in the snow.
Love the video! I have an 87 Bronco II that my dad bought brand new way back when. It was my first vehicle and a couple of years ago I got it out of storage and started rebuilding the engine. It's been in our family this whole time. I can't wait to start driving it again!
@@rumblertag1419 okay I'll try to get one asap, but it will be several days. I'm keeping it at my dad's shop and it will probably be close to the end of the week before I can get over there. I made a bunch of pics back when I started disconnecting things to take the engine out, so I'll go through those and see if there are some I can send.
I have an 88 Eddie Bauer Bronco 2, unfortunately I got in too big of a hurry to buy one and jumped on this one with the dreaded A4LD automatic transmission in it. Replacement crate engine, and rebuilt transmission and it does fine, but gets the worst fuel economy of the 3 vehicles I own...gets worse fuel economy than my 2008 V8 Explorer LOL. I keep thinking of getting rid of it, but its not worth anything more than I keep driving it till it dies then I scrap it value. Nobody want these things anymore because they're old, they're clunky, finding parts for them is getting harder and harder, and well you are driving a brick down the road LOL. They're fun offroad, but not that great on the highway...although mine has factory front and rear stabilizer bars which help a lot on the highway and for cornering, its pretty solid considering its high center of gravity. I do have larger tires on it because trying to find any all terrain tires in a 205/75-R15 is pretty much impossible it seems, so I went to 235/74-R15's and put Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S tires on it, they're wider so it helps with stability as well, but screwed up the already dismal fuel economy LOL. The interior in mine is well ehh, the paint needs redone on it, but it runs and drives pretty well for being 34 years old. Previously I had an 84 Bronco 2 that was pretty trashed, makes my current one look mint LOL. I did convert the AC to R134a about 4 years ago. Transmission got rebuilt in 2016, engine replaced in 2018. I enjoy driving it, but at some point I'd like to get a pickup, who knows maybe another Ranger to go with my 87 long bed 4x2 Ranger but a 4x4 instead.
Funny thing these Broncos are rare here in the midwest with them being able to rust out. And now there collectors trucks and people are aslo turning into mud/rock crawlers and aslo very cool trucks with v8's but these medium sized trucks/SUVs never offered them from the factory due safety concerns but had no issues selling v8 motor mounts for these models for v8's.
Moving the steering box and modified driver side header and oil pan, made the v8 swap a much bigger task on broncoii and ranger than the sbc blazer/S10 swap
My understanding (at least at GM) was the S-10s never had a V8 because they thought it would cannibalize their full-size truck sales. Drove me bonkers when they started offering a 5.3 in the Colorado/Canyon for awhile because of the Hummer H3.
You need to do an episode for the International Scout II. They ended production in 1982, and the Bronco II is very similar, in size and style. My dad had 3 of them. 72, 74, and 79. He had the 1979 until 1989 when he bought a 1988 Ford Taurus. Yes, I watched that video. Great job!
Loved my 86 Bronco 2. it was indestructible and took me on a ton of adventures. I even towed a trailer with it. I was young, it was my first new vehicle and I have many good memories. I also learned how to replace valve cover gaskets almost professionally as they the valve covers tended to warp. I would’ve even try that with my cars today
I had an 88 Bronco II. Loved it but did find out while making a quick u-turn that it was fairly easy to get on 2 wheels. Also. in addition to Capri II and Mustang II, Ford had an LTD II. Great video!
About the time the Bronco II problems came out ,I got behind one in traffic and took a good look at the rear suspension , and compared it to the S 10 . Ford had mounted the rear springs too close together and the shocks were mounted at the wrong angle to provide proper stability to the vehicle .
Had a good friend that had an 83 Bronco II with the 2.8 V6 and automatic. The vehicle was severely underpowered. From Phx to Payson Az, he had to keep his foot to the floor to make the grades, and then the thing would run out of brakes on the way down. Several times we had pucker moments when the truck was just about to tip over, tires screaming, at 55 mph on downgrades. However, to it's credit it was loads of fun in the dry desert and didn't feel unstable there!
The Bronco II wasn't a failure by any means. Awesome little truck. My dad had one, and it was cool. My dad worked for Ford at that time, and the Bronco II sold well, and had little issues. You're off the mark a wee bit in this one.
I've driven mine 200k miles in 3 years, great vehicles, wider wheels will really help with stability, I've got 15x9.5s and I think they were 15x7s? Only 205 wide tires which didn't help with the instability of it, as well as the same height as length, but overall I love it
In a lot of ways, the full sized Bronco and small Bronco II of the 80's is mirrored by today's Bronco and Bronco Sport. I remember driving a friend's Bronco II back in high school, he had sprained his ankle in football practice and I drove him home in it. We went to make a right turn onto the road from our school parking lot and the body roll was so bad even at 10-15 mph that I knew I never wanted one after that.
A rich girl I know had a 1990 Bronco 2 in high school, and it had a 4.0 V6. I remember how impressed I was with the power that it had, and looked for one with a 4.0 later in life. I never found one, despite the 4.0 being an option in ‘90.
I had one with the one inch lift spacers, slightly oversized tires that was an awesome vehicle. It was in excellent condition ('88 model, if I remember correctly) and I kept it pristine up till I sold it far above market value in 2003. Was not a failure for me in any way
My first car was a rwd 2.9 5speed '88 BII XLT, I drove it '08-'20, literally a bombproof-go-anywhere rig! I would also argue that the new 2door Bronco is more reminiscent of the BII than the sport while the 4 door is a dead ringer for the Big Bronco of the '80s , having driven all of the above somewhat extensively.
In 1986, Some friend of a friend of mine had a brand new Bronco II. He decided to do a "Rockford" in a parking lot at a mall and that thing went over on to its side. I owned a couple, both blew the transmissions. Lucky the one was still under warranty. But they towed a 22 ft boat that weighted more than it did.
Everyone must have forgotten about the rollover issues by the year 2000 when I got my first car, a blue 88 Bronco II Eddie Bauer. There was never any talk of them rolling over and it never felt unstable to me. I was 16 and…not gentle with it. Interestingly, the Explorer/Firestone debacle unfolded during the time I owned the Bronco II and I ended up getting a brand new free set of Firestones out of it as the tires that were on it when I bought it ended up being subjected to the recall. I quite liked my Bronco II with its clean tan interior with the little Eddie Bauer pine trees embroidered on the seats. I wish I still had it. Maybe some day I’ll find a clean five speed.
I had one of these and loved it, but the firewall rusted out and I was worried about the brakes not working if the master cylinder fell off one day LoL
My parents brought a 2000 model and had to change the tires when the flaw came to light. But that aside those Explorers were solid vehicles and still own it today.
@@FATMIKED5183 there was a vid breakdown of it years ago I recall. The weight over the rear wheels was unbalanced ,I think the left rear tire had about 200 pounds more on it than the right side. Lousy weight distribution.
I had an '85 Bronco 2, I liked it except for the automatic transmission. In the owner manual, it said there was an option that the rear side windows could come out and be stored in the back, much like t-tops, but I've never seen one with that option. Thanks for the video!
My dad had one of these Bronco IIs. I think his was a 1986 or 1887 but it was well into the 90s or early 2000s when he had it. It was prestine! It was fun to drive, I remember the blue interior that sorta matched the blue/silver two tone exterior. It was a 5-speed but easy to drive, I was in high school around the time so I was learning to drive standard, he let me drive it to school sometimes. Then he traded it for a 89 Mazda323. In Canada I guess we had the option of an extra bare bones model 323 with 4-speed manual, I'll never forget that one, I ended up buying a new 2022 Mazda3 premium AWD recently and The only thing the two cars shared in common are a hatch.
I love Ford car episodes :-) Well, in my family, the closest to "family sedan", was we had two straight late 1980's Volvo 740's. First was a standard Red 740 and the other was a Black 740 Turbo. And my favourite we had only for a short time was a 90's something blue colored Nissan Bluebird estate. My Mom though bought small cars that was crampy with spaze :-/
In 2000 I bought an '89n Bronco II. As-is... with a secret surprise bad-lifter. Made it 5 miles out of the seller's area before I realized I paid $300 per mile....
In high school in the mid-nineties I really liked Bronco IIs. A lady I worked with was selling hers and I told her I was interested in buying it. She told me it was a piece of junk, broke down all the time and not to buy it. I appreciated her honesty and didn't buy it.
Bought a used blue/white Bronco II and repainted it all white just in time for the OJ slow chase to occur. It didn't matter that they were different models, I still got tagged as driving the OJ mobile.
My father bought an 86 Ford Bronco 2. I remember going on a few family trips in it. Have some good and bad memories in it. Think about sharing a backseat with a brother and sister going across the U. S. Needless to say it was a tight fit in the back.
I've owned 2 explorers and loved both of them, especially my 90s limited which would go anywhere and was the best vehicle I've ever owned in the snow ❄️
I definitely would love to see an episode on the Ford Explorer. My mom and her twin sister drove SUVs a lot when I was growing up, and I had many fond memories from road trips to simple errands.
I drove so many Bronco II in 1984-85. I was 16-17 years old. My dad was a Ford executive and brought home a Ford for me to use every week. Many times it was a Bronco II. From plain Jane metal door trim models with manual transmission, up to fully loaded Eddie Bauer. These things were excellent. I drove around sometimes with 7 people on board. Many times I went 4x4ing through dirt and mud trails, climbing and ascending steep hills. Driving through creeks. Winter was a blast, no matter how much snow we got. All this and I never came close to rolling one. Plus, with the rear seat down, the cargo area made a great spot for my girlfriend and me to practice our “night moves”. Remember, I was a new driver, experiencing things in these vehicles that I’d never done before. Now looking back 40 years later, those were some of the best times of my life. And I’m still a decent driver, loving my 2015 GT convertible. Drive it like ya stole it but don’t be stupid 😂
Now we Need a Jeep Cherokee and or Comanche episode, because those were both the Last American Motors owned Jeep models and the First Chrysler owned Jeep models.
You created a very good video and I for one thank you! I own two Bronco Bronco 2's a 89 XLT and a 90 Eddie Bauer! I'm in the driving process of restoring both. They both have new engines, brakes, shocks etc. And I can't be happier with both of mine! I've never have thought about the roll over issue, but I drive in a normal within limitations of the Vechicles design! Where ever I go this being 2024 I get the compliments and do you want to sell comments! The money 💰 I've invested is nothing compared to a new Bronco! Both Bronco 2s continue to appreciate in price compared to the depreciation of a new Bronco! All I can say is I love ❤️ my Broncos 35 years and driving into the future on these steel frame 4x4 trucks!
I had a 1990 Bronco II for 9 years. No problems, one of the best vehicles I’ve ever owned. Replaced it with an Explorer, which was the biggest POS I’ve ever owned.
Great video on the Bronco II! I had a first gen Ranger when I was in high school and even though mine was only 2wd that little truck would go anywhere and do just about anything we ever asked of it! I loved that truck and still miss it even today 25 years after selling it.
For good small cars, the 1988 Mercury Tracer 2 door was a great car. A rebadged Mazda 323 with a more plush interior. I owned two at different times in my 20s and will always have a soft spot for that great little car. And for your movie cutaways, many were destroyed in the movie Heat if you pay attention to the Brinks truck heist and the infamous shootout scene downtown.
I'd like to see a review of the Chevy Malibu Maxx from the mid 2000's. I think it was a great car that had lots of room and plenty of power while still getting pretty good gas mileage.
Bronco II's biggest downfall was the wire harness was really bad. I owned one and really liked it but I had to come up with weird ways to keep it running.
A relative of mine once bought a Bronco II a few years back. He bought it for dirt cheap, because it didn’t run. He had it towed to the house on a flatbed. All I could tell you about this Bronco II now is: it was a late 80s model (I want to say ‘87), 5-speed and the body had been entirely sanded down to a speckled primer gray. Plus, for reasons I could never personally investigate for, even after said relative got the old V6 to turn over again, the clutch and brake pedals had an occasional tendency to operate simultaneously. The pedal issue is why he would never let me drive it. This thing screamed to be a mud truck, imo, and that’s what the next owners planned on doing with it when he sold it a year or so later. This specific Bronco II was only a failure in the sense that, 1) this one had clearly been used and abused for the past two decades, for better and worse, and 2) this relative went through cars like underwear, especially if the car in question needed more tlc than he bargained for.
Another great video. Keep them coming! I have an 04 Chevy SSR and I’m surprised how many people I meet assume it’s a custom vehicle I built myself. The SSRs Would make for an interesting video.
The old subcompact pickup trucks were so cool. They basically were like the larger F150 but smaller. The new ones are basically like suvs. You see this with like the Ridgeline comparing first generation to 2nd gen.
I had a 88 Bronco ll. Great in the snow.....loved the super tight turning radius. Worst part about them was the cylinder heads cracking on 2.9 and 4.0 motors. After I sold it, I got a 2002 Ford Escape...and had a dog run out in front of me at almost 40mph......The quick "s" turn I made to miss him and not go off road made me glad I was in the Escape! I would have been on the roof with that Bronco!
I cracked a head on a brandnew 2.9. Was doing a PDI and we had to drive a quarter mile from lot to shop and to test for coolant you look in the overflow tank and squeeze upper radiator hose instead of cracking open cap and having coolant spew everywhere. Well, there was coolant in the overflow tank but apparently no coolant in engine. Made it 4 miles. Cracked cylinder head and oil came out. Vehicle got a brand new engine with less than 10 miles on it.
I bought a new Bronco II in 1989. Great in snow and off road. I loved it, until 17 years later it rolled...and rolled...and....My brother had one as well and his met the same demise. Thanks for the video👍. It reminded me of some good times(rollover excluded). LOL
I miss the days these and so many other unique and amazing vehicles owned the streets. I drove a Dodge Diplomat old highway patrol vehicle. I don't know if I saw a video on the mopar "m" body? Also a good one for a future video would be the the Dihatsu Rocky or just the Dihatsu brand in general. Anyway I really enjoy the content you provide, keep it up.
I've owned so many 80s cars.. would love to see videos about: 2nd generation VW Golf, any VW Scirocco, E28 BMW 5-series, 85-88 Toyota Cressida, 81-84 Nissan Maxima..
I agree. My 86 Bronco 2 4X4 5 speed could go anywhere. I drove it through mud in Mexico with everyone guaranteeing me it would get stuck, yet it was a Jeep Wrangler that got stuck.
Had an '84 2.8L 4x4 5spd. Put a 7 inch lift with 32" tires on 15" wagon wheels. Great little trail truck. Always wanted the removable rear glass option though.
We had the Bronco II and what I remember most is that it was in the so much my parents wrote to Ford management to complain about it. As for car I’d like to see featured: the 1991 Eagle Talon. Fun little car, if not for replacing the transmission and then needing to replace the replacement transmission, I’d probably still have it today.
All of the things that made the Bronco II a danger in rollovers also made it a more capable off road machine. Taller gives it more ground clearance. Narrow with a short wheelbase also makes it more maneuverable on the trail. For what it was designed for, I wouldn't have changed anything for the safety reasons addressed here.
I had one of these. The tailgate (fiberglass) cracked after a short time, due to the swing away tire carrier. Took it to the Ford dealer and they refused to fix it, saying it was “normal” for that to happen. My response was that Pintos burst into flames when rear ended. Was that ALSO “normal”? I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER FORD PRODUCT.
To be fair, the current Ranger is considerably larger than the compact pickup that was the original, so you could arguably break your rule and say it was a different vehicle. (The current Maverick is closer in size to the classic Ranger).
I have a 2wd Bronco II and am about to do a bolt in 4x4 swap. Never had an issue driving it as I respect the high center of gravity. The 2wd's have a thicker rear sway bar to help reduce roll over. It's a 1 inch bar compared to the iirc 1/2 inch ones found in the 4x4s. But anyone who drives it like a car rather than an suv is at risk, of course.
It was such a beautiful truck. As a child I wanted one so badly when I turned 16. My grandfather bought the first year Explorer, he ordered it and waited for it in 91. He bought another one in 1997 and so did my mother. I always hated the Explorer. Didn’t look good, terrible blind spots, and no fun to drive.
Had a Bronco II. It was my first new vehicle. I had driving a 1971 Bronco and a 1979 F-150 4X4 before that. That Bronco II was a great vehicle and took me across the country to many different jobs and projects. The problem was that there was a push to get people into 4X4 vehicles about that time and up to then most drivers had never been in a 4X4 of any type. They drove them like sedans, coups and sports cars and that did not work. Those of us that grew up driving 4X4s had no issues as we were smart enough to know you had to drive it accordingly. Waited forever for Ford to reintroduce the Bronco. Waited 22 years to be willing to buy a new vehicle. Ordered my new Black Diamond in January before the order cut off in March and will hopefully get it this summer. Really looking forward to this. This will be the third Bronco I owned and the fourth one I spent a lot of time driving.
I bought a brand new bronco 2 and 1990 when I worked at galpin Ford is a heavy line mechanic. They had three left. One was white with the red interior. When was Eddie Bauer that cost 21,000 for some apparent reason. And I bought the triple gray model for 13,500 and it was fantastic until my roommate rolled it later on the freeway in 2008.
I bought a new Bronco II in 1984 and had it for 16 years. I knew about the roll over risk, but never had any issues with it. Drove it to Alaska and back and lots of off road. I kept up with the maintenance, but wish I had bought something else. I've had 4Runners since and never looked back.
There was also another body conversion in addition to the one you mentioned. It was done by a company called Applied Concepts, and was labeled as the Bronco II Plus. It's kind of difficult to find information about it, but I think they look pretty sweet
Bought one new '83 1/2, lots of warranty fixes in 11 mo. Manual trans bearing? squealing 3x, electronic feedback carb high idle, broken e-brake hardware, etc. Only had a 42 amp alternator, dealer installed a/c with clearly marked radiator 'not for a/c'. Drove through thunderstorm and difference in air pressure blew out rear side window, which leaked after replacement. traded that fall for a 84 full sized Bronco.
As a Former owner of a 1988 Bronco II with the 2.9 M/T 4WD. It was one of the best vehicles
I have ever owned.
Per witnesses. I did put on 1 wheel twice and I think I had it on 3 wheels once.
(no verification, just the feeling and sound of tires.)
I considered the vehicle as safe as other vehicles on the road.
My hang up was not having rear bucket seats to prevent back or neck injuries.
I installed Smitty Built tube steps to give me more side impact protection.
I also installed front high back bucket seats out of a wrecked Explorer to give me and front
seat passenger better protection. Weird, I was never concerned about a roll over.
And despite having the vehicle on 1 wheel twice, It never felt unstable or like I was out of
control. Never.
I have been blessed to have owned some great cars of the past.
67 Mustang coupe with a 171 inline 6 and 3 speed M/T, with a limited slip diff.
(the engine was out of a Maverick)
94 2 Door Explorer, 4WD, M/T
95 T-Bird 4.6L , Awesome car. Pearl White with red cloth interior. Set of Blizaks and it was unstoppable.
And currently a Proud owner of a 2021 4 Door Bronco Big Bend with a 2.3 automatic.
Fantastic vehicle. My current commuter with almost 14k miles in almost 6 months.
Worst sub compact car = Yugo
Best family sedan of 80's and 90's is subjective at best.
But considering what the Taurus did in sales, and design for the automotive world.
it would be #1.
As someone that grew up in Poland and now lives in the UK and has an interest in automotive history these videos are fascinating. The closest we use to get to american motoring was the Jeep Cherokee or the Chrysler Voyager. You'd see some Lincoln Towncar limos as novelty wedding cars but that was mostly it. This is great insight into lesser known american car models.
I absolutely agree! I am from one of your neighbouring countries, and seeing american cars here is really a rarity.
I really enjoy this series of videos, seeing as it gives me and many others an insight into american car culture and their history!
For sure. most of these cars are infamous for being terrible in America
I actually bought one last year, and am working on repairing it. Truly a cool car with a unique history
Chrysler had an European assembly operation where Jeep and Chrysler cars were assembled in Austria for the European market, like the Voyager, Cherokee, and Chrysler 300.
" This is great insight into lesser known american car models."
I beg to differ. This video isn't particularly "great insight" where the subject vehicle, the Bronco II, is concerned.
What really stuck in my craw was the "should have forced a re-design" comment made in the video.
The Bronco II wasn't designed with off-pavement driving as a mere afterthought. It was what it was as a byproduct of meeting a specific engineering goal of providing the off-pavement capability of a stock CJ Jeep while being a more civilized vehicle to live with on the highway. If it had a longer wheelbase, a wider track width, and less ground clearance, it would not have been capable of meeting that objective.
Here's the reason why that was an objective deemed worthy of meeting.
Here in the U.S.A., we have vast tracts of wild, undeveloped public land that are administered by the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau Land Management.
Travel on those lands is often on unmaintained dirt roads on rough tracks. There are fewer open, legal routes on those lands now than there were when the Bronco II was launched. In 1972, congress passed a bill, signed into law by the president, directing federal land management agencies to adopt "Travel Plans" with a stated goal of protecting fragile habitats. It took several decades to fully implement that law.
If you could go back in time to a place like the San Bernardino National Forest in 1972 to 1984, you'd encounter a lot of vehicle routes that were little more than two tracks meandering across the landscape. In some cases, they were trails blazed by people in CJ Jeeps in the immediate post World-War II era. In other cases, they started life as maintained dirt routes for horse-drawn vehicle travel (like the famous Rubicon Trail in California, for example) 150 years ago, but were co-opted by CJ Jeep owners in the immediate post-war era. In other cases, they might have been a "fire break" cut by the BLM or USFS with a D-8 bulldozer, which were quickly co-opted by CJ owners.
That the routes that remain open and legal on U.S. public lands today even exist is due in large measure to "historic use" by people owning CJ Jeeps.
When the Bronco II was launched, there were significantly more open routes for vehicle travel on most BLM and USFS tracts than there are now. The reason they were there and hadn't been overcome by mother nature is because of "historic use" by CJ Jeep owners.
If Ford was guilty of anything, it was that they made the Bronco II to do off-pavement what a stock CJ Jeep could do, and presumed that only people with a planned use for that capability would be interested in buying a Bronco II.
The full-size Bronco, based on the full-size F-150 pickup truck, is too wide and too long for a lot of trails and routes that were still open to vehicle travel back in the 1980s. The current 2022 Bronco would have been, too.
Going back to the San Bernardino National Forest, I picked that as an example because I'm intimately familiar with it and have literally been on every single currently open vehicle route upon it.
Access for me was via FS Route 3N14 from the High Desert. That route runs from the desert, through the mountains, and terminates at the community of Fawnskin on the shore of Big Bear Lake. It started life as a toll road in the horse-drawn vehicle era. It remains open to vehicle travel today.
But a LOT of routes that formerly intersected with it do not.
As an example, where 3N14 passes a place called Coxey Meadow, there used to be two routes that were still open to vehicle travel when the Bronco II first went on sale. One of them followed Coxey Creek for about 2.5 miles from Coxey Meadow to Carbine Flat. That trail was so technical that the last time I used it, it took me four hours to go from one end to the other. It was originally "blazed" in the immediate post-WWII era by civilian CJ Jeep owners and anything much bigger than a Bronco II or having less ground clearance than a Bronco II would have had a very tough time traversing it.
Another example: There used to be a trail leading from Coxey Meadow to very near the summit of Shay Mountain. That route was originally a "fire break" meant to keep a wildfire from spreading. It was co-opted by immediate post-war Jeep owners. If the Bronco II had less ground clearance, it couldn't have handled that trail. But while that trail was still an open route, the Bronco II had no trouble traveling on it.
Why?
Because it was meant to be able to go where a stock CJ could, road or no road.
The lower, longer Ford Explorer meant to be the Bronco II's replacement offering sucks off-pavement precisely because its "street manners" were higher on the priority list when it was being developed.
I never knew that Bronco II's had such a high rollover hazard, I owned one for about five years and even did some sketchy off-road crap with it. I do have to agree with Ford to a certain degree about driver error, you can't operate a small SUV with a high center of gravity the same way you'd drive a low to the ground hatchback.
Exactly, I've owned mine for 4 years, and yes, I've done sketchy stuff, but I don't drive it like a sports car, and because of that it hasn't flipped
@@that_camo_bronco_guy Same. At least at low speed you have to really try something to at least three wheel it lol
I know people that rolled Bronco's but I also know people that rolled Blazers and Pathfinders Jeeps etc... bottom line they were driving them too fast around a hairpin turn or were acting stupid on a dirt road going too fast for conditions or tried to do something crazy off road. People that drove them slower and used common sense did fine with them.
Having done a flat 540 coming to an emergency dead-stop facing oncoming traffic from 65mph on a wet, blind highway curve I tend to side with Ford, you have to go above and beyond to actually roll the truck.
I agree, partially. While it's true that you can't drive them the same way as a sedan, the J turn testing is NOT designed to test whether or not the vehicle will flip when driven like a mad man. These tests are designed to simulate everyday emergency maneuvers.....such as a sharp turn to avoid a child running out into the street.
I had a Bronco II. Loved it. I was reliable, comfy and good in the snow.
I didn't drive it like a maniac so it never rolled over.
Mine rolled and it almost killed me. But a mustang did run a red light and T boned me at 90 mph. So can’t blame the truck. I loved it and i want another one tbh.
@@trevorburns5260 I lived in Colorado. With a good set of snow tires it would literally drag itself through the snow. I plowed snow for the city so when I went to work no one plowed. And I was in a rural area so we would stop plowing at about 5:00 p.m. and wouldn't start until 4:00 a.m. .
I also towed a small boat and it never gave me any trouble.
I have one. Parts are getting hard to find
One of my uncles had a Bronco II in the early 90's, and never had any issues with it from what I recall, and that dude who was drunk behind the wheel should not have won that case whatsoever, and with those scenes from The Breakfast Club you have me wanting to watch that movie all over again lol!
Never had any issues with it? Not possible. And just because he didn't roll his over doesn't mean it wasn't an unacceptable risk to have it out there
@@kevinbarry71 I never said it wasn't an unacceptable risk, just that it never happened to him thankfully, and he never had any issues with his Bronco II because he did all the scheduled maintance on it himself just like he did for all his cars, trucks and farm equipment, while keeping them washed, and stored out of the weather in his large barn when he did not need them.
Yep, I'm gonna watch The Breakfast Club again for the umpteenth time thanks to the power of suggestion.
There is no way in hell that people should be able to sue for poor driving habits, Lawyers have ruined it for most manufacturers!
@@CommodoreFan64 The Bronco II was only a ri9sk to poor drivers and ones that were drunk.
I had one for about 6 years, loved it. Was very reliable for me and never felt unsafe when driving off road.
Watching this makes me sure miss it.
it was only idiots that tipped these over . i had one two . loved it .
I've owned 2 Bronco IIs. I've never felt like it was in danger of tipping, however I drive carefully, cautiously and also run wider, off-road tires. I think it's a very sharp looking suv. I get compliments every time I drive it. Hoping to get a larger fullsize or new version to pair with it someday.
I owned two Bronco ll's. I had an 86 and an 88. I loved them. They were used extensively off road and during harsh winters and always got me home. You could tell just by looking at them that they would be unstable in tight turns. Drive easy, and it would be fine. I never had a problem.
I had an '86 Bronco II XLT, 2.9L, 4x4, 5 spd standard. I absolutely LOVED it. Rode it until it rusted apart and replaced it with a 2009 Escape. What a downgrade that was.
Thank you so much for this video! I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned some things I didn’t know. My very first car was a 1990 Bronco II 4WD 5 speed. It had the optional 4.10 gears. It would really go anywhere. I miss that vehicle. Now they’re worth anywhere from $10k- 20K!
My Bronco II was the same but a 1989 model. 4WD , 5 speed with the 4.1 rear gears.
Great vehicle that could handle a lot.
Replace it with an explorer about the mid nineties and the explorer was not near the vehicle.
I loved my '86 Bronco II, if it had had a removable roof it would have been better, but other then that it was a tough, fun little Truck.
Great video, but I did noticed one error. There were actually 3 Ford vehicles that used the II Roman numerals in their name in the 1970s. The third one being the LTD II which was built between '77-79.
Ford also used Mustang II on a show car back in 63 (I think). It was to differentiate that from the original Mustang 1, a small, mid-engine, V4 powered sports car, of which they made two. One is in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. All these cars were made before the introduction of the Mustang on April 17, 1964. Possibly Ford used the II because of Henry Ford ll, aka Henry the Deuce.
"Isn't it you in that LTD II? You'll never know 'til you try."
-Jingle from a Ford commercial long ago. They may have said "drive" not try.
I had the ltd ii....it was a cool car, I put blue fur on the dashboard with white dingleberries under it, fur steering wheel and dingle berry's around the windows, it was a 2 door sports coupe, a very large long car. I got really drunk when I was 16 and ran a red light and smashed a car that was waiting to turn left, my engine was pushed back to where it was literally sitting next to me. The family tried to sue my dad's insurance company but they were illegal aliens, my dad knew some gov people and got the whole family sent back to Mexico! Now that's a very very bad day for a family, they get into a wreck they think they're going to be rich suing someone but instead get kicked out
I used to own a 78 LTD ll. It was an ex Denver police car with a 351m 2bbl. It was the most under powered gas hog I have ever owned.
@@breakingames7772 I see a nice one in a dudes driveway on the way to a job, black base with red and orange lettering.
The recommended tire pressure on the 1st and 2nd gen Explorers was 26 psi. I remember cutting out the DOT's on the Firestone tires over 20 years ago.
Huh? What are you trying to say?
I had one of the rarest Bronco II you can get it was a 90 Eddie Bauer Edition. 90's were very rare because they were only built for 6 or 7 months.
The history of the Bronco II is kind of special to me. It was released the same year that I started working at the Ford dealer in late 1982. It sold like hotcakes here in the Southern California desert where thousands of dirt roads criss cross the desert all the way to the Nevada border.
I always favored the old 2.8 V6 that had mechanical lifters requiring periodic valve adjustment. It was a bullet proof engine. The only downfall was if one was climbing at too steep an angel, gas would go too far out of the carburetor float bowl and stall the engine. Backing down a hill without power brakes is never fun. The fuel injected 2.9 V6 solved that problem but I still preferred the rattle prone 2.8.
I drove enough of the 4X2 Bronco IIs to call CRs story a bunch of crock. Any vehicle in the wrong hands can be rolled. Any idiot should know that you can't turn corners in an SUV like you could a Porsche. This is the fault of the driver, not the vehicle. I sometimes think CR creates these stories to sell magazines.
Finally I would like to add that the Explorer was a terrible replacement for the Bronco II. Ask any mechanic that was around when the Explorer debuted. The 4.0V6 suffered from oil leaks so badly that Ford came out with several Technical Service Bulletins to address the problem. This was in 1989 before the internet which meant TSBs were released in print. Mechanics were left to their own device to reseal the 4.0. Finally Ford had us pulling the engines to reaeal them with updated gaskets and seals. Then came the cracked heads at number 1 and number 6 cylinders; opposite corners of the engine. The heads would crack from the spark plug hole to the exhaust port creating an exhaust leak. No one ever remembers those problems. Maybe I have been a mechanic too long. At 57 years old I have too many stories to tell
I had an 84 Ranger with the 2.8L V6...never any problems until the local Ford garage touched it...never ran right afterwards :(. My first Bronco 2 was an 84 and again the 2.8L V6 did just fine, rest of the truck was rusted all to hell though LOL. I currently have a 88 Eddie Bauer Bronco 2.
@@wildbill23c I also had an 84 Ranger that I bought in 1992. I got it at an auction when one of the local mining companies was shutting down. I think I won it for about $1100. They had beat the hell out of it and did minimal maintenance while they owned it. But the 2.8 under the hood started and ran flawless. The Mitsu 5 speed was noisy in all gears but 4th, clearly the countershaft bearings were shot. I think they must have ran it out of oil at some point. I had to use a Port-a-power to get the crossmember out because the frame was a bit tweaked.
I drove that truck all over the desert and taught both my daughters how to drive stick shift with it. I ended up selling it in 1996 and bought a 1989 Nissan pickup. Worst mistake of my life. The Nissan was an okay pickup but getting parts for it wasn't so easy. In 1996 buying parts online was still kind of hit and miss. And in this remote part of the desert, parts sources are a little scarce. I spent a couple of months starting the Nissan with a screw driver until I could find an ignition switch.
@@rtwice93555 I had an 89 Nissan D21 4x4 which had an ignition switch that any key fit, and if you had a key in the ignition it would fall out when you'd go around a corner LOL.
@@wildbill23c nice. I have blue 89 bronco ii
At 57 years old myself, I would like to hear them. I had a 1994 Mazda Navajo (Rebadged Ford Explorer Sport) and my dad had a 1988 Bronco II. I never had a problem with the 4.0 in the Mazda. I guess it was fixed by then. We never flipped the Bronco II.
Technically the original Ranger was out of production after MY 2012 in the US and the new Ranger is the same as the World market Ranger which is slightly larger and vastly different
For most purposes the Ranger was NEVER DISCONTINUED (which is why our Narrator won't do an episode on it) as the 4G brought overseas in 2012, immediately after US discontinuation on the 3G, was the same on the outside (figure the usual lighting and superficial differences) as the one the US got (still 4G or T-6) in 2018. What substantially differentiates the US version are the lack of any Diesel engine, different suspension bits and interior.
Now there will be a 5G (modified 4G) sold globally in the '23 MY. The Raptor version will be sold as a '23 overseas and '24 in US, both with a (different outputs of the 2T-3.0L depending on market) V6 gas / petrol engine.
@@syxepop It's still bunk, it's like saying he won't do a Maverick episode now, even though they are radically different platforms.
@@abpsd73 the maverick is a unibody, just like the bronco
@@dr.floridaman4805 and every generation of the wrangler, Cherokee etc
@@abpsd73 Exactly! And how about the fact that the Ranger name was used on the full sized pickups before coming out with the compact little 80s truck. And to add to that one of the Edsel models was called the Ranger. I own a 1987 Ranger and I can tell you that it has nothing in common with any of those vehicles or the current version Ranger being sold, so this guy can safely do an episode on the 80s generation of Ranger and not ruin his reputation.
The funny thing about it was on the visor on my bronco ii it told you that this is a high center of gravity vehicle and sharp turns should be avoided at all costs for rollover risk I never had any problems with my broncoii I put over 380,000 mi on it
Had a Bronco II years ago. Loved that thing. I don’t feel they were dangerous, just had to know it was not a Ferrari and to not drive it like one. Was always curious as to the rear side window design and why they went with a window that curved into the roof. Kinda like it now but at the time always though a more traditional window would have looked better. Probably would have been cheaper to produce as well
That was the only cool aspect about it
I always thought those curved windows were goofy looking.
If you ever rode in the back seat of a first generation Bronco with a hardtop, you'd know why Ford did what they did with the big side windows on the Bronco II.
Ford did focus-group surveys of gen-one Bronco owners, asking what they liked about the original Bronco AND what they didn't. One of the complaints was poor back-seat ergonomics and poor outward visibility for passengers seated back there.
One solution was "safari windows" like on the rear of a Land Rover Discovery / Discovery II.
They went to the one-piece window partly because there was an idea to make those readily removable as an option, which turned out to be problematic and very short-lived.
@@jerroldshelton9367 I think I seen a few that had pop out windows ages ago. I always just thought that was aftermarket lol
I miss those mini Broncs
Not the smoothest on the highway but off road and in the winter they were damn near unstoppable.
I think one of the best family sedans was the 1978-1990 Chevy Caprice/Impala. One if the only times where GM made the downsized model look better than the previous one. Plus many options and good quality (at the time)
Ford Crown Victoria.
everything you do on this channel is right. really good stuff
The 2nd generation Bronco you mention at approximately 3:44 was actually made from 1978-1979. Bronco II was produced alongside the 3rd and 4th generation full-size Broncos from 1984-1990.
There have been 6 generations of the original Bronco label (1st - 1966-1977); (2nd - 1978-1979); (3rd - 1980-1986); (4th - 1987-1991); (5th - 1992-1996); (6th - 2021-current).
I bought one from my neighbor in '98 because the price was right and it was really solid and clean. I forget what year it was now. I had fun with it for a brief time, sold it to my brother in law and it moved from West Lafayette, Ohio to live in NYC.
I had two Bronco II's and loved both of them, and both had over 200K miles when I sold them. I'd buy another if I could find one like both of them- manual trans with front locking hubs and Lariat edition.
Anything?
I lived in the mountains of Colorado. The town plowed snow till 4pm. I got off work at midnight. With decent tires the Bronco always got me home. Sometimes the front bumper was pushing snow. Then I got a Subaru. Nope, the Bronco was better in the snow.
Mines not a lariat. i used to know where one was but if it's still there it's been sitting for about 10 years.
Love the video! I have an 87 Bronco II that my dad bought brand new way back when. It was my first vehicle and a couple of years ago I got it out of storage and started rebuilding the engine. It's been in our family this whole time. I can't wait to start driving it again!
Would you be able to send pictures of the engine bay wiring harness?
@@rumblertag1419 Are you wanting pics of the harness after it's been connected?
@@jasoncarson97 yeah or even a video on what the connections look like and where they go
@@rumblertag1419 okay I'll try to get one asap, but it will be several days. I'm keeping it at my dad's shop and it will probably be close to the end of the week before I can get over there. I made a bunch of pics back when I started disconnecting things to take the engine out, so I'll go through those and see if there are some I can send.
@@jasoncarson97 ok perfect, what would be the easiest way to send them I have most social media things
I always loved the bronco II. It looks really cool and I’d like to find a ok shape one to restore.
I have an 88 Eddie Bauer Bronco 2, unfortunately I got in too big of a hurry to buy one and jumped on this one with the dreaded A4LD automatic transmission in it. Replacement crate engine, and rebuilt transmission and it does fine, but gets the worst fuel economy of the 3 vehicles I own...gets worse fuel economy than my 2008 V8 Explorer LOL. I keep thinking of getting rid of it, but its not worth anything more than I keep driving it till it dies then I scrap it value. Nobody want these things anymore because they're old, they're clunky, finding parts for them is getting harder and harder, and well you are driving a brick down the road LOL. They're fun offroad, but not that great on the highway...although mine has factory front and rear stabilizer bars which help a lot on the highway and for cornering, its pretty solid considering its high center of gravity. I do have larger tires on it because trying to find any all terrain tires in a 205/75-R15 is pretty much impossible it seems, so I went to 235/74-R15's and put Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S tires on it, they're wider so it helps with stability as well, but screwed up the already dismal fuel economy LOL.
The interior in mine is well ehh, the paint needs redone on it, but it runs and drives pretty well for being 34 years old. Previously I had an 84 Bronco 2 that was pretty trashed, makes my current one look mint LOL. I did convert the AC to R134a about 4 years ago. Transmission got rebuilt in 2016, engine replaced in 2018. I enjoy driving it, but at some point I'd like to get a pickup, who knows maybe another Ranger to go with my 87 long bed 4x2 Ranger but a 4x4 instead.
Got an '89 bronco II
In southern California.
Hit me up.
Had a 86 and I would like to have another one
Another great video, thanks! Maybe in 30 years we will have a similar video on the Bronco Sport
Funny thing these Broncos are rare here in the midwest with them being able to rust out. And now there collectors trucks and people are aslo turning into mud/rock crawlers and aslo very cool trucks with v8's but these medium sized trucks/SUVs never offered them from the factory due safety concerns but had no issues selling v8 motor mounts for these models for v8's.
Moving the steering box and modified driver side header and oil pan, made the v8 swap a much bigger task on broncoii and ranger than the sbc blazer/S10 swap
My understanding (at least at GM) was the S-10s never had a V8 because they thought it would cannibalize their full-size truck sales. Drove me bonkers when they started offering a 5.3 in the Colorado/Canyon for awhile because of the Hummer H3.
You need to do an episode for the International Scout II. They ended production in 1982, and the Bronco II is very similar, in size and style. My dad had 3 of them. 72, 74, and 79. He had the 1979 until 1989 when he bought a 1988 Ford Taurus. Yes, I watched that video. Great job!
Loved my 86 Bronco 2. it was indestructible and took me on a ton of adventures. I even towed a trailer with it. I was young, it was my first new vehicle and I have many good memories. I also learned how to replace valve cover gaskets almost professionally as they the valve covers tended to warp. I would’ve even try that with my cars today
I had an 88 Bronco II. Loved it but did find out while making a quick u-turn that it was fairly easy to get on 2 wheels. Also. in addition to Capri II and Mustang II, Ford had an LTD II. Great video!
About the time the Bronco II problems came out ,I got behind one in traffic and took a good look at the rear suspension , and compared it to the S 10 . Ford had mounted the rear springs too close together and the shocks were mounted at the wrong angle to provide proper stability to the vehicle .
Had a good friend that had an 83 Bronco II with the 2.8 V6 and automatic. The vehicle was severely underpowered. From Phx to Payson Az, he had to keep his foot to the floor to make the grades, and then the thing would run out of brakes on the way down. Several times we had pucker moments when the truck was just about to tip over, tires screaming, at 55 mph on downgrades. However, to it's credit it was loads of fun in the dry desert and didn't feel unstable there!
Love the Breakfast Club clips! As far as the Bronco II, I owned my own roll over risky 1981 CJ-7. You just had to pay attention off road.
The Bronco II wasn't a failure by any means. Awesome little truck. My dad had one, and it was cool. My dad worked for Ford at that time, and the Bronco II sold well, and had little issues. You're off the mark a wee bit in this one.
I loved my '86 Bronco II XLT! It was a great little SUV! I never feared for my safety in it, and only sold it for something bigger...
I've driven mine 200k miles in 3 years, great vehicles, wider wheels will really help with stability, I've got 15x9.5s and I think they were 15x7s? Only 205 wide tires which didn't help with the instability of it, as well as the same height as length, but overall I love it
In a lot of ways, the full sized Bronco and small Bronco II of the 80's is mirrored by today's Bronco and Bronco Sport. I remember driving a friend's Bronco II back in high school, he had sprained his ankle in football practice and I drove him home in it. We went to make a right turn onto the road from our school parking lot and the body roll was so bad even at 10-15 mph that I knew I never wanted one after that.
Good point.
A rich girl I know had a 1990 Bronco 2 in high school, and it had a 4.0 V6. I remember how impressed I was with the power that it had, and looked for one with a 4.0 later in life. I never found one, despite the 4.0 being an option in ‘90.
I had one with the one inch lift spacers, slightly oversized tires that was an awesome vehicle. It was in excellent condition ('88 model, if I remember correctly) and I kept it pristine up till I sold it far above market value in 2003. Was not a failure for me in any way
My first car was a rwd 2.9 5speed '88 BII XLT, I drove it '08-'20, literally a bombproof-go-anywhere rig! I would also argue that the new 2door Bronco is more reminiscent of the BII than the sport while the 4 door is a dead ringer for the Big Bronco of the '80s , having driven all of the above somewhat extensively.
In 1986, Some friend of a friend of mine had a brand new Bronco II. He decided to do a "Rockford" in a parking lot at a mall and that thing went over on to its side. I owned a couple, both blew the transmissions. Lucky the one was still under warranty. But they towed a 22 ft boat that weighted more than it did.
Everyone must have forgotten about the rollover issues by the year 2000 when I got my first car, a blue 88 Bronco II Eddie Bauer. There was never any talk of them rolling over and it never felt unstable to me. I was 16 and…not gentle with it. Interestingly, the Explorer/Firestone debacle unfolded during the time I owned the Bronco II and I ended up getting a brand new free set of Firestones out of it as the tires that were on it when I bought it ended up being subjected to the recall.
I quite liked my Bronco II with its clean tan interior with the little Eddie Bauer pine trees embroidered on the seats. I wish I still had it. Maybe some day I’ll find a clean five speed.
I had one of these and loved it, but the firewall rusted out and I was worried about the brakes not working if the master cylinder fell off one day LoL
The beginning and the end of this video was absolutely perfect with the Bronco II scenes in The Breakfast Club. 😇😎
I used to have one of those. The Explorer had rollover press in the late 90s. Ford blamed the Firestone tires while Firestone blamed Ford.
Yup I never will buy fire/Bridgestone for any vehicle.
My parents brought a 2000 model and had to change the tires when the flaw came to light. But that aside those Explorers were solid vehicles and still own it today.
It’s the tires. All SUVs had a little tip potential then but only Firestone made exploding tires that would unravel and pull you into a violent roll
Pretty sure it had more to do with tire pressure.Recommended tire pressure was too low,especially when towing/hauling.
@@FATMIKED5183 there was a vid breakdown of it years ago I recall.
The weight over the rear wheels was unbalanced ,I think the left rear tire had about 200 pounds more on it than the right side.
Lousy weight distribution.
I had an '85 Bronco 2, I liked it except for the automatic transmission. In the owner manual, it said there was an option that the rear side windows could come out and be stored in the back, much like t-tops, but I've never seen one with that option. Thanks for the video!
Short lived back window option to be removable. Would be cool
My dad had one of these Bronco IIs. I think his was a 1986 or 1887 but it was well into the 90s or early 2000s when he had it. It was prestine! It was fun to drive, I remember the blue interior that sorta matched the blue/silver two tone exterior. It was a 5-speed but easy to drive, I was in high school around the time so I was learning to drive standard, he let me drive it to school sometimes. Then he traded it for a 89 Mazda323. In Canada I guess we had the option of an extra bare bones model 323 with 4-speed manual, I'll never forget that one, I ended up buying a new 2022 Mazda3 premium AWD recently and The only thing the two cars shared in common are a hatch.
I love Ford car episodes :-)
Well, in my family, the closest to "family sedan", was we had two straight late 1980's Volvo 740's. First was a standard Red 740 and the other was a Black 740 Turbo.
And my favourite we had only for a short time was a 90's something blue colored Nissan Bluebird estate. My Mom though bought small cars that was crampy with spaze :-/
Had an 86 xlt. Loaded fixed high center of gravity by running 55 series wide tires. Great in the snow . Wish I could buy a new one
In 2000 I bought an '89n Bronco II. As-is... with a secret surprise bad-lifter. Made it 5 miles out of the seller's area before I realized I paid $300 per mile....
In high school in the mid-nineties I really liked Bronco IIs. A lady I worked with was selling hers and I told her I was interested in buying it. She told me it was a piece of junk, broke down all the time and not to buy it. I appreciated her honesty and didn't buy it.
Bought a used blue/white Bronco II and repainted it all white just in time for the OJ slow chase to occur.
It didn't matter that they were different models, I still got tagged as driving the OJ mobile.
OJ WHITE excellent choice of color 👌
I was there for the clip at 7:22 it was at a great little track called Buck Motorsports Speedway in Gap PA
My father bought an 86 Ford Bronco 2. I remember going on a few family trips in it. Have some good and bad memories in it. Think about sharing a backseat with a brother and sister going across the
U. S. Needless to say it was a tight fit in the back.
I've owned 2 explorers and loved both of them, especially my 90s limited which would go anywhere and was the best vehicle I've ever owned in the snow ❄️
I definitely would love to see an episode on the Ford Explorer. My mom and her twin sister drove SUVs a lot when I was growing up, and I had many fond memories from road trips to simple errands.
The ford explorer is still in production. This channel covers cars that have been discontinued.
I drove so many Bronco II in 1984-85. I was 16-17 years old. My dad was a Ford executive and brought home a Ford for me to use every week. Many times it was a Bronco II. From plain Jane metal door trim models with manual transmission, up to fully loaded Eddie Bauer. These things were excellent. I drove around sometimes with 7 people on board. Many times I went 4x4ing through dirt and mud trails, climbing and ascending steep hills. Driving through creeks. Winter was a blast, no matter how much snow we got. All this and I never came close to rolling one. Plus, with the rear seat down, the cargo area made a great spot for my girlfriend and me to practice our “night moves”. Remember, I was a new driver, experiencing things in these vehicles that I’d never done before. Now looking back 40 years later, those were some of the best times of my life. And I’m still a decent driver, loving my 2015 GT convertible. Drive it like ya stole it but don’t be stupid 😂
I had 2 Bronco IIs. Loved them both. Those and the Rangers were awesome bulletproof chassis. I wish I could find a restored one. I'd buy it.
Now we Need a Jeep Cherokee and or Comanche episode, because those were both the Last American Motors owned Jeep models and the First Chrysler owned Jeep models.
Mr. Old Car absolutely chose the right music for this channel.
I loved my 88 Bronco II Eddie Bauer edition!
Great video! It’s been at least 25 years since I’ve seen one of these on the road around here.
Gotta do an episode on the Ford exploder!!! The tire thing happened to my moms 94 mercury villager too actually.
You created a very good video and I for one thank you! I own two Bronco Bronco 2's a 89 XLT and a 90 Eddie Bauer! I'm in the driving process of restoring both. They both have new engines, brakes, shocks etc. And I can't be happier with both of mine! I've never have thought about the roll over issue, but I drive in a normal within limitations of the Vechicles design! Where ever I go this being 2024 I get the compliments and do you want to sell comments! The money 💰 I've invested is nothing compared to a new Bronco! Both Bronco 2s continue to appreciate in price compared to the depreciation of a new Bronco! All I can say is I love ❤️ my Broncos 35 years and driving into the future on these steel frame 4x4 trucks!
I had a 1990 Bronco II for 9 years. No problems, one of the best vehicles I’ve ever owned. Replaced it with an Explorer, which was the biggest POS I’ve ever owned.
Great video on the Bronco II! I had a first gen Ranger when I was in high school and even though mine was only 2wd that little truck would go anywhere and do just about anything we ever asked of it! I loved that truck and still miss it even today 25 years after selling it.
For good small cars, the 1988 Mercury Tracer 2 door was a great car. A rebadged Mazda 323 with a more plush interior. I owned two at different times in my 20s and will always have a soft spot for that great little car. And for your movie cutaways, many were destroyed in the movie Heat if you pay attention to the Brinks truck heist and the infamous shootout scene downtown.
I'd like to see a review of the Chevy Malibu Maxx from the mid 2000's. I think it was a great car that had lots of room and plenty of power while still getting pretty good gas mileage.
I didn't know about the roll over problem. Thanks Pat
Bronco II's biggest downfall was the wire harness was really bad. I owned one and really liked it but I had to come up with weird ways to keep it running.
We've got the S10 Blazer and the Bronco II, time to finish up the Compact SUV trilogy with the Jeep Cherokee XJ.
A relative of mine once bought a Bronco II a few years back. He bought it for dirt cheap, because it didn’t run. He had it towed to the house on a flatbed.
All I could tell you about this Bronco II now is: it was a late 80s model (I want to say ‘87), 5-speed and the body had been entirely sanded down to a speckled primer gray.
Plus, for reasons I could never personally investigate for, even after said relative got the old V6 to turn over again, the clutch and brake pedals had an occasional tendency to operate simultaneously. The pedal issue is why he would never let me drive it.
This thing screamed to be a mud truck, imo, and that’s what the next owners planned on doing with it when he sold it a year or so later.
This specific Bronco II was only a failure in the sense that, 1) this one had clearly been used and abused for the past two decades, for better and worse, and 2) this relative went through cars like underwear, especially if the car in question needed more tlc than he bargained for.
Another great video. Keep them coming! I have an 04 Chevy SSR and I’m surprised how many people I meet assume it’s a custom vehicle I built myself. The SSRs Would make for an interesting video.
The old subcompact pickup trucks were so cool. They basically were like the larger F150 but smaller. The new ones are basically like suvs. You see this with like the Ridgeline comparing first generation to 2nd gen.
I had a 88 Bronco ll. Great in the snow.....loved the super tight turning radius. Worst part about them was the cylinder heads cracking on 2.9 and 4.0 motors. After I sold it, I got a 2002 Ford Escape...and had a dog run out in front of me at almost 40mph......The quick "s" turn I made to miss him and not go off road made me glad I was in the Escape! I would have been on the roof with that Bronco!
I had an isuzu amigo, 3 inches less wheelbase and 2 inches wider. Turn a circle in 3 lanes with room to spare.
I cracked a head on a brandnew 2.9. Was doing a PDI and we had to drive a quarter mile from lot to shop and to test for coolant you look in the overflow tank and squeeze upper radiator hose instead of cracking open cap and having coolant spew everywhere. Well, there was coolant in the overflow tank but apparently no coolant in engine. Made it 4 miles. Cracked cylinder head and oil came out. Vehicle got a brand new engine with less than 10 miles on it.
I bought a new Bronco II in 1989. Great in snow and off road. I loved it, until 17 years later it rolled...and rolled...and....My brother had one as well and his met the same demise. Thanks for the video👍. It reminded me of some good times(rollover excluded). LOL
I miss the days these and so many other unique and amazing vehicles owned the streets. I drove a Dodge Diplomat old highway patrol vehicle. I don't know if I saw a video on the mopar "m" body? Also a good one for a future video would be the the Dihatsu Rocky or just the Dihatsu brand in general. Anyway I really enjoy the content you provide, keep it up.
I've owned so many 80s cars.. would love to see videos about: 2nd generation VW Golf, any VW Scirocco, E28 BMW 5-series, 85-88 Toyota Cressida, 81-84 Nissan Maxima..
Had an '87 Bronco II with 4WD and off-road tires. Man, it would drive thru any weather, no problem. What an awesome vehicle that was.
I agree. My 86 Bronco 2 4X4 5 speed could go anywhere. I drove it through mud in Mexico with everyone guaranteeing me it would get stuck, yet it was a Jeep Wrangler that got stuck.
I owned a 1989 Suzuki Swift GTi and loved it. Can you do an episode on that?
Had an '84 2.8L 4x4 5spd. Put a 7 inch lift with 32" tires on 15" wagon wheels. Great little trail truck. Always wanted the removable rear glass option though.
We had the Bronco II and what I remember most is that it was in the so much my parents wrote to Ford management to complain about it.
As for car I’d like to see featured: the 1991 Eagle Talon. Fun little car, if not for replacing the transmission and then needing to replace the replacement transmission, I’d probably still have it today.
th-cam.com/video/2x2APopLuEw/w-d-xo.html
You should do an episode on the IH scout, and another episode on the IH lightline pickup series that includes the travelall "wagon" and wagonmaster
Love your videos the idea is awesome! Old cars are super interesting, a ford pinto video and ford galaxie video would be sweet
All of the things that made the Bronco II a danger in rollovers also made it a more capable off road machine. Taller gives it more ground clearance. Narrow with a short wheelbase also makes it more maneuverable on the trail. For what it was designed for, I wouldn't have changed anything for the safety reasons addressed here.
I had one of these. The tailgate (fiberglass) cracked after a short time, due to the swing away tire carrier. Took it to the Ford dealer and they refused to fix it, saying it was “normal” for that to happen.
My response was that Pintos burst into flames when rear ended. Was that ALSO “normal”?
I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER FORD PRODUCT.
👍
I shitcanned that tire carrier. I saw it was a poor design and put the tire inside behind the seat.
An episode on the Mitsubishi Diamante would be nice
Also best family sedan an underrated: the Mitsubishi Galant
I bought mine new in 88 and it has been one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. And after 34 years of ownership it is still standing up.
Hey would you mind getting in touch with me I have an 87 and I need an example of the wiring under the hood
To be fair, the current Ranger is considerably larger than the compact pickup that was the original, so you could arguably break your rule and say it was a different vehicle. (The current Maverick is closer in size to the classic Ranger).
I have a 2wd Bronco II and am about to do a bolt in 4x4 swap. Never had an issue driving it as I respect the high center of gravity. The 2wd's have a thicker rear sway bar to help reduce roll over. It's a 1 inch bar compared to the iirc 1/2 inch ones found in the 4x4s. But anyone who drives it like a car rather than an suv is at risk, of course.
It was such a beautiful truck. As a child I wanted one so badly when I turned 16. My grandfather bought the first year Explorer, he ordered it and waited for it in 91. He bought another one in 1997 and so did my mother. I always hated the Explorer. Didn’t look good, terrible blind spots, and no fun to drive.
Had a Bronco II. It was my first new vehicle. I had driving a 1971 Bronco and a 1979 F-150 4X4 before that. That Bronco II was a great vehicle and took me across the country to many different jobs and projects.
The problem was that there was a push to get people into 4X4 vehicles about that time and up to then most drivers had never been in a 4X4 of any type. They drove them like sedans, coups and sports cars and that did not work.
Those of us that grew up driving 4X4s had no issues as we were smart enough to know you had to drive it accordingly.
Waited forever for Ford to reintroduce the Bronco. Waited 22 years to be willing to buy a new vehicle. Ordered my new Black Diamond in January before the order cut off in March and will hopefully get it this summer. Really looking forward to this.
This will be the third Bronco I owned and the fourth one I spent a lot of time driving.
I bought a brand new bronco 2 and 1990 when I worked at galpin Ford is a heavy line mechanic. They had three left. One was white with the red interior. When was Eddie Bauer that cost 21,000 for some apparent reason. And I bought the triple gray model for 13,500 and it was fantastic until my roommate rolled it later on the freeway in 2008.
Had a 1986 XLT with 4 WD and never had issue handling or breakdowns. They are worth some money now if they are in good shape.
Unfortunately, some companies don’t seem to learn and make the same mistakes over and over. I noticed you were nice enough to leave some some out.
I bought a new Bronco II in 1984 and had it for 16 years. I knew about the roll over risk, but never had any issues with it. Drove it to Alaska and back and lots of off road. I kept up with the maintenance, but wish I had bought something else. I've had 4Runners since and never looked back.
There was also another body conversion in addition to the one you mentioned. It was done by a company called Applied Concepts, and was labeled as the Bronco II Plus. It's kind of difficult to find information about it, but I think they look pretty sweet
I learned to drive on a B2 and my dad had two. Loved those things and I have a goal in life to find and restore one
Bought one new '83 1/2, lots of warranty fixes in 11 mo. Manual trans bearing? squealing 3x, electronic feedback carb high idle, broken e-brake hardware, etc. Only had a 42 amp alternator, dealer installed a/c with clearly marked radiator 'not for a/c'. Drove through thunderstorm and difference in air pressure blew out rear side window, which leaked after replacement. traded that fall for a 84 full sized Bronco.
Next episode: the AMC history with Jeep Cherokee xj Is rival of Ford Bronco II and Chevrolet S10 blazer.