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History of the 1977 Balloon Chase Broncos
By John D. David
1977 Balloon Chase Bronco Limited edition vehicles have always been a mainstay for the marketing teams at Ford Motor Company. This was especially true in the 1960's and 70's when Ford created dozens of special promotion or limited edition cars and trucks to help boost sales or vehicle visibility. The Mustang holds the honor for the most limited editions, but other models received the same treatment too. The 1977 Bronco Balloon Chase vehicle was one of those marketing promotions that's now a serious piece of history and has gained true collector status. In 1977 Ford created The Limited Edition Sail; a marketing campaign revolving around a record breaking cross-country hot air balloon trip. Karl Thomas was the pilot and the balloon was designed and provided by Ford. Fitting their "Better Idea" marketing theme, the balloon resembled a large light bulb. Ford was also in charge of the ground support vehicles for the event and created 6 vehicles total; two Broncos, two vans and two pickups. All shared the same custom paint scheme which was bright orange with distinctively 70's style body stripes in yellow and black. The Broncos started life as standard dealer stock, but were then sent off to an outside facility to be prepped for the event. Recreational Vehicles Inc (RVI) in Torrance, CA took care of the cosmetic and functional upgrades. RVI was known best for their conversion vans and the Broncos got the same type of treatment. the interior received custom carpet, wood grain interior panels, a CB radio and gold flecked headliner. Up front the Broncos had a tubular brush guard over the grille and a pair of fog lights. Additional driving lights were mounted to the hard top along with an orange ambulance style emergency light bar. A smoked grey moon roof completed the 70's styling. Wheels were US Indy Mags and wrapped with Formula Desert Dog tires. Faux side pipe exhausts were tucked under the rocker panels and a custom rear tire cover featured Ford's "better idea" light bulb to tie in with the balloon itself. The famous Bill Stroppe was in charge of the chase crew and piloted one of the Broncos, while his son Willie drove the other. Stroppe was certainly well versed in Ford's special marketing campaigns. He was a Baja racer for Ford and his shop created the Stroppe Baja Broncos, which are in high demand by collectors today. After the balloon flight Bill actually kept one of the Chase Broncos as a support vehicle for his offroad racing campaigns. Overall the balloon trip took 19 days to get from coast to coast and did indeed set a record at the time. Whether the marketing ploy worked and the two Balloon Chase Broncos helped Ford sell more Broncos may be up for debate, but it did create a piece of Bronco history that current collectors can certainly appreciate. |
  
Balloon Chaser parked next to a Stroppe
Color scheme for Balloon Chase Broncos
Side exhaust pipes not shown
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This intel was contributed by Machinist
Machinist
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May, 2012
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