hey, im going to look at a 1978 Ford Bronco and it has the freewheeling decals on the truck, i was wondering if there is any way to tell the difference between an actual, original freewheeling bronco and a bronco that just has the decals, and if it is an actual freewheeling, how rare are they usually? thanks in advance

 

Those strips were fairly common back in the day. Don't see a lot of them now. Looks like a project right now. Does it have the push bar & roll bar on it? Factory spoke wheels?

 

Not sure how many freewheeling package broncos were sold for 78 but i definitely wouldn't consider them rare. It was just another package sold at the dealer like Edde Bauer in the 90s (ish?) or King Ranch today. I also dont know what exact upgrades the package was supposed to offer but I wold imagine it would be things like better shocks, different tires maybe, floor mats, seat covers, fog lights, trans cooler, ect... nothing SUPER great or anything you couldn't do aftermarket is my point. I do personally think it would be cool to say you have an original freewheeling bronco but it wouldn't be a deal breaker either way. Thats just my thoughts.

 

For the 1978-79 Broncos, the freewheeling option came with black mirrors, grille, headlight buckets, and bumpers, along with either the stripe package shown in this picture, or the chromatic stripe package. They came with either white or yellow spoked wheels, a roll bar behind the cab, and often had the cactus smasher/grille guard on the bumper. Any of those options could also be added through a dealer--most often the chromatic stripe. The easiest way to identify those that had the stripes added later (or as a stand-alone option from the factory), was their inclusion with chrome bumpers, mirrors, etc. I've found that those with the blacked out options (like this picture) are usually a true freewheeler.

Ultimately, to be sure you should order a Marti report for the specific truck VIN.