01 STrunner's Sport Trac

[01STrunner]

My name is Patrick and now that I've finally done some work I'll start a registry to keep track of where it's been and where it's going. I'll try to organize it chronologically as best I can.

Warning: Lots of pictures

I (with the help of my parents) bought my truck when I got my learner's permit in June of 2008 with 70,000 miles on it. The truck was in really great shape.

Some quick stats:
2001 Explorer Sport Trac in Teal (yeah yeah it's a girl color)
4X4
4.10 Gears
Trailer Hitch
Bed Extender
Extang Soft snap-on bed cover
Window Rain Guards
Uniroyal Laredos (they were considered a/t's but were more of road tires)

Here she is the day we brought her home



And of course it had to be approved by our skilled research team



The first thing I did to it was add a little ford emblem over the door badging. This pic is pretty recent but the best closeup I have of it. And when you're 15 stickers are still fricken sweet haha.



Another pic after a nice bath and detailing



My backyard; well sorta. Shenandoah National Forest is about 20 or 30 min away. I really like the view



This is a mountain bike park my buddies and I hit up a lot. The sun was at a cool angle so I snapped a quick picture.



Next thing (About a year and a half later) was a new set of shoes as beach driving was in the very near future and I needed a tire I wouldn't get stuck with. Got a set of Hercules Terra Trac A/T's in the stock size yet again. Before the beach trip I added a CB since we were traveling with RV's as a little group to OBX. That was just mounted on the passenger side of the console and the antenna was run under the carpet to the magnet mount antenna on the roof.

And the best way to go to the beach:





After the beach trip I decided I needed a little extra light in the back for hooking up trailers and just for more light whenever I wanted. Or to tell someone behind me to shut their damn high beams off. So I went down to Autozone and for $20 picked up a cheap pair of 3X5 Pilot Aux lights and hooked them up to a switch that I put down on the side of the console.



Also that was after a little fun with friends in an old park I found near my high school. Also from this next pic you can see how worn out the old shocks are. They were creaking over every little bump. Ended up having a local shop replace all 4 - Monroe Sensa-Tracs on the front and Monroe air adjustable shocks in the rear so it could be leveled out under heavy loads.



Heres a somewhat side shot with the new shock. Easily an inch or 2 higher. Before I learned mud was the devil...



A pic of the air shocks getting a workout. The setup is about 6000-6500 lbs. - Little overloaded but at the time it was our only choice for a tow vehicle since we got rid of our 3/4 ton with the 8.1 liter Vortec. Truck did fine the temp gauge didn't even rise but she didn't like overdrive at all.



My friends and I are big into snowboarding. Since the bed is so small, had to put the board up on the roof. So a Yakima rack was added on top.

That sunbleached gray cladding just wasn't cutting it anymore and I started to see guys on here that painted theirs black and I loved the way it looked. After researching a little I found Krylon Fusion to be the main paint everyone used. Got a few cans and started the project.




And After:




For a year and a half the truck really didn't change. I was too busy with school, sports and helping remodel the entire house to really think about it.

I then got into Clemson University and joined the Offroad club. There was already a sport trace in it!! although it was stock. But hey 2's better than 1.
We took a couple trips but I've really only got pictures from Uwharrie Nat'l Forest just outside Charlotte.





Decided while I was there to get my wheels repainted dirt brown. Still haven't learned my lesson about mud



I went to the wrong state to want college and coming home to VA only gave me a little hope before our annual trip to Snowshoe WV. And yes we're dumb enough to men bike in a couple inches of snow.



Back at school I was starting to go crazy not bing able to do work on my truck after looking over projects on here all winter. I got a small fix when Offtrac said there was a guy selling a brush guard which I had been looking for. He also threw in some clear corner lamps for nothin!



Finally finals week was done and I could start working on the TT/Shackle Lift

Heres a picture of it before the lift:



I was experimenting with the front bumper and was too lazy to put it back on for the picture.


Like Lono I put the jack stands on the frame right in front of the wheel wells and used the bottle jack to push the leaf springs down so i could put the bolts in.





With the shackles only: the stupid bolt killed what daylight I had left so the torsion keys had to wait for the next day.




After the TT so its all done! And now the cladding is off to be painted minus the front bumper. I wanted to see what it looked like.







Finally looking like a truck

After that the body lift was next:



TT/Shackles:



And after body lift:







There wasn't a terrible amount of trimming to do. Still waiting to see how it all flexes out. It took me long enough. After 4 years of owning the Trac and almost 60,000 miles later its barely the same as when I bought it home from the dealer. It took about 2 and a half years before I even started looking to do anything. I really have to thank everyone on here for their help and guidance. Now she sits high but there's always room for improvement and I'll update as I go along.

[Sams01XplrSprt]

nice x do u got aim or yahoo messanger

[2TimingTom]

Originally Posted by 01STrunner

And when you're 15 stickers are still fricken sweet haha.

At over twice that age, I still love stickers. I just try to keep them on things like my trash can, my toolbox, my speaker boxes (in the garage) and my Thule cargo box. I went through a phase of putting stickers on my car though..... and I was older than 15.....

[01STrunner]

I guess you could say I still love em. I've got 3 just for Clemson haha

[01STrunner]

Speaking of stickers, I got some 4x4 off road sticker off amazon. The red matches the tail lights perfectly and stands out on the paint. I plan on putting small lettering on the side of the power dome on the hood that says sport trace also in red. I figure a little red mixed in with the black can't hurt.

[01STrunner]

Got replacement aux lights for the rear. After the body lift, they'll now be protected by the hitch knock on wood. Also installed a real cb antenna. The little roof mount I had was cheap, rusty and got terrible feedback. Pictures to follow. Almost forgot, installed a skid plate on the gas tank too.

[01STrunner]

Went to Shoe Creek with a couple other members this weekend and played in GWNF.

[Pjibs]

Boss

[MidnightRebel07]

Did you kiss a tree? Looks like the brushguard is pushed back on the passenger side just above the mud on the bumper cover.

Looks like you had alot of fun.

[01STrunner]

Thanks guys.

Rebel - I didn't hit a tree or anything its just the angle of the pic. When I first saw the picture I thought the same thing and ran out to check lol.

[01STrunner]

Took a second trip back to Shoe Creek after only a day being back with some friends from high school.







My buddy's Jeep...

[jd4242]

Originally Posted by 01STrunner

Took a second trip back to Shoe Creek after only a day being back with some friends from high school.







My buddy's Jeep...

where was this last pic at?still waiting on Will to upload his picslol

[01STrunner]

Near that huge clearing where you filled up with water. It's right at the peak of the real long hill that Colin went up first.

[01STrunner]

Originally Posted by jd4242

still waiting on Will to upload his picslol

I know he's takin forever lol

[jd4242]

Originally Posted by 01STrunner

Near that huge clearing where you filled up with water. It's right at the peak of the real long hill that Colin went up first.

Dang we needed more time,that's sweet

[01STrunner]

It was cold as hell. After about 30 seconds our feet went numb. But it was worth it! And we found slick rock but didn't have the guts to try it since it was so wet.

[01STrunner]

Hey JD can you pm some info on your exhaust? I'm looking to replace my cats and muffler - similar setup as you. I haven't decided whether I want to go through the troubles of headers or not. Thanks.

[Gse Brent]

Lovin the transition man, can't wait til the weekend. Truck Nats is gonna be fun.

[01STrunner]

Thanks man. I cant wait for Carlisle. Shes even getting special treatment since I'm borrowing a trailer from a friend.

[01STrunner]

Great weekend at Truck Nationals in Carlisle. Lotta sweet trucks there. Also Rausch Creek set up a little offroad playground. Over that weekend I installed some KC long range lights and I'll be putting a set of driving lights on in the near future.