Completed Project TTB Terror build

[Explorer23]

The time has come! After being a proud explorer owner for a year and half I have decided to start my build thread from the beginning. It all started back in spring of 08 when my best friend's sister blew up the transmission in the family's 92 explorer. After finding this site I learned more about the transmission issues but it was the front suspension that had me hooked.

12in of travel with stock components. Sign me up! So as time went on and it sat and sat i decided to look elsewhere for my "dream explorer" but it had to be a 1st ten. Finally after getting my first non seasonal job in 2012 I bought a 94 explorer. It had a rusted fuel pump, was leaking gas, and taught me a lot of valuable lessons.

The day I got it:

I wasted no time gutting the carpet and interior:

with this being my first lifted vehicle I was surprised by the ride height
Here it is next to my stock 5lug tacoma:

Lopped off the rear wheel section, my first time using an angle grinder, also in this photo you can see the 3in body lift and SOA rear. Unknown front lift.

2in more lift and I could have parked under there:

started removing front end body work for rust repair:

Dont have any pictures, but during this time I wire wheeled the entire frame and painted the under body... more on that later though

also painted interior cause I loooove tractor paint haha

what was left of the shackles:

My 2 trucks, this was my first time DRIVING the explorer:

 

[Explorer23]

Well after getting it to that point my friend was back in town to visit and I was eager to show him what my new toy can do. Of course I pushed it a little too hard and a hasty brake repair came back to bite me.

I hit a tree at low speed, tire took most the brunt but it did mess it up pretty good. So with this new turn of events I decided to take off the remaining body work and start doing some basic body mods. I took the stock hood off and decided to gut it to save weight. I kinda stole the idea from rookie shooter but his build thread was a huge inspiration for my build.
Stock:

And skinned, lost about 10 lbs if I recall and it should let a little more hot air out:

After doing a couple more little odds and ends I got it back running and moved it from its winter hibernation. Thats when things went really far south with this truck. I noticed that the body where I hadn't painted was rustier than before. Not bare metal but fresh rust through stock paint. No big deal right? Angle grinders fix all! Off I went. Amazed by the tenacity of the metal coating ford puts on their vehicles it was taking 15min to do a 6in square. So I moved to the rusty channel just below the drivers feet. The rust fell right off but as soon as I made it to the last 3 inches BOOM my wire wheel caught an edge and grabbed my wrist in the process.


PHOTO:

 

[Explorer23]

I'm not one to throw tools but I had had it with the amount of little stuff breaking off of this truck due to corrosion. I broke 3 seat studs, numerous brake fittings in my hasty repair, plenty of fender bolts to get the valence off the front and too many other little odds and ends to even count. Just FRUSTRATING STUFF . So I did as I had many nights, drove down the road a mile to where the explorer that started it all had been parked for 8 years, FOR SALE with no takers. I crawled under as I have many times before. The rockers were bad, doors beginning to rust, and if the floorboards were as bad as my explorer at home i was buying a JEEP! :noon: Well to my amazement they were spotless. Matter of fact the whole underbody was immaculate compared to what I had spent the last year playing with.

Out with the old (floor board under driver's feet)

In with the new:

It was settled I called about it after a few days and was ready to pay the 1,000 dollar asking price despite the fact it only had reverse and sat for 8 years at this point. After a little phone tag we set up a meeting and a price. It was considerably less than I offered but about on par with what it was worth. One saturday I headed over dug it out and got it home. It wouldn't start from where it was sitting so we cleaned it off/out and towed it behind his truck to my house. I was just hoping the brakes held given the condition but it was nice getting to drive my new ex on the road... even if I had to stare at the a$$ end of a dodge

The grave:

How far it had sunken:

After getting it home:

And finally the TTBeast looks at the new TTB Terror in disgust, as it knows its days are limited... :exp::roll:

 

[jprentice94]

That looks like a pretty nice ex for cheep

 

[Explorer23]

What now?

After replacing the starter solenoid, battery, gas, and oil it fired right up. I popped it into 1st for giggles and to my amazement it moved. If I had a new solenoid I could have probably driven it home! It was supposed to only have reverse when I bought it. It was apparent from the beginning that the previous owner had taken care of this truck. I've known him most my life but each service item I checked before start up had the date and mileage of when it had been replaced. The size of wrench for the oil plug was written on the radiator support. It seemed as though working on this truck was already MUCH easier. When I took off the fenders i didnt break any bolts, same with the headlights and hood.so far everything has gone smoother, and I hope to keep it that way.

So far this has been a lot of recap and not a lot of progress, well thats why I bit the bullet and started a build thread. If I know people can see my progress I'll be a lot more motivated to keep moving. Plus now that I know what truck I'm starting with I can start dumping the money into it. so whats the end goal you ask. I would like to build a "dual sport" trail rig. Legal enough to get you there, strong enough to have fun, and the RELIABILITY to get you back. I have dabbled in suspension design for a year or 2 and other than that a lot of my knowledge from vehicles comes from here, and a life long love of monster trucks. Which I'm sure will show in my build.

PLANS:
Engine
basic rebuild with new heads, headers, 422 (undecided) cam.

Transmission
Get rebuilt at shop using the transmissioncenter.org #k15 upgrade kit (any feedback?)

Suspension
Cut and turn by BTF with FOA coil overs tied into engine cage, and rear soa until I get a little more seat time off road. not sure if Ill lean more toward go fast or crawling but the rear is still up in the air. Looking into dana44 knuckles up front as well.

Chassis:
Full interior cage tied into a minimalistic exo cage trying to keep a prerunner appearance but there are too many trees in the midwest.

I'm always up for constructive criticism in my build and any real world experience is always welcome. I know the progress may be slower than a lot of other builds but I'm a younger guy (21) and working 60 hour weeks usually. In spite of that I want to keep updates at least weekly. This winter is when I plan to pull the transmission and get that rebuilt. My goal is before the snow falls, but realistically if I can get it ready to go in before spring I will be in good shape. So without further a due prepare for weekly updates!

 

[Explorer23]

Thanks! It is, considering I live in the rust belt. I haven't seen a better one in person since I got it.

 

[Explorer23]

What now?

After replacing the starter solenoid, battery, gas, and oil it fired right up. I popped it into 1st for giggles and to my amazement it moved. If I had a new solenoid I could have probably driven it home! It was supposed to only have reverse when I bought it. It was apparent from the beginning that the previous owner had taken care of this truck. I've known him most my life but each service item I checked before start up had the date and mileage of when it had been replaced. The size of wrench for the oil plug was written on the radiator support. It seemed as though working on this truck was already MUCH easier. When I took off the fenders i didnt break any bolts, same with the headlights and hood.so far everything has gone smoother, and I hope to keep it that way.

So far this has been a lot of recap and not a lot of progress, well thats why I bit the bullet and started a build thread. If I know people can see my progress I'll be a lot more motivated to keep moving. Plus now that I know what truck I'm starting with I can start dumping the money into it. so whats the end goal you ask. I would like to build a "dual sport" trail rig. Legal enough to get you there, strong enough to have fun, and the RELIABILITY to get you back. I have dabbled in suspension design for a year or 2 and other than that a lot of my knowledge from vehicles comes from here, and a life long love of monster trucks. Which I'm sure will show in my build.

PLANS:
Engine
basic rebuild with new heads, headers, 422 (undecided) cam.

Transmission
Get rebuilt at shop using the transmissioncenter.org #k15 upgrade kit (any feedback?)

Suspension
Cut and turn by BTF with FOA coil overs tied into engine cage, and rear soa until I get a little more seat time off road. not sure if Ill lean more toward go fast or crawling but the rear is still up in the air. Looking into dana44 knuckles up front as well.

Chassis:
Full interior cage tied into a minimalistic exo cage trying to keep a prerunner appearance but there are too many trees in the midwest.

I'm always up for constructive criticism in my build and any real world experience is always welcome. I know the progress may be slower than a lot of other builds but I'm a younger guy (21) and working 60 hour weeks usually. In spite of that I want to keep updates at least weekly. This winter is when I plan to pull the transmission and get that rebuilt. My goal is before the snow falls, but realistically if I can get it ready to go in before spring I will be in good shape. So without further a due prepare for weekly updates!

 

[jprentice94]

It will be fun to watch me i like to play in mud and crawl and its a great idea you got a parts truck how theinterior

 

[Explorer23]

The interior is in amazing shape, especially knowing three kids were brought up in that car. Other than some dirt, the arm rest being broken (front bench) and a door lock missing (that may have been me when I was 13) its perfect. I even camped in it a few times this last summer.

 

[jprentice94]

If you have all the door handles lol its a winner

 

[Explorer23]

Both trucks do actually but I am in search of the rear vent window track. Both are badly rusted. I was thinking about lexan windows but I want at least one set of functioning doors.

 

[jprentice94]

Wow my ex had no handles i decided to use 2nd gen panels. Are they to bad to save

 

[Explorer23]

The ones on the green "TTBeast" yes the rubber actually peeled away. On the tan terror they are both crunchy with rust under the stripping. I emailed a body shop a few days ago to see if they could source or fabricate me some but no reply yet. I heard they run upwards of $300 but I saw some pretty cheap on ebay. If I'm correct 2nd gen windows fit as well but 97+ the windows have a different tint. I only need the stripping so maybe I could just buy the newer 01 vents and use only the stripping? I'm not sure but I'm waiting for a reply from the body shop.

 

[jprentice94]

Try a salvage yard

 

[Explorer23]

Thought about that but I assume they are all as bad as the ones I have. If I buy off eBay or similar I can buy some from out west, hopefully in better shape.

 

[jprentice94]

Ya

 

[Explorer23]

Well this weekend looks like a bust explorer wise, I was finishing up a golf cart lift that is taking up time and space in my garage. Planned on going to the junkyard as well to pick up a "winter project" but that'll have to be next weekend's update.

 

[jprentice94]

Gotta post a pic of golf cart lol

 

[Explorer23]

Oh I will when I'm done, I just got the lift blocks mocked up, welding them tomorrow and finishing the welds on the bumper tomorrow or Tuesday. I'll be sure to post before and afters.

 

[2stroke]

I'm laughing my ass off reading this. My truck was about that rusty... 5-10 years ago. The underside of the "beast" looks clean if you ask me. You still have your rocker panels, that's more than I can say. One thing you might want to look into (I wish mine was worth doing it to) doing a 5 speed standard transmission swap.