The rig gets some much needed TLC | Page 8 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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The rig gets some much needed TLC

Josh S - rear glass, suspension, manual tcase

Hey guys I'm back! Well it's been a while since I've done anything major to my truck and it's high time! For starters, I've been running off of one shock in the rear forever and the shock will bottom out if I hit too hard. It was just a thrown together setup cuz I got some free 5150's so I slapped em on.

Anyways, it now has 1.5" per side widened beams up front with rigid bumpstops, kings, eibach coils still. The front end hangs pretty good right now minus the jacked alignment, but that's alright for now cuz I haven't been driving much.

The imminent plans include:
1) Cleaning up the rear fender hackage, round the corners and trim up the body straight so it looks cleaner, then maybe wrap the edges into the wheelwell.

2) mount the rear fiberglass quarter panels. These will be ordered in the next few days from Fiberwerx. I have the mounts already for the fenders, courtesy of Camburg. These are preferable and less of a PITA that dzus fasteners, and I like the look too.
Fenderwasherkit.jpg


3)finish rear suspension. This will involve the most work. after a lot of thought over the past year or two(while not having any spare $$), I have decided to keep the shocks under the bed instead of coming up through the floor. I have been in Sirhk100's old X that was set up this way and it hung hard enough for what I plan on doing. I just would like to bomb around the desert mildly(not fullon race speeds) with a bit of jumping in the mix, with also doing trails of course.

Having Kings up front I would like to stick with em, and also match them with 2.5s. I'm having trouble finding some used right now so they may have to be ordered new :( I'm estimating that I will need around a 10" stroke, but cycling will tell the truth.

I will disassemble the Deaver leaf pack that is on there currently, and just have the main leaf to cycle the suspension, and get some rough measurements off of an "imaginary" upper mount, then I will know the right length to get. A crossmember will need to be fabbed for the shocks to mount to, as well as some of the stock spare tire mount cut off. gooood, my sawzall is getting a bit of dust settling on it :D

in this same time I will mount my Radflo 2" stroke hydro bumps in the cans I just picked up from Camburg. These will be nice for the harder hits in the whoops or on dropoffs or mild jumps. The short stroke and bodies of these custom bumps work great for mounting under our explorers and fitting underneath the floor. After this is complete I will measure for and order some limit straps to keep my leaf pack and shocks together at droop.

While this doesn't sound like a whole lot, it's going to be a lot of work for me but I know it is going to be awesome!

One more current event lol...I ordered a manual t-case from a guy that will be waiting for me when I get back to Chico. Just need to track down some linkage and a shifter and I'll toss that baby in to get rid of these darn shift motor blues :rolleyes:

I'm down in OC right now and won't be back up home to the truck in chico for another week or so, so not really any pics of the stuff...but you can count on this thread having mad amounts of pics once the work starts!!!
 



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The arms look sweet Josh! Keep taking pics for us. The board has been pretty slow lately. We "EF" guys are into anything that is getting built. :D Build a cage around your CRF50 and we'll be interested!
 



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The arms look sweet Josh! Keep taking pics for us. The board has been pretty slow lately. We "EF" guys are into anything that is getting built. :D Build a cage around your CRF50 and we'll be interested!

Haha right on man. I owe a lot to this board, it's where I used to live and where I learned how to take care of and mod my explorer:)

Mike I may be working on and off this week but school is going to be a bit hectic with teachers cramming in midterms right before spring break. This weekend tho I will be fabbing:chug:
 












Nope, my place give me a call. My borrowed bender is being stolen back for a week so I might not be able to get too far, gonna head up to the oregon dunes next week and get some riding in and some steelhead fishing too:D I'll post an update hopefully soon.
 






Plateage and start of engine cage
IMGP2473.jpg


Had to get creative with the funky frame on the driver's side
IMGP2470.jpg


Gussets on the motor crossmember so hopefully she won't bend next time
IMGP2485.jpg


305 swap on my buddy's yota is going pretty good
IMGP2479.jpg


Question about 9" swap...Am i going to need to swap in a different master cylinder and/or brake booster to switch from 8.8/drum to 9/disc? I'd hate to design my cage around my current stuff then have things not fit up if I have to throw in a different master down the road. I need to do some research but if someone knows off the top of their head that would be great.
 






I don't think you will need a different master. You will have to be able to adjust the rear brakes though when you switch to the disks. I think I heard you can do this with the adjustment on the plunger in the master cylinder. If not a portioning valve. Just some ideas.
 






I got one side of the shock hoops pretty well done, still want to do some gusseting tho. It will tie into the cab cage and have a cross-bar or two down the road as well.
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P5110012.jpg
 






nice work Josh, so did your inner fenders have a date with the saw-zall? I was eyeing mine up wondering the same thing. I've got a set of 37s I'd love to squeeze in there. You got glass fenders that are going right over the top?
 






Thanks man! Yah I chopped all that out last fall, it's much easier to work on now:D I will either have a piece of angle-iron or square tube connecting the back piece to the core support, then the fender and electronics tied to that, as well as some support from the shock hoops cuz they stick out a bit. I do plan on just bolting to the core support though and not welding so it can be removable to pull the engine straight out of the front when it is replaced.:thumbsup:
 












Looks like you could use some front fiberglass fenders? If so I have a pair for sale.

And the rig is looking good!!!!
 






Looks like you could use some front fiberglass fenders? If so I have a pair for sale.

And the rig is looking good!!!!

Already have some but thanks:D
 






now that is air conditioning! A big ol hole in the firewall! Caution, AC from vents may include rocks!!!

LOL

trucks come a long way Josh looks real nice, nice fab work...
those shock towers look HUGE but will be nice once everything is tied in with more tubes.....
 






haha thanks man. They had to be pretty tall to fit the 12" shock and sneak by the dang master cylinder. I have a non-AC blower from the junkyard that I'm gonna throw there so I can keep my heater. I got the passenger side all gusseted and the bumpcan welded on. No fab over the weekend cuz I was at the Rubicon with some friends, and none next weekend cuz I'm moving to washington on friday:eek: I'll update as soon as I can;)
 






Dang where have i been. I have missed this the whole time. Just trying to catch up with your build now. Looks Great!!!
 






Little Update

Thanks Burns! I guess the title of the thread isn't too exciting...

Ok I packed up my whole operation after graduation and moved to Washington. It's pretty ####in awesome up here so far. The area is totally different than what I'm used to, but I'm really diggin living out at our "shop with a house on top of it" in the forest.

Leaving Chico...
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That Budget truck was super sketch going through the mountain passes in Oregon. The brakes heated up like hell and the whole truck was shaking violently every time I hit the brakes!! Needless to say I was happy once we got on flatter ground towards the washington border.

I guess the truck isn't really a driveway explorer anymore, it's in the new shop now!!!
P6100341.jpg


Here is my buddy taking a break from the shop to help burn all my moving boxes. This is 30 feet from the shop doors so you get a feel for how rustic this place is compared to the real OC
P6110344.jpg


I pulled my drivetrain yesterday, and as soon as we take the ferry across to Seattle(yes you drive your truck onto a ferry to go across the water) to Harbor Freight and get a engine hoist, the old clapped out 4.0 is getting ****canned to make room for a carbed 350.

I got the passenger bump in today. I haven't started working yet so i can't buy a welder and bender, but as soon as July hits the **** is gonna hit the fan, in a good way!!:D
P6120008.jpg


This thing is gonna charge!!!
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Dude.. my mom lives 25 miles from you up in Kingston. I ride that ferry all the time. :p:


Sick ass shop!!!! :cool:
 






I bet you ride the fairy all the time for all I know, haven't heard from you in days Johnny!! My roomie works in Kingston at a real nice golfcourse. Come on up to visit your mama and take a slight detour to my place! We have an offroading paradise 15 minutes away!! I'm taking the ferry over to Seattle to catch a Mariners game tomorrow. Seriously man come up when you get a chance, we'd love to have ya!:):D
 






wow that is quite a change for you Josh, So Cal and Washington couldnt be more different. Your Ex is going to get alot of looks up that way too!!!
Enjoy the thick vegitation

Is a carbed 350 legal in WA???????????????

Why not TBI?
Glad you made it safe......
 



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Chico does weird things to OC folk. All of my friends that have gone up there (for school) from here, end up leaving and wearing wranglers and **** kickers... wtf? :D

Glad you made it up there with no problems. Now your 13 hr. drive to Truckhaven just doubled!! :)
 






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