Military bronco

[hthomas]

I am trying to see if anyone may have any thoughts or can help with what this bronco may have looked like and maybe what it was used for in its early life. I am not sure of my plans for it yet but I am pretty sure I won't keep it the way it looks now. I would prefer it to be back to the way it used to be. I have no military background but it is a great part of history.

 

[JGbronc]

That one was likely Army or Marines. I’m guessing Army. Should have original fender mounted mirrors and headlight guards like the ones below. They were usually just used around military bases and saw no major action. Some were shipped overseas, as they pop up out of the country occasionally.

Did you decide not to sell it? Because it’s on Facebook for sale.

 

[hthomas]

That one was likely Army or Marines. I’m guessing Army. Should have original fender mounted mirrors and headlight guards like the ones below. They were usually just used around military bases and saw no major action. Some were shipped overseas, as they pop up out of the country occasionally.

Did you decide not to sell it? Because it’s on Facebook for sale.[/QUO

I didn't know it was a military vehicle. I am pretty sure I am going to keep it and return it back to stock or another member here is going to take it and put it back to original.

 

[frenchy]

I'm curious as to how many years did the government buy Broncos for the military?
HThomas that's a nice Bronco history Bronco you have there!

 

[inghthim]

Nice! How much is it selling for?

 

[JGbronc]

I'm curious as to how many years did the government buy Broncos for the military?
HThomas that's a nice Bronco history Bronco you have there!

67 is the contract year and the year of 99% of them that surface. But occasionally there may have been a random purchase for military use.

 

[JGbronc]

That one was likely Army or Marines. I’m guessing Army. Should have original fender mounted mirrors and headlight guards like the ones below. They were usually just used around military bases and saw no major action. Some were shipped overseas, as they pop up out of the country occasionally.

Did you decide not to sell it? Because it’s on Facebook for sale.[/QUO

I didn't know it was a military vehicle. I am pretty sure I am going to keep it and return it back to stock or another member here is going to take it and put it back to original.

Gotcha. Well I’d be happy to send pics of mine for comparison if you’d like.

 

[stoker]

There's a thread on here from 2011 with a histroy of the military Bronco:

https://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176914

 

[mebco09]

Interesting. Your Marti report shows your serial # being around 40 trucks ahead of mine, but mine was built 5 days before yours. My Dad's is 16 serials lower than mine, and his was built four days after mine.

I wonder why Ford didn't build them in order, or at least close. They were all identical.

 

[JGbronc]

Interesting. Your Marti report shows your serial # being around 40 trucks ahead of mine, but mine was built 5 days before yours. My Dad's is 16 serials lower than mine, and his was built four days after mine.

I wonder why Ford didn't build them in order, or at least close. They were all identical.

It seems they were built in groups. Mine is 06005, 06002 and 06007 are also Military Broncos. They likely spread them out so they could still produce public Broncos.

 

[BajaFresh75]

Mine is 13983, only 6 away from the subject Bronco in this thread. They were built 2 days apart. The option list is exactly the same. I'll post the Marti.

 

[jamesroney]

Thanks for posting your nomenclature plate. As you can see, my Military Bronco was built on the exact same DOD Contract number. But it was specified as a U13, and built in March. Options were different, because it was a roadster with doors. Not a wagon. So I got more payload!

My paint is not specified, and was never painted any shade of green. The Air Force Blue is the only paint that I can find. (not counting the yellow stencils underhood.)

Mine came with a huge and ugly front bumper, and the same rear bumper as yours.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[SHX669]

Pretty cool you guys have these Military Broncos. I saw one on an Airforce Base in Mississippi in the mid 1970s faded blue paint and looked like an Airforce built top - Square and sometimes I think I remember the doors were different - but not sure about that - LOL

 

[thegreatjustino]

12 or 13 years ago a guy in Sacramento had two military Broncos. He was keeping one for himself and selling the other. I went and looked at it, took it for a test drive, and realized everything I hated about Broncos with 170 cubic inch engines. I passed on it solely due to the inline six.

This was way before they really started popping up in threads here on the board and I learned of the history of them. Man do I kick myself now for not buying one when I had the chance.

 

[BajaBronco]

I like the headlight guards on the military Broncos. Super simple, yet mostly effective.

 

[JGbronc]

Thanks for posting your nomenclature plate. As you can see, my Military Bronco was built on the exact same DOD Contract number. But it was specified as a U13, and built in March. Options were different, because it was a roadster with doors. Not a wagon. So I got more payload!

My paint is not specified, and was never painted any shade of green. The Air Force Blue is the only paint that I can find. (not counting the yellow stencils underhood.)

Mine came with a huge and ugly front bumper, and the same rear bumper as yours.

Thanks for sharing!

The color code is blank due to it being a special order color. You can send in a paint sample for the Marti request and they can give you the actual paint code, which is what I did for mine.

The Air Force trucks were blue, Navy were gray, and both Army and Marines were Green.

 

[623jason]

Mine is 14054 and is close to original including goofy brackets i took off but still have that were mounted on the front fenders apparently for guns...? who knows...? The letters/numbers on the door were covered up with spray paint by a previous owner, but some brake cleaner revealed the MUCH stronger 1967 paint underneath?! I have no idea how to add pics or i would...

 

[JGbronc]

Mine is 14054 and is close to original including goofy brackets i took off but still have that were mounted on the front fenders apparently for guns...? who knows...? The letters/numbers on the door were covered up with spray paint by a previous owner, but some brake cleaner revealed the MUCH stronger 1967 paint underneath?! I have no idea how to add pics or i would...

The mounts you are talking about are what held the original fender mounted mirrors. Those are sought after pieces.

Grabbed a pic of yours from your gallery, and here is a pic of mine with the mirrors intact. Yours is one of the few I've seen that still had the lettering visible on the doors.

 

[hthomas]

I have been racking my brain on this one. For some reason they removed the 170 and put the inline 300 in it. The 300 is to big for it they had to modify the crossmember and put an electric fan on it. I am going to pull the engine and replace it. Go back original 170 or 289 or 302? Definitely going to drive it all over the place once done but I still want to keep military history. Any thoughts?

 

[thegreatjustino]

Why would you pull out the 300 and install a V8? The 300 is one of the most awesome engines to put in an EB if done correctly.

The only swap I would consider is back to stock for authenticity. If you don't care about authenticity, leave the 300 and enjoy driving it.