75Denver
Sr. Member
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2007
- Messages
- 573
I've been out of the Bronco scene for the past year and a half solid with a new addition to the family, business and the constant happening called Life. Within the past year I decided to sell off my Denver Edition (still sad to have let it go) to a gentleman who has already given it the final "push" I so badly wanted to give it.
I probably shouldn't even start this thread just yet but since I've yet to see any recent Stroppe builds or discoveries fill the pages of this forum, I'll throw mine out there.
The history on this rig is in itself, really cool, tragic, and adventurous. Like so many of us, I found myself wandering through random neighborhoods in search of a Bronco. Nearly every time I hunted this one particular area, I kept coming back to the same couple blocks with a feeling that something was hiding amongst the backyards and properties. One day, miles from where I hunted, I was chatting with another Bronco guy that happened to mention an old Stroppe. He said that the Bronco was tucked off the side of a home somewhere off Skyline Dr. Turns out that Skyline Dr was real close to where my searches kept calling me. So, without delay, I hit the neighborhoods again in hunt of my next Bronco.
As I was driving through the blocks, one after another I kept coming up empty handed. In a hasty flip of the car, I turned around in a cul-de-sac and something caught my eye. THERE IT WAS!! Just off the corner of my side-mirror I caught a glimpse of the poppy, blue, and white….except this one was different. At first glance the white top, blue upper and poppy lower body reminded me of the old Stroppe Racers. Was this an actual racer? Unfortunately, it was not. However, through many more visits and refusals, conversations, and investigations, it turns out Rod Hall worked out a deal on this Bronco back in '72 or '73 and used it as his own personal rig.
Much of the history gaps were filled in through conversations with Josh Hall (son) as he was the sole driver towards the end of their ownership. Some of the many great stories involved body damage, racing, and a couple transfers of title. What I discovered was Rod Hall bought the it off Harold Allen, a gentleman who was part of the senior management team for HMS. I've yet to find out what H. Allen's story is or if he knows of any paperwork, but the hunt hasn't ended. Throughout the years it sounded like the Broncos life was pretty tame. Then Josh Hall got ahold of it.
I'll spare you all the details but certain body panels took some abuse over the following years (as you can see in the photos). One of the stories involved Josh driving the Bronco from Reno to Barstow to watch his dad race an event. Here's what Josh had to say regarding the front fender damage, " I was moving from one viewing location to another through a sand wash. The race course bisected the sand wash and I was taken by surprise that I was about to cross the course and hit a buggy. I locked up the brakes, the truck turned to the right and rolled over on the nose basically. My buddy in the back seat did not have his belt on and broke his collar bone. This happened near the Barstow college. So he was taken to the hospital and we finished watching the race with the windshield removed. I think that was the only glass that broke." He later removed the Stroppe roll bar for a family cage roll bar, tossed the steering wheel and seats for more modern racing parts. Too bad he didn't keep those parts!
Over the years, the Baja traveled the country from Reno, NV to Jacksonville, NC and back. I've yet to dig into the engine and run numbers but somewhere through back-country explorations and friendly racing amongst friends, an intake valve was thrown. I'm not sure if the engine was replaced and Josh couldn't recall but thought at one time it had a 351W in it. As for the factory options, it came with PS, AT, Heavy Duty axle options w/ 4.11LS, Dual Shocks, Stroppe Roll Bar (missing), Padded Steering Wheel (missing), 15x8 Chrome Steelies (had slots when Rod bought it) and a Stroppe tow hitch. Some other cool options that were installed were a set of parchment seats with orange and black houndstooth inserts (story confirmed) and Stroppe-installed Cactus Smasher and Rocker Skids sometime around '75.
As for the paint, it originally came with the standard Stroppe scheme but after years of Josh watching his Dad race, there was a certain Stroppe Team color that stuck with him. He said the Bajas from the 1971 Mint 400 were the source of inspiration in changing the factory paint. The most notable Racer was the Unser/Garner truck. The Hall family owned the Bronco up until '87 and then changed hands to a local family of which it bounced between father, son, and brother. I'll skip the long dramatic events that lead to my ownership but it's now going to stay in my family for many years.
As I said before, I probably shouldn't have posted this only because I have more projects on my plate that time allows. Despite that, I plan on doing a body-off restoration that will bring it back to its former glory while preserving many of the changes it took on over the years. This is what it looks like for now and probably the same for the next year. It's spent many years in the NV sun as you can see and is in dire need of a revival. In the meantime, I'll continue my search for all the correct parts. If anyone has a Stroppe roll bar or padded steering wheel, please get in touch with me! Thanks for reading!!
I probably shouldn't even start this thread just yet but since I've yet to see any recent Stroppe builds or discoveries fill the pages of this forum, I'll throw mine out there.
The history on this rig is in itself, really cool, tragic, and adventurous. Like so many of us, I found myself wandering through random neighborhoods in search of a Bronco. Nearly every time I hunted this one particular area, I kept coming back to the same couple blocks with a feeling that something was hiding amongst the backyards and properties. One day, miles from where I hunted, I was chatting with another Bronco guy that happened to mention an old Stroppe. He said that the Bronco was tucked off the side of a home somewhere off Skyline Dr. Turns out that Skyline Dr was real close to where my searches kept calling me. So, without delay, I hit the neighborhoods again in hunt of my next Bronco.
As I was driving through the blocks, one after another I kept coming up empty handed. In a hasty flip of the car, I turned around in a cul-de-sac and something caught my eye. THERE IT WAS!! Just off the corner of my side-mirror I caught a glimpse of the poppy, blue, and white….except this one was different. At first glance the white top, blue upper and poppy lower body reminded me of the old Stroppe Racers. Was this an actual racer? Unfortunately, it was not. However, through many more visits and refusals, conversations, and investigations, it turns out Rod Hall worked out a deal on this Bronco back in '72 or '73 and used it as his own personal rig.
Much of the history gaps were filled in through conversations with Josh Hall (son) as he was the sole driver towards the end of their ownership. Some of the many great stories involved body damage, racing, and a couple transfers of title. What I discovered was Rod Hall bought the it off Harold Allen, a gentleman who was part of the senior management team for HMS. I've yet to find out what H. Allen's story is or if he knows of any paperwork, but the hunt hasn't ended. Throughout the years it sounded like the Broncos life was pretty tame. Then Josh Hall got ahold of it.
I'll spare you all the details but certain body panels took some abuse over the following years (as you can see in the photos). One of the stories involved Josh driving the Bronco from Reno to Barstow to watch his dad race an event. Here's what Josh had to say regarding the front fender damage, " I was moving from one viewing location to another through a sand wash. The race course bisected the sand wash and I was taken by surprise that I was about to cross the course and hit a buggy. I locked up the brakes, the truck turned to the right and rolled over on the nose basically. My buddy in the back seat did not have his belt on and broke his collar bone. This happened near the Barstow college. So he was taken to the hospital and we finished watching the race with the windshield removed. I think that was the only glass that broke." He later removed the Stroppe roll bar for a family cage roll bar, tossed the steering wheel and seats for more modern racing parts. Too bad he didn't keep those parts!
Over the years, the Baja traveled the country from Reno, NV to Jacksonville, NC and back. I've yet to dig into the engine and run numbers but somewhere through back-country explorations and friendly racing amongst friends, an intake valve was thrown. I'm not sure if the engine was replaced and Josh couldn't recall but thought at one time it had a 351W in it. As for the factory options, it came with PS, AT, Heavy Duty axle options w/ 4.11LS, Dual Shocks, Stroppe Roll Bar (missing), Padded Steering Wheel (missing), 15x8 Chrome Steelies (had slots when Rod bought it) and a Stroppe tow hitch. Some other cool options that were installed were a set of parchment seats with orange and black houndstooth inserts (story confirmed) and Stroppe-installed Cactus Smasher and Rocker Skids sometime around '75.
As for the paint, it originally came with the standard Stroppe scheme but after years of Josh watching his Dad race, there was a certain Stroppe Team color that stuck with him. He said the Bajas from the 1971 Mint 400 were the source of inspiration in changing the factory paint. The most notable Racer was the Unser/Garner truck. The Hall family owned the Bronco up until '87 and then changed hands to a local family of which it bounced between father, son, and brother. I'll skip the long dramatic events that lead to my ownership but it's now going to stay in my family for many years.
As I said before, I probably shouldn't have posted this only because I have more projects on my plate that time allows. Despite that, I plan on doing a body-off restoration that will bring it back to its former glory while preserving many of the changes it took on over the years. This is what it looks like for now and probably the same for the next year. It's spent many years in the NV sun as you can see and is in dire need of a revival. In the meantime, I'll continue my search for all the correct parts. If anyone has a Stroppe roll bar or padded steering wheel, please get in touch with me! Thanks for reading!!
