1967 Service Bronco is Here to Save the Day

1967 Bronco Service Truck

Back in the '60s, gas stations really gave you full-service. Not only did you get your gas pumped for you, but they might even take a peek under the hood and check your tire pressure. If they did spot a problem, that very gas station could take care of it for you, which is why they were called service stations. For service calls on the road, or to get customers unstuck from the mud and snow, they might send a 1967 Bronco to do the deed. This particular Bronco U14 was built as a nod to that bygone era, and the Washington County, PA station of Kenyon Nicholl that stood in Bentleyville for 50 years. 

Born to Serve

Turns out, the first generation Broncos made not just great recreational off-roaders, but real trucks as well. The compact 4x4 was very capable on rural dirt roads or in snowbound areas, able to free much larger stuck vehicles, without getting stuck itself. The underlying chassis was even stout enough to serve as a tow truck occasionally to bring a sick car to the service bay. This particular truck has a PTO winch out front, but snow plows were also a popular attachment and allowed a whole other avenue of service and profit. 

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Tribute to a Bygone Era

Don and Drew Peroni built this particular Bronco as a tribute Don's wife's father, Kenyon Nicholl. Nicholl opened a service station, one of the first in the area, back in 1925, which remained open until 1977. Don and his son Drew run a small Bronco restoration business, so the idea seemed like a perfect way to pay tribute to Nicholl and an important part of the family and automotive history. 

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Simple Perfection

The 1967 U14 Bronco used to build the tribute service truck is a basic model, with just a few important options selected by the original buyer. It came from the factory with a 289 V8 and limited slip rear end with 4.11 gears. Options consist of the sport trim package, an AM radio, a hand throttle, and a heater. To that base, Peroni added a period correct, dealer optional Koenig 8,000 pound PTO winch driven off the transfer case. To keep the period look, and the real off-road functionality, tall skinny 16-inch wheels and Coker bias-ply tires were fitted, and of course, those period correct Amoco graphics. 

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Like a 60's Time Warp

Everything added to the Bronco was a factory authorized, dealer installed option back in that time. That includes the winch, which runs off an adapter on the transfer case, and is a seriously heavy duty piece of kit. Weighing in at 400 pounds installed, Ford actually recommended the use of heavy-duty springs if you got one. The transfer case itself was a special order item at the time and featured a lower 2.46:1 low range versus the standard model's 2.0:1.

Nicholl's Service Station never had a truck like this tribute Bronco back in the day, but when they drive through town, people still remember the kindly owner and his corner shop. You can see more pictures and get more details over at Four Wheeler Magazine.

>>Join the conversation about this Early Bronco Service Truck right here in the Ford Trucks Forum!

For help with service of your vehicle, check out the how to section of Ford-Trucks.com