from the Bronco’s introduction until March 1966, when Ford switched them to angling rearward with eye mounts on top. The location and mounting configuration remained that way through the end of the first generation’s production in 1977.
Due to the Bronco’s weight and short wheelbase, the Bronco was never known as a great tow vehicle. Ford did offer a trailer hitch for the Bronco as a dealer accessory and rated the tow capacity at 2,000 pounds.
This cross-sectional view shows the attachment of the radius arm to the front axle on the feasibility vehicle (modified 4WD pickup truck) compared to the design used on production Broncos from 1966 to 1979. (Photo Courtesy SAE International)
Exceeding its rated towing capacity, this 1966 Bronco pulls the most valuable payload ever pulled by a Bronco: the 1966 Le Mans–winning GT40 of Chris Amon and Bruce McLaren. The GT40 sold for $22 million in 2016. (Photo Courtesy John Fowler)
The earliest Broncos had a host of water leakage problems, so Ford issued a series of Technical Service Bulletins with recommended fixes. They usually involved applying copious amounts of silicone sealer and, in one case, drilling 15 holes in the floor under the floor mat so the water could drain. Imagine such a fix being recommended today.
The Budd Company conducted testing on a bare frame and a body-on-frame before the first mechanical prototype was built. After gathering input from the monobeam-equipped feasibility vehicle and another truck run on some durability courses, Budd subjected the frame to 70,000 pothole cycles at each wheel and 308 lateral loads for each 1,000 pothole cycles.
Based on the results of this testing, Ford modified the design of the transmission/transfer case crossmember and added K-braces to the front and rear crossmembers, which after additional testing, proved to be successful and were incorporated into the production frame design.
The first frame design also had all the body mount brackets and suspension hangers welded to the frame rails. After some additional fatigue analysis, several of these members were instead bolted or riveted to the frame and the radius arm brackets were both bolted and welded to the frame. Further body testing brought about some changes, including relocation of cross sills, tunnel and front floor surface changes, mounting flange revisions, and additional material to strengthen panels.
The pieces in the corners of the frame rails and the front crossmember on the Bronco frame are called K-braces. Budd Company’s initial testing of prototype Bronco frames showed that they did not meet requirements for torsional rigidity, so these braces were added. (Photo Courtesy Tim Hulick)
These metal tags are known as buck tags. They were wired to the firewalls of 1966 and 1967 Broncos and indicated to assembly-line workers what was supposed to be on the Bronco. The black tag is from an early truck and spells out what should be installed. By the time of the teal tag, the words were shortened to abbreviations. Trying to decipher these tags can be a challenge. (Photo Courtesy Tim Hulick)
The body was mounted to the frame with eight rubber mounts, offering excellent frame-to-body isolation. In addition, the mounts were designed for ease of assembly. All of the mounts were installed on the frame line and when the body was installed, an assembly-line pit was not needed and one operator could handle the joining of the two assemblies.
Interior
By today’s standards, the Bronco’s interior was stark, but in 1966, Ford proudly bragged about its standard features, including a vinyl rubber floor mat, front seat belts, lockable glove compartment, dual vacuum windshield wipers, ashtray, and the aforementioned column-mounted transmission shifter and single transfer case shifter. The instrument cluster, mounted in the dash to the left of the steering column, housed a speedometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, and ammeter. A heater and defroster were optional. A full-width bench seat in front was the standard seat with a metal bulkhead behind it.
The interior of this survivor 1966 roadster shows off the 1966- only silver upholstery on the front and rear seats and the black 1966-only armrests on the rear seat. (Photo Courtesy Tim Hulick)
This roadster is equipped with a set of the mirrors commonly referred to as “roadster mirrors,” so called because they were standard on roadsters. They were seen in 1966 on wagons, sport utilities, and roadsters alike. (Photo Courtesy Freeze Frame Image LLC, Al Rogers)
The standard spare-tire mount for Broncos equipped with a bulkhead behind the front seat was the mount shown on this roadster. An optional mount put the spare tire on the inside of the tailgate, which made it hard to raise and lower due to the added weight. (Photo Courtesy Freeze Frame Image LLC, Al Rogers)
This roadster is equipped with a heater and defroster, a $60.55 option for 1966. The 1966-only knobs were pulled from the Ford truck parts bin. The ashtray was placed near the driver in 1966–1967 and moved closer to the passenger in 1968. The screw-on cover at the right covers the radio speaker; it is found only in roadsters because many of them did not have tops. (Photo Courtesy Freeze Frame Image LLC, Al Rogers)
Rocker trim was introduced in 1966 along with the red and white rocker stripes that were available for that year only. Obviously, you could only have one or the other. (Photo Courtesy Tim Hulick)
THE PONY UPHOLSTERY MYSTERY
The top-of-the-line upholstery available in 1965–1966 Mustangs became known as the Pony upholstery, consisting of sections of horizontal and vertical stitching bisected by a horizontal panel embossed with pony images running toward a small, rectangular badge in the center. Offered in both single and two-tone color combinations, the patterns were definitely a step up from the standard Mustang upholstery.
As the Bronco market heated up, collectors found that a number of the 1966 trucks (6 of 10) have original Pony upholstery on the