Driving 101: Behind the Wheel of a 1975 Ford Bronco
The Ford Bronco was introduced to the public in August 1965. As the first sport-utility vehicle by Ford, they were sold from 1966 until 1996. 25 years later in 2021, they brought the Bronco back. It was initially offered with three cab types: a wagon, a pickup (which was discontinued after 1972), and an open model that has cut-out filler panels instead of doors like the Jeep CJ-5 has. The Ford Bronco also came into the spotlight in 1994 when O.J. Simpson was a passenger in a low-speed police chase with over 95 million Americans watching the Bronco drive down the interstate.
In the early 1960s, the Bronco was thought up by product manager Donald Frey who also conceived the Ford Mustang. It was marketed as a sport utility for civilian offroaders and intended to compete against Jeep’s CJ-5 and the International Harvester’s Scout. The 1975 Bronco only had 13,125 units made, the least of all the years in production. In comparison, by 1979, they were making 104,038 units to supply a growing demand.
The ‘75 Bronco comes equipped with a 302-cubic inch V-8 engine with 125 horsepower which was the only option for this model. It had a redesigned combustion chamber, new pistons, a revised exhaust system, and a stronger rear axle compared to the prior year. The unleaded fuel engines and catalytic converters were also added because of an increase in emission requirements during that decade. Some other changes that were seen in the 1975 Bronco include an increase in the ride height for the driver so that they were a bit taller in the saddle. Formerly standard items like the padded dash were moved to an options list. There was also an option for an 800-watt engine block heater for those drivers in cold climates.
This iconic vehicle was built with simple and sturdy construction with great maneuverability to help with its offroad performance. The based model of the ‘75 Ford Bronco was a great platform to easily add modifications to meet the needs of the drivers.
This vehicle was a 2 door SUV and came with 4-wheel drive. There were four trim packages that customers could choose from at the time: base Bronco, Bronco Explorer, Bronco Sport, and the Bronco Ranger. Another enticement of the Bronco was the multitude of colors that it came in.
The 1975 Ford Bronco’s original price was $4,979 for the base model. Today, the 1975 Bronco for sale in the best condition is valued at over $68,000 but averaging closer to between $30,000 and $40,000 for good condition. These vintage Broncos will likely continue to increase in both price and popularity.
Visit our website at https://rb.gy/ohfflv to browse our current Bronco inventory, which includes a few 1975 Ford Broncos themselves.
