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Hello B6G,
Meet Scout, my 1st gen-inspired 2021 7mt Lux Badlands. This is a brief history of her life.
I was a day 1 reservation holder in July 2020, originally placing my reservation with Gaudin Ford in Las Vegas. After trolling these threads way back in 2020, Granger announced their pricing and I moved my reservation to them, thankfully before the order made enough progress to tie me to Gaudin. My order was placed and processed by THE Albert Schmitz (RIP). Granger and Albert were amazing to work with, helping me navigate COVID parts constraints to expedite my bronco build. After removing the tow package and changing from the 2.7l/Auto to the 2.3l/7mt, Ford built her in October of 2021 and she is one of the first 5,000 broncos off the line. Leaving the dealership, my brother plugged the VIN into Carvana and my instant cash offer was $89,000. Hard to believe some early 6G's went for six figures, but she cost me about $49,000 out the door.
With less than 200 original miles, I was driving on the interstate when a Honda's car hood came off and I drove into it going 70+ mph in Nebraska. An accident on the first day of ownership. Devastating, but accelerated the beginning of my build. It smashed the carbonized gray badlands grill and I opted to go with the base matte black grill. It required some trimming as the grills don't have identical fitment, but nonetheless, the bronco had been in an accident and she was modified... she was mine now.
The first 6 months of ownership was fun. Lots of love on the trails and gas stations for the new rig. Through the years I've done trails in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Oklahoma (work trip). Most of her scars are in the undercarriage and the pinstriping. She has a new front diff from when the diff exploded, luckily under warranty. Between the trails, she's been a lego set that I never seem to fully put down. I am in no way a mechanic, but I don't remember getting a class to play with legos either so for everyone here who's wondering if they can step into heavy, difficult, lengthy modifications with no experience, you can. You have this forum, YouTube, and other resources. Mistakes are okay. I've made many. I have marred the frame, my panels are not perfectly aligned, and some of my work is sloppy, but it's mostly in spaces of the bronco you don't see and have not affected my use of the vehicle. My goal was to heavily modify the rig without it being too obvious. When the paint-matched Ursa-Minor top is down, it's hard to tell everything that's done to her. For those with a keen eye, she still gets a little love with the new top.
My major mods are
- Paint-Matched Ursa Minor Top (~13k)
- ADV Fiberglass Fenders
- Rough Country Hidden Winch with HF Badlands Winch
- Stage 1 Icon lift and Mikelis 2" Body Lift
- Black Diamond Steelies with 37x11.5 Nitto Recon Grapplers
- ARB Dual Compressor
- Rigid Lightbar, NiLite POD lights
- Turn offroad rear bumper and spare tire delete
- Ford Performance 2.3l Tune
- Mabbett Tailgate with Dometic Stove
- Lensun Solar 65w hood solar w/ controller
- Iceco APL35 and LiTime 100ah spare battery (also powers Ursa Minor top)
My two cents to current and future builders, while there is some truth to "you get what you pay for", I also look at advice I got from a friend while renting a boat on Shasta Lake. The best boat is the one that gets you on the lake. Any bronco or modification to a bronco that gets you on the trail and on your next adventure sounds good to me. Also, I can't get too far in the story without mentioning some folks that helped me along the way. The dream started when a buddy from the National Guard (https://www.instagram.com/gdayjambo/) bought and restored a Troop Carrier with a camper top installed by FitGarage in Bend, Oregon. He never overhauled a classic and nonetheless took on the restoration and traveled to the tip of South America in an aging, imported Troopy. I saw what Ursa Minor had and I made it my dream to camp out of my bronco, too. Another buddy from the Guard (https://www.instagram.com/1965chummins/) rescued me when my diff exploded and has helped me wrench on this bronco. Again, another guy who never restored a vehicle and one day decided it was time. Finally, I had significant help from my work buddy @Jms1 who had the specialized tools I didn't have, gave me install tips, and lended a hand when the job needs 2 guys. There is a community on here and in real life that extends beyond the bronco community, use it.
Moving forward, you can find me at west coast bronco events and trails, I'll probably go to Bronco Super Cel Nevada in October. I'll eventually make a Baja run in Mexico and do the ice highway in Canada. Maybe I'll do some music festivals out of her, who knows. The toil is always worth it in the end regardless of what goes wrong along the way. My AC just failed and I could give two $h!t$, I'll fix that when I have time between adventures. My kids are incredibly proud of the rig and don't be surprised if you have sons and daughters if your daughter likes it more. Mine certainly does. Thank you B6G, we'll see you on the trail and in the forums. Please feel free to ask any and all questions, too.
@BattleBornBronco
Meet Scout, my 1st gen-inspired 2021 7mt Lux Badlands. This is a brief history of her life.
I was a day 1 reservation holder in July 2020, originally placing my reservation with Gaudin Ford in Las Vegas. After trolling these threads way back in 2020, Granger announced their pricing and I moved my reservation to them, thankfully before the order made enough progress to tie me to Gaudin. My order was placed and processed by THE Albert Schmitz (RIP). Granger and Albert were amazing to work with, helping me navigate COVID parts constraints to expedite my bronco build. After removing the tow package and changing from the 2.7l/Auto to the 2.3l/7mt, Ford built her in October of 2021 and she is one of the first 5,000 broncos off the line. Leaving the dealership, my brother plugged the VIN into Carvana and my instant cash offer was $89,000. Hard to believe some early 6G's went for six figures, but she cost me about $49,000 out the door.
With less than 200 original miles, I was driving on the interstate when a Honda's car hood came off and I drove into it going 70+ mph in Nebraska. An accident on the first day of ownership. Devastating, but accelerated the beginning of my build. It smashed the carbonized gray badlands grill and I opted to go with the base matte black grill. It required some trimming as the grills don't have identical fitment, but nonetheless, the bronco had been in an accident and she was modified... she was mine now.
The first 6 months of ownership was fun. Lots of love on the trails and gas stations for the new rig. Through the years I've done trails in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Oklahoma (work trip). Most of her scars are in the undercarriage and the pinstriping. She has a new front diff from when the diff exploded, luckily under warranty. Between the trails, she's been a lego set that I never seem to fully put down. I am in no way a mechanic, but I don't remember getting a class to play with legos either so for everyone here who's wondering if they can step into heavy, difficult, lengthy modifications with no experience, you can. You have this forum, YouTube, and other resources. Mistakes are okay. I've made many. I have marred the frame, my panels are not perfectly aligned, and some of my work is sloppy, but it's mostly in spaces of the bronco you don't see and have not affected my use of the vehicle. My goal was to heavily modify the rig without it being too obvious. When the paint-matched Ursa-Minor top is down, it's hard to tell everything that's done to her. For those with a keen eye, she still gets a little love with the new top.
My major mods are
- Paint-Matched Ursa Minor Top (~13k)
- ADV Fiberglass Fenders
- Rough Country Hidden Winch with HF Badlands Winch
- Stage 1 Icon lift and Mikelis 2" Body Lift
- Black Diamond Steelies with 37x11.5 Nitto Recon Grapplers
- ARB Dual Compressor
- Rigid Lightbar, NiLite POD lights
- Turn offroad rear bumper and spare tire delete
- Ford Performance 2.3l Tune
- Mabbett Tailgate with Dometic Stove
- Lensun Solar 65w hood solar w/ controller
- Iceco APL35 and LiTime 100ah spare battery (also powers Ursa Minor top)
My two cents to current and future builders, while there is some truth to "you get what you pay for", I also look at advice I got from a friend while renting a boat on Shasta Lake. The best boat is the one that gets you on the lake. Any bronco or modification to a bronco that gets you on the trail and on your next adventure sounds good to me. Also, I can't get too far in the story without mentioning some folks that helped me along the way. The dream started when a buddy from the National Guard (https://www.instagram.com/gdayjambo/) bought and restored a Troop Carrier with a camper top installed by FitGarage in Bend, Oregon. He never overhauled a classic and nonetheless took on the restoration and traveled to the tip of South America in an aging, imported Troopy. I saw what Ursa Minor had and I made it my dream to camp out of my bronco, too. Another buddy from the Guard (https://www.instagram.com/1965chummins/) rescued me when my diff exploded and has helped me wrench on this bronco. Again, another guy who never restored a vehicle and one day decided it was time. Finally, I had significant help from my work buddy @Jms1 who had the specialized tools I didn't have, gave me install tips, and lended a hand when the job needs 2 guys. There is a community on here and in real life that extends beyond the bronco community, use it.
Moving forward, you can find me at west coast bronco events and trails, I'll probably go to Bronco Super Cel Nevada in October. I'll eventually make a Baja run in Mexico and do the ice highway in Canada. Maybe I'll do some music festivals out of her, who knows. The toil is always worth it in the end regardless of what goes wrong along the way. My AC just failed and I could give two $h!t$, I'll fix that when I have time between adventures. My kids are incredibly proud of the rig and don't be surprised if you have sons and daughters if your daughter likes it more. Mine certainly does. Thank you B6G, we'll see you on the trail and in the forums. Please feel free to ask any and all questions, too.
@BattleBornBronco
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