Owning a 1966-1977 Ford Bronco isn’t just about having a classic vehicle; it’s about owning a piece of off-road history. But let’s be real: unless you’ve dropped six figures on a turn-key restomod, your Early Bronco (EB) project is likely sitting in your garage with a "to-do" list longer than a Moab trail.
Restoring these rigs is a marathon. At Sexton Offroad, we’ve spent over 30 years gutting, building, and racing Broncos. We’ve seen guys dump thousands into fancy paint jobs only to have the rig fail on its first outing because the foundation was rotten. If you want a Bronco that actually performs: whether on the streets of Park City or the slickrock of Southern Utah: you have to build it from the ground up.
The "Buy Once, Cry Once" philosophy is the law here. Cutting corners on cheap, knock-off parts only leads to fixing the same problem twice. To get your restoration moving in the right direction, here are the first five essential parts you need to secure.
1. Body & Structural Foundation
Before you worry about horsepower, tire size, or shiny parts, you need to look at the body and structure. Early Broncos are notorious for rust, and that rust usually shows up where it hurts most: floor pans, rockers, door posts, and firewalls. If the body is twisted or rotten, everything else becomes harder to fit, harder to align, and more expensive to fix later.
That’s why we tell people to start with the foundation. Our in-house SLC-built Bronco tubs are built on a jig in Salt Lake City using the right parts in the right places, and they start at $16,999. If you’re serious about building a Bronco once and building it right, this is the kind of investment that saves time, rework, and frustration later. "Buy Once, Cry Once" applies here more than anywhere else in the build.
You also need to pay attention to firewall condition and body structure details that many builders gloss over. Poor fitment and weak structure create problems that show up in doors, fenders, cage mounting, and overall body alignment. Fixing those issues later usually costs more than doing the body right the first time.
2. Suspension & Lift Kits
Once the body is solid, your next priority is making the Bronco drive and handle the way it should. Suspension is where a lot of builds go sideways. Cheap lift kits often ride poorly, cycle badly, and create steering and driveline problems that the owner ends up chasing for months.
A quality suspension system gives you the travel, stance, and control your build needs without introducing a bunch of new issues. Whether you're building a street-driven Bronco, a weekend trail rig, or something that sees both highway miles and dirt, suspension setup needs to match the actual use of the vehicle. This is another place where "Buy Once, Cry Once" matters. Poorly made components wear out fast, fit badly, and cost you again in labor when the truck has to come back apart.
The goal isn’t just height. The goal is a Bronco that tracks straight, clears the tires you want to run, and stays predictable on-road and off-road. That takes real parts and the right setup.
3. Drivetrain & Fuel Systems
A Bronco build is only as dependable as the systems that move it and feed it. Axles, gears, lockers, driveshaft angles, and fuel delivery all matter. If you skip over these systems early, you end up with a rig that looks finished but leaves you stranded when the trail gets steep or the highway drive gets long.
Your fuel system deserves special attention. The original tank is usually full of rust, sediment, and years of neglect. Our Custom 23-gallon fuel tank gives you more range and a more dependable fuel supply, especially if you’re planning to run EFI or spend time on steep climbs and off-camber terrain.
Gearing & Drivetrain
Gearing matters just as much. Tire size, transmission choice, and intended use all need to work together. If the gearing is wrong, the Bronco feels lazy on the street and miserable on the trail. Build the drivetrain around how you actually plan to use the truck, not around whatever parts happen to be cheapest.
4. Brakes & Steering
Power is useless if the Bronco can’t stop or hold a line. Old drum brakes and worn steering parts are a bad combination, especially once you add bigger tires, more weight, and modern driving conditions. We see a lot of builds where the owner spent money making it go faster before dealing with the parts that keep it safe. That’s backwards.
Our Wilwood brake kits are one of the smartest upgrades you can make early in the process. They improve stopping power, pedal feel, and confidence behind the wheel. If you’re building a Bronco that’s meant to be driven, not just parked, a proper brake upgrade is not optional. Cheap brake parts wear out fast and make you pay twice.
Steering deserves the same attention. Slop in the box, worn linkages, and poor geometry make even a good-looking Bronco unpleasant to drive. If the goal is a rig that feels tight, predictable, and safe, brakes and steering need to be handled with the same seriousness as the engine and suspension.
5. Electrical & Wiring
Electrical problems ruin good builds. It doesn’t matter how nice the paint is or how strong the drivetrain is if the wiring is brittle, hacked together, or one short away from leaving you stranded. Original Bronco wiring is usually well past its expiration date, especially on trucks that have had decades of accessory installs and backyard fixes.
That’s why we recommend American Autowire. A complete harness gives you modern protection, cleaner routing, better reliability, and a system that actually supports updated accessories and EFI conversions. It’s direct, it’s proven, and it saves you from chasing gremlins later.
This is another place where cheap parts and shortcuts don’t pencil out. Bad wiring causes constant troubleshooting, poor performance, and real fire risk. If you want the Bronco to start, charge, light up, and run the way it should, you wire it once and wire it right.
Why Sexton Offroad and Dusty Broncos?
Restoring an Early Bronco is a massive undertaking, and who you buy your parts from matters. At Sexton Offroad, we don’t just sell parts; we install them every day in our Salt Lake City and Park City shops. We know where these builds go wrong because we’ve spent years fixing bad parts choices, poor fitment, and shortcuts that should have never made it into a restoration.
Our partnership with Dusty Broncos allows us to source high-end, period-correct, and precision-engineered components that make the restoration process smoother. Plus, to help keep your project on budget, we offer free shipping on orders over $100. Whether you’re looking for suspension services or a full build plan, we’ve got the experience to point you in the right direction.
Final Thoughts
A proper Bronco restoration starts with the hard parts, not the flashy ones. If you handle the body, suspension, drivetrain, brakes, and wiring in the right order, you end up with a Bronco that drives better, lasts longer, and doesn’t force you to redo the same work twice.
That’s the whole point of "Buy Once, Cry Once." Build the foundation right. Use quality parts. Don’t let cheap components turn a good Bronco into an expensive lesson.
Ready to start your build? Check out our full inventory or schedule an appointment at one of our Utah locations to let our experts handle the heavy lifting.