1971 Stroppe Baja-Rod Hall/Josh Hall

[Justafordguy]

Very cool story and awesome Baja. Can't wait to see what you end up doing to it.

 

[75Denver]

That is some awesome info. I love the idea of its history and the fact it has a twin out there. Very cool to see if you locate it.

Holy Crap that was a fast track down!!

It's here at my shop right now. No joke, and belongs to a forum member. I'm doing some minor work to susp/brakes/steering.

I must clarify the Marti... On ford end of things all of the 100 figure are identical, and 2 of those Bajas went to kott and smolar. Another example is 3 went to parnelli's jones ford. 3 and 2 of the 100. What's more, Marti is basing their "identical" status on how they left ford motor company; not stroppe. The two that went to kott and smolar were optioned differently by Stroppe.

But: awesome info and cool truck, again.

That's SO cool!! What sort of options did the other one come with? Is there any paperwork trail to support the idea of it being purchased at the same time by HA father? Love to see a pic from the current owner…

Since the Marti is kind of a blanket report, have to stumbled upon any Stroppe reports (holy grail of paperwork, right?) that tracked what went out his shop doors?

Does the two from Knott & Smolar have sequential vin numbers?

2x

Very cool story and awesome Baja. Can't wait to see what you end up doing to it.

Thank you! It's been a blast so far. It's all documentation and retracing history for now. Still unsure what direction I'll take it, though keeping it original and just getting it road worthy is taking the lead.

 

[broncojack]

Cool story with so many ways to either leave it alone, restore it like Stroppe painted it or like Hall painted it.....

Since our Baja's are sister trucks, can I see a better photo of the orange box?
I would like to see the build and release dates.
I'll show mine if you show me yours

 

[75Denver]

Cool story with so many ways to either leave it alone, restore it like Stroppe painted it or like Hall painted it.....

Since our Baja's are sister trucks, can I see a better photo of the orange box?
I would like to see the build and release dates.
I'll show mine if you show me yours

Hey Jack! I'm pretty certain I won't go the standard Stroppe paint scheme. I know it left Stroppe's shop that way and wore those colors for years but I really like the different look. If Joe Shmoe decided to paint it these colors, I'd go back to original…but I think the Hall Family has earned their keep in the Stroppe Family;D.

Our dates are pretty close but it looks like for some reason yours blew threw the line in record time! What I like about yours is that it was sold exactly 10yrs before I was born!!

 

[broncojack]

I think thats exactly how I would restore it too, in the Hall colors.

Thats cool ! It does make me feel old because my Baja was sold 10 Years 7 months and a couple of days AFTER I was born ;D

The time between the build date and release date is what really makes me wonder. The release date is the day the Bronco left the assembly plant. The next stop would have been transportation to ship by train. What were they doing just sitting in the lot in Michigan? For 2-3 months?

 

[House]

I was under the assumption that the Release Date is the date that it shipped from
Stroppe's facility as a complete vehicle...? That would explain the lead time between
that date and the Build Date (Ford factory).

 

[BajaBronco]

I gotta look at the dates of all 3 and a few others I know in this group. The other kott smolar is like 10 or so vins away

 

[BajaBronco]

Release Dates are all over the place on this group, anywhere from 2 days before sale to 2 months. Are we sure we know what those dates really are to Marti?

 

[BajaBronco]

other Kott and Smolar rig, a few ahead of Jacks is manual steer, auto, black steel wheel truck, with all other normal Stroppe options: bumper braces, wheel, shocks, tire cover, rollbar, hitch. Another one, 20 digits off was: chrome wheels, 4bbl, headers, manual steer, auto, dual exhaust, plus the normal Stroppe stuff.

 

[BroncoBoom]

Great find !
Looks like you finally found what you were looking for .
Congratulations !

 

[75Denver]

These are all great questions and information. I guess without the Stroppe official records we'll all be guessing the details. I think some of the biggest questions I would like answered won't come until if/when I talk to Harold Allen.

 

[75Denver]

I think thats exactly how I would restore it too, in the Hall colors.

Thats cool ! It does make me feel old because my Baja was sold 10 Years 7 months and a couple of days AFTER I was born ;D

I like your style!

Now that you spilled the beans on your birth year, at least I have something to look forward to when I'm your age…A huge garage full of super clean Broncos!!

 

[75Denver]

Great find !
Looks like you finally found what you were looking for .
Congratulations !

I did! Thanks man. How are your build(s) coming?

 

[broncojack]

It would make more sense that the release dates were when they left Stroppe facility.

I talked to Jim Richard from Marti and thats what he told me about the release dates. That was back in 2009 when I got my Marti maybe they know more today about Stroppe's opperation.


Sorry we are high jacking your thread Brody but thats what happens when you lock a bunch of Baja nuts in one room ;D

 

[BajaBronco]

Based on dates, locations, estimating ship times, I think the best guess is that the release date is when it left stroppes.

 

[75Denver]

Sorry we are high jacking your thread Brody but thats what happens when you lock a bunch of Baja nuts in one room ;D

Ha! That's completely fine by me! I'm learning a lot as I'm sure others reading this will too. Wish I could post more progress pics as I'm itching to work on it. Unfortunately I have too many things pulling me in different directions this year. 2015 will bring more to this thread.

 

[House]

2015 is almost 1/4 over... Any updates?

 

[BajaBronco]

I think I remember that this is actually my old Baja Bronco and not Josh Halls! Just kidding.

 

[House]

LOL
It wouldn't surprise me. You have owned almost all of them at one point or another...

 

[75Denver]

2015 is almost 1/4 over... Any updates?

Hey House! Well, it's been a busy year thus far as a new house renovation has eaten up all my time and nearly all my money. Seeing as 2015 is more than 1/2 over and my garage is still full of boxes, it saddens me to report I have not touched the Baja. I did however pick up a sweet little rust free '69!!;D (see garage)

What I did want to share was about a trip I took in search of Rod Halls 1969 Baja Racer. I read somewhere (Andrews FB page perhaps) that Samco Fabrications was working on Rod's Stroppe Racer. On a whim, I swung by, introduced myself and scouted out the place in hopes of seeing the Bronco. Unfortunately, they had already completely the rebuild but asked if I was here to buy the Stroppe take-offs. Hell yeah I was!! Come to find out, the only part that didn't finds its home in the dumpster was an original set of ring and pinion gears. Sam (owner) shared pics of the torn apart 3rd member that even had "Bill Stroppe" engraved on the inside lip. I asked about the Stroppes whereabouts and without hesitation, Sam called up Rod, inquired on my behalf and signed off by saying, "see you in a couple minutes."

Within minutes, Rod and I were talking Broncos. For the next half hour we chatted about my/his old Stroppe and the history and details of how it came to be. He was very pleased to hear I had tracked down all the necessary parts to complete the build and offered to dig through his personal files and photo albums to assist in a period correct restoration. I still wasn't able to track down any paperwork but who knows, maybe he'll come across something!! Anyway, enough of all that. He did tell me to hunt down the video and article they all made about his Stroppe Racer. I thought I'd share it here with you all. Enjoy!

http://www.rockcrawler.com/2015/07/bfgoodrich-presents-race-dezert-heroes-and-legends-rod-hall/

and....

http://www.rockcrawler.com/2015/04/legends-of-baja-rod-hall/