CG's Ex in the McNeil Racing Bat Cave

I'm moving on to the next set of mods. Most of this stuff has been planned since last year & I'm just now getting everything installed. As you can see, I'm taking off all my Chrome Queen stuff & getting real rock sliders and custom bumpers, with a winch up front and a swing out tire carrier in the back. I'm also installing lockers and new gears (finally ) I'm changing to SOA in the back and adding lots of skid plate protection underneath!

All the work is being done at the McNeil Racing shop down here in TJ. This is a really cool place to hang out if you like pre-runners!

More pics

...

Mmmmmmm...winch :smoke: From that list of mods, sounds like your truck is going to be COMPLETELY different than before. What size tires do you plan to run now that you'll be SOA? Also, what size Mile Marker winch is that(I'm guessing 9k)?

bmxking5 said:

Mmmmmmm...winch :smoke: From that list of mods, sounds like your truck is going to be COMPLETELY different than before. What size tires do you plan to run now that you'll be SOA? Also, what size Mile Marker winch is that(I'm guessing 9k)?

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm trying to take it as far as I can for now. Then the plan is to wheel it for the next couple years & see if I lean more to rock crawling or desert running, then tailor the next build up towards that.


I'm staying with 33's for now. We're taking out the overload springs and shortening the shackles and moving some stuff around to lower the ride a bit. The shocks are going on the outside of the frame & will mount towards the back on the frame. Perry Sr. has set up a couple Ex's this way & they seem to work good...

The winch is the 9,000E

Everything is just tacked in place now to check fitting & stuff. The KC lights in front will end up inside the uprights. We've already cut off the wrap around parts of the front bumber and are making new ones that fit better up with the body lift..

CG said:

All the work is being done at the McNeil Racing shop down here in TJ. This is a really cool place to hang out if you like pre-runners!

Click to expand...

They rebuilt my truck after I totalled it at moab. :roll: I never got to see the shop, though, so I'm diggin the pics!

RangerX said:

They rebuilt my truck after I totalled it at moab. :roll: I never got to see the shop, though, so I'm diggin the pics!

Click to expand...

Seems they do a lot of rebulding here The yellow Ex is on it's way back down after rolling last weekend...

I didn't know your Explorer was so dope! What are you going to be doing in the front to compete with the SOA?

That place is linded wall to wall with vehicles. How do they have room to work? Looks like they do some amazing work in there though.

Looks good CG! Can't wait to see you out there more now


also can you get more pics of the rear shock mounts. I thought about doing the same thing, I just not sure about the flex

Thanks guys!

I'll get some more pics as we get everything mounted. I have to pick up some inch & a half wheel spacers for the rear to make it work. I was worried about it looking like a shopping cart, leaving just the TT in front but they work some magic in the mounting to compensate for the SOA & lower the rear a bit.

I just had the wind taken out of my sails a little. seems my wife's 95 needs a tranny rebuild & we all know how much fun that can be

Here’s a pic of her 95. These rims were on my 99 when I got it; she was surprised when I gave them to her. I just told her it was because I love her SO much! (she had no idea of my evil plans for mine )

Looks like a prerunner chop shop down there That's pretty cool though CG that you are doing a lot of your mods at once. So I guess we'll be seeing you at lot more of the Truckhaven runs huh?

I'd question them on taking out the overload leafs on your springs because I've tried that before on my springs and put a nice S bend in them. They did ride nice and flexed good for a short time...lol. I'd put in 1 or 2 thinner leaves to make up the difference of the overloads and still get the ride and flex you are looking for.

DB_1 said:

Looks like a prerunner chop shop down there That's pretty cool though CG that you are doing a lot of your mods at once. So I guess we'll be seeing you at lot more of the Truckhaven runs huh?

I'd question them on taking out the overload leafs on your springs because I've tried that before on my springs and put a nice S bend in them. They did ride nice and flexed good for a short time...lol. I'd put in 1 or 2 thinner leaves to make up the difference of the overloads and still get the ride and flex you are looking for.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I am doing a lot at once I had so much stuff stacked up around here I was thinking of opening my own 4x4 shop.

I look forward to going on more runs, my problem is that I'm usually up in LA for 3-4 days during the week then down here with the family the rest of the time. Scheduling a weekend away means I don't see them for a week, so I don't do it too often. We get in a lot of great wheeling down here in Baja, which is why I love the Explorer cause it can haul the whole family and tents & all, & still wheel hard when the time comes

I have an add a leaf in there now, that will stay if it looks right. (not too high)

Chris,

Nice truck! And, thanks for posting all of the pictures. When you get the SOA/Outboard shocks done, post pics of those was well, I'm curious to see/hear how that works and your impressions. While you're at it, why don't you ask them about a four link set-up ?

Dave.

Bronco638 said:

Chris,

Nice truck! And, thanks for posting all of the pictures. When you get the SOA/Outboard shocks done, post pics of those was well, I'm curious to see/hear how that works and your impressions. While you're at it, why don't you ask them about a four link set-up ?

Dave.

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Like my good buddy Poop Daddy or P.Piddle or whatever, says, “It’s all about the Benjamin’s”

Believe me, I'd love to go to coil-over all the way around, especially since I've already got all the parts to do a solid axle up front with either a Dana 44 or a Dana 60, I've got both axles and everything needed sitting here... (Ford trucks are very popular down here & the junk yards are full of Dana's for cheap).

But, since most of the stuff I'm doing now has been planned since last year & since I already bought all the parts & had the body lift installed, I decided to stay on plan, even though, if I was starting out today, I wouldn't stick with the ifs front. Now that I think about it, if I was starting out today & wanted a rock rig, I'd start with something that came stock with a solid axle up front...

Another problem is, with all the mounts for the bumpers and rock sliders and rear shock hoops being tailored to the BL & welded to the frame, I've kind of painted myself into a corner. If & when I do the SAS I'm going to have to cut all this stuff off to take out the body lift, so I want to leave it like it is for a while anyways

Even the rear setup is kind of a flyer; I had the shock skid plates & was talking to Perry Sr. about how the shocks, being mounted so low like that, drag a lot of rocks around. We talked about putting on the skid plates, then about mounting the shocks to the unused sway bar mounts, then he suggested this set up & I said OK. I knew that I would eventually go to a SOA anyway, I'm just concerned about it being too high in the back, but there are a lot of options still open.

So, unless I change mind again (like I do every 10 minutes) I’m going to run it like this for a few years & plan for the next build up. What I’m going for is kind of an African Safari, Land Cruiser type rig like they used to run on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom , I just like loading up the family & all our stuff & heading out for an adventure. 80% of the wheeling I do is out in the desert and beaches of Baja, but not fast like pre-running, just exploring. So for now most of the work I’m doing is so we won’t get stuck, but I’ll throw in some trips to Moab or the Rubicon if I get a chance.

Here are some shots of the mounts:

More of the back, the wheel spacers will kick the tires out another 1 1/2"

Another spur of the moment change is that I had a rear tire mount bumper made & didn't like it. It's OK just not really what I wanted. (I'll sell it for $100 plus shipping if anyone wants it) I found one of the old group buy bumpers & put that on instead. Here is the old bumper & the new one being fitted.

Here's some of the front end ripped apart for the gears & locker going in...

Looking really good CG.
I too am going SOA hopefully in the next couple months.
So how much lift did your SOA give you? Are those stock springs? And which locker did you go with?

CG, can you tell me more about the bumper. Interested! I call dibs. That looks like Mad Mikes rear bumper! I wanted that one but it appers so one snagged it up!