First-Year 1966 Ford Bronco Looks Ready for an Open-Body Summer Tan

Securing the 2021 Ford Bronco is still a distant perspective, with the alleged series production start date being May 3rd, and the first deliveries coming sometime in June. This means the hype is massively bleeding out towards the used car market, as fans are actively looking to quench their Bronco thirst.

By the looks of it, there are a lot of interesting choices to be had. One could go for a full custom build in order to fulfill just about any kind of rock crawling dreams. But that’s as expensive as it can get, since we’re dealing with major upgrades.

Folks on a budget, or fans that just want to have some affordable Bronco fun until their reservation pulls through and the modern reincarnation gets parked on the driveway, also have the choice of buying a youngtimer Bronco. We have seen quite a bunch of fifth-generation examples going for relatively cheap and rewarding the new owner with low mileage and a good condition.

Of course, there’s also the classic way. That means looking for a first-generation, clean Bronco that has been left (mostly) intact, just as the Blue Oval intended when it premiered the compact SUV back in the mid-1960s.

This uncut-fender 1966 example that’s listed by GR Autogallery of Metro Detroit clearly fits the bill. It comes from the very first model year and even brings with it a rare open-body Roadster build. It also retains the original inline-six cylinder that was paired from the factory with a three-speed manual box.

With its cool Roadster looks and neat Marlin Blue exterior paint job (contrasted by a gray interior shade) this original Bronco should be all the rage when it’s time to hit the beach this coming summer. Not to mention it will probably turn into the object of envy for just about every Jeep Wrangler owner out there.

And they won’t even have the excuse of making fun of the convenience features, as the 1966 Bronco comes equipped with just about every factory option available at the time. As far as the pricing is concerned, with rather low mileage on the odometer (around 38k miles or 61,000 km), no one should expect this to sell for peanuts. Instead, the asking price is a cool $64,900, which is indeed a bit more the MSRP for a First Edition Bronco (starting at $57,410).