Welcome back to another episode of Off-Road Legends, a new series from HotCars where we showcase some of the most iconic and successful off-roaders ever built. On our latest episode, we delve into the world’s most expensive Ford Bronco to ever grace the earth: former Baja 1000 winner “Big Oly.”
Just last year, this 1969 Ford Bronco sold for an astonishing $1.7 million (plus $187,000 in fees) at a Mecum auction in Indianapolis. For comparison, that’s more than the price of 20 of the brand-new Ford Bronco Raptor trucks!
In the video below, host Michael Van Runkle goes over what makes this ’69 Bronco so valuable in today’s collector market. He delves into the build itself, the racing history, and how driver Parnelli Jones managed to take home a Baja 1000 overall win.
Let's See What This Ford Bronco Is Really Made Of, Quite Literally
The entire suspension was bespoke, but it was nothing really like how you’d buy a Ford Bronco from the factory. So, calling “Big Oly” the most valuable Ford Bronco in the world isn’t truly accurate. While it had the box frame chassis, it also had the Twin I-beam front suspension from a Ford truck and the fiberglass body was three inches shorter and narrower than an actual Bronco.
For performance reasons, the duo mounted the engine air filter between the driver and co-driver in the hopes of getting less dust in there. The transmission and oil coolers were behind the drivers on the roll cage. That filter then fed a custom aluminum intake manifold from a Cobra via a Holley 650 double pumper carburetor. It also had an ISKY Racing cam and bespoke tubular headers for the exhaust. Altogether, the power plant made 390 hp to the rear wheels through Ford’s C6 automatic transmission.
“Big Oly” Is Among The Most Memorable Rides In The Motorsports World
As Michael put it in the video, “winning Baja first requires surviving Baja.” After all, Baja is one of the most grueling races in the world, and is widely regarded as the most dangerous race in North America. It ranges from 850 miles to 1,700 miles, depending on the year, putting drivers face-to-face with mud, rivers, flash floods, sand, snakes, and even the unexpected.
Baja Racing has claimed over 50 lives in more than five decades. Even so, “Big Oly” proved to be incredibly successful, and lucky, as it was in a league of its own and ahead of the competition. Parnelli and Bill entered the 1972 Baja 1000 and led from start to finish, winning and setting a new record time of 14 hours 59 minutes. The next year, the dynamic duo contained their string of victories with “Big Oly” in the Baja 1000, the Baja 500, and the Mint 400.