The 1966 Ford Bronco
In 1965 Ford designers began sketching a newcomer to the then fledgling SUV market place the Ford Bronco. Code named U100 by Ford engineers the 1966 Bronco was made to compete with the Jeep and Worldwide Scout. All those two currently being the only American competitors, Ford saw an untapped marketplace and poised by itself to consider gain of the developing craze. The new Bronco, gentle fat, nimble and four wheel travel, fit that market properly and went on for a productive 30 12 months operate.
That initial Bronco, like the Scout and Jeep, was a true utilitarian automobile. It was marketed as a perform truck to farmers and ranchers in rural pieces of the region and as a hunting and tenting car for the rising team of outdoorsmen. Though it could also consider the household to the grocery shop and street trips, that definitely was not its strong accommodate. Additional than a couple of automotive magazines of the working day commented on how considerably far better the Bronco shined off the pavement then on.
There ended up handful of creature comforts in the early many years no electrical power steering, electric power disc brakes or automatic transmission. A stick shift was your only choice and that was a “three on the tree” fashion with the shifter awkwardly mounted to the steering column. The interior was sparse to say the least with a painted steel dash and metal doorway panels. A huge rubber flooring mat was inventory. Customers had to special purchase some thing as magnificent as carpet.
There was no air conditioning and all seats but the motorists ended up optional. One particular of the a lot more exclusive characteristics of the early Broncos was the windshield wipers mounted above relatively than under the windshield. And for 1966-1968 the wiper motors have been troublesome vacuum operated models as a substitute of electric powered.
Bronco Body Kinds
Entire body style decisions for the initially early Broncos consisted of 3 possibilities Wagon, Halfcab pickup and Roadster convertible. All 3 had been essentially the identical auto, merely with a distinct leading and doorway configurations. It was an successful layout resolution mixed with a fantastic marketing approach. With really tiny additional tooling and a least of exclusive areas, Ford could offer 3 distinct human body models without the need of the common excess price.
The Wagon was by much the most popular and at some point would come to be the only overall body design presented. It featured a removable all-metal major that went the full duration of the cockpit and mattress. A carry up rear window presented accessibility to the modest storage place at the rear of the rear seat. The comprehensive wagon major furnished protection from the factors in undesirable weather, but if the operator wished to go topless it was just a subject of removing some bolts and acquiring a pal or two to help raise the major off.
The Halfcab product was in truth a short pickup. Not like the total duration top rated of the wagon, the halfcab prime only included the entrance two seats. A steel bulk head correct at the rear of the front seats shaped the forward wall of the pickup bed and gave a assist for the quick leading to bolt to. Ford touted the 32.8 cubic toes of cargo box as the premier of any automobile in its class, although in actuality there was no other pickup of that measurement to assess to. The 1966 halfcab Bronco was a single of the very first trucks to have the moniker “Activity Utility Auto” attached to it.
Rounding out the a few entire body models was the Roadster convertible, rolling off the supplier plenty with no roof or doorways. This was promoted as the entertaining, carefree open air car for the beach or mountains. Fiberglass inserts helped round off the otherwise squared off doorway openings, but they actually presented no security. To entire the “wind in your hair” feeling, the Roadster front windshield could be folded down to lay on the hood, secured by a special mount. The Roadster was the shortest lived of all the Bronco human body designs and only 5,000 had been made right before it was discontinued in 1968.
After it is introduction in 1966 the early Bronco would go on for 11 many years right up until lastly a new much larger overall body model was released in 1978. Each and every subsequent 12 months of the early Bronco introduced new solutions, upgrades or security devices, but it truly is difficult to beat the unique. The 1966 Bronco was the very first of a new breed and continues to be an outstanding and incredibly collectible example of a pure classic 4×4.
