Big Bronco with a 351-cubic inch V8 and a manual transmission puts on an incredible smoke show.
The big Ford Bronco is an incredible off-road machine in stock or lightly modified form, while heavily-built versions make cool drag racers. While the off-road-ready SUVs aren’t ideal for the quarter mile, they can still put on a solid smoke show, and this video from the cadillaccomaro YouTube channel is a fine example. This Bronco clearly isn’t built for speed on a paved track, but it still puts a serious smokin’ to the beefy rear tires.
Details on the Bronco
This 1985 Ford Bronco is powered by a 351-cubic inch Windsor V8 that is mated to a manual transmission and a 4.88 gear sets with ARB lockers. We can also see that it sits higher than stock, so in addition to the big off-road tires, we are guessing that this SUV has some suspension upgrades, as well as a custom front bumper with LED off-road lights and, best of all, an innovative exhaust stack setup that is routed up along the side of the body just behind the doors.
This is the kind of Bronco that we would expect to see romping in the mud, but this week, it is our Tire Smokin’ Tuesday featured vehicle.
Winning the Competition
As the video begins, the 1985 Ford Bronco is sitting on a wet concrete pad with a tow rope anchoring the big SUV to the ground. That is key, as it makes it far easier for the driver to manually get through the gears without concern of the SUV lurching ahead, which is almost certainly would have done during this burnout.
The burnout starts in first gear and when the driver shifts into second, the rear wheel that we can see stops spinning, but the body movement suggests that the other wheel might still be spinning. In any case, the Bronco gets the tires spinning again in second gear, at which point the burnout really gets good. Within a few seconds, we can no longer see the end of the vehicle and when the driver goes to third gear, the engine bogs down for just a second before creating tons more smoke.
While in third gear, the 1985 Bronco smokes the tires so hard that the cloud completely engulfs the big-bodied SUV and for the final 10 seconds, we can’t actually see the vehicle. When the burnout ends, the smoke dissipates enough for us to catch a final glimpse of the Bronco’s figure just before the video ends.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
