Today we will talk about one of the first Broncos to be modified and raced, it raced from 1968-1989.
Our story begins in Long Beach California in 1966.
According to Ed Gudenkauf, this Bronco was one of the first ones shipped to Holman & Moody-Stroppe in 1965. It was not one of the several test (wrecked) Broncos that Stroppe picked up from Ford in Detroit.
Once the U13 Roadster was in the hands of Bill Stroppe they began testing it off-road (as they did the other Broncos) and began to modify it.
Once the first modifications were made (double shocks, rear fenders cut out, roll cage etc). The Bronco was displayed at an event at the Hearst Castle in California.
You have to remember that Stroppe built more than a few of the Broncos in 66-67, he began racing them in 1966. Note the color schemes, these Broncos were the foundation for the Baja Broncos that would come later.
This same Bronco was displayed on the cover of the first Holman & Moody-Stroppe catalog in 1967
Here is an early video of this very Bronco from the inaugural run of the Tierra Del Sol in Borrego Springs, CA.
A man by the name of Ed Perry was working at Pearson Ford in San Diego, he had also started a tire company and was a dealer for Gates tires as well as Bandag retreads.
For some reason Ford or Stroppe sold the Bronco to Ed for $1500. I don't know if there were strings attached (perhaps Ed promised to race the Bronco or allow Ford to use it in ads?) or if the Bronco had been damaged to the point that Stroppe-Ford wanted to just be rid of it.
Either way Ed turned the Bronco over to his son Dann to race in the 1968 Baja 1000. After the race Dann flew home, leaving the Bronco in La Paz.
Ed was talking to fellow employees at Pearson Ford and one of them was Hal Sealund, who along with John Karp started K Bar S. Hal and John were also members of the Vaqueros 4 Wheel Drive Club, which Perry was also a member of.
After hearing about the stranded Bronco, Hal offered to drive it back to San Diego from La Paz. Here is a picture of Hal on that fateful drive in late 1968.
It still had the same California license plates as it did during the Hearst Castle promotion.
After that drive Hal inquired about buying the Bronco and after the 1969 season Hal purchased it for $1,800.
Here it is at California Race Specialties not long after Hal bought it. Note the sign on the building, C.R.S. was the partner with K Bar S in modifying Broncos for the So Cal Ford dealers.
It wasn't long before the Bronco started to receive more mods including a new roll cage and paint job.
Hal acquired sponsorship from Sta-Power Oil Additive and the insisted the Bronco be blue and red, so the Bronco was repainted once again, this was in 1970. Note the K Bar S on the front fender.
At this point, the windshield had been removed and spare tire mounts sat in the bed.
The Bronco was raced in the 1970, 71 & 72 race seasons, then in late '72 Hal decided to make the Bronco street legal again
In 1973 Hal had C.R.S. install a 351 Windsor V-8.
Then in 1974 while having beers with Kurt Strecker of Viva Off-Road/Viva Broncos, Kurt convinced Hal that for $3,500 Kurt could turn his Bronco into a real off-road racer.
Well while the Bronco was in Viva Off-Road's care, they were in the middle of moving their shop from Lakeside, CA to Santee, CA (about 5 miles away). The body tub for Hal's Bronco was loaded and a trailer and not strapped down......well the body tub fell off the trailer and was demolished.
That is when the Rice Brothers Ken and Greg stepped in to finish the Bronco.
Hal struck a deal with the Rice Brothers, they would do the work and driving, Hal would provide the sponsorship and support.
Hal created the "Thunder Racing Team".
The Rice Brothers built a tube cage and attached fiberglass body panels purchased from either Fairway or Filmore Ford in Southern CA.
The Bronco with the Rice Brothers at the helm
At some point the 351W was replaced by a 351 Cleveland.
The Bronco was painted yellow for a race and car show in Borrego Springs in 1976
After the 1978 season, the Bronco was modified once again, this time the Bronco was stretched 10" at the firewall. I believe this is when the radius arms were also lengthened, and the rear leaf spring suspension was traded out for a four-link with coils.
The Bronco continued to race
Circa 1982, the Rice Brothers decided to retire from racing. Mike Wilson from Las Vegas stepped in and took over driving duties.
After a couple of years Mike left racing and Steve Olliges stepped up, his Father owner Friendly Ford in Las Vegas and had money and connections to keep the Bronco racing. Here he is getting air at the '84 Mint 400
and again in 1985
After the 1985 season, Hal sold majority interest in Thunder Racing to some investors. Hal maintained partial ownership. Several drivers piloted the Bronco through the mid-late '80s.
The racing ended with the 1989 Mint 400. The Bronco was returned to Hal and it went into his garage in Borrego Springs.
In 1995 Hal & John sold the Bronco to a guy named Scooter Holder in Houston, he even delivered it, towing it behind the K-Bar-S "Big Red" Bronco.
K Bar S Bronco was still a thriving operation at this time (having resumed operations in 1980).
The new owner raced the Bronco for a short time, then it sat for 14 years in his back yard....in Houston. Possibly even underwater during floods/Hurricanes.
and this is where the story ends. A special thanks to Ed Gudenkauf for not just saving a piece of Bronco history, but for sharing it with us.
Sources:
Classic Desert Race Bronco Restoration (offroadaction.ca)
Back yard find! The HMS/Sealund race bronco | Page 2 | ClassicBroncos.com Forum
Hal Sealunds Old Race Bronco | race-deZert
