Extremely rare white chromatic stripe ‘81 Bronco

[Ford F834]

Neat find Cory! The wheels and stripe package suggest it probably is a Freewheeling package (A?) but it does not look like a chromatic to me. I know they can fade badly, but I see no hint of the yellow to dark orange transition like you see on Christopher Lott’s example. Too bad it is so crusty, it was a nice Bronco in its day. Most of the higher trimmed trucks got that padded wheel. I can’t necessarily speak for Gary, but I agree on ‘81 being the best year because it didn’t have all of the wiring weirdness of ‘80 but was still pre-feedback carburetor emissions control. I also like the 80/81 cosmetic differences.

[Rembrant]

Ford F834 wrote

Neat find Cory! The wheels and stripe package suggest it probably is a Freewheeling package (A?) but it does not look like a chromatic to me. I know they can fade badly, but I see no hint of the yellow to dark orange transition like you see on Christopher Lott’s example. Too bad it is so crusty, it was a nice Bronco in its day. Most of the higher trimmed trucks got that padded wheel. I can’t necessarily speak for Gary, but I agree on ‘81 being the best year because it didn’t have all of the wiring weirdness of ‘80 but was still pre-feedback carburetor emissions control. I also like the 80/81 cosmetic differences.

Hey Jon,

I was curious about the stripe differences. The 1981 brochure says that the Freewheelin' stripes were either the outlined pin stripes, or the full side decals that were either Tri-Colored or Chromatic. Were the tri-color and chromatic actually one in the same thing?

[Gary Lewis]

It is interesting that this (http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/bronco-tape-stripe-codes.html) says there was a Type 6 Chromatic on the Broncos only one year - 1981.  

That is my favorite year, but......  Man, I wonder if John, my paint/body man, could replicate that in paint?  

[Ford F834]

Hi Cory,

The tri-color stripe was way different than chromatic. It was an upper body only three tone contour band. Here is a pic of one in a brochure:



Gary, I have seen some very interesting retro paint jobs that mimic the sunset fade of the chromatic Broncos. Of course they are not reflective like Lance’s vinyl replica stripes, but those only fit Bronco. It takes a good painter to do these fades, but I love the results. It is a strong style and acquired taste, but I guess I acquired it 😎

[1986F150Six]

Nice documentation, Jonathan!

[Gary Lewis]

Jonathan - I think John could do it.  Now I just need a Bronco!  

But, was chromatic only available in '81 for the Broncos?

It shows to have been only available in '82 for the F-Series trucks, and even then it was not nearly the same.  It was Type 14:

[Ford F834]

The chromatic (reflective) was only 1981, and only for Bronco. It was only on Freewheeling package which was replaced by XLS in 1982. The chromatic vinyl could be special ordered and applied to a non-Freewheeling Bronco (Christopher Lott had a brown 1981 like that) but it had to be ordered that way. The 70’s Broncos also had the sunset fade reflective chromatic package, but I guess Ford didn’t have their poop in a group to have the updated one ready for the 1980 Freewheelers. Christopher has restored two black ones with the stripes, and I believe he said there were just over 500 of them made. Christopher Lott / Lance Beckstrom are the ones who had the stripes reproduced. If you wanted new chromatic stripes they are the ones to get in touch with.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks for confirming that, Jonathan.

That black '79 (I think it is 'cause it has square headlights) is stunning.  The '81 is nice, but it doesn't have the POP that the '79 has.  

[Ford F834]

I agree Gary. I’ve never been a fan of the dent side body style, but in my opinion it does look better when the dent is filled in with upper body trim, and I like the horizontal sunset fade on the stripes. They are especially stunning against black. The brown was special order, and does not look all that great to me either. “Sporty” and “earth tones” are a poor choice. My favorites are black and silver with the sunset stripes...

[Gary Lewis]

So, how many people know the Bullnose trucks didn't come with Sunset Chromatic?  

[Ford F834]

Bullnose have a sideways sunset... an eclipse maybe?

[Gary Lewis]

Fade to dark?

[Steve83]

I assembled this last night: