Читать книгу Ford Bronco: A History of Ford's Legendary 4x4 - Todd Zuercher - Страница 8

When my friend Todd Zuercher asked me to write a foreword for this book, I was honored, and happy to hear that one of the Bronco’s leading historians would be chronicling the story of our favorite vehicle.

I bought my first Ford Bronco in 1967 while working as a body and paint man at Walker Buerge Ford in Los Angeles. I spent some time running the local sand dunes and taking home Broncos from the dealership at night and outfitting them with heavy-duty aftermarket parts.

With encouragement from Bill Stroppe, I decided to try my hand at desert racing. My career started off with a bang as my codriver took the first leg of the 1969 Baja 500. At more than 100 mph, a hay truck stalled in the middle of the road comes at you real quick. Although he missed hitting it, we caught the edge of the pavement into the ditch and did 3.5 rolls end over end, corner to corner! I put it all back together and ran it all season long, circle-track racing against Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Ray Harvick. We were back for the Mexican 1000 that fall. Desert racing was in its infancy and I was fortunate to race with the greats, including Bill Stroppe, Mickey Thompson, Parnelli Jones, James Garner, Walker Evans, and Rod Hall.

At the time, parts to toughen up my Bronco were scarce, so I made many of them myself. I built products to hold up to the rigors of off-road racing while making them accessible to everyone, which soon grew into our business: Duffy’s Bronco Service.

Racing gave way to family four wheeling when the kids came along. My wife Judy and I helped form the first Bronco-only club: Broncos West 4WD Club in Los Angeles. The club frequented Pismo Beach, Glamis, Big Bear, and other Southern California hot spots.

The business continued to grow and I developed parts for other four-wheel-drive vehicles. A devastating warehouse fire in 1978 forced us to sell off the majority of our product line to Mickey Thompson Shock Co. Thankfully, it didn’t want the Bronco parts side of the business, so my wife Judy kept on selling those parts out of the garage and I kept designing new parts while working for M/T. In 1980, I won a SEMA Best New Off-Road product award for my camber adjusters for the new Ford Twin-Traction Beam front ends, a product that is still produced today.

In the early days, James “Duffy” Duff raced off-road with the greats. Many of his products were developed from lessons learned on courses in Baja and the southwestern United States. Here he plows through the silt at the 1970 Mint 400.

In the 1970s, the Duff family posed with their two signature vehicles: Mrs. Duff’s and Pony Express on the sand at Pismo Beach.

The Duff family is shown here in 2014. Since their relocation to Knoxville, the business and the Bronco fleet have grown as the popularity of the Bronco has soared. James and Judy Duff are enjoying retirement these days while Suzy and her husband, Michael, manage day-to-day operations of the business.

Soon, Judy and I moved to the small town of Sequim, Washington, and reorganized as James Duff Enterprises. We started out small, and with the kids’ help, rebuilt the business, first as a strictly mail-order operation and then to a proper store/showroom to help serve the burgeoning early Bronco restoration craze. We patented degreed polyurethane C-bushings to help solve caster problems on lifted trucks and also designed and developed parts for the Bronco II and the big Broncos when they entered the market.

Our kids, as you might expect, both ended up with in automotive-related careers. Richard became an international car designer. Suzy took over the reins of our business when we finally decided to retire. By then, the business had outgrown Sequim, so the decision was made to move to Knoxville, Tennessee, where we have enjoyed many successful years in a business that keeps on growing in a beautiful region of the country.

Todd Zuercher wrote me a letter as a young teenager more than 35 years ago, telling me of his plans for his dad’s Bronco. Over the years, we’ve ’wheeled with him at many events in Arizona and California. To his utter embarrassment, a few years ago I pulled out that letter and shared it with him and a group of his friends around the campfire in Arizona. I’ve enjoyed reading his historical articles in the Early Bronco Registry’s Horsing Around newsletters and in more recent years, his many contributions to Bronco Driver magazine. As one of the primary historical chroniclers of our favorite vehicle, we’re happy that he’s put together a history for us all to enjoy.

The Bronco has provided not only our livelihood but a lifetime of experiences, memories, and many wonderful friendships during the past 50 years. We’re excited about the future, particularly with the introduction of a new Bronco and where Suzy will take it. Here’s to many more years behind the wheel of our favorite rigs!