Earliest Broncos known to exist (1-30)!!

[towood]

Will do on the pictures. He has every doc and receipt Bill of sale shows he bought at jack dykstra ford in Lansing on 19oct65. $ 2685.14
It is in n Florida now

I have read all the quirks to these bins, but would value all guesses on where it is on estimated survivor lists by vin. Mostly as I have a friend with a 75 bronco and I can’t compete with him on any other level. Definitely not what he paid and definitely not horsepower!

Also, is there a general consensus on how many were Budd body and how you tell?

 

[towood]

Also, is there a general consensus on how many were Budd body and how you tell?

Oh. And thanks for the reply! I am fortunate. It does have the oil bath hubcaps steering wheel jack washer bottle. Even the spare is original. Best I can tell it’s the way he bought it. But it does have an odd radio, look period correct but maybe a dealer option. Will post a picture

 

[gunnibronco]

Also, is there a general consensus on how many were Budd body and how you tell?

Budd produced the sheet metal for these early trucks and there are some small details that differed from the later sheet metal. The parts slowly transitioned into the later parts over the production run. Depending on what Budd part, it transitioned to the later part at a different time. Hoods seemed to change out in October 65 (there are several versions of early hoods), "Eyebrow" grills in November, tailgates during 67 production run. There are some examples of early 67 trucks that had some Budd floors and door pillars. These must have been left over parts they "found", because there were 66's that did not have these Budd parts.

There is a long list of how Budd parts differed from the later parts. There is no consensus on how many were made. I think there were about 16,000 66's made, but I forget. There isn't a lot of factory info on the 66 models like there is for 67 and up.

I tried to take pictures of the Budd parts and keep track of them on my CCB thread. You can sign up and see the pics even if you aren't from Colorado. It's not complete, I stopped updating the list when I sold my Budd tub Bronco.

www.ColoradoClassicBroncos.com - View topic - 66 Wiki

I forgot about the oil bath air filter, they are desirable as many were trashed and replaced with more convenient paper air filters. Sounds like you have a great rig. Many who want power and drivability might not see the value, but I'd trade about any average Bronco for such an early, original 66. But I might be a little weird. I'll always wish I didn't have to sell my 66, but life and practicality forced my hand. I had to choose between my 66 that needed a full restoration to be right, and my unicorn, patina survivor 72 Explorer Sport that needed far less work.

 

[okie4570]

Budd produced the sheet metal for these early trucks and there are some small details that differed from the later sheet metal. The parts slowly transitioned into the later parts over the production run. Depending on what Budd part, it transitioned to the later part at a different time. Hoods seemed to change out in October 65 (there are several versions of early hoods), "Eyebrow" grills in November, tailgates during 67 production run. There are some examples of early 67 trucks that had some Budd floors and door pillars. These must have been left over parts they "found", because there were 66's that did not have these Budd parts.

There is a long list of how Budd parts differed from the later parts. There is no consensus on how many were made. I think there were about 16,000 66's made, but I forget. There isn't a lot of factory info on the 66 models like there is for 67 and up.

I tried to take pictures of the Budd parts and keep track of them on my CCB thread. You can sign up and see the pics even if you aren't from Colorado. It's not complete, I stopped updating the list when I sold my Budd tub Bronco.

http://[URL]http://www.coloradoclassicbroncos.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8240&hilit=66+wiki

[/URL]

I forgot about the oil bath air filter, they are desirable as many were trashed and replaced with more convenient paper air filters. Sounds like you have a great rig. Many who want power and drivability might not see the value, but I'd trade about any average Bronco for such an early, original 66. But I might be a little weird. I'll always wish I didn't have to sell my 66, but life and practicality forced my hand. I had to choose between my 66 that needed a full restoration to be right, and my unicorn, patina survivor 72 Explorer Sport that needed far less work.

Not weird, just a member of a small number of 66' nerds lol.

 

[towood]

Thanks to all for the feedback. I am not sure if the link will work but this is U15fl733138. The guy who owned it for 53 years took great care of it. Should be yellow btw

 

[Howard2x4x4]

This doesn't count, I know, but perhaps you'll find it interesting. Don't mean to hijack.

 

[77Bronco636]

You sir have a very nice 66 wagon…..i lived in Michigan my whole life and never seen that one. If it was mine id be flipping those tires around and show off them whitewalls…..would make her that much classier!!! Nice find and would be sitting proud next to any 75 Bronco!!

 

[towood]

It is really remarkable that this owner never changed a thing in 54 years. Or even list his keys! I have owned a lot of cars and always felt the need to change something. And it’s not like he had a crystal ball to know broncos would be where they are today. It was just a truck. Smart guy, One of the first receipts of all the receipts he kept was for zeibart.
So in all these years no one has ever been able to track down employees from that first plant to get a feel for the bronco to f100 ratio ?

 

[okie4570]

It is really remarkable that this owner never changed a thing in 54 years. Or even list his keys! I have owned a lot of cars and always felt the need to change something. And it’s not like he had a crystal ball to know broncos would be where they are today. It was just a truck. Smart guy, One of the first receipts of all the receipts he kept was for zeibart.
So in all these years no one has ever been able to track down employees from that first plant to get a feel for the bronco to f100 ratio ?

No not any ratio info that we've been able to track down. My 66' still has the original Ziebart, I bet my u14 weighs an extra 300lbs because of it. When you say "it should be yellow", was it originally Chrome Yellow? Someone put similar mirrors on mine as well and I put the original back on. There's lots of things on yours that aren't original to the bronco, it's awesome and well done still though.

 

[towood]

Thanks okie, being new to broncos and new yo the truck can you point out the things that aren’t original. Would like to get it right.

 

[okie4570]

Thanks okie, being new to broncos and new yo the truck can you point out the things that aren’t original. Would like to get it right.

Front bumper, gas cap should be painted body color, tailgate handle shouldn't be painted, door mirrors, FORD on the grill should be black, jack should be in the rear passenger corner of the bed, 6cyl radiators didn't have an overfill bottle, was originally Springtime Yellow, originally came with Silver front bucket seats(that is a correct 66' bench/upholstery and seatbelts though), not a Ford radio, interior door panels shouldn't have the two screws at the top, windshield frame hood latch is missing, spare tire wheel isn't a 66', driver's side fresh air box on the cowl under the hood is a later model is looks like.

All that said, don't let that take away from you bronco. There's a lot of hard to find 66' or 66'/67' parts on there. Hood, eyebrow grill, rear bumper, carb, air cleaner, radiator, master cylinder, fender to firewall brace, door panels, doors, arm rests, door and window handles, tailgate, hard top and lift gate, lift gate handle and lock, dash, dash knobs, emergency flasher bezel, steering wheel horn ring and button, blinker knob, transmission shifter knob, transfer case shifter knob and boot, speedometer, spare tools and location. Lots and lots of good 66' items in really great shape still!! All that stuff mentioned, if the person who restored it doesn't know 66' bronco particulars, like about 90% of the early bronco world doesn't, there's no way the restorer would know that it wasn't correct. It's a cool nice 66'.

 

[sprdv1]

It's a cool nice 66'.

absolutely...

 

[towood]

Front bumper, gas cap should be painted body color, tailgate handle shouldn't be painted, door mirrors, FORD on the grill should be black, jack should be in the rear passenger corner of the bed, 6cyl radiators didn't have an overfill bottle, was originally Springtime Yellow, originally came with Silver front bucket seats(that is a correct 66' bench/upholstery and seatbelts though), not a Ford radio, interior door panels shouldn't have the two screws at the top, windshield frame hood latch is missing, spare tire wheel isn't a 66', driver's side fresh air box on the cowl under the hood is a later model is looks like.

All that said, don't let that take away from you bronco. There's a lot of hard to find 66' or 66'/67' parts on there. Hood, eyebrow grill, rear bumper, carb, air cleaner, radiator, master cylinder, fender to firewall brace, door panels, doors, arm rests, door and window handles, tailgate, hard top and lift gate, lift gate handle and lock, dash, dash knobs, emergency flasher bezel, steering wheel horn ring and button, blinker knob, transmission shifter knob, transfer case shifter knob and boot, speedometer, spare tools and location. Lots and lots of good 66' items in really great shape still!! All that stuff mentioned, if the person who restored it doesn't know 66' bronco particulars, like about 90% of the early bronco world doesn't, there's no way the restorer would know that it wasn't correct. It's a cool nice 66'.

Holy cow, I found the right group! Your observations are extremely helpful

So I bought it unrestored, he did paint it 15 years ago, which seems to account for some of the discrepancies I’m not going to restore it, but drive it as a survivor. But I will definitely fix the easy stuff you noted

So corvettes have the Ncrs standards for each year/model. Is there a website you can go to and see one as it came from the factory?

The bench seat does intrigue me. Dealer option? Something he maybe swapped out later, he went to such lengths on everything else, I have a box with stuff like ujoints in original wrapping is there b ok chance it’s original? On the radio, it looks very old, did dealerships add radios?

I need to put up photos of his paper work, he signed for it in mid Oct 65 he must have had the first one in town!

As time goes on can I reach out for help? I hate to continue to hijack the thread. Thanks!

 

[towood]

Holy cow, I found the right group! Your observations are extremely helpful

So I bought it unrestored, he did paint it 15 years ago, which seems to account for some of the discrepancies I’m not going to restore it, but drive it as a survivor. But I will definitely fix the easy stuff you noted

So corvettes have the Ncrs standards for each year/model. Is there a website you can go to and see one as it came from the factory?

The bench seat does intrigue me. Dealer option? Something he maybe swapped out later, he went to such lengths on everything else, I have a box with stuff like ujoints in original wrapping is there b ok chance it’s original? On the radio, it looks very old, did dealerships add radios?

I need to put up photos of his paper work, he signed for it in mid Oct 65 he must have had the first one in town!

As time goes on can I reach out for help? I hate to continue to hijack the thread. Thanks!

I did find this one

https://www.netcarshow.com/ford/1966-bronco/#13

 

[okie4570]

Holy cow, I found the right group! Your observations are extremely helpful

So I bought it unrestored, he did paint it 15 years ago, which seems to account for some of the discrepancies I’m not going to restore it, but drive it as a survivor. But I will definitely fix the easy stuff you noted

So corvettes have the Ncrs standards for each year/model. Is there a website you can go to and see one as it came from the factory?

The bench seat does intrigue me. Dealer option? Something he maybe swapped out later, he went to such lengths on everything else, I have a box with stuff like ujoints in original wrapping is there b ok chance it’s original? On the radio, it looks very old, did dealerships add radios?

I need to put up photos of his paper work, he signed for it in mid Oct 65 he must have had the first one in town!

As time goes on can I reach out for help? I hate to continue to hijack the thread. Thanks!

Bench seat was standard in 66', buckets were the upgrade.

Check out "The Great Original 1966" thread here, got tons of 66' threads linked and info. I run the 1966 Bronco Enthusiasts FB page too.

 

[towood]

Submitted to join. Will post some photos there so I can stop boring this thread! Thanks again

 

[Scoop]

Submitted to join. Will post some photos there so I can stop boring this thread! Thanks again

Nice 66. I would suggest starting a new thread here and doing a copy and paste of all the comments. It's worthy of it's own thread here!

 

[towood]

How do you post pictures. Would love to share some for feedback. Only so much you can figure out from google. For instance, how can you tell it’s the wrong bumper and if so can they be bought for a 66? How about the windshield frame hood latch noted as missing?

 

[DirtDonk]

You can upload some images to your "garage" and "gallery" functions in your User CP above, but the best way is to become a contributor for 12 bucks a year and then you can upload them directly to a discussion thread.
The bumpers and hood latch are pretty easy to discuss and find other images of, but let's wait for that other thread to get started so everyone can chime in with their additions.

Paul

 

[okie4570]

How do you post pictures. Would love to share some for feedback. Only so much you can figure out from google. For instance, how can you tell it’s the wrong bumper and if so can they be bought for a 66? How about the windshield frame hood latch noted as missing?

I was looking at the pics from the dealer site that you purchased from. The window latch would need to be welded on, so paint repair then also. 66 bumpers were square on the ends both front and back like your rear bumper, but the front was also bent about a foot from the ends. Should be able to see some pics in my garage or here's a couple.