Need help with Military Bronco Paint

[jamesroney]

I am working on my 1967 U13 Miltary Bronco. It was painted Air Force Blue (maybe MX7001381 special paint.)

It has been repainted and I am returning it back to original.

As near as I can figure out, the grill was painted blue, and NOT Wimbledon White. The headlight doors are also painted blue on the back. It appears that the doors were blue inside and out. So here's my questions:

1. What color is the dash?
2. What color is the BACK side of the grill?
3. What color is the interior door panels?
4. What color is the "FORD" script on the tailgate?
5. What color is the rear bumper?
6. What color are the headlight doors?
7. What color are the headlight guards / mirrors / mirror heads?

Also, the Bronco was equipped with rear reflectors. But I am certain that there are only mounting holes on one side! Should there be one or two reflectors in 1967? Is @JGbronc still here?

THANKS.

 

[toddz69]

I was gonna say - Jimmy is your man for this stuff. And he still pops in from time to time.

Todd Z.

 

[okie4570]

He's still around fairly frequently. I have pics of an AF in AR that was restored years ago but can't confirm that it was painted like the original. I'll look for the pic.

 

[JGbronc]

So I’ve never been able to fully investigate an Air Force one, but I can tell you what I know based on the pics and info I’ve gathered.

1. Dash is Light Parchment like a standard Bronco
2. Back side of the grill should be blue
3. Door panels are Light Parchment like the dash
4. Ford script will be blue along with the body
5. Rear bumper will be blue
6. If by headlight doors you mean the rings, those are blue
7. These are all debatable for an AF Bronco and I’m not aware of any complete enough to verify. Mirrors, mirror heads, and headlight guards on an Army issue would be green, so I assume AF was blue. I can’t confirm this 100%.

As for the reflectors, there should be two!

 

[jamesroney]

So I’ve never been able to fully investigate an Air Force one, but I can tell you what I know based on the pics and info I’ve gathered.

1. Dash is Light Parchment like a standard Bronco
2. Back side of the grill should be blue
3. Door panels are Light Parchment like the dash
4. Ford script will be blue along with the body
5. Rear bumper will be blue
6. If by headlight doors you mean the rings, those are blue
7. These are all debatable for an AF Bronco and I’m not aware of any complete enough to verify. Mirrors, mirror heads, and headlight guards on an Army issue would be green, so I assume AF was blue. I can’t confirm this 100%.

As for the reflectors, there should be two!

Thank you SOOOOOO much!

1. Will do. Makes perfect sense.
2. OK. Mine had never been removed, but I took it off yesterday. The undercoating preserved everything, but it sure was hard to get a socket on the bolts.
3. Will do.
4. Interesting. So no paint applique.
5. OK.
6. Headlight rings are stainless steel bands that hold the bulb to the housing. Headlight doors will be painted blue.
7. I believe that you are right about this, but since you are not 100%, I'll go ahead and do the archaeology on the mirror hardware and the headlight guards. I was going to just paint them, but I can sand them down to primer. I think that the mirrors were painted separate from the body. Otherwise, there would be no paint under the bracket on the fender. So that means that bolt heads would be unpainted. Same for headlight guards.

I will confirm reflector holes. But I can 100% guarantee that the rear quarter posts are factory, unmolested, and original.

Would you like me to post pics of anything? This is a little cream puff U13 Military. There is zero rust on this Bronco. There is a boat load of undercoating. It has a cheapo paint job / color change. Looks like one coat of white over factory blue. The blue runs up the firewall and behind the dash just like a normal Bronco. I unbolted the front fender yesterday, and I actually removed 13 of 14 bolts without breaking off a bolt. My door hinges need rebuilding, so I had to pull the hinge bolts. I don't know why there are philips head screws holding on the doors. I don't even know why I try. So I drilled out all 16 of them.

This info works with what I would have thought. Basically a standard Bronco built to standard specifications, with DSO exceptions.

 

[okie4570]

I thought I had a folder saved with pics from this bronco but can't find it. The interior iirc was as Jimmy described it, but the outside is obviously not.

 

[jamesroney]

I thought I had a folder saved with pics from this bronco but can't find it. The interior iirc was as Jimmy described it, but the outside is obviously not.

Thanks a ton! So it looks like the bumper and mirror heads (and arms???) are some kind of satin black. But the Bronco script and door handles and locks are still bright. Wheels look parchment or Wimbledon white.

That's still an awful lot of blue. I like it.

 

[JGbronc]

Thanks a ton! So it looks like the bumper and mirror heads (and arms???) are some kind of satin black. But the Bronco script and door handles and locks are still bright. Wheels look parchment or Wimbledon white.

That's still an awful lot of blue. I like it.

For the record though, that Bronco was repainted. I’m fairly certain that it’s not 100% correct although I agree it looks better with black accents. Also, the wheels on the Army Broncos were green. Not sure on AF.

I definitely would love some detail pics of yours when you get a chance. I remember the pics of when it was for sale, but didn’t get any specific pics.

 

[dmoses42]

I know its not the same animal, but when I was stationed in North Dakota from '92 to '94, all the late 80s / early 90s vehicles had standard base model grey wheels, GM and Ford, but we had a bunch of early to mid 80s Dodges and all their wheels were Air Force Blue, same as body color. I worked in the vehicle dispatch section of the missile wing. The only thing we had that wasn't blue was an '84 D50 that was olive drab, and my boss made me wax it, massive PITA and it looked horrible when I was done. If you go to usafpolice.org there are pics of various Security Forces vehicles there from the 60's through current. No Broncos though.

 

[dmoses42]

If you go to usaf-sig.org you can download Technical Order 36-1-3, Painting, Marking, and Lighting Requirements for USAF Vehicles. It's from 1993, but it tells colors to paint and ID markings locations and colors. Might help a little...

 

[MThalfcab]

I am working on my 1967 U13 Miltary Bronco. It was painted Air Force Blue (maybe MX7001381 special paint.)

It has been repainted and I am returning it back to original.

As near as I can figure out, the grill was painted blue, and NOT Wimbledon White. The headlight doors are also painted blue on the back. It appears that the doors were blue inside and out. So here's my questions:

1. What color is the dash?
2. What color is the BACK side of the grill?
3. What color is the interior door panels?
4. What color is the "FORD" script on the tailgate?
5. What color is the rear bumper?
6. What color are the headlight doors?
7. What color are the headlight guards / mirrors / mirror heads?

Also, the Bronco was equipped with rear reflectors. But I am certain that there are only mounting holes on one side! Should there be one or two reflectors in 1967? Is @JGbronc still here?

THANKS.

Are you calling the bar 4point coverings around the headlamps and trun signals, headlight doors? If so, are they still available? I know they could be fab pretty easy but it'd be nice to have an original Bronco set, nothing that is in really good shape is original even know their over 50 years of age. I'm sure everyone here as I would luv to see picture's of your project!

 

[jamesroney]

Are you calling the bar 4point coverings around the headlamps and trun signals, headlight doors? If so, are they still available? I know they could be fab pretty easy but it'd be nice to have an original Bronco set, nothing that is in really good shape is original even know their over 50 years of age. I'm sure everyone here as I would luv to see picture's of your project!

Hi, and thanks for posting. I am calling the headlight doors "headlight doors" I'll post a pic of a headlight door here. The root part number for a headlight door from Ford is 13064. Ford calls it a "Door assembly." A 66 Bronco would have a C6TZ-13064-A Door Assembly. I don't know why Ford named them headlight doors. But they are not headlight rings. or trim rings, or bezels. They have been headlight doors for a long time. This pic is from a full size D0AZ-13064-B.

If you needed a set of military headlight guards, that would be a tough find. But yes, I think they could be cloned or fabricated if you had a good sample to copy.

 

[DirtDonk]

Been waiting for that description. Figured that’s what you meant, but I’ve never heard them called doors either.
I can kind of see why Ford would use that term, because it’s probably an industry thing. But if anybody ever called them a bezel, everybody else would know what they were talking about.

 

[jamesroney]

If you go to usaf-sig.org you can download Technical Order 36-1-3, Painting, Marking, and Lighting Requirements for USAF Vehicles. It's from 1993, but it tells colors to paint and ID markings locations and colors. Might help a little...

Thanks! It helps a LOT. But I still don't know if the front bumper should be Blue, Black, or Argent.

Do you happen to know the Abbreviation for Travis Air Force Base in CA? I thought it was TAFB, but according to the T0 36-1-3... TAFB is Tinker Air Force Base.

I'm also trying to find the designation for McClellan AFB, and whether it was SAC, or MAC, or something else in 1967. Surprisingly hard to find.

I will carefully strip the front bumper on this Bronco, but I have a hunch it won't be marked.

 

[MThalfcab]

Hi, and thanks for posting. I am calling the headlight doors "headlight doors" I'll post a pic of a headlight door here. The root part number for a headlight door from Ford is 13064. Ford calls it a "Door assembly." A 66 Bronco would have a C6TZ-13064-A Door Assembly. I don't know why Ford named them headlight doors. But they are not headlight rings. or trim rings, or bezels. They have been headlight doors for a long time. This pic is from a full size D0AZ-13064-B.

If you needed a set of military headlight guards, that would be a tough find. But yes, I think they could be cloned or fabricated if you had a good sample to copy.

Thank for your reply and the picture, I've never heard it called the headlamp door but I get it now, I would luv to come across the military headlight guards or at least one. Heck these days I might design my own, wouldn't that be something, lol thanks for getting back with me!

 

[jamesroney]

Thank for your reply and the picture, I've never heard it called the headlamp door but I get it now, I would luv to come across the military headlight guards or at least one. Heck these days I might design my own, wouldn't that be something, lol thanks for getting back with me!

If you are a decent fabricator, I would be willing to ship you my original and unmolested headlight guard for you to clone.

You just have to promise to send it back...

 

[jamesroney]

Been waiting for that description. Figured that’s what you meant, but I’ve never heard them called doors either.
I can kind of see why Ford would use that term, because it’s probably an industry thing. But if anybody ever called them a bezel, everybody else would know what they were talking about.

A "bezel" is a jewelers term for a grooved ring holding a watch face or crystal. The 13015 is the root number for the thing that Ford calls a "ring assembly, Headlamp Adj." D3TZ-13015-A It is the closest thing to a bezel on the front of a Bronco. But it is not a bezel.

If you take a headlight door from an early bronco and you screw it to the front of a Chevy Blazer, then it becomes a "bezel" even though it is not a bezel.

If you take a Posi-traction from a Dana 44 in a Corvette, and put it in your Bronco, is it still a "posi?"

 

[Oldtimer]

And the description on the package does not always agree with the MPC.

 

[MThalfcab]

If you are a decent fabricator, I would be willing to ship you my original and unmolested headlight guard for you to clone.

You just have to promise to send it back...

That is very generous of you and I'd take you up on it but I'll be leaving home for the winter and won't be back until Spring, maybe if then, you are not too far into your project I can take you up on your generous offer.
Thanks a bunch
If you find one or a set for sale I'd luv a heads up!
MThalfcab

 

[dmoses42]

Thanks! It helps a LOT. But I still don't know if the front bumper should be Blue, Black, or Argent.

Do you happen to know the Abbreviation for Travis Air Force Base in CA? I thought it was TAFB, but according to the T0 36-1-3... TAFB is Tinker Air Force Base.

I'm also trying to find the designation for McClellan AFB, and whether it was SAC, or MAC, or something else in 1967. Surprisingly hard to find.

I will carefully strip the front bumper on this Bronco, but I have a hunch it won't be marked.

I'm pretty sure Travis would still be TAFB, and McClellan would be MAFB. The odds that 2 different bases would have the same vehicle reg number on the same type vehicle would be extremely rare. When I was in ND, I was working one weekend and the following week, my shop superintendent approached me about an Air Force vehicle seen in the surrounding area with people getting out of it with shotguns going pheasant hunting or something. Someone reported the reg number and it was the same as one we had, but I hadn't dispatched it. They further investigated and it was from a different base. Our vehicle had an enclosed utility bed, the one reported was an open bed pickup. And boy was I happy, because when they started asking me about it, they read me my rights. And according to wikipedia, MacClellan AFB Major Command was Air Force Logistics Command from April 1961 to July 1992. Hope that helps, sorry I sidetracked with my memories...