Well its that time of year again... SEMA is right around the corner and we're kicking off the latest project build, a 2021 Ford Bronco 2Dr to debut in Ford's booth at Central Hall of the show. Anybody that has followed BDS for a few years may recognize a pattern and you'd be right, we're teaming up with Ford Motor Company on another build through their Project Vehicle program. This year marks the 5th consecutive project vehicle we've taken on. In the past this included SD126 in 2017, followed by RangerX in 2018, then Go Beyond in 2019 and Work/Play for the virtual SEMA of 2020. If you haven't checked out those custom project builds use the links below to check out each of the full build threads complete with photos, videos, write ups, action content and more.
Project SD126
#projectSD126
Project RangerX
#projectRangerX
Project GoBeyond
#projectGoBeyond
Work/Play F150
#workplayF150
So what do we have planned for this latest build?! A fire-rescue themed short wheelbase Bronco truck built to ultra capability able to lead the charge as the Fire Command setting up the tactical recovery, rescue, or whatever the mission may be. This off-road ready Bronco took inspiration the multitude of early Broncos that have found there way into rural fire departments for similar duties. This build is coming together down in the BDS R&D shop over the course of about 8 weeks for the team to design, fabricate and ultimate outfit this Bronco with the right gear to get the job done.
Starting with a Black Diamond edition 2021 Ford Bronco 2Dr in race red, the team went to work tearing into the factory fresh Bronco pulling out the hard top, the bumpers, suspension, seats and interior panels. From there measurements were taken, vehicle CAD was obtained and the first of many cuts were made lob off the back half of the roll bar, followed shortly after by the MIC hardtop getting chopped into pieces, all with the intention of building a one-off 1/2-cab Bronco truck reminiscent of the original Bronco 1/2-cab hardtop option. With top cut up and the structure built our with reinforcements, the top made its way over to the pros at Butler Body Shop to take on the body work to fill, shape and finish the top to look as though it rolled off the assembly line with the factory option. While we don't expect to be the only ones wanting to see Ford offer a Bronco truck in the market, we're not holding out breathe for it happening anytime soon. Stay tuned for progress on the top.
Beyond tear down and the mayhem of body mods, the team is ordering the rest of the parts to outfit this Bronco and get it ready for action. This Bronco will sport a number of prototype components from FOX, BDS, Crawltek and Ford Performance. It'll also have its fair share of fabricated parts along with other upgrades from many of the go-to aftermarket companies like Nitto, Method, RCV, Warn, Rigid, Katzkin, Yakima, CargoGlide, and more. Stay tuned for the updates to come as the BDS team outfits this Bronco into Project Fire Command.
#ProjectFireCommand
Continue on to Episode 2
