supercharged 5.0 true fire 98 explorer sport

hi everyone, my name is tim . i live in selkirk, manitoba, canada and as if this date that i am posting this, i am 36 years old.

i bought my sport in jan 05 from a local ford dealer. it had 111,000KM's on it. this is the second sport i have owned. it was sitting on the lot for about 8 months before i came along. i am the third owner (i was able to track down the person that traded it in, and they got it from a friend, who bought it new in 98).

i started to do a few things to it after i first got it, then i found this site, and all hell broke lose! i've never been satisfied with something the everyone else has, so i started to tinker with it even more.

mods include

interior

installed factory tilt, cruise, overhead console, auto dimming mirror, full length console, with a message center (it didn't have these from factory).

white face with blue flames indigo gauge covers (they light up blue)
blue l.e.d. everything
white l.e.d. interior lights
Kenwood DDX392 Touch Screen Head Unit
alpine 4 channel amp (all four speakers)
boston acoustic front and rear speakers
alpine mono amp (for sub)
2 12 inch jl audio subs
rockford fosgate cap
passenger side one touch window down mod.
custom transfer case shifter
tripple a pillar gauge pod, housing autometer boost, Innovate LC-1 wideband, and oil pressure gauge
12v power inverter with 120v plug in a 2 usb plugs built into the center console

exterior

BMW E46 projectors, mounted into stock housings using clear lens
6000K HID head lights
angel eye "driving" lights, with 8000k h.i.d.'s
clear parking/corner lights
billet grill (powder coated by Turdle)
blacked out ford emblems
custom front steel 95-98 bumper, with 4 inch round tubes welded in for driving lights
shaved radio antenna
shaved roof rack
black euro tall lights
l.e.d. license plate lights
smoked out 3rd break light
lund rear tailgate spoiler/wing (formally from the truck "blackjack" owned by EF member Spas)
hand made roll pan (made from 3 1/2 rear bumpers, with 1/4 inch diamond plate on the top, and it is removable)
aluminum T/A differential griddle/cover (powder coated by Turdle)
Motegi Mr107 20' rims
goodyear wrangler hp p245/50 r20
1 1/4 wheel spacer in the rear, 3/8 in front
and most noticeable, black with blue pearl paint, and blue true fire (ground effects are black with blue pearl as well)

Suspension

2 inch lowering blocks in the rear, reverse TT in the front (2 inch as well)
Explorer Express rear sway bar
4 door leaf springs
rancho rs9000 adjustable rear shocks
03-05 sport trac spindles with drilled and slotted rotors

performance

5L swap
347 stroker
TFS twisted wedge alum heads
comp gold 1.6 rockers
comp cams CCA-35-556-8 nitro cam
heavily modified edelbrock victor jr air gap intake (which serves as a valley pan now)
eaton m122 supercharger (metco 2.70 pulley, and ASP 8 rib 7 1/4 crank pulley) with custom made mount with bell intercooler core
8 rib serpentine belt conversion using pulleys from a 7.3 powerstroke
custom made 3 1/2 inch throttle body elbow
accufab 75mm throttle body
4 inch intake pipe
PMASS MH90 90mm Universal 3000 KG/HR MAF
amsoil cone filter
F.A.S.T. 60lb injectors
edelbrock fuel rails, trick flow specialties fuel pressure regulator with summit racing fuel pressure gauge
walbro 255lph fuel pump
1/2 inch steel braided fuel pressure line from tank to rail using 8AN fittings
torque monster headers
2 1/2 duel pipes with flowpro duel in and out 2 1/2 single muffler
accel extreme 9000 ceramic 45 degree plug wires with boot protectors
4R70W w/2600 stall with J mod
tuff stuff 200a alternator
tuning made possible with sct pro-racer package, and tuned with major help from member [MENTION=102869]Dono[/MENTION] and [MENTION=81804]4pointslow[/MENTION]
flex a lite duel 12 inch electric fans
big 3 upgrade (4 gauge wires)
meziere innercooler water pump
2 froozenboost innercooler rads

Transfer case

4406 manual shift from a 97 F150
modified stock trans cross member to accept 93 mustang 5L polyurethane tans mount
double cardan rear drive shaft

because of all the "fun" i had doing the bodywork, and some other things to my truck, i have nick named it "evil dora" or if you like, just plane "evil"!
and now the thank yous

my buddy gord leiss, who let this thing sit in his garage for 3 months while i did the body work to it. he also gave me a hand with some of the prep work, and painted it for me

kevin willson for doing the true fire http://affordableairbrushing.ca/

Joe Bukoski for letting me do the 5L/4406 swap in his garage

now people from this site, weather they knew it or not, they helped

BIG THANKS to tara a.k.a. explorersport77 for pictures of her truck. wouldn't been able to build the roll pan with out them!

ExplorerSport77's X "Hotness"

jon a.k.a. Turdle for selling me some real swanky rear shackles, as well as powder coating the diff cover and sending them up to canada. as well as much needed info on v8, and 4406 swaps as well as doing the grill and showing me how its done.

don aka dono for the help with the tuning, and wideband, as well as the supercharger

andy aka ahodges for some parts, and any help i needed for all the go faster goodies

5.0 swap - w/ 4406

jad2411 for finding me a link for my hidden antenna

ryan a.k.a. MustangP51 for doing his write up on making l.e.d.'s for interior lights, and how to make projectors

P51's HID Headlight (Projector) and Fog Conversion (PICS)

and N3ELZ cardomain page for L.E.D. switch and cruise pod mods

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394/2002-ford-ranger-regular-cab/page-6
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394/2002-ford-ranger-regular-cab/page-12
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394/2002-ford-ranger-regular-cab/page-23

bob a.k.a. rwenzing for showing me speedhut's sit for the gauges

Gauges, Custom Gauges, Tachometers, Speedometers, Shift Light, Pod

Buzz4x4 for his write up on blacking out ford emblems

How to Make Your Own Custom Ford Emblems

the late aldive for his write up on one touch down passengers window mod

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141027&highlight=touch+passengers+window+mod

BIG COUNTRY, for his write up on how to install a auto dimming mirror

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=84968

BIG COUNTRY, 98formulaLS1, and Ryon40 for there write ups on how to install a message center

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225017&highlight=BIG+COUNTRY
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80670&highlight=message+center
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245085&highlight=Ryon40

MountaineerGreen for his 4406 swap write up and "Custom" Driveshaft for a 4406 and 4" Superlift on the Cheap " (even tho its lowered

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166726&highlight=awd+4x4+swap
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185232

Simon, aka blueka for his "pickle" thread, and help anytime i picked the phone up the phone on the 5L swap

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271813

Jon, aka 4pointslow for any MAJOR technical advice i have needed

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219092

i wish i could find who did the write up on the overhead console install, but here is the link

http://www.explorer4x4.com/overhead.htm

Russ aka NICE59FORDF100 for his help on the wiring, and what to watch out for electronically.

hopefully one day, i will be able to help people on here just as much as the people that i have mentioned above!

plus you know you have done something right when.....

your truck (as well as corkey) wins truck of the month

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=296023

is the feature truck on the fun hump day radio show (starts roughly around the 30 min mark)

http://explorerforum.podbean.com/2011/03/23/19-vroom-zoomboom/

and you drive 26 hours ONE WAY to the carlisle all ford nationals in june 2010 and 2011, and grab second place in the s.u.v. all category!

then in 2014 you go back to the same show you have been to 5 years in a row (nothing by most, but its one hell of a long drive) and take first!

 

[WhiteLimited]

I got some BRAND NEW license plates for you. There 50 year anniversary ones they were sent to my house for a 2010 Suzuki hahahahaha Text me your address again and I will get them shipped up soon

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

hi tara long long time no talk and see

 

[Super_Swamper_98]

that true fire looks good blue.

 

[corkey]

evil finally made a new friend today!

evil meet log roller, log roller, meet evil!

corkey drove out here to look at a truck that i will be selling, so i snapped a pic of the two.

almost looks like it was going to mount it,, ha ha,

 

[vroomzoomboom]

pete, if that was the case, you wouldn't have a explorer, you'd have a mountie!

another pic i took yesterday at my buddy gords place. even used my cell, and it looks good to me!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i just got a new pair of shackles today! i was so excited to put them in! they look awesome!

last week when pete was here, we where talking about shackles. i liked the ones that he made, and i had mentioned last year i bought some powder coated ones from turtle, but haven't put them on due to a lack of time, and i had also heard they where a PITA. i tried to do it when i painted evil last winter, but the bolts that go into the frame bushings where frozen into them. so i had ordered new bushings and hardware for them, and they ended up sitting until now. pete did tell me they where a snap to do, so i decided to get them done this weekend. well, funny thing happened (well not so funny for me but feel free to read on), i cut the old shackle off, then cut the bolts off as well (gotta love the blue wrench). then i took the old bushing out, and the steel sleeve for it. all this time i was thinking, "wow pete was right, this is simple. why didn't i do this before!"......then reality came cashing down. somehow, the parts guy, thought i needed the bushings that go into the leaf springs, when i told him 5 times, "no, shackle bushings, or the ones that go into the frame, NOT the leaf springs". well that dumass gave them to me anyways . to make things worst, i am doing this on easter long weekend, and worst then that, gord has a job coming in and needs the stall that evil sits in. how am i going to get the truck out? with good old faction red neck thinking! i cant believe i just did this, and that i am posting it up here, but hey, everyone needs a laugh. the entire time i was jamming 2x4's between the frame an leaf, i was shaking my head and saying "this has to be the most red neck thing i have done!". so now she sits until monday when i can get the parts that i need.

 

[techieman33]

good luck getting that bushing, ford doesn't even sell it. The only way to get it from them is to buy the entire frame The only one I've found was an energy suspension bushing for a 1st gen explorer. It works in 2nd gens too btw.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i found one. the basic is 5A546. phoned the dealer, he told me the number is F57Z 5A546 AA. he even confirmed it was the correct one, and not the one for the spring. there are two in the area at a ford parts depot, and one at another dealer, but they both where closed today.

crap, the picture didn't turn out big enough

if you check the link, and find 5A546, and click on it, it will show you which part it is.

http://www.fordparts.com/Commerce/C...HaGlzdG9yeQUEdHJ1ZbeJQwrDnn1brKWLK+LH7viyyDAr

 

[corkey]

wow, i would have put the shackles on with bolts just thru the frame holes, to move it, it would feel safer to me, but redneck thinking can work too ,
glad at least removing them was as easy as mine were,

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i was going to do that, but i wasn't sure if the shackle would fold between the frame, and the spring or not. trust me, i drove REAL slow out of the shop, and down the driveway. i remember you saying use a BFH, i was doing that, then i thought, "hey there's torches here!" stunk up the shop something fierce, but it worked.

 

[corkey]

yeah torches would have been useful to me too, but i didn't have any, and a deeper cup on a ball joint press would have been nice too, push it all the way through ,

 

[corkey]

all done on the bushings ???

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Yes! I have to say, I think the hardest part was jacking the truck up for that one. But I am lucky that I have access to the right tools to get the job done, otherwise, I might have a different tune. Thanks for asking, and telling me that it was not difficult to do pete!

 

[corkey]

Most challenging part of it is getting the parts guiys to understand which ones you really want, ,

lol, ,

 

[vroomzoomboom]

was at gords (the guy that painted evil for me, aka g.o.d.)tonight working on another explorer i have there. his son (he's about 10) wanted a pic in my truck, so we pulled it up for him, and gord wanted some of his. while i was standing there, i thought, "this is a perfect shot of our trucks". gords 04 f250, 4 inch suspension, 3 inch body lift, 33's. his son marks 04 f150. true fire as well (painted by the same guy as evil was) with 22's. and of coarse, evil.

 

[WhiteLimited]

**** seeing your thread just reminded me about your plates I need to send over to you I spaced it!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

today is a great day (well sorta, its crappy outside, but....). one of my fog HIDS blew out, so i was waiting for new ones to come, and they did. it is 4 weeks until i leave for carlisle all ford nationals, AND another box came today.

and what is in the box you might ask? weeeeellllll......

a nice shinny diff cover that our very own Turdle powder coated for me. i bought this about two years ago for my capri that i have yet to finish, so it has been siting on the shelf ever since. i thought "ya know, you can really see the diff big time with the pan. why not get jon to do his magic on the cover, slap it on evil for AFN, then take it off and put it on the capri when its done". plans have changed in a heart beat. this thing is staying on evil now.

 

[Spas]

NICE rear!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

so the beautification for AFN on evil has started. spent the better part of the day outside yesterday and here are the results. worst of all, i haven't event started on the inside or begin to polish it yet!

the diff cover made one hell of a difference if you ask me!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

this last week was a great one. evil and i made the trip to carlsile pa for the all ford nationals, where she placed second in suv all.

while she was there, tara was very kind enough to take some awsome shots of her for me (i cant take pictures to save my life!).