George Barris was known as the king of the customizers, building dozens of amazing vehicles from the 50s till his death a few years ago. One of his lesser-known creations was this early Bronco built for Ford, dubbed the Dune Buster.
Ford design Barris customized
In 1965 George Barris was already the go-to man when you wanted a custom car built that would get the flashbulbs popping on the show floor. Ford's Styling Center had done the initial sketches and sent them along with a new Bronco Sportsman to George's Toluca Lake shop. In just a few months it was finished and displayed at the first annual Las Vegas National Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Show in June.
Luxury interior
The exterior styling had a lot of changes, but one of the biggest differences between the show car and the factory Bronco was in the interior. Stock Ford Broncos in the 1960s were very spartan, even when compared to sporty cars like the Mustang, with bare metal everywhere and rubber floor mats. Barris created custom upholstery to cover everything, made of real suede and leather, and covered the floor with high-quality carpet. In the "cargo" area were fold out jump seats, and real wood trim on the floor to protect the carpet. The luxury touches continued on the padding covering the cut-down door openings, and the headrests mounted to the roll bar.
Show car circuit
From the Vegas off-road show, the Dune Buster was packed up and hit the road. In 1966, it was seen at all the major car shows, including Detroit, and Chicago (as seen above) where it also appeared with the Econoline Apartment custom. Ford had a press release detailing some of the features, which you can read here.
Real wood trim
As you can notice in this shot, the Dune Runner had the luxury touch of real wood laminate applied to the exterior. The same trim continued across the tailgate, and on the interior. The roll bar, which does not look very strong, never the less is claimed to have been up to NHRA drag racing spec, so it must be a steel tube covered with fiberglass. The custom-made windshield frame follows the same curved shape as the roll bar. You can also see the awesome custom wheels, red line tires, side pipes, and step cut out in the door panel.
Custom soft top and bed cover
When you are building a custom car with modifications this extensive, a custom sewed soft top is no big deal. I'm sure you'll agree, this Bronco looks much better topless.
The flower child
By 1970, the Dune Buster had been painted and reupholstered and was now the swinging flower power concept called the Wildflower. In reality, not much had changed though. The exterior wood was gone and a psychedelic flower paint job replaced it. Inside the seats were given matching flower power center sections. There was a groovy press release about this one too, which is here. Sadly, no one knows what became of this celebrity show car once it was no longer fashionable.
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