Update 12-19-00

I finally got around to doing a couple of the remaining projects on the Matchbox Bronco. I started with the easy one of drilling the decorative holes in the rims all the way through. Don't know why I didn't do it in the first place. They look better now though. The next project was the 6 point roll cage. I used a coat hanger for raw material and it seems like its about the right size. I tack welded it together with my 220V Millermatic 185. Which may not sound that difficult, but let me assure you that this was one of the most difficult things I've ever welded. Picture attaching the giant ground cable to a 1" piece of coat hanger without tipping it over and you'll get the general idea. I probably spent 3 hours or more forming, welding and filing/grinding the roll cage. IMHO, it turned out pretty cool. The next thing to do was to paint it plum safety purple and tiger stripe it. The only trick here was to cover the tailight lenses and gas cap with Vaseline prior to painting. That worked pretty well. I've decided not to make a bikini top for it just yet since I don't want to cover up the roll cage. Maybe later. Other possible updates might be bumpers and a winch. We'll see.
 

December 1999
I thought I'd put up a couple of pics to document the progress of the modified Matchbox Bronco. So far, I have removed the roof, rear seat, tailgate mounted spare tire, doors and shaved the windshield. I have also fabricated some custom billet aluminum rims to adapt the 38 x 14.50 x 18 Lego military tires. Of course I had to install a lift kit (some 0.125" thick nuts) and carve up the fenders to accommodate the todius treads, but the look and performance gains are worth it. Future plans include 6 point roll cage, bikini top and the trademark plum safety purple and black tiger stripe paint job. I'm kind of ashamed to admit that this has been the stage of the project for about a month and a half now.