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Bronco-Israel

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Thank your for taking the time for your very insightful write up. I am envious of the care that you take of your vehicles. I have a reservation for a base 2.3 7MT and a base SAS. I have a signed agreement for under MSRP on the base SAS and same, only a verbal promise, for under MSRP on the base base. The non sas was my back up plan but now I am hoping I can get the base 2.3 MT first and just be happy with that. Unfortunately, that offer is only verbal and they lack any kind of communication and at one point I drove two hours to the dealership to see what was happening. The only sales person there told me "no one knows what the f is going on here, especially with the Bronco". So I am kind of thinking if they even ever ordered the base base there is no way they will honor my agreement anyway. Sorry for the long story but you have me excited for just hopefully getting a base base sometime in the future.
I Will buy from you the one that you don’t want :)
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BR0NCO

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You best let Ford know so they don't look foolish, since they are the ones that had it built for the Bronco, I am sure they would love to know that your feelings on the matter trump the number of forward gears and their advertised spec.


From Ford.com...

Transmission10-Speed Automatic/7-Speed Manual Transmission
I kinda agree with what he’s saying. All they did for creeper gear was spin the reverse gear backwards to give it another forward gear. If they didn’t do that the 1-6 gears would probably be the same anyways. Technically it’s a 7 speed but for day to day it’s a 6 speed.

7C80792A-773D-4DD9-9D09-73457E4AC45A.jpeg
 

Macjr

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That tire upgrade and plasti dip looks very classy. Looks true to vintage as one had mentioned. Enjoy it!
 

Parker

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I tried going the 1,3 shift and it didn't really have enough torque to not buck a little bit, or slog, or bog, whatever you might describe too little throttle in a manual. Admittedly I didn't wind out the tach enough to try it under higher torque as I'm still in the break in period.
Your creeper gear is great for break in - something people on this site have little respect for - but in normal driving doesn't exist. I have a 1946 1 1/2 Chevy Grain Truck Dump that has a creeper that I only use to take a load of dirt downhill with little or no brakes - just too much double -clutching to fool with when empty.
 

BroncoAZ

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I kinda agree with what he’s saying. All they did for creeper gear was spin the reverse gear backwards to give it another forward gear. If they didn’t do that the 1-6 gears would probably be the same anyways. Technically it’s a 7 speed but for day to day it’s a 6 speed.

7C80792A-773D-4DD9-9D09-73457E4AC45A.jpeg
If they “spin the reverse gear backwards” wouldn’t it have the same ratios for R and C? The ratio for C is significantly lower than reverse.
Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates 22BF98BE-1E48-451C-871A-098460E841E8


Also, Getrag indicates in the spec sheet that there is a 7th gear option.
Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2
 
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BR0NCO

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If they “spin the reverse gear backwards” wouldn’t it have the same ratios for R and C? The ratio for C is significantly lower than reverse.

View attachment 214498
Not sure how that works, there may be a little reduction in whatever spins it in reverse. I read it in an article about the transmission when it was announced, maybe it was a simplification of what’s going on
 

pan-y-cerveza

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My new truck is a 6 speed. So somewhat the same as the Bronco if you disregard the crawler gear.

It's the first 6 speed I've ever driven. At first I agreed with you that I preferred a five speed with longer gears.

Now that I've driven it a bunch it's become pretty natural to skip gears. Much more than I ever have with a five speed. I usually go from 4th to 6th when getting up to highway speed, 3rd to 5th I commonly use on the rural roads, etc. It's good to have options in the gearing and in the revs.

I also like that I can either start in 1st or 2nd quite easily depending on needs.

Took a bit of getting used to to skip gears as often as I do. Once I had it second nature I've come to enjoy it.

Back on topic..... That's a sweet little Base. Almost makes me want to order one as a summer weekend run-around!
 
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1970AMCAMX

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I will try to make it a quick read and finally provide some content after lurking for over a year.

Received my 2 Door Velocity Blue 2.3L 7 Speed Manual Transmission from Townsend Ford (Mass) last Friday. Had 8 miles on it at pickup. I ordered a base with zero options and only selected the color. I don't live in an area with great outdoor trail access and this will most certainly be a street vehicle only, so I imagine mine will probably be the least abused and rarely used trucks here, but I get maximum smiles per mile in all my vehicles. I wanted a convertible vehicle again, always loved jeeps but need to be different than the masses, so the Bronco is a perfect fit. I also enjoy manuals, my wife can drive them, so this is just going to be another fair weather cruiser for us and the kids

Truck came in and I asked the dealership to do zero prep to it, as I like the unwrapping and seeing exactly as it came from the factory. It arrived on the lot Friday morning and I had it Friday afternoon. They charged me MSRP and a $250 doc fee, they stated I was the first 2 door Bronco they had delivered so far. I have not personally seen another 2 door in person and mine was the first one I'd ever touched or sat in. ( previously I had seen a total of 5 broncos, 4 at dealers driving bye, all 4 doors, and one First edition 4 door driving on 95 in August. Other than that, zilch up here in Mass.

Review:
Truck is bigger and smaller than I thought it would be, sits taller than i would have expected, even a base, but the 2 door is a lot shorter than I imagined, not necessarily a bad thing, just takes up very little distance. Rear storage with back seats up is a little smaller than I'd like, but for what we are using it for, It'll do. I'll admit to not even knowing it was only a 4 seater until pretty late after ordering, I just assumed it was a bench that would sit three kids, so that means the whole family won't be riding in this one, but we have something else for those times I suppose.

The grab handle on the dash is in a terrible position. Should be on the A pillar like on my truck. It's at an in between height, and not in a natural position to climb in with.

7 speeds are too many in my opinion. Coming from much more basic manual transmissions I find there to be almost too many gears. 1st is very short, Almost want to start in second, but won't be. I could have done with a nice 6 speed, just losing one gear and switching ratios a little. I understand a lot of this is for MPG purposes. just my observations. I do like the shift indicator reminding you what you're in, almost wish it was a little bigger. Gauges overall are ok, no real complaints, as others have said, would like a traditional tach, cause I'm a traditional guy. 8" screen is plenty big for me, What I had to get used to most, was the waterproof buttons for the steering wheel and mirrors. Just took a little more pressure than a traditional button. I don't like the placement of the audio controls on the steering wheel, my Chrysler steering wheels are better IMO because you can use fingertips on the backside of the wheel for stations and volume, not thumbs. Much more intuitive and effective. Ram and Pacifica are both the like that. Very nice.

Transmission is so ridiculously smooth that any novice should be able to figure it out because it requires not throttle input while releasing the clutch when it's done smoothly. It simply lurches itself going forward and any gas input thereafter just gets it going more. By far easiest manual I've driven. I also find it unusual to what I'm used to but you don't seem to have to direct the gear shifter to it's position except for starting in 1st or R or C. When going to second you naturally go straight down, but to go 3rd, you push the shifter straight up again and it slides itself into 3rd. First few shifts I was getting it into 5th by throwing it to the right slightly like would be normally done. This really feels a little weird at first, but is very smooth once you get the hang of how the shift pattern works, It does still throw me off on the occasional shift. Ride quality is overall great and what you'd expect of a new SUV, tracks nice and straight on highway at speeds without twitchiness which you might know about on a wrangler, or a Subaru Forester when driving 65ish.

I saw no obvious flaws in my paint job, the top has a few small drops of water sneak in at the automated car wash on the way home from dealer to rinse off any rail dust, but that was from direct sideways sprayer. Not overly concerned. Rides quiet overall on highway indicating a somewhat tight seal on all the panels. I won't be taking them off till spring so we will see how that goes. I am impressed at the shine and quality of cleanliness of my frame and suspension components, I don't believe it spent much time outside after being made, I plan on doing my usual routine of waxing and metal treatments like I do on all my cars to preserve them as long as possible.

The one thing I didn't like was the tires that came on the truck, so off they went at 30 miles, I replaced them with Firestone Destination XT's in 285/75 16. I liked the tread pattern and the classic name recognition as that is the look I am going for. I don't need the highest performance tires and these will do just fine for me even if that's not what others would have chosen. Sullivan tire is where I got them and paid $1,350 for all 5 mounted and balanced. I don't let many people touch my cars, so I brought them the wheels and tires in two trips.

I painted the wheels after the new tires were mounted, and masked off the tires. I used PLASTIDIP, for those that gasp, I use it frequently and have always had good results, and it's always reversible if you need it to be. If you keep things clean the color and condition holds just fine. For those that haven't tried it yet, I'm a fan of the product and use it in many applications with great success. I think the new tires make the truck look as it should. I'm definitely ok with the more conservative pedestrian version with a slightly off roady look Bronco for me at this time. I'm also proud to try and come in at the BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK package with this truck. All in with what you see cost $30,250 plus $1,800 tax, plus $1,350 tires and $25 paint totals $33,500 which is a great bargain if you ask me.
The truck has 100 miles on it and was put away in the garage probably until the spring, but in that time I will be adding my Bronco script on the fender, and may or may not do a classic type of graphic down the side.

I didn't really stop anywhere or have anyone ask me a question about it since it's so fresh, but in the few miles I did put on it you do notice a few heads from other drivers seemingly do a double take when they ask if that is in fact a new 2 door BRONCO. I did have one jeep guy wave but I seriously think he thought I was a jeep as I didn't do the white Bronco lettering in the front grill yet (coming soon)

Here is how it arrived from dealer,
Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2


Here is how it appears after new tires and white rims:

Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2


Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2


Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2


The stablemates that the new Bronco will be joining includes:
2002 Mercury cougar, bought new after graduating college, 30k miles and is as new basically with Day 2 mods, never abused. 5 speed.

Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2


1974 Dodge Dart Swinger slant six. 3 speed auto.

Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2


1980 C10 Short bed 2WD. Straight six and 3 speed manual on the floor.

Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2


my daily driver is my 2010 RAM I bought new and now has 190k miles and drives my kids all over creation. I just don't let them eat or drink in it and I keep the inside as clean as the outside.

Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2


And my bike which I have had since new in 2001, TL1000R, 5k miles

Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2


It's a little out of hand, but I am a person who when I buy something, I don't get rid of it. I just keep it. With cars and my obsession in cleanliness and maintenance, It just means they don't get used up and discarded or thrown in the field. I just put them aside and use them a little less, but every one gets started and run often and moved and rolling frequently. I've had the bike and cougar for 20 years now which just means I'm getting old at this point!

Hopefully you now have another data point or two regarding a base bronco in helping you decide some things, but feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to help. Please don't hate too much as this is clearly mostly a mall crawler situation, but if anyone is local to me you are more than welcome to come over and check it out in person.

Ford Bronco 2-Door Manual 2.3 Review, Tire Upgrade and VB Stablemates C09FF46A-ED10-4E62-B7F1-4CBBB5B306B2
How did that Dart go for almost 50 years without getting a 440 shoehorned in it?
 

Who iz

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Well done.
Sounds fun, will have to ask my dealer to allow me to unwrap my elusive Bronco!
New... is a new thing to me.
Great to see a meticulously maintained and well taken care of fleet.
100% agree with holding on to your favorite vehicles and the enjoying all of them.
My rides experience a little harder life, and often trail rash goes a year or two before repainted, usually the worst panel-one at a time. More of a cosmetic 'spring cleaning' (when the rains stop) routine and all year round mechanical repairing...
Supporting my friend's body shop takes a piece of paycheck most months.
 

Denny Swift

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You best let Ford know so they don't look foolish, since they are the ones that had it built for the Bronco, I am sure they would love to know that your feelings on the matter trump the number of forward gears and their advertised spec.


From Ford.com...

Transmission10-Speed Automatic/7-Speed Manual Transmission

Yeah, I can't tell if you're trying to be sarcastic or not...Call it what you want, but it's intended/designed to be driven like a regular 6-speed manual (The gears are labled 1-6 +C unlike in the 911 and the C7 where they are labeled 1-7). You don't use "C" as first. You use first as first. You can call the transmission whatever you want. My point was that it seemed that the OP was using C as the start-out-gear in normal driving (But he later clarified that he wasn't).

https://www.gearpatrol.com/cars/a35967020/ford-bronco-manual-transmission/

"Ford did an exceedingly rare thing when it debuted the new Bronco: it gave the car a new seven-speed manual transmission. (It's really a six-speed with a low-speed crawler gear, but hey, seven speeds are seven speeds.)"
 

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rmanecke

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Thanks for writing this up. Looking forward to my 2.3 MT.
 

AZshot

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Clubs
 
Not sure how that works, there may be a little reduction in whatever spins it in reverse. I read it in an article about the transmission when it was announced, maybe it was a simplification of what’s going on
Ha! So you're quoting "some article" as if you were the authority on how transmissions are geared. Got it.

I, for one, like a very low gear at times. Stop and go traffic. Crawling up a steep hill, lots of things.
 

BR0NCO

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Ha! So you're quoting "some article" as if you were the authority on how transmissions are geared. Got it.
I’m no authority, calm down. It’s just a discussion.
 
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fzracer484

fzracer484

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So I take great pride in my immigrant family background in getting a good deal. A nice way of saying my parents growing up were cheap, so it's in my DNA. Long way of saying I don't come from money, don't have a lot of money, but do hunt around which means sometimes you find things ( I am an antique toy / vintage stuff collector and buyer/seller as a hobby) Anyone else collect old toys etc..... from the 50's -90's??

I grew up in a neighborhood of three deckers and was driving through and saw the car parked with a for sale sign on it. After buying it for $1,700, and putting on tires, I redid the whole interior myself, like I'm doing currently on my 80 C10, but that cost me about $1,500. I got a score on the tires as takeoff that didn't fit for $500 for 5. So I'm all in under $4k for the car, although I did just put in a new rad and shocks so closer to 4.5k. but I'll never be able to replicate a cool look for such low money, so I plan to hang onto it a while. I got it 8 years ago and did the interior 7 years ago. The slant six as you can imagine just runs and with an already installed full flow exhaust it actually sounds pretty awesome too considering. some day if I ever had the money, I'd actually love to turn this into an old school gasser and straight axle front, cutout fenders in rear, huge hemi and blower sticking through the hood. i think I'd prefer the more wild version vs. a pro touring type. here's a few pic of before and during and after.


How did that Dart go for almost 50 years without getting a 440 shoehorned in it?
IMG_0122.JPG


IMG_0130.JPG


IMG_0184.JPG


IMG_0292.JPG


IMG_0488.JPG


IMG_0538.JPG


IMG_2271.JPG


IMG_2274.JPG
 
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fzracer484

fzracer484

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My dealer(salesperson anyways) was actually a little surprised that someone would want to take a vehicle as delivered off the truck and not even washed. Well one time I bought a new F150 in 2004 and I got it new with terrible swirl marks and compound or soap residue all over the new black trim, obviously some young kid not caring much about some random persons big investment.
I mean, I enjoy unwrapping christmas presents and opening new iphone boxes, so unwrapping seats and removing stickers is a great saturday afternoon for me after a long work week. something I noticed by doing so was something small like every wheel had a small yellow wax marker with 48 for the psi reading as the safety QC check. Little things like that are interesting.

On the longer term maintanance, it's a lot of just doing the little things and not letting them go too long. I made the mistake of letting the coolant in the TL gel up a little bit but caught it before too much worry. The frame on my Ram I make sure I keep clean by washing after salt exposure which might mean weekly, or twice a week sometimes, but also repainting and scraping away any rust that develops. My frame looks new compared to my dads GMC with that waxy coating that just falls off and instantly rusts. He doesn't drive it but it looks like the Titanic cause it's all local miles with salt and all and doesn't wash it much.

The body on my Ram is where I'm starting to see spots that I can't do much about, At some point I might get some paint correction, but I have had a couple new fenders and a bedside replaced due to a couple accidents. I continue to use my Ram with 188k as my daily driver so will chase after any problems that develop. new truck prices for full size decently equipped trucks with a V8 are pretty pricey these days. I don't see myself buying a new pickup anytime soon. Hell they are still making my body style 11 years later as a classic edition truck.

Well done.
Sounds fun, will have to ask my dealer to allow me to unwrap my elusive Bronco!
New... is a new thing to me.
Great to see a meticulously maintained and well taken care of fleet.
100% agree with holding on to your favorite vehicles and the enjoying all of them.
My rides experience a little harder life, and often trail rash goes a year or two before repainted, usually the worst panel-one at a time. More of a cosmetic 'spring cleaning' (when the rains stop) routine and all year round mechanical repairing...
Supporting my friend's body shop takes a piece of paycheck most months.
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