1970 Ford Bronco - Rock'n Horse

A well-built rig is a thing of beauty. And John Bundy's '70 Ford Bronco is about as beautiful a piece of work as we've seen. Even from a distance, any four-wheel aficionado can see that this is a serious piece of work. Don't get the wrong idea, though. This is no trailer queen; it's a trail rig. And John has built it to perform in the harshest environments.

One nice thing about the early Broncos is that many of them came with front Dana 44s and rear 9-inch axles - perfect for four-wheeling. John simply gutted the housings and rebuilt them from the inside out. The frontend is now equipped with Ford F-150 axles, an ARB air locker, and 4.11 gears. Out back, John upgraded the 9-inch with Currie axles and a Detroit locker.

To get the rig up off the ground where it would be less likely to suffer continual rock rash, John installed a Superlift 6-inch lift. Adding a little more clearance are the 35x12.50-inch Super Swamper tires mounted on 15x10-inch Centerline HT-2 wheels. To help bring the growing beast to a stop more quickly, John also converted to four-wheel disc brakes.

Providing plenty of power for the Horse is a 351 Windsor that has been equipped with a Howell fuel injection system and an Edelbrock intake manifold. To squeeze a little more juice from the motor, John had it bored 0.030 over and had 9.5:1 pistons installed. Transferring all this power to the ground is a New Process 435 tranny and a good old Dana 20 transfer case.

The interior of this custom Bronco is complete with Beard seats and a custom dash full of Auto Meter gauges. To make the cab impervious to whatever Mother Nature throws at it, the floor and sides were sprayed with Rhino Lining. In fact, the entire undercarriage was coated as well, just to make sure the rig can shrug off whatever John drives it through.

Rounding things off, Bundy had a custom rollcage installed, along with a one-piece, removable front end, which makes working under the hood a lot simpler. Once the Currie air compressor was fully bolted in place, the Bronco was taken down for some serious time with the painter. And as you can see, the results are fantastic.

The early Broncos make great trail rigs, and with a little time, patience, and money, they can hold their own with the best of them. Rock'N Horse is certainly one of the nicest examples you're likely to find.