of the Ford Bronco was one of the things on my bucket list. However, when Wes Eisenschenk offered me the opportunity to write this book, I honestly wanted to say no. I already had a “real” job as an engineer, was raising a family, had no shortage of hobbies, and was writing a few articles a year for Bronco Driver magazine and other outlets. Andrea helped give me some perspective on the opportunity and reminded me of that bucket list comment from a few years earlier. I realized I had a book “in me,” and my no turned to a yes. Thank you, Dre, for your encouragement, and Wes, for the opportunity to do this project. Who could have imagined that a simple Facebook Messenger message about research on another work would lead to this.
As I began to write, I was reminded that automotive writers have always, in a way, been heroes of mine. The ability to convey information and engender certain emotions in a compelling manner is a skill I have long admired. In my formative years, I counted automotive scribes such as Jimmy Nylund, Moses Ludel, and Tom Madigan as my chief influences. As an adult, Peter Egan, Tom Cotter, Peter Brock, Jim Allen, and Colin Comer have been those I admired and looked up to the most.
No one creates a book totally on their own, and this volume was no exception. Chief contributors who helped with the creation of this work were: Andrew Norton, Terry Marvel, Tim Hulick, Drew Peroni, Chris House, Jack Niederkorn, Ed Gudenkauf, Dennis Bragg, Dave Kunz, Rick Williamson, Cliff Brumfield, and David Grinch. Willie Stroppe’s memories of the 1977 Balloon Chase and other Bronco racing facts were particularly meaningful and helpful.
A special thanks goes to George Peterson and Dick Nesbitt for their help and recollections regarding Project Shorthorn and the resulting 1978 Bronco. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to Don Wheatley, who led the engineering team that designed the 1978 Bronco and who was the coinventor of the Twin-Traction Beam front axle introduced in the 1980 Bronco. A delightful Saturday afternoon in July was spent reminiscing about his endeavors. Time spent with Parnelli Jones at his office in Torrance, California, is always a treat, and the interview for this book was no different. Thank you, Parnelli, for your time, and a big thanks to Jimmy Dilamarter, who always helps with logistics and puts up with my pestering emails.
Photos are a huge part of a historical record and pulling together images for this book was a large effort. Thanks to all who contributed photos to help make it possible. In particular, I am grateful for the help from: Al Rogers (Freeze Frame Image LLC), Jim Ober (Trackside Photo), Boyd Jaynes (Boyd Photo), Warren Crone (Ford Images), and Thomas Voehringer (Petersen Archives), who dug deep into the archives for some of the photos in the book.
Finally, all the production data in this book beyond the general totals for each year comes from Kevin Marti and his Marti Reports. Marti Auto Works is licensed by Ford Motor Company with the complete database of all Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles built from 1967 to the present. It has supplied statistics for this book. These statistics are copyrighted and used by permission of Marti Auto Works and Ford Motor Company. Marti Auto Works sells individual reports on vehicles and these are available at martiauto.com.
For all the people I’ve been able to connect with and reconnect with during the writing of this book, I’m so glad I said yes to this opportunity and the journey.
FOREWORD
by James Duff, Founder, James Duff Enterprises
When my friend Todd Zuercher asked me to write a foreword for this book, I was honored, and happy to hear that one of the Bronco’s leading historians would be chronicling the story of our favorite vehicle.
I bought my first Ford Bronco in 1967 while working as a body and paint man at Walker Buerge Ford in Los Angeles. I spent some time running the local sand dunes and taking home Broncos from the dealership at night and outfitting them with heavy-duty aftermarket parts.
With encouragement from Bill Stroppe, I decided to try my hand at desert racing. My career started off with a bang as my codriver took the first leg of the 1969 Baja 500. At more than 100 mph, a hay truck stalled in the middle of the road comes at you real quick. Although he missed hitting it, we caught the edge of the pavement into the ditch and did 3.5 rolls end over end, corner to corner! I put it all back together and ran it all season long, circle-track racing against Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Ray Harvick. We were back for the Mexican 1000 that fall. Desert racing was in its infancy and I was fortunate to race with the greats, including Bill Stroppe, Mickey Thompson, Parnelli Jones, James Garner, Walker Evans, and Rod Hall.
At the time, parts to toughen up my Bronco were scarce, so I made many of them myself. I built products to hold up to the rigors of off-road racing while making them accessible to everyone, which soon grew into our business: Duffy’s Bronco Service.
Racing gave way to family four wheeling when the kids came along. My wife Judy and I helped form the first Bronco-only club: Broncos West 4WD Club in Los Angeles. The club frequented Pismo Beach, Glamis, Big Bear, and other Southern California hot spots.
The business continued to grow and I developed parts for other four-wheel-drive vehicles. A devastating warehouse fire in 1978 forced us to sell off the majority of our product line to Mickey Thompson Shock Co. Thankfully, it didn’t want the Bronco parts side of the business, so my wife Judy kept on selling those parts out of the garage and I kept designing new parts while working for M/T. In 1980, I won a SEMA Best New Off-Road product award for my camber adjusters for the new Ford Twin-Traction Beam front ends, a product that is still produced today.
In the early days, James “Duffy” Duff raced off-road with the greats. Many of his products were developed from lessons learned on courses in Baja and the southwestern United States. Here he plows through the silt at the 1970 Mint 400.
In the 1970s, the Duff family posed with their two signature vehicles: Mrs. Duff’s and Pony Express on the sand at Pismo Beach.
The Duff family is shown here in 2014. Since their relocation to Knoxville, the business and the Bronco fleet have grown as the popularity of the Bronco has soared. James and Judy Duff are enjoying retirement these days while Suzy and her husband, Michael, manage day-to-day operations of the business.
Soon, Judy and I moved to the small town of Sequim, Washington, and reorganized as James Duff Enterprises. We started out small, and with the kids’ help, rebuilt the business, first as a strictly mail-order operation and then to a proper store/showroom to help serve the burgeoning early Bronco restoration craze. We patented degreed polyurethane C-bushings to help solve caster problems on lifted trucks and also designed and developed parts for the Bronco II and the big Broncos when they entered the market.
Our kids, as you might expect, both ended up with in automotive-related careers. Richard became an international car designer. Suzy took over the reins of our business when we finally decided to retire. By then, the business had outgrown Sequim, so the decision was made to move to Knoxville, Tennessee, where we have enjoyed many successful years in a business that keeps on growing in a beautiful region of the country.
Todd Zuercher wrote me a letter as a young teenager more than 35 years ago, telling me of his plans for his dad’s Bronco. Over the years, we’ve ’wheeled with him at many events in Arizona and California. To his utter embarrassment, a few years ago I pulled out that letter and shared it with him and a group of his friends around the campfire in Arizona. I’ve enjoyed reading his historical articles in the Early Bronco Registry’s Horsing Around newsletters and in more recent years, his many contributions to Bronco Driver magazine. As one of the primary historical chroniclers of our favorite vehicle, we’re happy that he’s put together a history for us all to enjoy.
The Bronco has provided not only our livelihood but a lifetime of experiences, memories, and many wonderful friendships during the past