I met “Bronco Jack” Niederkorn in 2010 at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) in Rosemont, Ill., where he was displaying his 1971 Stroppe Baja Bronco within the confines of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. During our introduction, he mentioned how his fascination for the Ford Bronco started back in 1980, and today he says he has “never been without one since.” Since 1980, he has owned 15 of Ford’s off-road ponies, with five currently in his collection.
According to Niederkorn, it all started with the purchase of an original 1972 Bronco that he upgraded with a suspension lift kit with the intent of doing some off-roading near his home in rural Illinois. The fun times navigating that Bronco through rough terrain and mud bogs quickly turned into a fondness for the little 4x4 vehicle.
“There’s just something cool about the Bronco with its unique looks and off-road capabilities,” Niederkorn adds. “I started with a nice original one back on June 12th, 1980. Nearly 45 years and 15 trucks later, this is where I’m at.
“They are a cool-looking truck. With their boxy shape and raised fenders, they have attitude, personality and one-of-a-kind styling, and I just love them. This little one, the first-generation trucks, are my favorites. I will continue to collect them.”
Niederkorn’s collection really took off after he joined the thriving Bronco community. With each new Bronco that he purchased, his collecting evolved as he became more informed about the various Bronco models. In the end, his Bronco collecting didn’t just take him down rough back country paths, but also down smooth highways to acquire various unique and rare models. Niederkorn initially began hunting original and unrestored versions, but when the opportunity presented itself to restore a rare model back to like-new condition, that’s when Bronco Jack hit his stride.
Restoring a rare 1967 Bronco Sport
Old Cars readers might recall Niederkorn’s unrestored original 1974 Bronco Ranger on the publication’s cover back in May 2021. While photographing that Bronco survivor, I learned about Niederkorn’s 1967 Ford Bronco Sport Pickup featured here. Niederkorn had acquired the rare Raven Black Sport Pickup back in 2018, and it was still undergoing a concours restoration in 2021, with a significant amount of the work being done by Niederkorn himself. He reached out to Ross Gregory at Marquette Classics in Ionia, Mich., to do the body and paint work. Gregory and his team started with the original Bronco sheet metal and transformed it into a laser-straight body with a mirror-like paint finish that’s world class.
Niederkorn’s featured Bronco is one of just 86 Sport Pickup “half cab” models produced for 1967, and one of only four originally painted Raven Black. (“Half cab” is the nickname given to Broncos with the short steel roof that turns the Bronco into the Pickup version.)
Niederkorn has traced the history of his 1967 Sport Pickup back to when it was new. Its original owner raced stock cars and was a master mechanic at Charles City Ford in Charles City, Iowa. After the original owner’s death, the second owner bought the Bronco at an estate sale in 2017, with the intent of giving it a complete body-off-frame restoration. For unknown reasons, he lost interest and Niederkorn bought the partially disassembled Bronco a year later, storing it at a friend’s farm before starting on the restoration a year later. Deterred for a time by the COVID-19 pandemic, Niederkorn completed the concours restoration in 2023.
The painstaking restoration involved a complete engine rebuild. In addition to doing the body and paint work, Marquette Classics crafted metal parts and reconstructed the cargo bed. Finishing Touch of Chicago replated all the chrome parts and polished the Bronco’s stainless-steel trim. Jeff’s Bronco Graveyard in Brighton, Mich., was the source for numerous Ford-authorized reproduction parts.
A close-up look of the Bronco reveals the smallest details within its amazing restoration carried out by Niederkorn, whose goal was to “take it to the highest level.” We’d say he did just that.
epoxy over the red to protect the paint from UV rays and Mother Nature. Freeze Frame Image LLC
Bronco Sport: A prettier pony
According to the 1967 Ford sales catalog, “Should you prefer sizzling, total performance on any road with a Ford Bronco, then choose the optional, big 289cid V-8 that delivers 200 horsepower. Big Six or V-8, Bronco engines are equally bred to give you responsive, spirited power at work or play.” This Bronco’s original owner, who had an inkling for horsepower, opted for the 289-cid V-8.
Niederkorn is a hands-on owner and when it came time to put the finished product together, he meticulously went about the painstaking task of reassembling the Bronco. His assembly process was methodical, deliberate and done to the highest standards.
When you step back and look at the finished product gracing these pages, it’s hard to believe we are not looking at a Bronco on the showroom floor of Charles City Ford in 1967. Broncos equipped with the V-8 used a black air cleaner until Ford changed the color to Ford Blue in 1970, and that’s how Niederkorn restored his Sport Pickup. His only modifications to the Bronco are a few tweaks on the chassis.
“It’s a factory-correct restoration, with the exception of the suspension and tires,” Niedekorn says. “I did not want the ride and handling it had back in 1967, so I added new springs, shocks and larger 31x15-inch tires.” He notes that optional suspension packages for 1967 would have created a height nearly identical to his example, despite his change in springs, shocks and tires.
Ford offered the Sport package for the Bronco Pickup and Wagon models in 1967. The Sport included the nameplate and insignia affixed to the fender, just behind the front wheel opening. The Sport package also provided an array of exterior and interior enhancements, as well as additional optional factory equipment, such as front tow hooks, a winch and power take-off.
Niederkorn indicates the Bronco Sport-specific vinyl-covered door trim panels with bright-metal moldings and armrests were unique for 1967, and they are back on his Sport Pickup. He adds that the door window frames can be detached, which most people don’t realize if they have never owned a Bronco. Removing the two chrome knobs located at the left and right sides, just below the dash padding, allows the windshield to fold down and lock into a U-shaped latch located on the top side of the hood.
A 1967 Bronco sales brochure included a nearly identical interior view of the attractive, upscale Sport interior. With the passenger side door open, the Parchment Rosette vinyl-upholstered bench seat and padded dash can be clearly seen to welcome passengers. Even with the upscale Sport option, Ford equipped the Bronco interior with the vinyl floor mat as an acknowledgement that the Bronco was designed for off-road use. In wet, dusty, muddy or snowy conditions, its design and engineering favored functionality.
The Bronco Sport full-size wheel covers add an element of class and are identical to the covers on the Ford Galaxie. The rear wheel covers feature the complete design, while the front wheel covers provide an opening in the center for access to the mechanical 4x4 wheel hubs that require manual locking when switching to four-wheel-drive mode.
The transmission shift lever for the Bronco’s three-speed, fully synchronized transmission was mounted on the steering column. A single floor-mounted T-bar shift lever operates the Dana 20 transfer case.
According to Motor Trend magazine’s 1966 coverage of the Bronco, “instrumentation is simple, direct, and complete. Bronco uses real live gauges. Padded dash is a useful option, especially for back roads.”
their center to allow access to the four-wheel-drive hub lock-outs. Freeze Frame Image LLC
Niederkorn adds, “The instrument cluster did not change from the prior model year, but all dash knobs were changed for 1967 and included an aluminum insert.”
Our featured Bronco includes the optional instrument panel-mounted manual AM radio with the single speaker located between the ashtray and glove box.
Niederkorn has added a period-correct front license plate that acknowledges the model year of his Bronco and pays homage to its original owner by displaying Iowa’s “34” license plate code for Floyd County, Iowa, which includes Charles City. The “U14” represents the code for the Pickup or “short roof” Bronco model.
Bronco Jack isn’t done restoring his favorite trucks. He has started the process of restoring the latest addition to his collection, a 1967 Sport Pickup in Holly Green with Parchment Rosette Bucket Seats. It promises to be as stunning and eye-catching as this Raven Black gem.
Meet Bronco Jack and see his Raven Black ’67 Bronco Sport Pickup up close and personal at the 2025 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) from Nov. 22-23. Learn more at www.mcacn.com.
Through 1966, the U-14 Bronco Pickup had been known as the Sports Utility. Freeze Frame Image LLC
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