There are plenty of old cars around that seem to defy time and defy the odds. Then there are vehicles like Willie Lenz’s 1970 Ford Bronco Sport that seem to simply defy all logic.
It just doesn’t seem possible that the rugged little Ford has paid its dues as a daily driver, work truck, steel pipe hauler, camping rig, beach comber and deer chaser — basically serving the Lenz clan in every role imaginable — yet still looks so good. It might be a “20-footer” — you can still see the paint chips and age spots when you get up close — but the Bronco looks for all the world like it must have been restored somewhere along the way.
Even though Willie Lenz has been around the Bronco for all of its life, from the moment it rolled off the car carrier at the dealership, even he’s at a bit of a loss when trying to explain how the beautiful Reef Aqua Ford with the Wimbledon White top has managed to remain so nearly perfect.
“That Bronco has been places I was amazed it could get,” says the resident of Grandview, Ore. “We’ve been in some canyons and climbing around in the edges of wheat fields — the places we’ve been would just amaze you, looking at that truck today. It’s never had a dent, never been painted, nothing. It’s 100 percent original, except for a few maintenance things like water pumps and starters.”
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