Читать книгу Ford Bronco: A History of Ford's Legendary 4x4 - Todd Zuercher - Страница 32

Total production for the 1966 model year was 23,776 units. Based on Ford sales data, Bronco sales momentum took a while to build, with only about 6,600 units sold through January 31, 1966. To put the annual total sales in perspective, this number represented approximately 50 percent of the total market sales of the prior model year, spread across four manufacturers.

This father and son are enjoying their 1966 Broncos on Arizona trails. These Broncos are both show and go, equally at home at a Goodguys car show and crawling down an Arizona trail. (Photo Courtesy Mark Gengsei)

Although these sales numbers were small compared to the rest of Ford’s line, they represented a strong number in the segment, accounting for 40 percent of the sport utility sales for the 1966 model year. Predictably, the largest seller was the wagon with 12,756 examples going to customers. The sports utility pickup achieved just under half that amount with 6,930 units. The roadster logged an impressive 4,090 sales. Stories have surfaced telling how roadsters languished on dealers’ lots for a year or more without selling. Many also had hardtops and doors added to them to make them more palatable for customers wanting more amenities than the sparsely equipped trucks offered.

This recently unearthed 1966 roadster is a true survivor. Bearing a VIN that places it on the first or second day of production in August 1965, and with the odometer registering only about 40,000 original miles, it carries many unique parts that were seen on the earliest trucks only.

A study in contrasts: The bone-stock Springtime Yellow 1966 U14 half cab looks downright dainty compared to the 1969 Super Swamper–shod trail rig. A majority of first-generation Broncos have received many modifications over the years that reflect their owners’ tastes and preferences. (Photo Courtesy Tim Hulick)

This 1966 roadster calls Elizabeth, Colorado, home. Sporting a set of the 1966-only wheel covers, it sees plenty of use exploring Colorado mountain trails. The pup seems to like roadster rides as well. (Photo Courtesy Scott Barnes)

The desirability and collectability of the 1966 models has ebbed and flowed over the years. In some states with strict emissions laws, such as Arizona, the 1966s have always been popular because they fall outside the required testing years.

Bronco enthusiasts through the years have created some interesting names for unique features on the trucks. For example, the small metal crease to the right (top and bottom) of the headlight ring was called an eyebrow, and thus the early grilles (first four to five months of production) with this feature have become known as eyebrow grilles. (Tim Hulick)

In other cases, 1966s have not been as popular because most of them were fairly rudimentary in terms of options, and the 6-cylinder engine was not desirable. In more recent times, as the value of stock vehicles has risen, the 1966s have gained in value as collectors search out early or first-year production vehicles to add to their collections.

PROTOTYPE BRONGO

One of the first prototypes. The first production Bronco. The “Shelby Bronco.” It’s been known by a number of names over the years, and its story and whereabouts were a mystery to many and a subject of much speculation for many years. Noted historian Jim Allen said it best when he called it “the earliest known surviving Bronco.”

The vehicle identification number (VIN) plate, which is mounted on the driver-side doorjamb instead of the kick panel on production trucks, decodes as a U14 Sports Utility painted Rangoon Red. In a field of trucks that have great stories behind them, this blue half cab has one of the most interesting ones of all.

The fifth character in the VIN, “S,” indicates this is a very special Bronco. The S denotes that it was built at the Allen Park, Michigan, assembly plant, known as the “Pilot Plant” for new Ford cars and trucks.

After production, the whereabouts of the prototype truck were unknown. It was known that in July 1967, it was loaded onto a car hauler in Dearborn and taken west to Carroll Shelby’s Shelby American facility in Los Angeles, California. There, the Bronco was registered for a time to Lew Spencer’s High Performance Motors dealership in El Segundo, California, before making a move to the Christmas Land and Cattle Company, a ranch co-owned by Carroll Shelby and D. A. Witts, near Terlingua, Texas.

Living on the ranch for many years, the Bronco lived a hard life, with repairs made by ranch hands or occasionally by the nearby dealership, Big Bend Ford. In 1978, ranch hand Harold Wynn decided that he had had enough of paying for repairs on the old Bronco and inquired at the dealership about trading it for a new 1978 model. After some wrangling with one of the dealership’s co-owners, Vincent “Vinnie” Yakubanski, Wynn got a new Bronco and Vinnie got the prototype for $100.

Vinnie soon repainted the red Bronco a fresh shade of 1979 Ford metallic blue on the body with gray covering the half cab. Vinnie used the little Bronco as a family recreational rig and a motorcycle hauler. He even used it to haul a dignitary in a small Texas town parade one year. That dignitary was none other than Carroll Shelby, who remarked to Vinny that perhaps he shouldn’t have sold that Bronco after all.

This familiar press release photo reveals itself to be the prototype Bronco in one of its iterations. Key identifying factors include the non-standard Ford letters on the grille, 289 badge placement on the fender, lack of locking hubs, and the unique rocker trim that has only been seen on this truck. (Photo Courtesy Motor Trend Group, LLC)

Today, the prototype Bronco wears a half cab top and has retained many of its unique features and parts from more than 50 years ago. It is the elder statesman of the Bronco line, spending its days at Gateway Bronco in Hamel, Illinois. (Photo Courtesy Terry Marvel)

Eventually, Vinnie parked the Bronco in a pole barn on his property and bought another 1966 Bronco to drive.

In 2016, Seth Burgett, owner of Gateway Bronco in Hamel, Illinois, learned that Vinnie was interested in selling his beloved Bronco. Burgett traveled to Texas, struck a deal, and became the next caretaker of the special little Bronco. Under Burgett’s ownership, the Bronco has received extensive media coverage along with auto show appearances that have allowed many enthusiasts to view the truck.

Inspections by knowledgeable Bronco historians have provided more insight into the origins of this truck and the details of its life before its shipment to Shelby’s facility in 1967. A closer look at the engine compartment and its exterior and interior features determined that the Bronco had a significant role in two defining moments in the first two model years of the Bronco: the introduction of the 289 V-8 engine in March 1966 and the introduction of the Sport Bronco package for the 1967 model year.

The key pieces of evidence to confirm that this truck was the prototype for the 289 engine installation in the Bronco were two photos from the collection of noted 1966 Bronco collector Terry Marvel. The photos are of Ford General Manager Donald Frey posing with the engine compartment of a Bronco with an obviously nonproduction 289 and another showing the engine compartment.

This Ford photo shows the first 289 V-8 installation into the prototype Bronco. Note the downflow radiator and the air filter from a passenger car application. Both items are still with the truck today. (Photo Courtesy Ford Motor Company)

Some key elements of the Bronco engine compartment in the photos match up exactly with Burgett’s Bronco. The unique air cleaner and radiator in the period photo are still with the truck today. On the cowl, the passenger-side air intake is of a unique construction; it appears to be handmade and is covered by a wire mesh with a small square pattern. The mesh is clearly seen in the Frey photo. The engine compartment still shows traces of the original Rangoon Red color.

Ford Division General Manager Donald Frey stands proudly next to the prototype Bronco holding the 289 V-8 between its flanks. The unique screen on the passenger-side fresh-air intake housing is one of the key elements that helped identify Burgett’s Bronco as this truck. More than 50 years later, 1966 Bronco expert Terry Marvel recreates the pose at Burgett’s Gateway Bronco shop. (Photo Courtesy Terry Marvel)

The hood prop retaining tab is a small piece of formed metal on top of the core support that answered a long-running question for historians. Ford apparently made a last-minute switch from that tab to a drilled hole in the core support for the prop rod and removed the formed pieces of the tabs on the bodies during production.

The engine mounts on the frame are definitely not factory but are constructed like something you would expect to see in a prototype engine installation at an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The engine’s timing cover and dipstick are from a car; the oil pan is custom fabricated. There are 289 emblems adorning the front fenders, as they did on production Broncos after March 1966, but the emblems here are located lower and closer to the front fender opening than on production trucks.

These photos are from early sales literature that used the prototype Bronco, one obviously more retouched than the other. The prototype was used in Ford marketing literature as late as 1974, often with some airbrushing. The key indicators are the 289 emblem placement on the front fender and the rocker trim extending from one fender opening to the other.

The exterior inspection of the prototype Bronco also yielded a bumper crop of unusual pieces that added to the story of this truck. The Sport package was not available on Broncos until the 1967 model year, but the little half cab contains several items that point to it being the Sport package prototype. One of the most interesting items is the Sport badging on the front fenders. At first glance, the badges appear to be identical to production pieces, but a closer look reveals the “Sport” portions of the badges are actually separate pieces that are carefully cut to fit around the “B” in the Bronco script. On top, the castle turrets are cut through the badging; they are only small reliefs on the production pieces. The chrome and red grille letters, picked from the Ford parts bin, resemble but are not identical to those found on the Sport package.

One of the key pieces on the prototype Bronco that helps identify it in various advertising photos in subsequent years is the full length rocker trim. Where production pieces ended short of the fender openings, the prototype piece extended to the edge of the fender opening.

The Bronco’s flanks carry two items of interest: the rocker panel and beltline trim. The beltline trim wasn’t available on 1966 Broncos, but it was part of the 1967 Sport package, lending credence to the theory of this being a Sport package development prototype. The rocker panel trim is more interesting, as it resembles the rocker panel trim found on Sport Broncos, but with one notable difference: it covers the entire length of the rockers between the front and rear fender openings. The production trim stopped several inches short of the fender openings on either end.

Marketing materials from 1967 and later have revealed a number of photos that featured this truck; the rocker panel trim and the 289 emblem location on the front fender were dead giveaways. Thanks to the magic of airbrushing and other touchups in the pre-Photoshop area, photos of the truck were found in Ford marketing materials as late as 1974. Various holes in the body show that it wore a full hardtop, softtop , and fiberglass door inserts in addition to the current half cab.

The cobbled-together hood release along with the prototype Sport grille lettering is visible here. The hood-release lever is a crude two-piece affair that doesn’t have a latch extending past the grille-like production pieces. The letters were borrowed from the Ford car parts bin.

The prototype Sport portion of the Bronco emblem was also a one-off piece. The emblem is a separate piece from the “B” in the Bronco script and there are separations between the stanchions at the top of the emblem. On the production piece, the Sport badge is part of the emblem casting; no separations at the top of the emblem.

One of the key identifying factors on this truck that confirms it to be the 289 prototype rig is this passenger-side fresh-air inlet box. As shown in the period photo with Ford executive Don Frey, this box is a rough fiberglass unit with molded-in hardware cloth as a screen. Production pieces were plastic.

A few other oddities also reside inside the cab, including missing locks on the doors and glove box, 1967 horn button, 1967 Sport bucket seats with chrome trim, and an early 1966 transfer case shifter modified to resemble a late 1966/early 1967 shifter.

There will likely continue to be other oddities and unusual features discovered on this truck as Burgett and the crew at Gateway Bronco continue to peel back the layers of the onion and discover exactly what they have on their hands.

This small fabric tab snap hiding beneath the drip rail of the half cab top on the prototype Bronco hints at the numerous configurations of this truck. This truck saw use as a roadster, sports utility (half cab), and wagon by Ford. (Photo Courtesy Tim Hulick)

DUNE BUSTER

As part of the introduction of the Bronco in 1966, Ford debuted its Bronco show truck, known as Dune Buster in auto shows around the country beginning in November 1965. It was designed in Ford’s Styling Center in Dearborn, with customization work by Barris Customs of North Hollywood, California.

Many exterior and interior modifications were made to a Bronco roadster to give it a unique look inside and out. The exterior color was Golden Saddle Pearl, and it covered a custom roll bar approved by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) with integral headrests behind the front seats. The windshield frame featured a custom, bright-metal frame with rounded corners. The rear flanks were covered by a wood-grain applique, and chrome exhaust side pipes ran along the rocker panels. A race-style fuel filler replaced the stock cap, and the Bronco emblems were moved from the front fenders to the rear corners of the rear quarter panels.

Customized fiberglass half doors filled the door openings. Riders climbed into the truck via custom inset steps above the aluminum heat shielding behind the exhaust pipes.

Wheels were custom-machined steel alloy units with knock-off hubs.

In front, the hood had a scoop, and the front and rear bumpers had rubber bumpers to help keep dents and dings to a minimum.

Inside, Dune Buster retained its column shifter, but the steering wheel was replaced with a walnut-rimmed model. The seats were upholstered in suede and perforated leather on the cushions and seatbacks. The instrument panel was also trimmed with suede and the stock plastic control knobs were jettisoned for walnut versions that matched the steering wheel. A tonneau cover appeared over the rear compartment. The sides of the bed were topped with a stainless steel rail.

Dune Buster disappeared from public view after 1966, only to emerge again on the show circuit in the fall of 1970 and renamed Wildflower. Although obviously the same truck, the pearl paint from five years prior had been replaced with a paint scheme highlighted by a “psychedelic design of blues, yellow, and reds topped off by a pink grille.” The upholstery was changed to match this era-correct paint scheme, and the beige carpet was changed out for red carpet.

After the second round of auto shows, the Dune Buster/Wildfl ower Bronco disappeared for good, and its whereabouts remain a mystery to this day. During our 2007 conversation, George Barris remembered building the Bronco but had no idea what happened to it.

Two young models show off Dune Buster, a Ford styling exercise executed by famed car customer George Barris in Hollywood, California. Dune Buster featured a host of custom features that played well on the 1966 auto show circuit. (Photo Courtesy Ford Motor Company)