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3 Arm Wiper Setup
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Wheel Alignment
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The “Bronco Breakdown” Information thread!
- Thread starter JGbronc
- Start date
Good write up there Jimmy!
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OP
OP
I just want to thank everyone for the positive feedback. The support means a lot!
Of course some aren’t supportive because of disdain, but that was expected.
I signed up on here in 2007 as an already lifelong Bronco nut and learned a lot of this info along the way right here on CB! So to those of you who were here contributing, thank you as well!
As I was telling another member recently, I’ve noticed that originality is becoming even less popular, especially with misinformation running wild on FB and elsewhere, and I fear the history and statistics will soon be lost if some of us don’t preserve it. So I choose to help preserve it!
Of course some aren’t supportive because of disdain, but that was expected.
I signed up on here in 2007 as an already lifelong Bronco nut and learned a lot of this info along the way right here on CB! So to those of you who were here contributing, thank you as well!
As I was telling another member recently, I’ve noticed that originality is becoming even less popular, especially with misinformation running wild on FB and elsewhere, and I fear the history and statistics will soon be lost if some of us don’t preserve it. So I choose to help preserve it!
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- Joined
- Sep 5, 2001
- Messages
- 789
outstanding write up. fyi, my father had a '74 sport that he bought new. It had a carpeted floor, not a vinyl mat.
Bruners4
Full Member
Now sure if anyone else has seen this YouTube video from Yours in old FoMoCo iron... There is some very interesting facts and documents presented in it.
#27 — 1966 Ford Bronco — ALL THE FACTS...
Thought this might be a good place to leave a link to it.
#27 — 1966 Ford Bronco — ALL THE FACTS...
Thought this might be a good place to leave a link to it.
Some how I missed this thread! What great information! So funny all the different quirks! Thanks for posting!
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2001
- Messages
- 11,205
That's a very meticulous video. I watched it a few years ago when it first came out. He got a few things wrong in it but overall it's very well done!
Todd Z.
OP
OP
#broncobreakdown
KbarS Bronco Specialties!
*In memory of John Karp, Michael Karp, and Patti Youngblood*
Only the ones who were around Broncos in 2001 and earlier remember, so I’ll fill everyone else in the best I can! I’ll be as short as possible!
KbarS was founded in Southern California in the late 60’s by the late John Karp and Hal Sealund. The name derived from the first letter of their last names. K-S! It originally started when John Karp began modifying Broncos for local Ford dealerships to give them more eye appeal and performance to boost sales. John asked Hal, whom he was already good friends and Bronco buddies with, to become a part of it and help.
This lasted into the early 70’s, and John decided to leave the company and move. Hal stayed a short period of time longer and also left.
In about 1980, John restarted KbarS in Las Vegas as the sole operator, with Hal still being a close friend and silent partner. Once again, modifying Broncos and also over time expanding into aftermarket parts sales. Very shortly, KbarS became a well loved Bronco vendor!
In the 80’s and 90’s, the KbarS style and outstanding customer service became popular in the Bronco and off road world. The catalogs were full of pictures of modified Broncos, and many of us loved looking at them and dreaming of having one just like them. (Great marketing, right?!)
The style was unique, and appealing. Common were high performance engines, Toploader 4-speed conversions, unique paint jobs with hand lettering by Bob Beam or Frank “Magoo” Roberts, 4 core radiators, lift kits with dual shocks, traction bars, LeCarra steering wheels, Beard seats, roll cages, custom tube bumpers, fiberglass body parts (hoods, door inserts, flares, fenders, etc.) and many more items that just made them stand out!
KbarS built many many Broncos for customers over the years, but some of the builds, especially those that were family and close friend owned got the then infamous “Powered by Ford” on the front fenders and “Performance by KbarS” on the rear quarter panels. These builds were typically named. Some of the more well known are “Crazy Horse”, “Tenderfoot”, “Pumpkinfoot”, “Dust Devil”, “The Viking” and “Swayback”.
KbarS had many many years of success. Along this time, John’s children were involved as well, especially his daughter Patti and her husband Ken. After John’s retirement and sale of the building on Scripps Way in the late 90s, KbarS was sold to Ken and Patti and they moved the business to a new location on Production Court.
Sadly, after some changes in the economy and off-road world, KbarS closed forever in late 2001, but the impact they had hasn’t been forgotten by those of us who were around back then. Several of the builds are still around in mostly original form owned by enthusiasts in different areas of the country.
My hope in writing this, is to expose some of our roots and enlighten those who weren’t around back then to the major impact these folks left on our hobby. Please enjoy these pictures of history!
(Pics of the race truck is (“Thunder”) formerly owned by Hal Sealund. It was also a Stroppe race truck early in its life as you can see in the very early pic. It was later purchased and beautifully restored by Ed Gudenkauf. Photo credit to Ed!)
KbarS Bronco Specialties!
*In memory of John Karp, Michael Karp, and Patti Youngblood*
Only the ones who were around Broncos in 2001 and earlier remember, so I’ll fill everyone else in the best I can! I’ll be as short as possible!
KbarS was founded in Southern California in the late 60’s by the late John Karp and Hal Sealund. The name derived from the first letter of their last names. K-S! It originally started when John Karp began modifying Broncos for local Ford dealerships to give them more eye appeal and performance to boost sales. John asked Hal, whom he was already good friends and Bronco buddies with, to become a part of it and help.
This lasted into the early 70’s, and John decided to leave the company and move. Hal stayed a short period of time longer and also left.
In about 1980, John restarted KbarS in Las Vegas as the sole operator, with Hal still being a close friend and silent partner. Once again, modifying Broncos and also over time expanding into aftermarket parts sales. Very shortly, KbarS became a well loved Bronco vendor!
In the 80’s and 90’s, the KbarS style and outstanding customer service became popular in the Bronco and off road world. The catalogs were full of pictures of modified Broncos, and many of us loved looking at them and dreaming of having one just like them. (Great marketing, right?!)
The style was unique, and appealing. Common were high performance engines, Toploader 4-speed conversions, unique paint jobs with hand lettering by Bob Beam or Frank “Magoo” Roberts, 4 core radiators, lift kits with dual shocks, traction bars, LeCarra steering wheels, Beard seats, roll cages, custom tube bumpers, fiberglass body parts (hoods, door inserts, flares, fenders, etc.) and many more items that just made them stand out!
KbarS built many many Broncos for customers over the years, but some of the builds, especially those that were family and close friend owned got the then infamous “Powered by Ford” on the front fenders and “Performance by KbarS” on the rear quarter panels. These builds were typically named. Some of the more well known are “Crazy Horse”, “Tenderfoot”, “Pumpkinfoot”, “Dust Devil”, “The Viking” and “Swayback”.
KbarS had many many years of success. Along this time, John’s children were involved as well, especially his daughter Patti and her husband Ken. After John’s retirement and sale of the building on Scripps Way in the late 90s, KbarS was sold to Ken and Patti and they moved the business to a new location on Production Court.
Sadly, after some changes in the economy and off-road world, KbarS closed forever in late 2001, but the impact they had hasn’t been forgotten by those of us who were around back then. Several of the builds are still around in mostly original form owned by enthusiasts in different areas of the country.
My hope in writing this, is to expose some of our roots and enlighten those who weren’t around back then to the major impact these folks left on our hobby. Please enjoy these pictures of history!
(Pics of the race truck is (“Thunder”) formerly owned by Hal Sealund. It was also a Stroppe race truck early in its life as you can see in the very early pic. It was later purchased and beautifully restored by Ed Gudenkauf. Photo credit to Ed!)
Attachments
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Bruners4
Full Member
Dennis Collins visited and recorded Wayne's K bar S collection of Broncos.
I just bumped into this and love it. Thanks for putting it together. When I first got my 72 Explorer Sport I was really confused by an incomplete/inaccurate post about the Explorer option package. This is way better.
I have a couple oddities I've bumped into, and since you specifically made posts on the subjects I thought it was the right place to post them. I'm really just opening up discussion, not calling anything 'wrong'. I don't expect every detail to be mentioned or even known. Since we are playing in the weeds, and apparently I enjoy the weeds I wanted to see what the community thinks.
I was just asked about body side moldings/belt-line trim at the Nevada Super Cel and I confidently explained they were optional on all Broncos and not included in the Sport package as was assumed. But then I noticed that the 72 Explorer package included the side moldings, and wasn't a separate line item. I noticed this first on my own window sticker, and would have considered it a Marti mistake, but then saw it on Ford advertising as well. I think this might be the only place they were included with an option package. Below are my Marti window sticker and the Explorer advertisement I had saved.
This tid bit could be an oddity and probably isn't worth noting. I was going down the 66 wheel rabbit hole at one time and thought the K/H stamp was the only difference. A friend (well versed and regarded in the Bronco world) sent me a picture of the wheels he just had sand blasted. It's a K/H stamped wheel with the style and date stamp of the 1968 wheels.
A third weird thing I noticed, from a very small sample size is regarding some early 66's (I don't know when this ended). I was looking at a very early U13, it had the warranty tag screwed to the kick panel and no gutters under the dash. Because my October 65 truck had riveted warranty tag and gutters I assumed the kick panels had been replaced. I was corrected by @okie4570 that the screwed on tag was common. I started looking closely at pictures I had accumulated and every early 66 I was able to inspect. I *think* I found that the screwed warranty tags don't have the gutters, while riveted warranty tags do. I'm not sure why this would have happened, and I have no proof, just my observation.
Thanks again for building this thread. I hope I'm not gumming it up with useless info.
I have a couple oddities I've bumped into, and since you specifically made posts on the subjects I thought it was the right place to post them. I'm really just opening up discussion, not calling anything 'wrong'. I don't expect every detail to be mentioned or even known. Since we are playing in the weeds, and apparently I enjoy the weeds I wanted to see what the community thinks.
I was just asked about body side moldings/belt-line trim at the Nevada Super Cel and I confidently explained they were optional on all Broncos and not included in the Sport package as was assumed. But then I noticed that the 72 Explorer package included the side moldings, and wasn't a separate line item. I noticed this first on my own window sticker, and would have considered it a Marti mistake, but then saw it on Ford advertising as well. I think this might be the only place they were included with an option package. Below are my Marti window sticker and the Explorer advertisement I had saved.
This tid bit could be an oddity and probably isn't worth noting. I was going down the 66 wheel rabbit hole at one time and thought the K/H stamp was the only difference. A friend (well versed and regarded in the Bronco world) sent me a picture of the wheels he just had sand blasted. It's a K/H stamped wheel with the style and date stamp of the 1968 wheels.
A third weird thing I noticed, from a very small sample size is regarding some early 66's (I don't know when this ended). I was looking at a very early U13, it had the warranty tag screwed to the kick panel and no gutters under the dash. Because my October 65 truck had riveted warranty tag and gutters I assumed the kick panels had been replaced. I was corrected by @okie4570 that the screwed on tag was common. I started looking closely at pictures I had accumulated and every early 66 I was able to inspect. I *think* I found that the screwed warranty tags don't have the gutters, while riveted warranty tags do. I'm not sure why this would have happened, and I have no proof, just my observation.
Thanks again for building this thread. I hope I'm not gumming it up with useless info.
My early September 65' u14 has a screwed on warranty plate and no gutter, interesting find there!
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