Government Issue
Member
- Joined
- April 4, 2011
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- PA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '98 Sport
Hey guys! After much procrastination I figured I would finally make a registry after much of the heavy lifting is finally done!
This is my 1998 Ford Explorer Sport and in the short time I have had it it sure has gotten me through a whole helluva lot!
Here is a picture with my truck next to my brother's cruiser.
Let me start with some basic background; I am an 18 year old high school senior. I go to a vocational school for automotive simply just as a way to get out of regular school, not as something I plan on doing for a living. I come from a law enforcement background; everyone in my family is a cop! I will be going to school to do the same thing in the near future.
This is a picture of my first truck I got when I was 16; a 2002 Chevy S10. I loved this thing to death! But it sure did fight me, every day I felt like something else would go wrong. The truck just was not practical; my girlfriend always gets me to adventure with her and we could not take this anywhere!
So I sold that truck for $5400 to a guy in Kansas (yes he traveled all the way up to Pennsylvania for it!). This truck sold in mid February 2011.
So onto the search for a new vehicle! I wanted a V8, Manual Transmission, Pick-up truck. After much searching; this was not practical they were all too pricey. Then this gem came up. 1998 Ford Explorer Sport 4.0 OHV V6 Manual Transmission and 109,000 miles. All that for only $2200! I could not pass up that deal; I bought it the next day.
This is the day I brought it home (well.. had someone else drive it home, I had never driven a stick before)
I came into this truck knowing that it was a Jersey Shore truck; salt water had eaten it most of its life. It needed a new steering rack and a right front brake caliper. That's all it needed in its first stage in its life! Well.. all it needed mechanically, ha!
This truck was ugly as anything; something had to be done! Lucky for me I had a perfect starting point, this truck had never been in one accident! Score!
All nice and clean and say goodbye to those sideboards:
Love how it rains right after I wash anything:
The interior was quite disgusting, I am still cleaning it! The previous owner was a plumber who just didn't give a care in the world for keeping it clean. So out came the handy-dandy Green Machine.
(pictures are probably out of order; I seem to have lost some as well)
I cleaned up the engine bay as well:
Here is a picture outside my bedroom window of my 98' sport to the right and my brother's 97' sport to the left.
Fast forward a month or so into about April or May; the first big purchase! I got rid of all those ugly wheels and mismatched and plugged tires:
This picture was taken seconds after I through these wheels and tires on. The wheels are Cragar Soft 8's and the tires are Firestone Destination A/T 30 x 9.5. I couldn't love this combination any more!
Fast forward another month or so and comes the second big purchase; a Setina Push Bar. I had no interest in the cheap brush guards; I wanted the real thing! This bar set me back about $300 but it is nothing but quality.
Here is one in progress shot:
It was pretty simple to get on after you get past putting things on upside down, sideways, crooked and everything else!
Here it is in the parking lot minutes after we finished everything up.
On our trip to Six Flag's Safari this occurred:
EDIT: PLEASE STAND BY IMAGESHACK DECIDED TO BE DIFFICULT
This is my 1998 Ford Explorer Sport and in the short time I have had it it sure has gotten me through a whole helluva lot!
Here is a picture with my truck next to my brother's cruiser.
Let me start with some basic background; I am an 18 year old high school senior. I go to a vocational school for automotive simply just as a way to get out of regular school, not as something I plan on doing for a living. I come from a law enforcement background; everyone in my family is a cop! I will be going to school to do the same thing in the near future.
This is a picture of my first truck I got when I was 16; a 2002 Chevy S10. I loved this thing to death! But it sure did fight me, every day I felt like something else would go wrong. The truck just was not practical; my girlfriend always gets me to adventure with her and we could not take this anywhere!
So I sold that truck for $5400 to a guy in Kansas (yes he traveled all the way up to Pennsylvania for it!). This truck sold in mid February 2011.
So onto the search for a new vehicle! I wanted a V8, Manual Transmission, Pick-up truck. After much searching; this was not practical they were all too pricey. Then this gem came up. 1998 Ford Explorer Sport 4.0 OHV V6 Manual Transmission and 109,000 miles. All that for only $2200! I could not pass up that deal; I bought it the next day.
This is the day I brought it home (well.. had someone else drive it home, I had never driven a stick before)
I came into this truck knowing that it was a Jersey Shore truck; salt water had eaten it most of its life. It needed a new steering rack and a right front brake caliper. That's all it needed in its first stage in its life! Well.. all it needed mechanically, ha!
This truck was ugly as anything; something had to be done! Lucky for me I had a perfect starting point, this truck had never been in one accident! Score!
All nice and clean and say goodbye to those sideboards:
Love how it rains right after I wash anything:
The interior was quite disgusting, I am still cleaning it! The previous owner was a plumber who just didn't give a care in the world for keeping it clean. So out came the handy-dandy Green Machine.
(pictures are probably out of order; I seem to have lost some as well)
I cleaned up the engine bay as well:
Here is a picture outside my bedroom window of my 98' sport to the right and my brother's 97' sport to the left.
Fast forward a month or so into about April or May; the first big purchase! I got rid of all those ugly wheels and mismatched and plugged tires:
This picture was taken seconds after I through these wheels and tires on. The wheels are Cragar Soft 8's and the tires are Firestone Destination A/T 30 x 9.5. I couldn't love this combination any more!
Fast forward another month or so and comes the second big purchase; a Setina Push Bar. I had no interest in the cheap brush guards; I wanted the real thing! This bar set me back about $300 but it is nothing but quality.
Here is one in progress shot:
It was pretty simple to get on after you get past putting things on upside down, sideways, crooked and everything else!
Here it is in the parking lot minutes after we finished everything up.
On our trip to Six Flag's Safari this occurred:
EDIT: PLEASE STAND BY IMAGESHACK DECIDED TO BE DIFFICULT
