History of the Ford Bronco – My Ford Bronco

For the record, I am not a historian, but I do like history.  For the context of this article, I am going to focus on my personal history.  The stories, anecdotes and tales that I tell about the origins of my Bronco life are from my own memories and experiences and nothing more.

Not the actual Bronco, but exactly the same in color, year and options. Thanks to Big Sky Broncos for the picture.

My Bronco is a basic U15 Bronco Wagon that was built sometime in late 1969.  My father purchased it new from Geo. Yocum Ford in Lansdale, PA in early 1970 for approximately $3500.  It was Sky View Blue, with a Wimbledon White hard top, and chrome hubcaps.   My dad called it a “cream puff”, a name that I never could figure out.  Did he call it that because it was light blue and white, or was it always breaking down and never reliable?  I asked him years later, and he did not clearly recall why he told me that it was a cream puff, but his disdain for this vehicle was obvious right up until his passing in 2011.

There were many reasons for his not liking this vehicle, but it was clear that the constant needing of repairs was the most salient.  A series of breakdowns and failures that lasted well into the 1980’s. One of the stories that I remember hearing was that the shifter linkage jammed on the way home from the dealership, and he had to wait in the cold for a tow truck to rescue him.  He thought it best to just leave it there and demand a refund, but alas he did not, and the Bronco came home to stay.

Through the 70’s the Bronco was driven daily by my mother, and since she was a school teacher at the local elementary school, it’s early life was nothing more than a “grocery getting” commuter vehicle during the school year and neighborhood kiddie wagon during the summer. Aside from the frequent trips to the local garage for parts and service, it provided a faithful service to the family as an everyday vehicle.   In those days, the Bronco seldom saw any action off road, or use in any other strenuous capacity, it was nothing more than street based vehicle that had the untapped capacity for much more.  Don’t get me wrong, the Bronco did see tremendous service during times of snow and ice in those days, just never in a recreational setting.

To add to the Bronco’s capabilities in the adverse weather months, my father would adorn it with studded snow/ice tires from November to March. These tires made a very interesting sound and vibration when being driven down the asphalt highway.   I never had the chance to drive it with these on, but I am told that it made driving in slippery conditions a lot better even in four wheel drive.

Snow tire with metal studs.

The Bronco aged gracefully into the 1980’s.  By the turn of the decade, it already had a new coat of paint that my father applied, and some new front floor boards that the local garage pop riveted in to allow it to pass inspection.  There was also several new drive shafts that were installed by that time, the reason for the replacements were that the double U-joint in the front of the driveshaft (to offset the short wheel base) was not able to be properly lubricated and thus left to wear out and eventually fail.  Years later I found this to be untrue, and showed my father the necessary attachment for this joint’s maintenance.  Needless to say we never returned to that garage again…

When I finally got my driver’s license in 1982, I naturally gravitated towards learning to drive the Bronco.  I was intimidated at first by the lack of power steering and the 3spd column shifter, but my older sister took me driving around the rural areas near the homestead anyway, in an effort to teach me how to drive a stick.  I had ridden motorcycles since my early teens so I understood the concept of shifting gears, but in a car, on a public road, while driving?   That was a different story…

After a few bumps, stalls and crawls I finally got the hang of driving the Bronco, and it was not long after that, I realized that I wanted to drive no other vehicle.  My mind opened up to all of the possible places that we could go together, and how we would get there.  It was a bond with a machine that many people have felt in their lives, but never can really explain, something permanent and steady as our lives change around us.  Something physical and inanimate that we can imagine has a spirit within it beckoning us to come out and play.  It’s a touchstone that can tie us back to all of the mistakes, failures, successes and triumphs that we had in our lives in an instant, and it is interwoven into our lives as well as any family member, best friend or significant other.  It is for this reason that I will write this blog as an attempt to explore my feelings while sharing experiences of the past both recent and distant.