1966 Ford Bronco

Ford was on a roll in the mid-Sixties, fresh from the April 1964 launch of the Mustang and winning the 1965 Indy 500 with Jimmy Clark's Ford-powered, rear-engined Lotus. And while there were factory 4X4 Ford pickups, Ford was a non-player in the emerging four-wheel-drive recreational-vehicle market, dominated at the time by Jeep's CJ5. This venerable vehicle was a direct descendant of both the original flat-fendered Willys Jeep that was such an important part of the Allies victory in World War II and the International Harvester Scout. Enter the Bronco, the brainchild of Ford's Donald N. Frey, who played an integral role in the development of the Mustang. And, as with the Mustang, the Bronco was pushed into production by Lee Iacocca. It rode on a 92-inch wheelbase and was initially powered by a 170-cubic-inch straight-six shared with the Falcon and Mustang (a 289-cubic-inch V8 was optional). All images copyright 2010 by Richard Truesdell and automotivetraveler.com, all rights reserved. If you have a request for commercial use of these images, contact the photographer through Fotki. For more photos from the Automotive Traveler image gallery visit http://automotivetraveler.fotki.com/ To view automotivetraveler.com, visit http://automotivetraveler.com/jump/2196 And to view Automotive Traveler magazine, visit http://automotivetraveler.com/jump/2197

Photos copyright 2010 by Richard Truesdell, all rights reserved.