Why would I not restore?

[Nathan Brenner]

Hello all,

I have a beat to hell daily driver Year 1 Explorer. I'm weighing the pros and cons of restoring over customizing. I know you folks are into restoration or keeping as stock so instead of asking you all if I should restore because the response may be understandably biased I'd like to hear why you would not reccomend that I restore. I ask this because there has to be a reason other than I suppose the prestige of preservation so I want to understand why it might be a bad idea to do so.

Thanks,

 

[Rick]

Restore, or modify, that's all up to you We definitely encourage modifications in our forums.

 

[2stroke]

I'm all for modification, especially fabrication you do yourself. The only reason you would see to stay stock is because it was made so well originally, there is nothing to improve on. There's plenty of mods to improve these though.

 

[natenkiki2004]

In my opinion there's a couple different routes to "restore". Just like the Jurassic Park Explorers, there's some people that NEED every little detail to be screen accurate. Then there's others that want the quality paintjob and some offroad lights just to have fun. It's a personal choice.

Personally, while I think it's cool/neat to build a great offroad rig with lockers and lifts, it's not practical and I don't have the money to do it right. I like mine stock but custom. I improve the things I can like shocks and good tires but in factory size. Bigger tires are nice but it's more strain on the drivetrain and increases your contact patch which does 2 things; decreases pressure on the tread (bad for winter driving like on hardpack snow) and increases rolling resistance (hurts MPG). All that for 0.5" of extra ground clearance unless you do a lift and doing a decent lift of 4"+ requires a kit. Building or customizing can be a runaway of costs, time and fabrication skills. I have no desire to have a hardcore restoration rig, a lot of that becomes vanity and vanity is expensive. I, like a lot of people here, don't like to go too crazy in either direction of restoring or building. Many of us use these rigs for daily drivers and just want a reliable all-around vehicle that can drive comfortably, offroad, tow, haul people... for that, it's almost perfect.

 

[toypaseo]

I think most people on here will say modify, but will be respectful if you opt to restore it.

My 96 is mostly stock. I added a Hypertech programmer, K&N FIPK, and a Gibson catback to make it more interesting to drive. Added an Alpine amp, AudioControl converter, and a Kicker Solobaric to make the OEM non-sub stereo sound better.

When I first got it, the only mods were ones I could easily reverse, just in case I got rid of it. I didn't want to sink money into it, and then take a loss on the added stuff. All of the above is easy to change back to stock, minus the Gibson catback. That was bought on sale for $215 total. I figured I could maybe swap with someone local for their OEM exhaust, and maybe make some of my money back.

Me being close to stock did pay off when my insurance company totalled it from hail. Any modifications would have decreased their value estimate. I think the only thing I dinged me on was the K&N FIPK. If I knew they were going to do that, I would have easily put the OEM intake back on. Insurance paid out nicely, and I bought it back for dirt cheap.

Besides, I'd rather sink money into my Paseo...

 

[92exp4x4]

What's your vision? How do you see the vehicle? What does it mean to you and how will you use it? These are the questions you should ask yourself when embarking on a project like this. I've seen a lot of classic cars be ruined by good intentions. I've also seen a lot of visions come into being. Me personally I am a restorer, preserving the past so others in the future may be able to understand how things used to be. On the other hand, I have a lifted and modified 94, for camping and beating around in the woods with. I am all for upgrades that improve the machines use or dependability.

Consider too that no matter what you do, it will be a considerable investment. Being from the west, your truck is probably rust free. That helps, but parts add up fast. Hiring out work costs $$ as well. I am including cost info in my JP Explorer build so that others can get an idea of what the project will require should they do something similar themselves. An average restoration can cost $25K and up. Building a truck for a special purpose can be expensive and then you have a machine that's a little harder to get parts for especially if its a one-off type machine you construct yourself.

There are pros and cons either way. At the end of the day, its your machine and this site is a great place to go for ideas and support. Just ask yourself those main questions and remember too that there are two types of vehicles.., drivers and keepers. They usually do not fulfill both purposes.

 

[Number4]

I've had mine since '94, actually, my parents bought it but I helped them special order it. It has a lot of sentimental value to it based on where we've all been in it. I recently tore down the engine to fix the pinging and replace all gaskets. It's back to stock and just finished up a completely new AC system on it today.

That said, it's old. It shows it in some places (battle scars) but it's really straight and no cancer. It's also not a daily driver, at all. I'm really interested in giving it a new life. Time and money, I'll lift it, give it some bigger tires.

 

[Rhett]

Resto-Mod it!

in other words, give it everything Ford should have given it from the factory. Like a nice rear end ratio, 31's, a better tranny filter, a hi-po alternator, aux lights, etc. etc.

 

[Jason94sport]

Time & $...that's what a restore is with this thing. Your looking at a lot of $ & time to restore a 1st gen. You also looking at tracking down parts. There are some parts you can get new & you still have to make them fit right & then there are parts you can only find used as they are no longer made.

 

[92exp4x4]

Resto-Mod it!

in other words, give it everything Ford should have given it from the factory. Like a nice rear end ratio, 31's, a better tranny filter, a hi-po alternator, aux lights, etc. etc.

They should have had the 5.0 from the start...

 

[Josh P]

3.5L ecoboost would be a good starting point to build the explorer around.

 

[92exp4x4]

3.5L ecoboost would be a good starting point to build the explorer around.

That would be wicked and a perfect engine for an ex. It would kinda kill the simplicity though. I'd rather just have a mild pushrod V8, I like the sound of them anyhow.

 

[Nathan Brenner]

Hello all,

I have a beat to hell daily driver Year 1 Explorer. I'm weighing the pros and cons of restoring over customizing. I know you folks are into restoration or keeping as stock so instead of asking you all if I should restore because the response may be understandably biased I'd like to hear why you would not reccomend that I restore. I ask this because there has to be a reason other than I suppose the prestige of preservation so I want to understand why it might be a bad idea to do so.

Thanks,

Thanks for the responses everyone. I will get to individual replies soon.