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Bronco enthusiasts through the years have created some interesting names for unique features on the trucks. For example, the small metal crease to the right (top and bottom) of the headlight ring was called an eyebrow, and thus the early grilles (first four to five months of production) with this feature have become known as eyebrow grilles. (Tim Hulick)
In other cases, 1966s have not been as popular because most of them were fairly rudimentary in terms of options, and the 6-cylinder engine was not desirable. In more recent times, as the value of stock vehicles has risen, the 1966s have gained in value as collectors search out early or first-year production vehicles to add to their collections.
PROTOTYPE BRONGO
One of the first prototypes. The first production Bronco. The “Shelby Bronco.” It’s been known by a number of names over the years, and its story and whereabouts were a mystery to many and a subject of much speculation for many years. Noted historian Jim Allen said it best when he called it “the earliest known surviving Bronco.”
The vehicle identification number (VIN) plate, which is mounted on the driver-side doorjamb instead of the kick panel on production trucks, decodes as a U14 Sports Utility painted Rangoon Red. In a field of trucks that have great stories behind them, this blue half cab has one of the most interesting ones of all.
The fifth character in the VIN, “S,” indicates this is a very special Bronco. The S denotes that it was built at the Allen Park, Michigan, assembly plant, known as the “Pilot Plant” for new Ford cars and trucks.
After production, the whereabouts of the prototype truck were unknown. It was known that in July 1967, it was loaded onto a car hauler in Dearborn and taken west to Carroll Shelby’s Shelby American facility in Los Angeles, California. There, the Bronco was registered for a time to Lew Spencer’s High Performance Motors dealership in El Segundo, California, before making a move to the Christmas Land and Cattle Company, a ranch co-owned by Carroll Shelby and D. A. Witts, near Terlingua, Texas.
Living on the ranch for many years, the Bronco lived a hard life, with repairs made by ranch hands or occasionally by the nearby dealership, Big Bend Ford. In 1978, ranch hand Harold Wynn decided that he had had enough of paying for repairs on the old Bronco and inquired at the dealership about trading it for a new 1978 model. After some wrangling with one of the dealership’s co-owners, Vincent “Vinnie” Yakubanski, Wynn got a new Bronco and Vinnie got the prototype for $100.
Vinnie soon repainted the red Bronco a fresh shade of 1979 Ford metallic blue on the body with gray covering the half cab. Vinnie used the little Bronco as a family recreational rig and a motorcycle hauler. He even used it to haul a dignitary in a small Texas town parade one year. That dignitary was none other than Carroll Shelby, who remarked to Vinny that perhaps he shouldn’t have sold that Bronco after all.
This familiar press release photo reveals itself to be the prototype Bronco in one of its iterations. Key identifying factors include the non-standard Ford letters on the grille, 289 badge placement on the fender, lack of locking hubs, and the unique rocker trim that has only been seen on this truck. (Photo Courtesy Motor Trend Group, LLC)
Today, the prototype Bronco wears a half cab top and has retained many of its unique features and parts from more than 50 years ago. It is the elder statesman of the Bronco line, spending its days at Gateway Bronco in Hamel, Illinois. (Photo Courtesy Terry Marvel)
Eventually, Vinnie parked the Bronco in a pole barn on his property and bought another 1966 Bronco to drive.
In 2016, Seth Burgett, owner of Gateway Bronco in Hamel, Illinois, learned that Vinnie was interested in selling his beloved Bronco. Burgett traveled to Texas, struck a deal, and became the next caretaker of the special little Bronco. Under Burgett’s ownership, the Bronco has received extensive media coverage along with auto show appearances that have allowed many enthusiasts to view the truck.
Inspections by knowledgeable Bronco historians have provided more insight into the origins of this truck and the details of its life before its shipment to Shelby’s facility in 1967. A closer look at the engine compartment and its exterior and interior features determined that the Bronco had a significant role in two defining moments in the first two model years of the Bronco: the introduction of the 289 V-8 engine in March 1966 and the introduction of the Sport Bronco package for the 1967 model year.
The key pieces of evidence to confirm that this truck was the prototype for the 289 engine installation in the Bronco were two photos from the collection of noted 1966 Bronco collector Terry Marvel. The photos are of Ford General Manager Donald Frey posing with the engine compartment of a Bronco with an obviously nonproduction 289 and another showing the engine compartment.
This Ford photo shows the first 289 V-8 installation into the prototype Bronco. Note the downflow radiator and the air filter from a passenger car application. Both items are still with the truck today. (Photo Courtesy Ford Motor Company)
Some key elements of the Bronco engine compartment in the photos match up exactly with Burgett’s Bronco. The unique air cleaner and radiator in the period photo are still with the truck today. On the cowl, the passenger-side air intake is of a unique construction; it appears to be handmade and is covered by a wire mesh with a small square pattern. The mesh is clearly seen in the Frey photo. The engine compartment still shows traces of the original Rangoon Red color.
Ford Division General Manager Donald Frey stands proudly next to the prototype Bronco holding the 289 V-8 between its flanks. The unique screen on the passenger-side fresh-air intake housing is one of the key elements that helped identify Burgett’s Bronco as this truck. More than 50 years later, 1966 Bronco expert Terry Marvel recreates the pose at Burgett’s Gateway Bronco shop. (Photo Courtesy Terry Marvel)
The hood prop retaining tab is a small piece of formed metal on top of the core support that answered a long-running question for historians. Ford apparently made a last-minute switch from that tab to a drilled hole in the core support for the prop rod and removed the formed pieces of the tabs on the bodies during production.
The engine mounts on the frame are definitely not factory but are constructed like something you would expect to see in a prototype engine installation at an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The engine’s timing cover and dipstick are from a car; the oil pan is custom fabricated. There are 289 emblems adorning the front fenders, as they did on production Broncos after March 1966, but the emblems here are located lower and closer to the front fender opening than on production trucks.
These photos are from early sales literature that used the prototype Bronco, one obviously more retouched than the other. The prototype was used in Ford marketing literature as late as 1974, often with some airbrushing. The key indicators are the 289 emblem placement on the front fender and the rocker trim extending from one fender opening to the other.
The exterior inspection of the prototype Bronco also yielded a bumper crop of unusual pieces that added to the story of this truck. The Sport package was not available on Broncos until the 1967 model year, but the little half cab contains several items that point to it being the Sport package prototype. One of the most interesting items is the Sport badging on the front fenders. At first glance, the badges appear to be identical to production pieces, but a closer look reveals the “Sport” portions of the badges are actually separate