new Blackjack pics

Thanks to Rick and all the moderators who make this such a fantastic site

In case you're slow (or just don't want to read the entire thread) Blackjack was totaled by foreign POS mother #$@%er who didn't know how to yield on November 14, 2007. He rolled into a gas station parking lot and his body was crushed, but he saved my life in the process. In return for that, I've saved everything that I could scavenge so I can save HIS life. He has a CHP 347, rebuilt 4r70w with Baumann shift kit, Ford Racing BD-11 supercharger kit, and a RideTech parallel four link all waiting for installation Here's his original thread post:

Blackjack: Born February 16,1998 in Louisville, Ky. Rescued from Koons Chevy March 20-something, 2000 with 33,333 miles on the Odometer. Couldn't think of any good names and then I heard 'Blackjack' while listening to Brooks and Dunn's Boot Scootin' Boogie. He's been 'Jack' or "f#%^&$ pain in my @$$!" since then. His favorite hobbies are eating money and hunting Blazers, and he enjoys playing pranks (dropping hood on my head, chewing on his power steering rack, mystery squeaks, randomly starting himself up, etc).

All factory options, including 4.0 SOHC, limited slip diff, 4:10 gears, skidplates (on ExplornJ's truck now), sunroof, cass/cd player and changer, leather, blah blah.

Exterior mods:
~Ford Platinum color racing stripes (2 10" stripes, 2" space)
~Ventshades
~Lund Windjammer (painted to match)
~Sport Truck dual fog/driving (SMURF LIGHTS)
~Black Euro III Altezzas w/ cut up slotted tail covers
~20% Tinted Windows all around
~Doetsch Tech Nitro Slammer shocks
~Hella LED sidemarkers
~GT emblem from a 94-98 Mustang
~Explorer Express Rear sway bar
~Truck performance front sway bar bushings
~Diamond clear headlights and corners w/ blue chrome bulbs
~Shortened EB (running board delete option) side skirts

Interior mods:
~Aluminum dash kit by Exotic Wood dash
~Pioneer DEH CD head unit
~Pioneer 6 disk CD changer
~1 pair Pioneer 3ways up front
~1 pair Pioneer 2ways in rear
~2 JL Audio 10w6's in a custom box (replaced with 2 Kicker Vcomp's, thanks for blowing my subs, Meatball :fire: )
~1 Kenwood 729 S amp
~1 pair Pioneer 1" dome tweeters in B pillars
~1 pair Pioneer 3/4" Tweeters in front doors
~Custom MMRUSA "Sport GT" silver/white gauge faces
~Carbon fiber dash bezel
~Cold Cathode Blue neons

Engine mods:
~Valet Remote start/ custom alarm
~KKM
~Flowmaster 50 single straightback
~Taylor Spiro Sparkplug wires

Wheels and tires:
~Foose Nitrous 20x8 and 20x10, grey
~Toyo Proxes 255/50 and 295/45
~1/2" aluminum front spacers w/ extended lugs


The kinda sorta mods:
~lowered approximately 2" via TT and monoleaf block flip
~Brown wire mod, full 2wd hi/low (Yanked the front 4x4 in 2006, the hell with that mod )
~Throttle cable zipties
~Chopped front bumpstops
~Mr. Bat (gave up on replacing blown hood shocks. It's a Das Frem thing, you wouldn't understand)

I run Mobil 1 Synthetic 5w30 and only use Ford filters (Fram ones sometimes knock)

Guestimated 215-220 Horsepower when he was younger, 15.5 seconds 1/4 mile at Cecil County Dragway.

Here's some links to other things I've done with the ol' boy:
Bullitt Rims
Stereo and lights

Truck of the Week, Baby!

Blackjack and Red, my best friend Brennan's rig:

 

[Glen4X4]

Hope ya don't mind Lindsy but here is the top end of blackjacks motor, it is clean! You can tell she took very good care of him.

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

happy decade anny!!!

 

[Spas]

Thanks!

I just re-read this whole thread out of boredom... it's kind of funny, kind of creepy how almost every one of my plans has changed (and keeps changing!) since the accident. No more guesstimating, I'll just post what happens as it happens, lol.

 

[Spas]

I'm very proud his motor is so clean, Glen- of course I'm happy that you posted the picture I'm also happy you're doing the tensioners AND the guides after what happened to Frankenstein! Jack's motor will be good to you, just like it was to me

Besides, all of his Gremlins are apparently in the frame. John moved him around his yard a few times and somehow Jack's axle spun backwards and lost the little monoleaf blocks. Had to throw a wood block in there and tighten the bent U-bolts just to move him to his new storage unit

 

[Glen4X4]

Yup, glad I replaced those because the rear cassette hinge was very lose so who knows how long it would have lasted. Thank you for the great motor .

 

[Spas]

Well, I FINALLY have all of Blackjack's vital components in the same place, under the same roof- for the first time ever Went down to Maryland yesterday to snag my freshly rebuilt 2wd 4r70w (Only put a Baumann shift kit and B&M deep sump aluminum pan on it, I'm told it should hold up just fine, though) and picked up my much-neglected 347 block while I was there. On the way home we stopped to say hello to Micah and pick up my two remaining Fooses. He kindly welded up the better of the two, so now I just need to get 3 out of 4 down to a local repair shop and have them cleaned up Thanks again, Micah! Jack's frame is ready to be worked on, and Frankenstein ate a tensioner guide one day 2 months ago so I'm ready to start me some body work For those that don't know yet, I just found out that I'm 20 weeks pregnant so once again Jack is getting put on the back burner. At least until my little helper is old enough to hand me wrenches I have maybe another month until I'm too fat to do anything, so I plan on getting as much work done as I can!

 

[parli22]

Stop talkabout chris that way as your little helper
just kidding congrads and looks like on big party if and only if I make it to carisle

 

[Spas]

Okay, I used the search button but to no avail... does anyone know of decent aftermarket v8 motor mounts or am I stuck using stock ones? I don't mind trading off a little ride quality in exchange for getting more power down.. within reason of course.

Suggestions?

 

[corkey]

what about a motor plate across the front,

 

[Spas]

It's not a bad idea. Just sucks that I can't find any sweet poly or beefed up mounts for an Explorer, just for umpteen million Mustangs :

 

[corkey]

here is a v8 set for an Ex,

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ADD-713018/

 

[vroomzoomboom]

had to post this up here!



thanks for being a good sport on this one.

oh, and also thanks for not kicking me in the ass for jumping into morgan without asking! i cant remember what even brought that on!

 

[Spas]

3 years ago today. *sigh*


This is the best I've been able to do for the poor guy so far. Life sucks pretty bad right now but I keep hanging in there and still refuse to give up. Someday he'll be whole again.

 

[Doug]

Man, this thread is over 8 years old, where does the time go?

 

[Spas]

Nowhere good for me, lol.

 

[Doug]

Oh Pish Posh, Life always has ups and downs. Move on from the bad memories and remember the good memories. See what you did? You made me say Pish Posh... Am I getting old?

 

[ExplorerSport77]

who the helllllllll says "pish posh" ....nobody! ....move on from ur terrible choice in words.

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

Oh Pish Posh,

Really?

 

[Doug]

What do you want from me?! I've got responsibilities now! I'm a home owner so I've gotta figure out things like flat vs egg shell vs semi gloss paint. I gotta pick tile and the correct grout. I've learned hard lessons like if the hot water fill on the washer was turned off it was for a reason. I found out the hard way it leaked.

So maybe my vocabulary has changed, but really I think it's just funny to hear someone say Pish Posh... Say it.. it rolls off the tongue. Or it's all the fault of the Demon4x4 crew! yeah I'm going with that. Oh yeah, I rule!

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

alright, so theres flat matt egshell and semi... flat is flat, matt is a washable flat, semi is less the gloss, and eggshell falls in the middle of that and matt....

and the reason theres white and super whit is because back in the day white was the whitest white they could make but now we can make whitter white then we used to so we have supper white...