• Welcome to ClassicBroncos! - You are currently viewing the forums as a GUEST. To take advantage of all the site features, please take a moment to register. It's fast, simple and absolutely free. So please join our community today!
    If you have problems registering or can't log into your account, please contact Admin.

To customize or not to customize

Dilgar

Newbie
Joined
Apr 14, 2017
Messages
7
Hello, I'm new to the forum amd the bronco community in general. I just bought a nearly original 68 bronco, and this seemed like the place to come for advice. So some quick history, Broncos have been one of my favorite vehicles since I was little and I finally pulled the trigger on one after I got a new job. I looked for one with little rust as I have no fabrication experience but figured I could handle anything mechanical as an engineer. I had dreams of customising it to eventually become a daily, but now I'm having second thoughts about it. The bronco I picked up is nearly original except for a few small things (paint, radio, wheels) and I can't bring myself to commit to changing it. It's only original once, and I'd hate to rid the world of one of the few unmolested ones left. I know I'm going to keep the fenders uncut, but other than that I just can't decide on what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I'm glad to be part of the bronco family.

Thanks in advance.
 

ObscureMachine

Seatbelt Orifice Officer
Joined
Sep 28, 2006
Messages
3,998
Loc.
World Headquarters
1. Welcome to classic Broncos! There is a vast array of great people, great advice, and good friends on this forum, who have saved me many times and much money. And also many mistakes.
Some people are purists, and will say definitely keep it original. I think most people, including myself, will say, hey it is your bronco do what you want with it. Make it what you want it to be. Drive it, enjoy it, if you are worried about cutting it, the fenders and quarter panels I mean, do a search on here for LUBR and see what you think.
Be aware, everyone on here is going to tell you to post pictures of your rig. You can join and become a contributor for $12 and then post all the pics you want. We love pictures. Again, welcome to CB!
 

Wyflyer

Bronco Guru
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
2,920
Hah welcome to the family! If you'll be ok with the original 1968 performance, sparse driver comforts, and handling then keeping it original would make sense.
First do some research and find out through a Marti report what you have. More than one owner has found that their Bronco was more rare than they knew which helps with the decision to modify or not.
No one can decide but you. If you restore it back to original condition it's still technically "modified", I prefer to think of it as "preserved".
I'm doing a restomod on a 72 halfcab, which some say should not be modified, but I'm doing big mods very subtly so in appearance it'll look like a stock LUBR cosmetically but still have quite a few modernizations. I'm not much for bling.
You'll get a lot of opinions but in the end it's your decision and yours only. So decide what you want to use it for, pick a path and roll on!
 

okie4570

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,227
Loc.
NW OK
We can't answer your question and determine how we should help you spend your money without pics. :) lol. Welcome :)
 

Techstudent

Jr. Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
126
Loc.
Missoula
Yes, photos are mandatory! :)

If you had dreams of customizing then have at it and have fun! You should do whatever is pleasing to you. My personal preference is for a stock look others like mods.


Welcome!
 

AZ73

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Mar 28, 2012
Messages
3,541
Welcome! You can always do some customization which is easy to reverse - lift kit, wheels, and bumpers for example. Cosmetic type stuff. The best thing to do is keep your 68 original, and get another one to customize. ;D
 

sprdv1

Contributor
REBEL
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
81,734
Welcome, Welcome and Congrats on the score.. I say keep the original outer shell, modify internals to work the way you want..

Need them Pics too :D
 

Scoop

Contributor
Have Bronco, Will Travel
Joined
Feb 1, 2006
Messages
10,580
Loc.
Cuchara, CO
Do "bolt on" upgrades and keep the original parts. That's what I've done with our 74 Ranger survivor. It's had things such as alloy wheels, custom steering wheel, stereo (hung under the dash - no cutting of the dash!), disk brakes and a few other goodies. I have since returned it to 100% original - I even went back to drums in the front! It was fun to customize it for a while but then it was easy to return to stock now that I appreciate the stockers more than I once did.

With a 68 however you will enjoy driving it more with upgrades like power steering and front disks. And maybe even a more modern overdrive tranny. Have fun with it!
 

bknbronco

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
4,378
Loc.
North Metro, MN
i have a 68 as well.....cut it up, grind it down, weld it all over. Who cares about the next guy. Build it how you always imagined you wanted it. People shit a brick when i tell them im gona take my freshly restored 68 to the gilbert offroad park and bash some rocks after i leave the car show.

Im building mine how ford should build a re-release of the classic bronco. And lets face it....if it cant keep up to a rubicon on the trail whats the point of even owning it in my eyes.

Now i did keep some of the classic parts.....3 on the tree is a must keep! I also kept the stock bumpers instead of them gody plate steel or tube bumpers. I also kept the dash pad. So basically im keeping it as stock as possibly but its what you dont see that makes it boulder capable.
 

Slowleak

Bronco Guru
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,732
Loc.
Georgia
You can maintain value, and make it safer and more fun to drive, by doing bolt on modifications. Like Scoop said, keep the original parts. Down the road you can easily put it back to stock if you decided to do so. Personally, I would never chop up one that sounds as original as yours does. Keep it as stock as you can but make it safe and fun.
 

blubuckaroo

Grease Monkey
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
11,795
Loc.
Ridgefield WA
I love OEM Broncos. I even like the 6 cylinder models.
However, there are some things that really need attention, especially if you plan to drive it regularly.
Power steering and power front disc brakes should be on every Bronco.
At least a single roll bar should be there. Nothing overboard, just a simple bar.
These things aren't going to hurt your value. They are safety items that any future buyer should appreciate.

Some of us change things to fit our driving style. Now that may make the car less collectable, but it makes it more enjoyable. Softer suspension, better gearing, A/C, seats, and tunes have made mine lots more fun to use both on and off the road.

But that doesn't mean driving a bone-stock Bronco can't be a joy in itself.

Now, the OEM rear fenders are a different story. It's my personal opinion the rear fenders was the only mistake on a Bronco. Sure they are beautiful if the Bronco was a boat. What were the Ford engineers thinking??:?
 

rguest3

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 13, 2012
Messages
3,778
Welcome.

As others stated, bolt on some options that may have come on later Broncos.

Power steering and Automatic Trans with 73-77 Bronco parts.

Power Disc Brakes - Many of the vendors on this site and others on eBay have conversions.

Roll Bar and 3-Point Seat Belts - Safety First.

You can do all of this while looking Original.
 

patterdale

Bronco Guru
Joined
May 24, 2010
Messages
1,246
If you feel you are ruining value do nothing. Elmer in our garage is all original with less than 16k miles. The only thing that doesn't work is the radio. Only changer coming are cage and shoulder harnesses. Alise on the other hand was 800$ auction find that someone took from 289 to 170 i6. Rust abounds and no brakes. Seats are shit and some floor pans are bad. Needs tail gate and lift gate. Wiring would be good too. Rest of body can be fixed. She will get some mods. It's all in what you value, conserving a classic , or building your dream Classic EB. I and my wife are fortunate to have a Chance at both.
 
OP
OP
D

Dilgar

Newbie
Joined
Apr 14, 2017
Messages
7
Thanks for all the advice. I think the original owner did just enough to it to make keeping it original almost as much work as making it mine. I love the way driving something so simple feels so I'll keep most of it and just improve the creature comforts and reliability. I just got a wiring harness from the painless sale so I'll have her out this weekend for some pictures. Hopefully putting them on here will give me and everyone a better idea of what were dealing with.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
 

sprdv1

Contributor
REBEL
Joined
Mar 8, 2007
Messages
81,734
Thanks for all the advice. I think the original owner did just enough to it to make keeping it original almost as much work as making it mine. I love the way driving something so simple feels so I'll keep most of it and just improve the creature comforts and reliability. I just got a wiring harness from the painless sale so I'll have her out this weekend for some pictures. Hopefully putting them on here will give me and everyone a better idea of what were dealing with.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

sounds like a good plan.. :)
 
Top