I posted this same question in the Newbie section, but figured it was a good idea to ask the same question in Ford Talk.

I have made up my mind that I need an Bronco. I would like to use if for weekend driving, camping, and 4 wheeling. I am not looking for an extreme rock crawler, but don't want to worry about breaking parts every time something comes along. My budget is about $10k. My question is what I should be looking for? I am not one to rush into things and I want to start educating myself.

For 10K you should be able to find something pretty decent. EB's are rust magnets. There are replacement panels for just about the entire body, but rust repair is no fun and takes a lot of time and money that could be spent on fun stuff. Find something in solid condition, then customize it to suit your needs. Common rust spots are around the dimmer switch on the floor, and the seam where the firewall meets the floor pan. Also the door posts and the inside of the rocker panels. Stick your head in the wheel wells and look around at the door posts and where the wheel tubs meet the inner fenders and floor. Get underneath and look where the rockers meet the floor pan. You're not likely to find anything "rust free" unless its been parked in a desert its whole existence. Just watch out for poor repairs and anything needing major reconstruction. Fresh paint can hide many sins.

Later models tend to have stronger parts. Small bearing rear ends were more common on the early ones, 73ish and later big bearing are most common. They used a front Dana 30 through 71 then switched to a 44. The 30 has king pins, the 44 uses ball joints. That makes for easy ID to see if a 44 was swapped in. The 30 will handle 33" tires if you don't wheel hard. If you want bigger tires or get serious about wheeling, you'll want the 44. The automatic trans and power steering became available in 73. Disk brakes and quick ratio steering came out in 76. Most Bronco's you look at will be modified with parts from other years and other vehicles, so ask the owner about what's been done. Chevy front disks and NP435 4 speed swaps are common.

There are a number of Bronco specific forums on the web, here's one I go to;
http://www.classicbroncos.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=30

There are plenty of threads there about what to look for when buying. Surf over there and search through the threads.

Thanks for the information. In general, is a stick or automatic better for off roading? I

In general, is a stick or automatic better for off roading? I

That's a real can of worms. Many multipage arguments have been started with that question. It comes down to personal preference. The stock Bronco 3 speed isn't geared low enough for crawling, but the common NP435 swap is good for rock crawling. The automatic is good for mud and sand, and better than the 3 speed for crawling. Whether an automatic is better than a granny gear manual for rock crawling is a matter of preference. The automatic is good when you need a quick shift under power, but the manual is better for keeping a steady crawling pace, and providing compression braking down hills.