SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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MATT KARTOZIAN travel (14-18 inches or more) and retain the four-wheel drive performance at a nominal price. Broncos In Racing: Moss Brothers Lead The Way The Bronco's popularity has risen in the last two to three years, mostly because racing teams such as RPM, Leduc Racing, The Vanderweys, COPS Racing, Regulators Racing, Gun It Racing, and the new Honda factory team are using them for its versatility and low cost. Bronco racers are very popular in vintage events as well as in SCORE racing. The Moss Brothers are a prime example of a team that has been racing its Bronco in Baja for 15 years in Class 3. Recently, other desert racers such as Dave Moore and Chris Wilson, have built Ford Broncos that are capable to race in both Class 3 and Class 8. The originals, Don and Ken Moss of Moss Brothers Racing, started campaigning their Bronco in 2000. They have entered close to 100 races in the last 15 years. In that time, they've picked up 48 Class 3 wins, 12 Class 3 championships, and five Toyota Milestone Awards racing within SCORE-International. The Moss Brothers Class 3 race truck is built from a 1979 Bronco. According to the brothers, they decided four- wheel drive is a must for Baja. The truck was originally built for the 2000 mile SCORE Baja 2000 held in 2000."We looked at the rule book and classes," said Don Moss."But the race vehicle we chose had to have a T he iconic Ford Bronco was named for the wild and untrained horses known to buck riders. Likewise, the short wheelbase of the vehicle also likes to buck in the whoops and off of jumps, so it's a fitting name. Despite the bucking, the Bronco is one of the most versatile off-road trucks you can buy and is one of the reasons why they are great pre- runners for SCORE race teams, photographers, and spectators. The first generation Bronco, or Early Bronco as they are known to enthusiasts, was produced in 1966. The larger full-size Bronco models, popularized by OJ Simpson's famous police chase, were produced in 1978 and continued through 1996. While these vehicles were never intended as serious off-road vehicles, these 20 plus year old trucks are very desirable as a racecar or pre- runner. The reason, is that at the heart of the Bronco is a reliable and heavy-duty front suspension. Ford calls it the Twin Traction Beam (TTB), but most people just call them "4wd beams". TTB was introduced on the 1980 Bronco and continued through 1996. The TTB is a four-wheel drive version of the Ford I-Beam front suspension, which consists of two swing arms, with a radius arm on each beam to guide the it through its range of up and down travel. The TTB on a Bronco allows off-road enthusiasts and racers, to build a truck with a lot of wheel 079 SCORE JOURNAL