Classic Broncos

Cryptozoology is the study of mythical creatures that may or may not exist.

This applies to Broncos how? Well, there is a lot of mystery and myths surrounding certain Bronco models and specialty-built Broncos.

So, this new segment at the blog will focus on these prototypes, one of a kind, special editions and the most historical Broncos ever built.

To keep the posts short, we will include only a brief story of each

We will try to separate fact from fiction and possibly come up with more questions than answers.

At first, I was going to compile this into one post, but it got waaay too long.

Most car guys have heard of the Ford "Woody" wagon, made popular by the surfers of the 1960s.

Ford built these Woody Wagons from the 1930s up into the early 1950s except of course, during WWII.

Beach Boy co-founder Al Jardine, owned a 1940 Ford Deluxe Woody, which is mentioned in several of the Beach Boys songs.

Here is Al and his 1940 Woody Wagon

Ever since the introduction of the Bronco Al had wanted one. Touring and other life impedances kept him separated from one.

In 1972 he asked Ford if they could build him a Woody Wagon Bronco. Ford declined the request, so Al went to his friend who owned Galpin Ford in Sepulveda, CA.

Galpin happened to be the #1 Ford dealer, not just in California, not just the west coast, not just North America, but the entire world. That title comes with some clout.

So Galpin owner Bert Boeckmann called up Henry Ford II and asked him about the possibility of producing a Bronco Woody Wagon.

Galpin Ford had a long history of offering customized Fords to its customers. They were the first to install sunroofs in American cars. They call their custom creations "Galpinized". Galpin may have been able to build a custom woody, but this was outside of their comfort zone.

Back to our story, Henry Ford II, aka "The Deuce" agreed to build the Bronco Woody Wagon on one condition: Galpin had to agree to take delivery of at least a dozen of them.

Both parties agreed and the colors were chosen as Limestone Metallic and Candy Apple Red. Both of these were factory color options for 1973/74.

Six of each color would be built with one of the red ones going to Al Jardine and one of the green ones into Bert Boeckmann's personal collection.

In the summer of 1973 Ford built the 12 Broncos, using an off-site facility and help from three retired Ford employees who built some of the original Ford Woodies in the 50's. A local cabinet shop assisted with making the maple pieces and steaming them in order to fit the contours of the Bronco.

The 1974 model year Broncos were non-Sport Ranger models with about every option available including 302 ci V-8 engine, automatic transmission, power steering, power disc brakes, air conditioning, dual tanks and chrome trim. The interiors of all 12 were two tone medium Ginger and brown houndstooth.

Rather than replace the exterior panels, as was done on the original Woody Wagons, Ford decided to add the wood to the exterior of the metal, which wasn't the best idea. Rust created by the wood holding moisture against the metal eventually took all but a few of the Broncos to the junkyard.

Today only two of the Limestone Metallic Broncos and one of the Candy Apple Red Broncos are known to have survived, all of them still reside in sunny California.

One of the Broncos still resides at Galpin Ford.

The Galpin Ford Woody: only 12,800 miles on the odometer, it only leaves its showroom home for the occasional parade, car show or maintenance.

Here is Survivor #2, the owner of this one did a mild restoration and added a lift kit and BFG Mud Terrain T/A tires. Dual exhaust and an aftermarket radio round out the non-factory equipment.

I could not find pictures of the third survivor, which is said to be somewhere in the Palm Springs area.

This story is a complete fabrication, the Broncos pictured above are all the same customized Bronco, taken at different times and places, owned by different collectors, the last of which installed a lift kit. I was inspired by this article at Ford-Trucks.com

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but what about magazines? I read somewhere once, that during the 1980's & 90's Peterson's 4 Wheel & Off-Road would intentionally put a Bronco on the cover, even if there were no Bronco articles or features in the issue, knowing it would help sell the magazine.

I put together a sampling of Broncos on the covers of magazines, most of them Automotive related, but now that the Bronco has become uber popular other magazines are using them for exposure.

Of course, I could have filled this post with covers of Bronco Driver, but that would be cheating as every issue of Bronco Driver has a classic Bronco or three on its cover.

check out the paint and accessories on this Bronco, this is 1967 long before the 1st Baja Bronco. I have a feeling Bill Stroppe had something to do with this one.