Restored Ford Broncos are a hot market right now. We ran into a beautiful 1976 Bronco at this year’s World of Wheels Car Show.
Kenneth Denney of Hot Rod Specialties was kind enough to talk us through the build process and highlight some of the remarkable details of this Bronco.
If you have a chance, check out Hot Rod Specialties. They are based in Indianapolis, Indiana and are a fully equipped facility that focuses on complete restorations of classic vehicles.
Interview Transcription:
Drew: Hi, this is Drew, with Classic Auto Insurance here at the Indianapolis World of Wheels 2020 and I’m here standing with a friend of ours, Kenny from Hot Rod Specialties here in Indianapolis. We’re sitting in front of a ’76 Bronco and it’s got quite the story to it. Tell us a little bit about it.
Kenny: The owner grew up, his uncle had one growing up and he always loved him. So he bought one and we started on it and the body ended up just kind of being junk, basically. So it’s actually a brand new body from Dennis Carpenter. Had to go through and fit all the sheet metal on it, fix everything. Then got into a more, the frame ended up being basically rusted in half. So it’s got a brand new frame under it and came out pretty good.
Drew: Yeah. No, I mean, it’s gorgeous man. Obviously, the Bronco market is huge right now. I mean, you see some of these, I mean, I think people get fooled a little bit. It’s all about the coyote motor. What’d you guys do with this one?
Kenny: It’s just a 302. It’s like 30 over, mile cam in it. It’s nothing crazy. I mean just kind of kept it basic. He didn’t want to go crazy with it. We talked about fuel injection, talked about a coyote, but he’s just kind of, I don’t want to say old school, but kind of more old school. He just wanted it to be just kind of that raw Bronco feel like from back in the day.
Drew: Let’s say I’m a first time Bronco buyer, I’m looking for something, from your perspective, what are some of the things people need, kind of be on the lookout for that you’ve seen in challenge on a restoration or a build.
Kenny: Man, I think it’s just about what you want. I think you’ve got to look at yourself and kind of be like, do I just want to get in it, hit the key, go, not worry about anything, not ever have to tinker or do anything? If you’d like to mess with things the small blocks good, you can tune on the carburetor, timing, do whatever with the coyote. If you’re the kind of guy that just likes to get in it and go, it’s a great way to go. Turn the key, run down the road, something’s wrong, hook the computer up, it’ll tell you what’s wrong. It’s more complicated to build, but it’s simpler to own and maintain.
Drew: Yeah. It’s a hard struggle for me. I mean, I love the Broncos, but you kind of see the price points, right? Where some of them that you’re like, I wonder what the quality really is when you’re seeing that 30 to 50 range, when some of these builds, right, are 100, 200 or more depending on what’s done to them.
Kenny: Oh yeah. I mean, it’s hard to build one to do everything on it for less than a hundred, honestly. You get into it, engine tranny, front end, rear end transfer case. Then that’s not even counting body paint, interior. To do it right, yeah, it’s some serious money, but it’s right. Spend 50 on one that may be hacked together, all kinds of issues. We’ve seen them just crazily put together, unsafe really.
Drew: Man, well, I’ll tell you what, this thing is gorgeous. I’d love to own this thing. Unfortunately it’s spoken for. Again, man, appreciate your time. You guys are doing some phenomenal work. They’ve got another Camaro over here and you’re probably going to see prior videos from you guys. We met back at Columbus, Good Guys, and some tremendous builds coming out of your shop, so keep up the great work. Thanks man. Appreciate it.
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