NEW BRONCO!!!

[DMbronco]

[DMbronco]

[toddz69]

Nice pics! That looks like the truck Vaughn Gitten was giving rides in that week. Is that your EB?

Todd Z.

[DMbronco]

Hey Todd,
That early bronco is my Pop's '73.
Love that truck. It flat out works.
Here's a couple more from a recent trip we took

[toddz69]

Thanks for sharing - looks like a great rig!

Todd Z.

[PBR]

Awesome pics!

[DMbronco]

Finally an excuse for some updates here.

I ended up pushing my order back as I saw no sense in waiting due to all the delays and the fact my dealer assured me price protection.

I had a trip scheduled to travel through all the national parks and a few state parks in Utah in my f350 and cabover, so I decided to sign up for Ford's Bronco Off Rodeo.
They've got 4 locations in the US, New Hampshire, Austin, TX, Black Rock, Nevada and Moab.
Since Moab was on the itinerary, hadn't been there before, and it was the only one of the 4 locations where you get to drive on public lands- it was a no brainer.

It's a one day deal, you show up firstAM on a Saturday and they take you through an introductory course before you load up into one of their new(er) broncos and spend all day off roading.
Had my lady with me, so it was easier to stay patient through all the ground up instruction. They did a great job and most of the other folks in attendance were new to offroad as well.

Our group consisted of 6 total broncos, all 4 door and sasquatch equipped models with the exception of the one we got. I'm never in the mood to go swarm and fight and jockey for position (like those MFs who just have to get on the plane first SMH) so ended up in the lone Big Bend model on 33s. All good with me as the machine I ordered was going to be more capable than this one so it will be all upside. This one had the v6 and lockers front and rear and was a really solid little rig.

Good news is that our guide joined a different couple so we had our rig to ourselves. Which was pretty much necessary haha. I've gotta stay safe out there.

Worth mentioning my woman has never driven in the dirt, not even a fire road, so this was going to be a lot of fun for both of us. Unlike all these other cats who had long tenured wives with them, I actually threw my lady the keys and let her go first, like a gentleman. Here's a nice look of panic to start the day off.



She settled in and off we went. About 8/10 miles of pavement from rendezvous point at Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab to a trailhead that was BLM land heading toward Arches area. Beautiful scenery.

Gotta say, I was surprised they had us on some of these trails. For those who haven't been, Moab has really nice, grippy and predictable rocks- nothing like some of the chunky , loose, cobbly shit we have in my neck of the woods SOCAL and up to northern CA. Traction advantage aside, plenty of off camber stuff, lifting tires on a number of occasions (the 35" equipped rigs too) some skid contact and in our rig some contact on a few departure angles with the smaller tires. Really nice mix of stuff, and although there wasn't anything my TTB bronco wouldnt crawl right through, I can think of a couple spots I'd need more brawn than that little rig needed to climb up. Guide said they run tire pressure at 30psi which meant there was a lot more to be had to bring the comfort and traction up. Betting that pavement time to and from trail is the reason they were running so high.

Most of it was low speed stuff in 4 low, and those little rigs really do their job well. Watching a brand new driver navigate some of those trails really highlighted what a nice package Ford put together. I had pretty high expectations, but gotta admit they were exceeded. That being said, these rigs are not very loud, or stinky, and uncivilized. Dare I say, for both good and bad- kinda boring haha! I missed my 'real bronco' and can only picture my old man's early broncos snorting at the civility of these new ones..

I took over after lunch and then had a little side convo with the Georgia boy following me, that I intended to sand bag on an opportune stretch, drop it into 2 high, and open that thing up a little bit. I knew I had his discretion, and when the chance presented itself, I dropped the hammer. Ran it up to 50+ through a 1/4-1/2 mile stretch and liked what I felt. Fully expect my two door to be a little bit squirrely in that situation with the short wheelbase 100.4" but that remains to be seen. The 315hp/410tq out of the 2.7l V6 was PLENTY fun, even if it's so quiet you can barely tell it has hair on its chest.

Got into some technical crawling type stuff too, and it just did the job. Quiet, sure footed and comfortable. Thing was dialed in for sure.

All in all, about 7 hours on the trail, 45ish miles and plenty of stops to help instruct and guide over obstacles. Really stoked my lady was there to keep me patient- she had a great time and thus, so did I.

I'll post a few pics I pulled from screengrabs from vids I took

[DMbronco]

Onto the my little pony updates, I ended up placing my order in October and received word the bronco rolled off the assembly line last Monday.

Estimated delivery is 12/21-12/27 so I'll be stoked to see it.

After having all the extra time to go over packaging and some of the new options, I moved from original idea of base, strippy with the Sasquatch package for lockers, proper gearing/ calibration for 35s etc. to a higher trim level. for reference, that plan would have had me in the 44kish range with a 4 banger.

I have read about guys having issues with tie rods, then replacing them with stronger versions, and pushing that stress upstream and shitcanning steering racks. That doesn't sound like much fun.

Although this is not going to be my primary wheeling rig, especially for the hard, high speed stuff, this truck will be part of my longer range package, as I will be able to flat tow it behind my one ton and slide in. Curb weight should be in the 4200-4400lb range.
It will see duty as more of an exploring rig than an adrenaline inducer like my 96. That being said, I know myself and want to dummy proof where I can. BC I am a dummy.

So, Ford drops the new Bronco raptor, and with it, an upgraded steering rack and tie rods to handle the 37s it comes with. Part of what they call HOSS 4.0 which also includes 3.0" diameter FOX IBP shocks on all 4 corners, plus upgraded front bumper and skids.

Of course, no way I am dropping 100k + on a bronco, and have no interest in a 4 door bronco (blasphemy!) but I catch wind about this HOSS 3.0 package Ford is offering with the Wildtrak trim level.
All other sasquatch broncos come with the HOSS 2.0 package which means 2.0" diameter billystein shocks.

HOSS 3.0 comes with the same upgraded steering rack and tie rods (shorter but upgraded) as the Raptor version , and 2.5" FOX IBP all the way around. Upgraded front bumper, and skidplates. And that sounded pretty damned nice. For 2023, it's included with the Wildtrak with no 2500.00 upgrade addition like they had for 2022 year. Wildtrak also includes the 2.7l V6 and that was something I kinda wanted after driving both the 4 banger and a 6cyl on test drives.

So, I ended up with a 2023, 2 door Wildtrak in Oxford White, 2.7l V6, 10 speed auto, HOSS 3.0 w beefy steering rack and tie rods, 2.5" Fox IBPs, lockers front and rear, 35s with beadlock ready wheels, better steel front bumper with recovery points and skidplates, and mid level interior package so heated seats and nice stuff but not the super techy high level package. I'll be at 55k on invoice, no dealer markup.
wasn't that far off pricewise going with a base and adding the v6 and sasquatch. If ever you could spend 55 grand on a truck and feel like you got a steal, this is it hahahhaah.

White to match the truck and camper so I can be civilized and matchy....

Here's some pics of one that is identical to mine, plus the shot Ford sent me as mine left the assembly line (nice touch FORD!)

I'll keep you all posted on my impressions when it arrives, and of course I'll get some side by side shots of it with both the 96 and the 73 EB. And hooked up behind the old war wagon too







rolling hobo hacienda for reference

[DMbronco]

money where my mouth was- stoked!

The front differential choice and the complete lack of attempt to make the flares and wheel aches correct is just awful in my eyes. No way I’d buy one til the 3rd year. Sasquatch package — sorry but the B team obviously was in charge of this design— Sasquatch package.. are you kidding me??

I laughed my ass off on the sasquatch nomenclature and many other cringeworthy buzz words the millenial marketing team came up with- their reveal video and 'made wild' bullshit almost had me hating ford for a second- but let's be honest- you're caught up in the semantics right?

All sasquatch means is fully locking selectable differential(S!) from the factory, upgraded transfer case, presumably steeper gearing, beadlocks and the real final tire size with accuracy on odo/speedo

that is hot shit no matter what they call it.

I've got 3 grand into dropping ARB's in my real bronco- to have that selectable capability factory out the box is excellent.
Really, factor in the cost of parts and labor on appopriate gears to match the bigger tires we run.

Don't forget to dick around with the PSOM for your speedo calibration.
Don't to forget the custom tune so your E4OD knows you're running 4.56's and 35's now and shifts accordingly.
And all the logisitics of making that happen.

Throw in Beadlocks and 35s too? And if the truck comes from Ford like that- then warranty is still a greenlight? MONEY and TIME and peace of mind ahead.

SOLD. you can call it the my little pony package- really doesn't matter. speaking of, -----> dibs on that name for my new bronco next year <-------

Speaking of that front diff; I heard it's a Dana 44 just like the rear- interested to see if it's in print somewhere yet. If it's equivalent to our 44s- I see no issues on a rig around 4K curbweight.

I am a have my cake and eat it too type of guy-

I already have a gas guzzling 96 with a nice big windsor that dances through the desert faster than I should be driving anything in the dirt.
It is the perfect tool for that job.

I also have a 7.3 crewcab from 2000 vintage that has shown me the benefits of forced induction, and reminded me of what a solid front axle feels like.
It does the jobs I need it to do.

If both of those rigs are 'forever trucks' for me- then anything else I acquire is extending their lives and if it's new can be considered expendable like most new vehicles.

These new little broncos are never going to do the job of our big broncos- and if they did (especailly at 12mpg) I wouldn't have a use for one.

Now, you talk about what the 2021 brings to the table and it's entirely different. 20+ MPG, 4x4, manual, convertible, doesn't look too shabby- yeah- that's something I can dig.
That's a sweet little daily driver that is in line with my company ride (2019 AWD GMC Acadia) in terms of interior room, MPG, weight to hp ratio etc.

Legroom is said to be 41" interestingly enough- right where the big broncos are at..Ranger I sat in seemed big enough for me at 6'6"... fingers crossed...

Yeah, I'll take all that at .9% APR and see how I like it; I've only been waiting for a new Bronco for 24 years.

Now, if we could just count on some company coming up with some fender flares, we'd be all set.
I'll set the over/under on 6 options by summer of 2021

[toddz69]

Great update! You picked a good one with the 2 door Wildtrak for sure.

Todd Z.

[PBR]

With my Raptor getting older and I can't afford the "R", I could see myself getting into a new Bronco. I wish they did a better job on the Bronco Raptor, the wide fender flares look like shit.

[tcm glx]

Whats wrong with your Raptor Ollie?

[PBR]

There's nothing wrong with my Raptor, and honestly until the R came out there wasn't another truck that even came close to peaking my interest. I think the Gen 1 Raptor is still the best looking one out there, but who wouldn't want 700hp and 37s from the factory?!?!?!

[PBR]

Anyone seen this?

https://automotiveperformancegroup.com/ ... prorunner/

[toddz69]

Anyone seen this?

https://automotiveperformancegroup.com/ ... prorunner/

The tires are a bit large and cartoonish for me but it appears to be well executed.

Todd Z.