Brian1 91 XLT 4x4

MrQ · February 15, 2019

Saw that posted on Facebook by 4Wheel magazine. Couldn't believe I was seeing an Explorer of any kind on that rag, so I checked the author and low and behold it was Brian!

Very cool, sir! :salute:

Brian1 · June 2, 2019

I changed out my wheels for some 2nd Gen 16" ones after returning from Overland Expo. I cut out the front center caps for my hubs on the lathe and they are a perfect fit, flush with the hub face.

I took a drive on a back road through the local mountains to meet up with a 4x4 group the day after I got them put on. I like the look of these wheels much better!

FROADER · June 2, 2019

I like those much better, too. I was actually thinking of getting some when I need new tires.

Scott B. · June 3, 2019

Much nicer.

What size tires are you running now?

Brian1 · June 3, 2019

Scott B. said:
Much nicer.

What size tires are you running now?

265/75R16 (~32x10.5)

Scott B. · June 3, 2019

Now that you are running 16" wheels, you can upsize to 285/75-16.

Of course, you might want 4.56 gears, too...

WormsExplorer · June 3, 2019

Those look very nice Brian. I am still working on getting mine mounted. as of now I have my Cookie Cutters. I have a set of 15 inch 2nd gen Tear drops that I will be using. I also will have a 5th one for a spare. I really like the look of the tear drop rims.

Jim wright · June 8, 2019

Very nice looking looks Factory

CDW6212R · June 9, 2019

Very nice, I bought a set of those too long ago.

BTW, avoid using aluminum wheels as a spare, if it sees any road salts. Those will eat the clear coat off after a few years. You could keep it waxed under the truck too I guess.

Brian1 · September 8, 2019

It has been a year in the making and I am happy to report I have a new engine in my Explorer along with some other upgrades!

A little over a year ago I pulled out an engine from a parts Explorer to do a minor rebuild and eventually swap into mine as the valvetrain noise was getting worse and it was using coolant. The engine was relatively low mile but was neglected the last few years before I bought it and was filthy inside and so commenced a full rebuild. I'm not going to go into full details but here is a little summary of the new stock rebuild

New Melling high volume oil pump
New stock cam for manual trans spec
New Timing Chain set, tensioner and guide
NOS OEM Ford Lifters and all new Elgin pushrods and rockers
New Aftermarket heads with new valves and springs
Block bored 0.75mm over with new pistons and all new bearings done by local machine shop
New flow-matched yellow Bosch 4-hole injectors
New waterpump, crank balancer and all new sensors
Fresh coat of high-temp Ford Gray paint

I pulled the old engine out at the start of the Labor Day weekend and started to clean the engine bay and swap my powdercoated parts over to the new engine. I also transferred the engine harness over since it was in better shape than the donor. I took the time to rewrap the engine harness and I also sand blasted the exhaust manifolds and gave them a coat of high-temp black paint. During the swap I also installed an entirely new A/C system since it hadn't worked in 15+ years. Also while the engine was out I installed a power steering cooler from a V8 2nd Gen with some mods to the bracketry.

In anticipation of installing the valve covers I designed my own version of the valve cover reinforcement rings and cut them out of 1/4" steel. It took many hours of design time starting from scratch and 9 different prototypes before I was happy with the fit. The thicker metal will help seal the thin valve covers properly and prevent warping around the bolts as it is a continuous clamping force all the way around the entire valve cover. I will be offering these for sale including new hardware for anyone interested just PM me.

I got the engine installed and it started right up by Wednesday. I charged the A/C Friday and it is nice to finally have cold air again. I am still in the break-in period but I am looking forward to getting back out for some adventures since it has been much too long!

BKennedy · September 8, 2019

Very cool. I have been thinking of rebuilding my engine, or the one I pulled from the donor vehicle, for some time now. Did you get any more power out of it with the larger pistons? I love my Explorer, but its so gutless.

Brian1 · September 8, 2019

BKennedy said:
Did you get any more power out of it with the larger pistons? I love my Explorer, but its so gutless.

If It did it was very minimal. It was out of necessity since the cylinder walls were out of spec. I debated on a bigger cam but stayed stock since I already had pushrods and didn't want to mess with getting different ones.

It was nice to build a spare engine as it kept downtime minimal. The short block was at the machine shop alone for close to 3 weeks.

RockRanger · September 8, 2019

Those valve cover rings are awesome. There is a lot of time in those.

yostyexplorer94 · September 8, 2019

Stellar work man.

CDW6212R · September 9, 2019

BKennedy said:
Very cool. I have been thinking of rebuilding my engine, or the one I pulled from the donor vehicle, for some time now. Did you get any more power out of it with the larger pistons? I love my Explorer, but its so gutless.

An engine rebuild can make more power, but only if you can retune the computer for the major changes. So stick to virtually stock compression/cam/heads etc, if retuning the PCM is not possible or feasible. If the programming can be altered, then see what possible compression you can achieve with new pistons, and a custom camshaft(with valve springs called for by the cam designer). Those alone can be enough to feel it after a PCM retune. Stock compression is low in most Fords, the SOHC 4.0 has more and that's part of its advantage. The 4.0 doesn't have a ton of aftermarket choices, but it only matters if the PCM also gets reprogrammed. Don't do other big things and skip the computer retune, that will end up worse than stock.

Scott B. · September 9, 2019

Brian1 said:
It has been a year in the making and I am happy to report I have a new engine in my Explorer along with some other upgrades!

A little over a year ago I pulled out an engine from a parts Explorer to do a minor rebuild and eventually swap into mine as the valvetrain noise was getting worse and it was using coolant. The engine was relatively low mile but was neglected the last few years before I bought it and was filthy inside and so commenced a full rebuild. I'm not going to go into full details but here is a little summary of the new stock rebuild

New Melling high volume oil pump

New stock cam for manual trans spec

New Timing Chain set, tensioner and guide

NOS OEM Ford Lifters and all new Elgin pushrods and rockers

New Aftermarket heads with new valves and springs

Block bored 0.75mm over with new pistons and all new bearings done by local machine shop

New flow-matched yellow Bosch 4-hole injectors

New waterpump, crank balancer and all new sensors

Fresh coat of high-temp Ford Gray paint

View attachment 173596

I pulled the old engine out at the start of the Labor Day weekend and started to clean the engine bay and swap my powdercoated parts over to the new engine. I also transferred the engine harness over since it was in better shape than the donor. I took the time to rewrap the engine harness and I also sand blasted the exhaust manifolds and gave them a coat of high-temp black paint. During the swap I also installed an entirely new A/C system since it hadn't worked in 15+ years. Also while the engine was out I installed a power steering cooler from a V8 2nd Gen with some mods to the bracketry.

View attachment 173599

View attachment 173600

View attachment 173601

View attachment 173603

In anticipation of installing the valve covers I designed my own version of the valve cover reinforcement rings and cut them out of 1/4" steel. It took many hours of design time starting from scratch and 9 different prototypes before I was happy with the fit. The thicker metal will help seal the thin valve covers properly and prevent warping around the bolts as it is a continuous clamping force all the way around the entire valve cover. I will be offering these for sale including new hardware for anyone interested just PM me.

View attachment 173605

View attachment 173606

I got the engine installed and it started right up by Wednesday. I charged the A/C Friday and it is nice to finally have cold air again. I am still in the break-in period but I am looking forward to getting back out for some adventures since it has been much too long!

View attachment 173597 View attachment 173602

View attachment 173598 View attachment 173604

Very nice.

Missing 2 cylinders though, aren't you?

gmanpaint · September 9, 2019

Wow! That is one heck of a lot of work shared in a single post!!!

I'm guilty of the opposite with posting, as I like the details involved in any / all parts of the build. LOL

Pretty awesome Brian! I dig the personal mods you always add to your work. Congrats on the rigs extended lifeline. I foresee extended long distance trips in your future now.

Brian1 · September 9, 2019

gmanpaint said:
. I foresee extended long distance trips in your future now.

Yes! Maybe I will even make it out your way. Get that trailer done and we can meet somewhere in the middle next year

gmanpaint · September 9, 2019

Awesome Sauce!!!! :bounce:

That would be great!

Almost done with the trailer!! (Still fixing the rig tho lol)

WormsExplorer · September 9, 2019

That is awesome Brian. I have often thought about having a donor motor to go over with to put in once this one goes. But for now she is a strong motor. Love seeing things like this. I might have to once I am settled again. In the process of moving again. :-D

Brian1 91 XLT 4x4

MrQ

Smokey the clutch is; Missed shift you did

Brian1

FROADER

Scott B.

Explorer Addict

Brian1

Scott B.

Explorer Addict

WormsExplorer

Explorer Addict

Jim wright

Hillbilly jim

CDW6212R

Hauls the mail.

Brian1

BKennedy

Elite Loser

Brian1

RockRanger

Elite Ranger

yostyexplorer94

Yost Offroad

CDW6212R

Hauls the mail.

Scott B.

Explorer Addict

gmanpaint

It's Always Something!

Brian1

gmanpaint

It's Always Something!

WormsExplorer

Explorer Addict

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