Ford Bronco 11

Staged At The End Of A Long Line Of Display Booths, The Bright Yellow Paint And
Highly Recognizable Front End Peeked Out From The Row Of Lifted Trucks And Jeeps.
Sitting In The Bright Desert Sun With A Small Mallet Propping Up The Hood, It
Offered Showgoers Just A Peek Of The 5.0-Liter V8 Underneath. As I Got Closer, It
Was Easy To Tell That While It Remained Recognizable To Its Ford Roots, Almost Every
Inch Of The Truck Had Been Touched During The Build Process.

This Bronco Is A Showcase Of Dana’s Offroading Roots And The Long List Of
Manufactures His Company Webshop Manager Supports.

Everything About This Rig Just Felt Right And I Had To Know More About It. So It
Wasn’t Long Till I Headed Up To The Display Table Of The Webshop Manager Booth And
Met The Founder, Dana Nevins, To Get Some More Info.

Background Of The Build

Dana Was Happy To Share His And The Bronco’s Story, Which Was A Collaboration Of His
Off-Road Roots And Industry Friends. “It’s A Really Great Way To Show Off The Brands
I Work With,” Dana Said About The Truck In Its Current Form.

Cutting His Teeth In The Off-Road Industry With Bronco Graveyard, Dana Was Partial To
The Blue Oval When He Started Looking At A Truck To Take Mud-Bogging Back In The
Late ’90S. After A Little Hunting, He Came Across The Perfect Foundation To Satisfy
His Off-Road Itch. The Bronco Was Originally Purchased In Michigan For A Whopping
$1,500 And It Was Right At Home In The Backwood Trails Of Dana’s Home State. After A
Major Rollover Spurred The Need For Upgrades And Body Repair, The Truck Started To
Take Shape Towards What It Is Today.

The Bronco’s Bright Yellow Paint Pops Against The Blue Desert Sky. It Also Serves As
A Nod To Its Mustang Inspiration, Since This Particular Shade Of Yellow Was A
Factory Color Offered On The Pony Car.

As It Sits, The Bronco Is A Wonderfully Balanced Truck Capable Of Going Anywhere And
Keeping The Passengers Comfortable Enough To Want To Keep Going. Too Often With
Collaborative Builds, It Feels Like A Bunch Of Random Parts Thrown Together, But Not
With This Bronco. Every Choice Complements The Rig And Adds Value To Its Weekend
Adventures.

Years Later, The Truck And Dana Found Their Way To The Next Chapter Of In Their
Off-Road Adventure – The Deserts Of Southern California. The Truck Slowly Morphed
Into What It Is Today, And Unlike Other Show Builds, The Bronco Was Pieced Together
As Needs Arose.

Build Highlights

What Really Shines On This Truck Is The Balance. Every System Is Carefully Tuned For
A Mix Of Performance And Comfort.

The Current Body Of The Truck Started With A Rust-Free Donor Sourced From Nebraska.
That Tub Was Cleaned Up And Received Its Mustang-Inspired Color Treatment To Keep
Things In The Ford Family. According To Dana, The Truck Contains Parts From A
Variety Of Model Years, One Of Which Is The ’66 Turn Signals. The Roadster Body Is
Topped With A Complete Offroad Cage And Protofab Bumpers, All Powder-Coated In A
Matte Black Finish.

Keeping The Trail Lit At Night Is A Set Of Bronco Graveyard LED Headlights.
Supporting Those Headlights With Some Extra Illumination Are An Assortment Of Lazer
Star Products. A 52-Inch Light Bar Sits Atop The Cage, While Four Spotlights Mounted
To The Front Bumper Ensure Plenty Of Visibility. Rock Lights Provide Some Additional
Off-Highway Support For When Day Turns To Night. Buggy Whip Finishes Off The Lighted
Touches With A Pair Of LED Safety Flags.

The Distinctive Growl Of The Ford Small Block Quickly Turns To A Roar With The
Throttle Letting You Know Power Won’t Be What Holds You Back When The Trail Gets
Tough.

Power Is Supplied By A Summit Racing 302 Cubic-Inch V8 That Dana Sourced And
Assembled With Help From Keith Black Pistons. Helping Generate Over 400 Horsepower
Are Edelbrock Performer RPM Heads And A Performer RPM Intake Manifold That Were
Specked By The Tuner JBA Speedshop Out Of San Diego, California. A Holley 670 Street
Avenger Handles The Inbound Air And Fuel Load To Keep The Engine Fed And L&L Headers
Get Those Hot Exhaust Gases Back Out Of The Engine Bay.

Having A Chance To Ride Along As We Found A Better Spot For Photos Than A Crowded
Expo Gave Me The Chance To Really Get A Feel For That Power. With Proper Gearing For
What The Truck Is Built For, It’s Not A Race Truck, But Has Plenty Of Punch And
Torque To Move Across Any Terrain. The Other Benefit To That Fully Built Engine Is
The Truck’s Amazing Sound. Instantly On Startup, The Ford Growls To Life And Only
Gets Better As It Gets To Open Up.

Out For A Spin

Despite The Long Journey Of This Build And Its Different Forms, The End Result Is A
Truck That Feels Perfectly At Home In The Southern California Desert.

Getting All That Pony Car Power To The Ground Required Some Upgrades As Well. The
Power Gets Pushed Through A Custom C4 Transmission, Built By Dana On Its Way To The
To The Custom Upgraded Two-Stick Transfer Case. Wild Horses Driveshafts Then
Distributes The Power To The Diffs. Up Front, A ’76 Dana 44 Housing With 4.56:1
Gears Puts Power To The Ground. Out Back, A ’77 Model Does The Same. Eaton Comes
Through With E-Lockers To Keep All The Corners Moving Forward.

Coming To The Suspension, It’s Easy To See This Truck Doesn’t Just Rely On Bolt-On
Parts To Get The Job Done. Auto Fab Was A Major Contributor To Keeping This Truck
Rolling Over Anything That Gets In Its Way. Custom Detachable Shock Hoops House King
2.5-Inch Dual Bypass Shocks And Custom-Mounted King Bumps. Auto Fab Also Came
Through With Adjustable Spring Mounts For The Deaver Springs. A Set Of Rancho Radius
Arms Has Been Modified To Hold It All Together.

The Raceline Wheels Offer A Nice Home For The 37-Inch Atturo Tires.

Keeping The Wheels Pointed In The Right Direction Was Another Collaboration, This
Time Between BC Broncos Providing The Tie Rods And Bronco Graveyard Providing A
Pitman Arm. When It Comes To The Squishy Parts, Energy Suspension Keeps Things
Flexible With Polyurethane Bushings Throughout The Suspension And Steering Systems.

Atturo Trail Blade Boss Tires Make The Final Connection Between Truck And Trail. 37S
Are The Size Of Choice Offering A Great Compromise Between Size And Drivability. All
That Rubber Is Wrapped Around A Set Of Black Beadlock Raceline Wheels Complementing
The Matte Black Body Accents Perfectly.

Clean And Simple With A Touch Of Comfort Is The Easiest Way To Describe This
Roadster’s Interior.

Riding In The Bronco, The Suspension Is Surprisingly Soft. Turning Off The Paved
Road, There Was Hardly A Difference To The Smooth Feel Of The Truck. Gliding Over
Bumps Revealed How This Truck Has Again Been Purpose-Built And Tuned For What It Was
Intended To Do, Provide A Comfortable And Stable Platform For Long Desert Crawls.

While Roadsters Have Always Been Fairly Bleak On The Interior Amenities, This Bronco
Offers Just Enough Touches To Match The Rest Of Build Level, Striking A Wonderful
Balance Between Comfort And Function. Corbeau A4s Finished In Multi-Tone Micro-Suede
Provide Comfortable And Secure Seats For The Front Passengers. Meanwhile, PRP
Four-Point Harness Keep Every One Firmly Planted. A Set Of Rear-Facing Buckets Give
Some Extra Room In The Back, Offering Passengers A View Of The Trail Behind.

There Is Something Very Satisfying About Watching A SEMA-Quality Build Get Put
Through Its Paces In The Real World!

On The Controls Side, Autometer Gauges Give The Driver A Readout Of All The Vitals.
Dana Fabricated A Tilt Column To Aid In Steering Wheel Placement. Nearby, A B&M
Shifter Handles The Link Between The Driver And Drivetrain.

Overall, This Truck Is So Much More Than A Show Truck Bolted Together From A
Manufactures Catalog Of Parts. From The Drivetrain’s Ideal Balance To The Robust
Suspension, The Bronco Is A Testament To What A Good Vision And Forethought Can Do
For A Build. Even Though The Story Of This Truck May Be A Long One And Contain Many
Stops Along The Way, Where It Is Today Fits Perfectly For The Desert Trails Of Its
Current Home.