In my life I have owned somewhere around 40 vehicles so far, I have lost count, and it takes a while to think through them all to come up with the actual number, so around 40 works. On this list there have been several get-by pieces of crap. I suppose when your 'number' is this high that is to be expected. Of course on the list are some loves as well. Most notably for me are the 4 early broncos entries. I am not sure where my love of these rigs comes from, might have even been inspired by the movie "Speed". No matter what fuels the love, it is there burning bright. I wanted more than anything to build one, and do it how I wanted. A street truck more than a trail rig. I spent years accumulating parts to make the build right. Then reality started to creep in, storing the parts became a logistical issue, space and time to work on it... everything that surrounds an over-ambitious vehicle resto-mod. A few years back we finally moved into a house with a garage, and I felt it was finally going to be my chance to get around to the build. However, it just wasn't in the cards, having the space and a majority of the parts didn't overcome the time issue, not to mention the financial aspect of completing a project like this. I still held out. I used my latest baby, a 1972 with the 302, to plow the driveway. It was almost an insult to the beast hidden inside of this, and I harbored the feelings deep inside myself too. This thing yearned to be so much more, and I desired so much to turn this bronco and the pile of parts into a treasure. Not to say there haven't been times when we either needed money, or were tired of the obsession, and I made feeble attempts to sell the whole works. The times before were thinly veiled attempts though, when things seemed to get serious at all, I would pull the ad, or come up with excuses not to sell. Well, just recently things became more of a reality, and I listed it up with bad intentions to sell this thing. It didn't take long at all, and the craigslist ad was drawing some results. The first person to come look at it seemed very serious, he didn't want the parts, but the bronco seemed to be his for sure. We went to start it up, and I'll be damned if it wouldn't run. After priming the carb, there was fuel pouring out of the top of the vents. My heart sunk, because as hard as it was to part with this thing, the fact that something was vastly wrong with it was a completely new wound. We parted ways with me promising to diagnose the problem and try to fix it, he promised to call me back in the morning. Thankfully after using the great Google as my diagnostic tool, I was able to figure out the problem and it wasn't major at all. After a few moments, I was able to have it running and driving again. I parked it for the night with mixed emotions. My baby was ready to go, but that also meant it was ready to GO. In the morning I started to work on removing the plow, as I was nearly positive the gentleman from the night before was going to buy it, and he didn't want any of the parts with it. After about an hour and a half, I finally got all the plow parts off, it wasn't much later the phone rang. Only, it wasn't the gentleman from the night before, it was a new interest. He was close to the area, and came right over. After not even 10 minutes, he was sure he wanted it, and the 'good' part, he wanted all the parts except the plow. He wrote me a check, and left me to gather parts and get the title notarized. Now the emotions were really up and down, we are at a time in our lives where the money can definitely be put to better use. And, we are trying to make changes in our lives moving forward, and at this time a project vehicle doesn't exactly fit into that plan. The down side of course is the loss of a dream, the parting with an old love. Who knows what the future holds, but for now this sale brings the end of an era.. the end of the bronco era. It is with a heavy heart that I accept the fact that I will be without a bronco, but they have brought some great memories, and those memories won't die if we don't let them!
There is also some good news to this story. There are other loves on the list! Namely, our latest vehicle purchase, a 2003 BMW 325xi.
I have not enjoyed driving another car I have ever owned as much as this one. This is partially because I upgraded from a 1990 Toyota Corolla that was eating tires, uncomfortable, loud, and downright scary. But even despite that, this car stands on its own. It loves to chew up miles on the interstate, and for those who know my love of driving quickly, this car does not disappoint. Last year we took a trip out to Portland, roughly a 10 hour trip, and my goodness it was comfortable. I don't believe I have ever been in a car that I can tolerate a long drive quite like this. It turns out they truly do make the ultimate driving machine. This car is by far the nicest car on my entire list. However, it still leaves room for an upgrade to an M3, but that will have to be a different story somewhere down the highway. For now I hope your travels are safe, and maybe I'll see you out there in an M3, or who knows... even an early bronco :)
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