1960s Broncos made new by Ill. company
‘Restomods’ offer slice of past with security of present
The return of the Ford Bronco may conjure up images of a large off-road SUV with Jeep-like character in pickup truck capability. It was big but had only two doors, powerful but came with a removable hardtop, all the better to conquer the American wilderness.
In short, it was legend, even before O.J.’s infamous police chase.
When the new Bronco debuts sometime this spring for model year 2020, it will have to meet more than 20 years of safety and emissions regulations rolled out since the last Bronco was discontinued in 1996. The new one will have all the modern conveniences and adaptability to suit a global automotive marketplace, but it will likely lack that American ruggedness characterized by the original Bronco starting in 1966.
But what if? What if you could have that two-door icon with a flip-down rear seat, say, but with the reliability and power of a new engine, such as a Coyote 5-liter V-8 engine found in the new Mustang?
Then you would have Gateway Bronco, an Illinois-based custom automaker specializing in finding, restoring and building first-generation Broncos.
“It’s a grin maker, that’s what one of our customers said in a note,” said Seth Burgett, 49, CEO and president of Gateway Bronco. “It’s fun. It’s about selling passion.”
Passion for a price. With three model options ranging from $95,000 to $180,000, Gateway is offering customers a slice of the past with the security of the present, including two- to five-year warranties.
Gateway employs 18 people in a 60,000-square-foot factory in Hamel, Ill., about 30 miles north of St. Louis. Each “truck” is built on a modern assembly line, in the spirit of Henry Ford.
Gateway has the blessing of Ford Motor Co. through a licensing agreement not unique to Gateway or other niche restomod companies.
“It gives us some control on how the brand is being used from a publicity standpoint,” Jiyan Cadiz, manager of Ford communications, explained. “Like Mustang, Bronco is another nameplate we want to preserve and make sure it’s done right.”
Like Mustang, these restomod Broncos, which are restorations with modern parts, will have Mustang engines.
The three available models are built in three different ways: original barn finds that have been restored; new bodies on original frames with original VINs and titles; or new “old” Broncos built from the ground up with a new frame and new body.
The Fuelie ($95,000) has a fuel-injected 347-inch Stroker engine and fourspeed automatic or fivespeed manual. The Coyote Edition ($150,000) has the 2018 Coyote 5-liter V-8 engine found in the new Mustang but with the same transmission offerings as the Fuelie. At the top of the custom line is the Modern Day Warrior ($180,000), which has the Coyote V-8 with a six-speed transmission from the previous Ford Raptor pickup. It also comes with Porsche leather interior. Options abound, starting with cut fenders or classic fenders, hard top or bikini top. But they won’t have air bags.
“Our first Bronco was purchased as a possible vehicle for our 17-year-old daughter, at the time,” Burgett said in a phone interview. “My wife said we are not agreed on this because it didn’t have air bags, modern brakes.”
So Burgett kept it as a toy to tool around on his 500 acres in the rural area north of St. Louis. After selling Yurbuds, a sport headphone company he co-founded, to JBL, Burgett had plenty of time to indulge in his many automotive hobbies, including racing old Shelby Mustangs. From there, the engineer entrepreneur with a love for all things Ford began collecting original Broncos.
“My wife was like, ‘I don’t know why you like these things so much. They’re dirty, they’re smelly, hot in the day, cold at night, I gotta use a bucket (to step up) to get inside.’ So I said, ‘OK, we’ll build one’” that’s better, Burgett said.
That process planted a seed. Instead of collecting Shelby Mustangs, Burgett noticed the skyrocketing valuations of old Broncos, fueled in part by the rumored return of the new Bronco and a new class of collectors who wanted back their youth in the form of metal.
Few other assets have appreciated as much. In the past decade, first generation Broncos have increased “some 200 percent,” according to Hagerty, the collector vehicle valuation and insurance company. In the last six months of 2017, original Broncos increased in value 27 percent.
Gateway aims to build one Bronco per week, with capacity to increase production to two per week. As of late December, Gateway had manufactured 42 custom Broncos. Market forces such as price and the law put a ceiling on production.
Niche automakers like Gateway who manufacture up to 325 replica cars annually can skirt certain safety and fuel economy restraints under the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act of 2015.
That doesn’t mean Gateway skimps on safety, which Burgett calls a top priority. Each custom Bronco is fitted with three-point seat belts, roll cages, and modern braking and suspension systems. Burgett said he personally tests them up to 120 mph, and that they can stop quicker from 60 mph than a Ford Raptor.
“We feel comfortable that an older vehicle can be as safe as it can be without air bags,” he said.
The new Bronco, air bags and all, should only stoke interest in the rare, restored Broncos from Gateway.
The Bronco is arguably the most watched and speculated launch of the year, even more than the midengine Corvette, which has been automotive myth for decades.
“We have to deliver on how much hype is out there,” Cadiz of Ford said of the enthusiasm for new and old Broncos. “There’s been a big fundamental shift since the original utility vehicles. It was an off-road market. Now there’s a demand that stands out on the road but with true off-road capability.”
This reality isn’t lost on Burgett, even with his time machines.
“These are built for highway use even though they’re off-road capable,” Burgett said. “They make people so happy.”