Classic Roadster Doors Are Coming Back on the New Ford Bronco
The new Ford Bronco is a great SUV, but it’s been missing the open-air roadster doors from the classic models. Not anymore.
If you're a Ford Bronco owner who wants a constant al fresco driving experience, then I have just the thing for you. Well, I don't actually have it, Anderson Composites does. The company's new Roadster Doors kit replaces the Bronco's existing doors with fixed "U" shaped door cutouts, which create a semi-permanent open-air experience.
Classic '60s Ford Bronco owners have long enjoyed roadster doors which, when combined with a removable roof, give the Bronco a doorless Jeep Wrangler-like feel. According to Anderson Composites, who posted the doors to the Bronco6g forum, the doors are made purely for off-road use but. However, with the amount of doorless Wranglers I see on the road in the summer, I doubt many owners strictly adhere to that.
These new roadster doors are handcrafted, vacuum-infused fiberglass and were tooled from OE Bronco doors, so the fitment should be exact. They're direct bolt-on doors, as all that's needed to be done is to swap the OE door hinges onto the roadster doors, and they include weather stripping. The front doors weight just 14.8 pounds a piece and the rears are 13.7 pounds.
At the moment, the kit is only available for four-door models but there's a two-door kit said to be coming this winter. Honestly, I think it looks pretty great, a well-executed update on the classic design, but we'll reserve final judgment until we see a painted set.
Removable doors on SUVs remain popular among off-road enthusiasts for a couple of reasons. One is that a lack of doors provides far better visibility while on a tricky trail. You can easily see exactly where you're tires are placed by simply leaning out of the truck a bit and looking. It's also just a lot more fun. That added open-air experience makes you feel more connected to the world outside and isn't that sort of the point of off-roading? Plus, if it's raining, you can keep the roof up but the doors off and still enjoy some of that fresh air without getting too wet.
However, since it would require disassembling the doors, swapping the hinges, and reinstalling the OE doors to have functional closing doors again, you'd better either have another car and some storage space for the Bronco or live in a very warm, dry climate.
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