Unleashing the Ultimate 1975 Ford Bronco
March 14, 2017
Zero to 60 Designs, recently making national headlines with its 2017 Zero to 60 GTT at the 2016 SEMA Show, is expecting more notoriety for another project. Originally launched at SEMA, Zero to 60 has now spent two months transforming its 1975 Ford Bronco into the ultimate off-road adventure vehicle.
The beastly machine, dubbed ‘Eleanor’s Big Brother,’ was built for the rock-crawling, dirt pounding, off-road enthusiast. With massive upgrades and fabrication from Zero to 60’s team, this very well may be one of the most sophisticated Ford Bronco’s ever built. The Broncos features a retro throwback exterior design, and a host of performance and technological upgrades.
Zero to 60 Designs served as both visionary and engineer for this 1975 Ford Bronco. Because most of the parts were outdated, patience, immense design talent and a methodical approach were crucial in the enhancement of the vehicle. Most of the products listed below were either installed or fabricated by Zero to 60 Designs.
Beginning with a complete new roll bar system to protect all occupants, team Zero to 60 team-led by company President Kenny Pfitzer, a former build master at West Coat Customs and Chip Foose designs-also designed and fabricated both the front and rear bumpers, developed custom seats and provided all the technical direction for the vehicle exterior.
The owner of the Bronco said his favorite car of all-time was the 1969 Shelby Cobra GT 500.
“In my 20 years of vehicle builds and development, I’ve never seen a modern take on Eleanor reincarnated as a Ford Bronco, so I immediately became interested in taking on this unique challenge,” Pfitzer said. “Even though the vehicle was 41 years old, we wanted to bring a modern flavor to the Bronco, but also wanted to make sure that it was still raw, aggressive and purpose-built for the off-road.”
The 1975 Bronco was designed and engineered by Pfitzer at his Zero to 60 Designs headquarters in Corona, California. Like all Zero to 60 vehicle builds, the design of the Bronco needed to exude the toughness of a hardcore off-road vehicle, but with the classic look associated with old Broncos. To accomplish a build of this magnitude, Zero to 60 looked to key partners to ensure the Bronco featured the bleeding-edge technology and was ready to take on the most extreme off-road demands. Four primary partners stepped up to ensure the Bronco would have what it takes to survive off-road. Title sponsors, with installation descriptions from Zero to 60 Designs, included:
- LINE-X armored the entire interior and exterior of the Bronco. Given the age of the vehicle, fully color matched designed Body Armour, made up of LINE-X ULTRA, enables incredible levels of extreme durability from impact and the elements, while protecting the tired sheet metal on the 41-year-old Bronco. The exterior LINE-X color scheme is the exact paint code that matches the 1969 Shelby Cobra GT 500
- Yukon Gear & Axle supported the build out of the mechanical off-road items that include front and rear Yukon Zip Lockers, Yukon Chromoly Axle Shafts, Yukon Hardcore Locking Hubs and their new Yukon Hardcore Driveshafts. Their new Recovery System includes 30 feet of Kinetic Recovery Rope, two D-Rings, and recovery gloves. Yukon built a custom Ford 9-inch rear for the Bronco and provided all technical direction on how best to modify the vehicle for all the various performance enhancements
- Skyjacker Suspension gave the Bronco a more aggressive stance and the right height
- Wildhorses 4X4 was there for the build from start to finish. From the company’s Tube Doors and aggressive Buckaroo Hood, to a new EFI gas tank, brake lines, wheels spacers and Billet Aluminum trim pieces, every piece of the Bronco was touched by Wildhorses
Other partners, with installation descriptions from Zero to 60 Designs, included:
- Edelbrock stepped in to integrate its Pro-Flo 3 performance EFI system. The entire engine bay is also being upgraded with all-new valve covers and wiring plugs
- 4X4sPOD ensured all power control for the Bronco was streamlined and balanced. The Bronco has sPOD’s Special Edition (SE) and an 8 Circuit SE Switch Panel. Lighting, sound systems, air compressor and lockers were all integrated in through the sPOD SE
- Rigid Industries provided its Radiance 50″ light bar, which projects 15,876 lumens. The company also included R-Series 46 LED lighting mounted to the top of the front bumper and Ignite Backup Lights integrated into the rear bumper, as well as its A-Series Rock Light Kit in each of the wheel wells. For projecting light from the side of the Bronco, Rigid’s Ignite Motorcycle lights were mounted to the A-pillars on both the driver and passenger sides of the Bronco
- WetSounds integrated two Stealth 10 Ultra HD speakers inside above the fender walls and one mounted on the rear roll bar. Two Stealth 6 Ultra HD speakers were mounted in the main dash and the other on the top front roll bar. Five fully waterproof speakers are all interconnected via Bluetooth through the WS-220 BT. A Stealth AS-10 subwoofer is mounted in the rear and is powered by a WetSounds Sinister Amplifier
- Mickey Thompson-The Bronco sits on Mickey Thompson’s 37′ x 18.5′ aggressive M/T Baja MTZ tires and Classic Baja Lock wheels. The design of the Baja tires has additional traction patterns both on the inner and exterior side walls.
- Advanced Adapters-The Bronco is outfitted with the The Atlas II Transfer Case.
- Dakota Digital provided an instrument cluster designed specifically for the classic Bronco. The Dakota Digital VHX Instruments provides precise readouts of oil pressure, engine temperature, fuel measurement, volts and speed
- Hydratech Hydroboost provided its hydroboosted brake setup for early Broncos. The system is also set up to work whether the Bronco is powered on or off. In the event an engine failure happens while ascending or descending, the brakes will still function.
- Griffen Security
- RaceQuip offered its five point Sportsman SFI 16.1 Camlock harnesses mounted in both the front and rear seats of the Bronco
- Ram Mounts provided its X-Grip quick release mounts inside the Bronco to ensure all mobile devices are easily accessible
- Painless Performance included its 28 Circuit Direct Fit Harness
- Scrubblade
- Rightline Gear
- Bison Coolers