Where are they now? Part 1 Bronco #1

 We're starting a new segment here at the blog. This is a list of iconic Broncos and a short story about them and finish with where the Broncos are now.

Bronco #1

We'll start with the very first Bronco:

Bronco #1 is also called the Shelby Bronco, there has been some mystery surrounding this one. It was serial #1 (more precisely 000), the first Bronco to roll off the line....although when it was built there was no "line", they were assembled off site with the body tubs that were put together by Budd & Co.

The color was Caribbean Turquoise, and it was a U14 1/2 Cab Bronco.

The Bronco then went through testing and a V-8 engine was installed (either a 260 or 289). When testing was completed and Ford's assembly line churning out new ponies, Bronco #1 was no longer needed, so it was given to Carrol Shelby.

I assume Ford hoped Shelby would do something creative with the Bronco (as Stroppe had been doing), but instead he sent it to his ranch in Texas where it was used for chores. This was in July of 1969. The Bronco got a repaint in red with white and someone installed rear fender flares and bigger tires.

In 1978 the Bronco was sold for $100 to a local Ford dealer named Vinnie Yakubanski.

Yakubankski used it for his family weekend ride for years. At some point it is repainted again, this time blue and silver. It was also relocated to Wyoming.

In October of 2016 the Bronco was discovered by the team at Gateway Bronco in Illinois.