I am wondering if the Broncos built in the 90's have better body, system and hardware integrity.

My '80 Bronco seems to have the integrity of an old beer can, and it is just not from age. While mechanically ok, I spend hours finding and fixing leaks and watching it rot out from underneath me.I supposed many of the problems exist because it dates from the days before the Japs really invaded the truck manufacturing area of the automotive industry and the American makers still had their cavalier attitude that their way was the right way.

I am thinkinng of selling my '80 and looking for a '94-'96 Bronco because I am tired of the leaks, cracks, rust, the tailgate and inadequate heating and ac system.

Thoughts?

 

tombob,
Our 96 Bronco is starting to show signs of rust even though we keep it clean and scratches in the paint are minimal and are addressed quickly.
So far we had some rear fender lip paint wear because of over-the-sand beach runs and now I see small rust patches on the oil pan which is particularly disappointing. Our local body shop will blast this rust away Monday and give it primer and coat the pan.
The T gate looks ok.
We do hand wash it exc for the past summer (drought restrictions). We wash behind the rear fender lips and along the "rocker panels", etc.
Only annoying problems are the interior cab/rear roof trim panel screws that loosen and cause teeth rattling squeaks.
Lastly, the t'gate window's side gasket split; we glued it back together and all is well there.
Good luck and enjoy your newer Bronco.

 

my 88 is still going fine. I had the frame sprayed with line X bedliner. works really well and was a fun project to do. now it looks bran new. I'm also gonna have Rhino Bedliner spray my rear shell, they can color match it. So its gonna cost about 300 bucks to have them spray a thin coat on there. It will be badass when its done. In my opinion i think the 87-90 body style looks pretty cool. Also it just depends on how you maintain your bronco. like me i wash and wax my bronco every sat, detail the engine every two weeks and clean out the interior every week which includes steam cleaner etc... What i really wanna do is convert my front clip to the 92-96 look and have the strength of the 88 frame. just had to put in my two cents worth see you later fellow bronco owners.

 

My '92 XLT suffers from what we all know as "typical" Ford fullsize "cancer". Rear wheel arches, tailgate lower edges but aside from that, is in great shape. If not for stupid driver and JBG body parts it would still be rusting in those three places. But now I only have passenger side wheel arch to contend with.