THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 12, 1994 TAG: 9410110099
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WINDSOR LENGTH: Long : 141 lines
BY 9 A.M. ON a weekday morning, Cecil Eley already has talked with customers in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oklahoma and Iceland.
The conversations are mostly chatty. Information, advice and weather updates are free.
On the business end of the conversations are Eley's collection of rare and hard-to-find nuts, bolts, gears, rear ends, drive axles and engine parts that can be shipped out to anywhere right away.
And the customers come back time after time.
That's because Eley is such a friendly sort. And it's because it wouldn't be likely that these customers could get what they wanted by shopping anywhere else - anywhere else east of the Mississippi River, that is.
When customers from all over the world dial 1-800-847-0826, reach into the small town of Windsor in southern Isle of Wight and connect with Eley, they connect to a world all their own, a world that centers around Ford Bronco trucks manufactured by the automotive giant only between 1966 and 1977 - 11 years of tough on wheels.
Eley is an expert on the Bronco - and his customers know they can depend on him for the right part at the right time. He knows the Bronco inside out. In fact, one of his favorite jobs is restoring the old Broncos.
``Ford built Broncos for the first time in 1966,'' Eley said. ``They used the same body style through '77. These are excellent off-road vehicles. They have the closest turning ratio of any vehicle that's been built since. All the components are steel against steel. Steel gears in the transmissions.
``These trucks are tough,'' Eley said, ``real tough! They just don't make 'em like this today.''
Eley, 56, can't recall exactly when his infatuation with the tough little vehicles now considered classics began. But he does recall that it was a mutual thing between him and his wife, Melissa, one of several things they found they had in common when they first started dating nearly 10 years ago. They married in October 1987.
The Eleys were dating, living in Norfolk, and Cecil was wholesaling automobiles when he pointed out to her the old Bronco difference, Melissa said. She was taken with the vehicles right away.
``I've always loved trucks,'' she said, grinning. ``When I was little, I always wanted a mini-bike, but my parents wouldn't get me one. I guess I got old enough to get what I wanted.''
Melissa, 33, bought her first Bronco, a 1970 model, in 1986. That first vehicle, which was driven for at least three years and is now being restored, may have been what turned the infatuation for Broncos into a full-blown love affair, one that eventually grew into a business.
And the fact that Melissa was actually the first to buy one of the classic Broncos may be why Cecil today calls 77 Bronco Parts and Sales Inc. his wife's business.
``She does the work,'' he said. ``I watch and offer some technical advice. She had helped me tear Broncos down and rebuild them. Now, she does it. And she's a perfectionist.''
``They are unique in their own way,'' Melissa said. ``They're old, but anybody can buy something new. It's a lot better to take something old and fix it up. They don't have all of that electronic stuff cars have on them today. With these, the wire goes from point A to point B, and it works.''
Bronco Parts opened in a garage off U.S. Route 460 after the Eleys moved to Windsor, Cecil's home town, from Norfolk in 1987. A year later, Bronco Parts moved from the place that had been headquarters to an auto wholesale dealer to what was the first headquarters building for the Windsor Volunteer Rescue Squad. The following year, the business took over both buildings.
And that's about the time the Eleys started advertising nationally in ``Off Road Magazine.'' They also advertise in a truck trader in Pennsylvania that goes statewide.
Pennsylvania, with hilly terrain and lots of snow during the winter, still is a paradise for the old Broncos, Cecil said. It's where he has found several of the vehicles used now simply to carry families down long, ice-covered driveways to more modern transportation waiting for them on the road.
Most of the old Broncos the Eleys purchase are torn down for parts. A few, if the bodies are in decent condition, are restored. Cecil estimates the business takes in about 20 Broncos a year which will be used for parts.
Together, he and Melissa average restoring about three a year. Those are later sold. And they seldom have any problem getting rid of them, he said.
``We tear down and salvage parts as well as make new parts,'' Cecil said. ``The parts are getting harder to find. If a vehicle is out of production, they may not be making parts any longer. You have to do a lot of research to see which parts are still available, what might fit on the old Broncos that is being made today.''
The Eleys' business is mostly mail order. But that doesn't mean that customers don't drop in looking for that special part. The business is so unique that there are only four others like it in the U.S. - one in Washington State, one in Michigan and two in California.
Neil Severns of Columbia, S.C., was glad to hear about Bronco Parts in Windsor, Va. It was the closest outlet to him, and he's visited the Eleys several times searching for parts for his vehicles.
``I dealt with Cecil first on the phone, then I went to see him,'' Severns said. ``I knew I could always find anything I needed and that he'd send it right away.''
The Eleys know how much the vehicles mean to their owners, and they know how important it is to keep them in top running condition. Without the right part when they need it, that would be impossible.
But it's not just the old Broncos that hold a special interest for the unique Windsor couple. They have four personal Broncos. One of them is driven daily, one is ready to be sold, the other two are being restored.
In addition, they've collected a '64 Falcon, '64 Fairlane, a '63 Galaxie 500, '69 Mercury, '64 GTO and a '63 Galaxie convertible. Of the collection, only the convertible has been completely restored.
The others are still waiting for restoration.
And Melissa has another pet building project besides her first Bronco, which should be on the streets soon. She's also building a race car - an '82 Camero with an '82 Camero engine. She plans to race it herself.
``It will be another dream come true,'' she said.
Meanwhile, for the Eleys, the Broncos are the business. Old cars in general are the passion. And Cecil doesn't see that it's likely to change.
``I told Melissa just the other day, if you don't buy them now and keep them around for restoring, you're not going to find them when you start looking,'' he said, glancing across the lot at his rusting fleet.
``You can't find a better stock to invest in, where you're likely to take such good care of your money.''
Someday, Cecil said, somebody's going to be restoring a '94 Mustang with all of its electronic equipment.
But for now, old cars in general are for restoring. Old Broncos are for selling parts, from Windsor to the world. ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
TO TAME A BRONCO
[Color] Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Windsor residents Cecil Ealey and his wife, Melissa, restore old
Ford Broncos and sell them nationwide. Their business takes in about
20 Broncos a year.
Melissa Eley climbs into an all fiberglass Bronco she and her
husband are building. Melissa, 33, bought her first Bronco, a 1970
model, in 1986. ``I've always loved trucks,'' she says.
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Cecil Eley gets calls from all over the United States and the world
for hard-to-find Bronco parts. Melissa Eley also restores the
classic trucks. The business takes in about 20 Broncos a year which
will be used for parts. Together, Cecil and Melissa average
restoring about three a year. Those are later sold.
by CNB