’66ish’ Ford Bronco is an Impressive Resurrection Rig
This Bronco was little more than a giant paperweight before its current owner got ahold of it and turned it into the blue beauty you see here.
We’ve all passed by someone’s property, caught a glimpse of a decaying classic vehicle, and thought, What a shame. They’re just letting it rot. A forgotten vintage automobile is never a pleasant sight, but it just takes one determined person to breathe new life into it and get it back out on the road. Andy Ogurchak was the man who did that with this first-generation Ford Bronco, which he calls “66ish.”
He chose the right name for it. It’s a 1966 model, but it features a lot of parts and even colors that are definitely not from the same year.
In the video above, Ogurchak tells Wild Horses Bronco TV that 66ish’s previous owner lost interest in it once he knew the larger second-generation model was going to come out and locked it away in his father’s garage in the 1970s. Ogurchak met him during a Memorial Day party back in 2004 and learned about his abandoned Bronco.
Ogurchak, a longtime Bronco fan, soon gave the neglected beast a new home. He went beyond that, though. He gave it his time, technical know-how, and elbow grease.
After stripping the Bronco down to its frame, Ogurchak installed fresh hardware, and added some personal touches of his own. He dropped a 351 into the engine bay and connected it to a C4 automatic. There’s a Dana 44 axle up front, a nine-inch unit in the back, and lockers at both ends. In addition, 66ish has a “3.5-inch suspension, three-inch body lift on it.”
Ogurchak’s Bronco also sports some noteworthy deletions. According to him, he “shaved the windows, the door handles, all emblems” and other parts to give his build a special look. Then he covered all of his handiwork in true Ford colors – that came out nearly 40 years after 66ish was originally built. Ogurchak’s wife chose the main color: Sonic Blue from 2003. He paired that with Sparkle Silver, also from 2003.
Those colors come together in 66ish’s cabin, which is just as skillfully executed as its exterior. The dash is all metal and features an array of rocker switches for various functions. Ogurchak used his well-deserved artistic license and gave the glove box door a “kitchen cabinet-style” way of opening and closing.
One of Ogurchak’s goals throughout the build process was to create a Bronco that was a little different from the ones he had seen before. We’d say he succeeded. 66ish is a SEMA-worthy build. But he did more than just craft a badass rig. He pulled an iconic American SUV out of the cold recesses of obscurity and showed us that not all derelict classics are doomed. Some of them just haven’t been discovered by the right people…yet.
Join the F-150 Online forums now!
