BRONC OH

A sh i ny, f uel-i njected, v i ntage Bronco bu i lt for beach cr u isi ng

By Joshua Elzey editor@fourwheeler.com Photos: Joshua Elzey

im Dunaway of Bayberry Vintage Autos in Hampton, New J Hampshire, was approached by repeat customer Michelle Lemay, who had an interest in Ford’s new Bronco. She liked that the new Bronco was incorporating many iconic styling cues from the SUV’s heyday and she was highly anticipating the arrival of her preordered Bronco. But Michelle was itching for something to drive while waiting for her Bronco to arrive. Jim suggested finding an older, vintage Bronco and restoring it while she waited. Michelle thought that was a great idea.

Hearing about the hunt for a vintage Bronco, a shop that Jim had worked with in the past called and informed him of a ’73 Bronco that was available. The Bronco appeared to be a decent older restoration that just needed paint and a tickle to bring it back to life. So, the Bronco was purchased and stripped down. The frame was verified as solid. However, it was discovered that the body tub had previously been restored to a subpar level. It was decided that replacing the body tub would be more cost effective so a new body tub with stamped fenders was purchased

from Rust Belt Broncos. The intent to use high-gloss black paint on Michelle’s Bronco meant the bodywork had to be perfect. Michelle loves over-the-top builds, so even though this was going to be a more in-depth project than originally planned, it provided the opportunity to set this vintage project apart from the rest.

A lot of research went into the style and modifications for the Bronco to create something authentic with modern cues blended in to create a clean and simple machine that exhibited a “less is more” philosophy. During the build, Michelle visited Bayberry Vintage Autos often to go over ideas, which she and Jim would jointly agree upon how to implement and proceed. Michelle has an eye for design involving color and overall theme that helped make perfect out-of-the-box choices. At one point, Jim asked Michelle if she wanted a lift under the Bronco only to get the response, “How tall can we go?” In the end, a 3.5-inch lift from Toms Offroad was used along with Bilstein shocks. Michelle chose the

KMC XD Series Rockstar III wheels for the build that were very fitting as part of the foundation of the build.

The frame was stripped bare and then primed and sealed with SEM Rust Shield using a special formula that Bayberry Vintage Autos developed for thicker, higher-gloss finishes. The Bronco’s original drivetrain was retained, including the freshly built 302ci V-8 and rebuilt C4 transmission. To give the engine a bit of visual “pop,” Bayberry Vintage Autos painted the engine a custom Ford blue metallic tri-coat. The shop then installed a host of performance parts, including a Holley Sniper EFI, Billet Specialties front accessory drive, headers, Edelbrock Performance RPM intake, and MSD ignition system. The shop also smoothed some of the firewall holes and undercoated the entire tub front to back, including the engine bay.

Inside the Bronco, Michelle wanted burgundy trim while the cream/ ivory color was inspired by the dashboard. This provided a perfect match

yet contrasted eloquently with the black accents tying in the exterior color. Jim had seen black and white contrasting interiors before and felt like it popped, so he knew the result would be fantastic. Since the Bronco would be used to cruise beaches in direct sunlight with no hard or soft top, Michelle loves that the seats will not get too hot in the summer sun. The lighter color interior would also allow the details to stand out and not get lost in the rest of the design, which would have been the case if a darker color scheme had been used. Inside the Bronco, LizardSkin sprayon noise and heat insulation and Dynamat automotive sound deadening material were added.

Bayberry Vintage Autos worked with Jeremy Katz of JK Automotive and Ben Hermance of Hermance Design to create a 3D rendering of the interior in order to better visualize the concepts. The team then bounced ideas back and forth, which led to a final interior pattern and rendering form liked by both the team and Michelle.

AT A GLANCE

GENERAL

Vehicle: ’73 Ford Bronco Owner: Michelle Lemay Stomping grounds: Somewhere in the Northeast Build time: 18 months DRIVETRAIN Bayberry Vintage Autos provided Michelle with Engine: 302ci V-8 seat fitment data and used her suggestion for the Transmission: C4 3-spd auto Transfer case: Dana 20custom-made low-back seats, which give better Low range ratio: 2.34:1 flow with the Bronco’s body lines and better Crawl ratio: 20.4:1 visibility. Jeremy then took his artful vision to Front axle/differential: Dana 44, Warn manual lockout hubs, 3.54 gears/open bring the interior into a modern next dimension Rear axle/differential: Ford 9-in, 3.50 gears/limited-slip utilizing scanning technology tied to CAD design SUSPENSION fused with 3D printing for custom pieces. Not Front: Toms Offroad 3.5-in lift, Bilstein shocks Rear: Toms Offroad 3.5-in lift, Bilstein shocks only is Jeremy renowned in this expertise but also TIRES/WHEELS in the sound arena. Tires: 33x12.50R18LT Nitto Ridge Grappler

A large challenge was providing a sound Wheels: 18x9 KMC XD Series Rockstar III system where audio is not lost while driving at MISCELLANEOUS Lighting: Toms Offroad Black Finish LED headlights highway speeds with no top. A custom subwoofer Cool stuff: Rust Belt Broncos body, Holley Sniper EFI, enclosure that holds two 10-inch Focal Flax subs Billet Specialties front accessory drive, headers, Edelbrock Performance RPM intake, MSD ignition system, PCS shifter, was built as the base of the rear seat. A dashboard Vintage Air A/C, Painless Performance wiring harness, was created with 3D printing technology that gave Sony head unit, ARC Audio amplifier, Mosconi DSP, Focal Flax subwoofers, Borla ProXS muffler, Wild Horses the capability to mount miniature speakers in the 4x4 Synchronized Electric Windshield Wipers Kit, Kincer eyebrows, keeping the original look and mini- Engineering rollcage mizing the space required. The center console is 3D printed and holds the audio system digital signal processor from Mosconi and an ARC Audio amplifier. JK Automotive used reddishbrown sepia wood machined for inserting within the doors along with the kick panels that tie in with the vintage steering wheel chosen by Jim to further keep the era of the Bronco at the forefront yet modernize the style. Jeremy had some visionary ideas on how to accomplish this in an understated yet bold way, retaining some of the originality of the Bronco roots. The creative process by the team was further brought into the 3D-printed center console with PCS shifter, the interior pattern, and the Sony touch screen head unit to provide the modern feel of a new Bronco as inspiration. The dash had several controls reoriented to accommodate the Vintage Air controls (the Bronco received a Gen IV SureFit A/C kit and Bayberry Vintage Autos custom-fabbed refrigerant lines) as well as the touch screen head unit. Opening the glovebox reveals the hidden Holley Sniper EFI control screen and data logger plus the Painless Performance Products wiring harness and fuse panel.

During assembly it was noted the Bronco looked great without a lot of chrome, so Michelle and Jim decided to keep some of it blacked out. Jim has always loved the ground pounders-style exhaust that turns the exhaust down right after the rear axle. This style of exhaust was thought to be great for the Bronco. A hand-fabricated and hand-polished exhaust was made by Bayberry Vintage Autos and was coupled to the Borla ProXS muffler. Other mods include a Wild Horses 4x4 Synchronized Electric Windshield Wipers Kit and a family-style-version Kincer Engineering rollcage with three-point safety harnesses for the front and rear passengers, plus attachment points for the bikini top. The small leather bikini top provides some shade with the hardtop removed. And speaking of the factory hardtop, Michelle doesn’t feel like she will ever use it, or the doors – “like ever!” As a matter of fact, after the Bronco was delivered to Michelle the hardtop was removed and stored in a newly installed fixture that lifts it up in a utility shed.

The completed Bronco turns heads and Michelle gets stopped quite often while driving it as people enjoy the custom rig and want pictures of it. Michelle loves her vintage Bronco so much that she declined to purchase the new one since she felt it did not even compare. “The original goodness of the Bronco was upheld,” Jim Dunaway says. FW