Roots

One of the most rewarding aspects of owning a vintage car (besides driving it) is discovering its provenance. I attempted to unearth the heritage of my MG-TC, but didn’t get very far and found it frustrating.

On the other hand, my son, Eric, recently bought a vintage Ford Bronco (he’s a car guy, but is into off-road stuff rather than vintage British sports cars) at an auction in Palm Springs and the vehicle came with a substantial amount of paperwork that gave him the tools to find out about the car’s previous owners.

Probably the most amazing aspect of Eric’s search was that he and the first owner both graduated from the same high school in Ojai, CA; the original owner in 1965 and Eric in 1994…and the initial owner’s grandfather was one of the founders of that school in 1946.

The first two title holders were rather prominent figures. Dr. Joseph Pollack, who originally purchased the Bronco, was a noted surgeon, author. and philosopher. He and his wife Helene (Zalk) were Founders of the Music Center of Los Angeles and were active in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Mark Taper Forum. It appears that the car was purchased for their son, Kenneth.

The Pollacks sold the car to Peter Olmstead and his wife Cynthia in 1981. Peter Olmstead was a very successful and highly respected securities analyst who started his own business in 1960, which then became Morgan, Olmstead, Kennedy, & Gardner. It successfully merged with Wedbush Securities in 1988, to become Wedbush Morgan Securities.

In the early 1990s the Bronco passed on to its third owner in Yorba Linda, CA who blueprinted and dyno tuned the engine before it made its way to a dealer who painted the car and redid the interior then listed it in the McCormick’s auction in Palm Springs. At some point along its journey the car may have been stored for a while, but exactly when and for how long has not been determined at this point.

Both Dr. Pollack and Peter Olmstead have recently passed away and Kenneth Pollack is in poor health, but Eric hopes to make contact with Helene Zalk Pollack who at age 93 is quite active and is still involved in the school founded by her father. Hopefully Eric can find out as much about the Bronco’s early days as he has about its early owners.