wheel covers or hubcaps?

[scott forbes]

Scott Forbes , new guy here.
Just grabbed a Southwestern rust free '73 Sport. U15GL090943 R 34 C A3 J 75 on the vin. tag.
I'm goin' the full monty with this Ford after some play time this early Summer. By next late spring he'll be ready for the first points meet I can find near the great Northeast. Probably an A.A.C.A. National sponsored show. Then, I'm gonna wear him out all over again.
Q. 1. Does one OEM , or better, supplier stand out as the fairest of them all?
2. Full wheel covers, ( need to increase my cards line of credit) or hub caps, or nuthin'?
I'll drive him around just showing off my white wheels, but for a judging event I'm thinking something has be on there.
Thanks all, looking forward to the camaraderie and advise. scott

 

[Viperwolf1]

I think that first "0" in your VIN must really be a "Q". That sixth character is always a letter, never a number, except in very early Broncos.

 

[scott forbes]

HA, I'll check to the power ! Just now noticed the tiny inside the 0 slash mark. Truck is not here yet, so all I had was a photo.
Thanks friend, Scott

 

[Scoop]

If you’re doing a factory correct restoration to show the Bronco then full 67-77 hub caps is the way to go. Not sure what your distinction is between “full wheel covers” and “hub caps” is? By hub caps are you referring to dog dish style hub caps? If so, Broncos never came with them. You should get a Marti Report to confirm your Bronco came with full wheel covers from the factory. If not, correct would be bare wheels painted Wimbledon White. But a Sport should have the wheel covers.

 

[scott forbes]

If you’re doing a factory correct restoration to show the Bronco then full 67-77 hub caps is the way to go. Not sure what your distinction is between “full wheel covers” and “hub caps” is? By hub caps are you referring to dog dish style hub caps? If so, Broncos never came with them. You should get a Marti Report to confirm your Bronco came with full wheel covers from the factory. If not, correct would be bare wheels painted Wimbledon White. But a Sport should have the wheel covers.

Exact response I was looking for here!, thank you! I run a '72 F-100 4wd. 390 Mercury powered, and a '78 F-150 2wd. I bought new.
To me, an active lifelong classic automobile restorer, wheel covers cover the wheel, hub caps cover the hubs.
Freshly painted Wimby wheels and detailed hubs and lug nuts look way better than anything covering them up , on this Bronco, IMO.
In my line of work, quite retired tho, I show at AACA points meet events. (Antique Automobile Car Club of America.)
All vehicle owners showing up for a judged event agree to just that. There are a few silly rules for the field of show tho, which is never advertised outside the AACA membership pool. All folks wanting to see what's going on are welcomed with open arms, but the show is for the owners. The standard of the day is, your vehicle is judged utilizing a point spread or sorts. You start with 300, then watch 5 folks with clipboards whittle away from that. Their operating points criteria is very precise in nature. You are to present your vehicle on their field as either 1. as it left the factory and or 2. left the new car dealership when new before taking delivery. The latter requires no nonsense proof of that claim.
It will be a little frustrating when a judge asks you why your '73 Bronco wheel covers match the '67 Galaxie next to you , or why another Bronco there has a spare tire mounted on the inside vs. the outside. My response is to always be nice, and PROVE IT ! Thanks again, Scott

 

[LUBr LuvR]

Welcome and congrats on the 1973!

Having Fords and showing them, this is probably will not be news to you. Have you ordered Marti reports (martiautoworks.com) for your other trucks? They’re available on 1967 and up model year Fords and will list what options your Bronco left the factory. Yes, a few discrepancies have surfaced on the data, but most are accurate.

 

[scott forbes]

Thanks friend! I suppose a Marti is in order then, good idea for its file.
I bought this individual Bronco because I knew it's history, its owner and his son. It was the widely accepted Elk and Mule Deer hunting rig in the Southern portion of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. A dry and rarely used, always tow bar towed to the camp kind of rig. Got his share of bumps and rubs truckin' through the alpine, but so don't I. Got a while to go before I need a tow bar install tho.....
I'll keep guys here on ClassicBroncos.com forum appraised of the resto. progress and maybe get some advise along the way, which I always welcome and appreciate. Scott

 

[DirtDonk]

Yeah, a Marti report is always a good idea. On Broncos, and perhaps other Fords. The VIN tells you nothing, other than where it was built, which engine it had, and what type of top it came, or didn’t come with. A few other pertinent details are on the warranty plate of the glove box, and everything else known is on the Marti report.
Not to mention, the deluxe report with frame looks very good sitting next to the vehicle at a show. And getting a new certification label for the door pillar doesn’t hurt either, if you do a full repaint.

And being a 73, if yours came with some funky looking return line manifold next to the carburetor, don’t throw it away!
Same for a six port fuel tank selector valve, a 2-port fuel sending unit and a strange looking plate screwed to the A-pillar of the drivers door.

Those are relatively unique items and, whether a judge agrees or not, belong on a restored vehicle.

 

[scott forbes]

Yeah, I’m already report is always a good idea. On Broncos, and perhaps other Fords. The VIN tells you nothing, other than where it was built, which engine it had, and what type of top it came, or didn’t come with. A few other pertinent details are on the warranty plate of the glove box, and everything else known is on the Marti report.
Not to mention, the deluxe report with frame looks very good sitting next to the vehicle at a show. And getting a new certification label for the door pillar doesn’t hurt either, if you do a full repaint.

And being a 73, if yours came with some funky looking return line manifold next to the carburetor, don’t throw it away!
Same for a six port fuel tank selector valve, a 2-port fuel sending unit and a strange looking plate screwed to the A-pillar of the drivers door.

Those are relatively unique items and, whether a judge agrees or not, belong on a restored vehicle.

So, thought I would get this 20+ year sitting Ford up and running just to see if i could.
Now I'm finding every one of these funky fuel system parts you have described. Holy whisky tango foxtrot Batman!
My best resource for Ford repo. parts has been Dennis Carpenter. After buying their '67 to '75 sending unit, which has only 1 outlet, their response was I must have some sort of fuel injection engine. I said , not a chance kid. I knew of Dennis, spoke with him on several occasions, and could only hope the company would want to know their part description is incorrect. A few days later that countermans boss contacted me directly, stating this must be some California thing and gave me the exact Ford part number and description. His remedy was to return his and i should re-build mine. Too late tho, I had already put the mod. on the replacement sender. I do not know, or even understand what the yell that plastic jug behind the drivers seat encased in a metal shield is all about. If its got anything to do with the fuel system, why bring it inside the cab? Plus, to take the metal top off the U15, that metal shield needs to come just about all the way off. Plus, whos idea to run hard plastic eggshell fuel lines with rubber hoses clamped on to them? Anyways, almost all done and waiting for a new fuel pump, which meant pull ALL the P.S. parts up and out of the way. NYYCE... I'd like to find a solid front drag link too, vs. the adjustable version, as I believe the latter is better, just not correct.
I'm doing all this to get him back on the road long enough to test all the mechanicals before I go the full Monte with this jewel back to the day he was delivered new. Thanks guys, Scott

 

[DirtDonk]

Putting it into the cab, just seemed like a convenient spot to them.
Remember back then, and all the way up until 77, pickup trucks had their entire fuel tank in the cab!
Remember all those filler neck sticking out of the back of the cab just behind the door? That was standard operating procedure until 77.
Actually, the Broncos were ahead of the curve, when in 76 they changed out from that system and got the vapor recovery tank outside of the cabin and moved the charcoal canister up to a higher location in the engine compartment.

Since it sounds like you’re more interested in restoring than improving, you might just have to leave it there.
You can get rid of it and convert it to 76/77 Bronco. That would no longer be strictly original, but at least it would still keep it Bronco.

 

[scoutingranch]

I like my women and Broncos bone stock. I dig the hubcap look.

 

[SeaVee]

Hubcaps all the way

 

[Scoop]

Thanks friend! I suppose a Marti is in order then, good idea for its file.
I bought this individual Bronco because I knew it's history, its owner and his son. It was the widely accepted Elk and Mule Deer hunting rig in the Southern portion of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. A dry and rarely used, always tow bar towed to the camp kind of rig. Got his share of bumps and rubs truckin' through the alpine, but so don't I. Got a while to go before I need a tow bar install tho.....
I'll keep guys here on ClassicBroncos.com forum appraised of the resto. progress and maybe get some advise along the way, which I always welcome and appreciate. Scott

Where are you located?