Miguel Sánchez
Each discipline of motorsports has its fetish races. In the case of F1, it may be the Monaco GP. A competition marked by its character as a street circuit where many of the category's most spectacular duels have been experienced since 1950. If we talk about the endurance world championship, the most mythical is undoubtedly Le Mans. All this despite the taste that can be had for such spectacular tracks as the Spa or the Nürburgring. However, upon entering in the world of gravel racing the choice is not as clear.
On the one hand, the most staunch followers of rallying they would focus on Africa. Continent that has seen the birth of extreme tests such as the Safari or the Dakar. Something to which many would add the allegation of being appointments disputed in several stages, thus dissipating the character of a race with start and finish in the same timing. A diatribe that recalls the most purists of cycling and their taste for classics such as the Paris-Roubaix against the Giro or the Tour. One of those endless debates that, in definition, has a great deal of reason behind it.
In this respect, , thinking about gravel races contested in a single day, choosing the Baja 1000 as a favorite would not be strange.. After all, this competition has a tradition that began in 1967 with a multitude of participating categories. A magma of vehicles where we find buggies and SUVs but also trucks and even a special segment for models with Subaru engines. All of them trying to be the first to travel the 1700 kilometers that separate Ensenada from La Paz through the Baja California Peninsula in one go.
A route for the brave in which legends such as the Ford Bronco Big Oly stand out. An all-rounder built right from the start to obtain the victory of which now is half a century.
LOOKS ARE DECEIVING
Just as in the world of American sports cars the Mustang or the Corvette represent the best sagas, when it comes to going on land the Bronco has the most celebrated history. Always with permission from the Jeep, although from the second generation The Bronco has targeted a larger segment where it was found as models like the Chevrolet Blazer. However, the truth is that this Ford model has been one of the references in the 1966 × 4 sector in the United States since 4.
In this way - and even more so in the case of the versatile and manageable Ford Bronco MkI - the model was a perfect base for competition models destined for the Baja 1000. Something that was evidenced by the victories in 1968 and 1969 with Larry Minor at the wheel. Both with a stopwatch only stopped after more than twenty hours of driving, which dropped to fifteen when Parnelli Jones rode the Bronco Big Oly in 1971. A more than remarkable reduction that owes its explanation to a very simple fact: it is not really a Ford Bronco.
And the thing is - despite remembering the Bronco for publicity reasons - the Big Oly started from scratch in its design. For this reason, it cannot be related in any way to the series models. A publicity stunt that has always been used extensively in the world of rallying, with the series car and the racing car having only the name in common. So much so that in the case of the Big Oly the chassis of the Ford Bronco was even used. Far from it, this Baja 1000 legend is mounted on a handcrafted frame with chrome-moly steel tubes.
FORD BRONCO BIG OLY. A LEGEND OF THE LOW 1000
Beyond the single chassis, the Big Oly features a series of aluminum panels to form the cabin. All covered with a fiberglass body aesthetically similar to that of the Bronco Mk1 but with tighter proportions. As far as motorization is concerned, the Californian workshop that worked together with Parnelli Jones decided to mount a V8 Ford 351 Windsor. The largest in displacement of all the derivatives of the Small Block designed by Ed Cole thanks to its 5 liters. An ingenuity that propelled some of the more powerful versions of the Mustang prepared by Shelby Cobra, which here gives 8CV.
More than enough power for the only 1188 kilos of this Bronco, including the spoiler that at the same time serves as a roof and the long-travel suspensions. Regarding the gearbox, an automatic was chosen, which can be surprising only if you read this car from a European conception. For all these reasons, the Big Oly is a true machine to win races on gravel, driven by a man who came from extensive experience in the Indianapolis 500.
Something that was not an obstacle for Parnelli Jones to win the 1000 Baja 1971. Repeating the following year and also winning two Baja 500s. A record that made this off-road one of the most exciting American racing cars. Having been in the hands of this pilot until May 2020. At which time, with a perfect state of conservation, it was auctioned by Mecum in an auction that broke figures with respect to the price that off-road vehicles usually have. However, in the case of Big Oly we are not talking about something common.
Photographs: Mecum Auctions
