Another 1998 Explorer Sport V8 Project. . .Completed!

[redavis460]

Congratulations on a well engineered and executed project.
Hope you continue to enjoy!
Magnum wheels are ageless.
Thank you for sharing
God I love this forum

Thanks for the reply! On the wheels, I had originally gone with a polished, painted, and clear-coated version of the original 15x7's, inspired by the Corvette YJ8 wheel option:

From the side, they looked really good (in my opinion anyway), but the tire width of the 275/60's was really crying out for a 15x8. It was a tough choice between the Ford GT Rallye wheels from 1968 or the Magnum 500's, but I finally settled on the latter for the exact reason you mentioned. The GT Rallyes perhaps don't translate quite as well to modern body lines:

Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention; the rear end cover from a GT500 fits, if you are willing to remove the inner cooling fin to clear the Explorer's toner ring for the ABS:

 

[RickOTR]

I've been looking at that particular cover for quite some time now but was not sure it would work with the Explorers 8.8 differential. How much trimming would be needed to get it to clear the toner ring.

 

[redavis460]

I've been looking at that particular cover for quite some time now but was not sure it would work with the Explorers 8.8 differential. How much trimming would be needed to get it to clear the toner ring.

Pretty much the entire fin has to be removed and smoothed flat with the surrounding contour. Since it has a reverse curve, it is somewhat difficult to get in there; for instance, expect to go through a number of Dremel sanding wheels and drums, and then only wear the edges of them, to get it removed (after using a cutting wheel to remove as much as you can of course).

 

[sandsprayer]

GT Rallyes?
Now I'm lusting over a 68 Torino.
Thanks for the scoop on the GT500 cover.
Just ordered Gabriel Coils for the rear, looks like the cover and fluid change ( just hit 100k )will be next in the cue........

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i put a TA girdle in mine that has the bolts going to the bearing caps for support so the carrier wont push out of the axle. granted, the caps on the explorers are not flat so they kinda defeat the purpose. the only issue i had was the spare tire carrier bracket was rubbing it because i lowered the truck 2 inches. other then that, i didnt have to modify anything for it to fit in and it clears a EE rear sway bar with no problems either

 

[Hacra]

Love the clean look of it, must have been huge job.

 

[redavis460]

i put a TA girdle in mine that has the bolts going to the bearing caps for support so the carrier wont push out of the axle. granted, the caps on the explorers are not flat so they kinda defeat the purpose. the only issue i had was the spare tire carrier bracket was rubbing it because i lowered the truck 2 inches. other then that, i didnt have to modify anything for it to fit in and it clears a EE rear sway bar with no problems either

View attachment 179380

Man that thing is a beast! what is that, a 1" rear sway-bar? I remember my first project car back in the mid-1970's; a 1977 Mustang II (another car that Ford never originally planned to offer a V8 in). In those days, rear sway bars were still "optional" on a lot of vehicles, and mine didn't come with one. It was unbelievable the difference adding just the stock bar made. I was able to purchase an Addco set (front and rear) that was substantially larger, but it was around that time I learned about the differences in steels between the different companies. For instance, the Addcos were larger in diameter, but not as stiff (diameter for diameter) as the stock bar material. Still made for a fun ride though!

 

[CDW6212R]

The Explorer Express rear bar is the best, the biggest made and they quite making them years ago. But keep an eye out for one, and changing the rubber bushings for any bar helps a lot too.

Addco made the biggest front bar for these, 1.5", and it's stiff(with cheap frame brackets(I had machinist make two great brackets)). Here's the EE bar from above in my 99;

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Man that thing is a beast! what is that, a 1" rear sway-bar? I remember my first project car back in the mid-1970's; a 1977 Mustang II (another car that Ford never originally planned to offer a V8 in). In those days, rear sway bars were still "optional" on a lot of vehicles, and mine didn't come with one. It was unbelievable the difference adding just the stock bar made. I was able to purchase an Addco set (front and rear) that was substantially larger, but it was around that time I learned about the differences in steels between the different companies. For instance, the Addcos were larger in diameter, but not as stiff (diameter for diameter) as the stock bar material. Still made for a fun ride though!

im not sure of the diameter, but that is a explorer express sway bar that i got from a truck i bought years ago from a member here for the drive line. i also had a second one from yet, another members truck that i bought to fix and resell. i gave it to yet another member for his truck that lives close by.
i just looked, and according to their page, they still make them

Explorer Express

hellwig also make a rear bar as well if i am not wrong.

that bar made a major difference, even with mine being lowered 2 inches, a big difference. if you know what a clover leaf is, i have taken them in my truck doing close to 60mph, and that is no lie

 

[Hacra]

Also, afaik, saleen had the 23mm or nearly 1" one, i have one, no idea how, but i do.

Edit: Have fun with bushings...

 

[redavis460]

Also, afaik, saleen had the 23mm or nearly 1" one, i have one, no idea how, but i do.

Edit: Have fun with bushings...

With all this talk about larger rear sway bars, you guys have gotten me interested. So you all are saying that the Saleen ran a larger rear bar? Makes sense I guess; improved handling is their game.

As I was putting this project together on paper, I realized that with the weight of all the stereo equipment, sound deadening, and all the accessories (plus the stock ride height I was keeping to maintain touring practicality), that there were going to be limitations as to the handling performance of the car. Also, all that added weight meant I had to pick a pressure relief point somewhere in the drive-line to keep from breaking something expensive; that's why I went with those specific tires instead of some sticky 17's. Also, to be honest, during some other builds through the years (1972 Lincoln Mark IV, 1967 Ford Galaxie), I had fabricated some brackets to run 1-1/8" front bars (1979 Thunderbird-sourced) and 1" rear bars (Crown Vic police package) on both of them. Perhaps because of the suspension design and tires, I went back to a 3/4" bar on both of them after running into oversteer issues. I managed to mitigate the problem somewhat by running rubber bushings on the rear and keeping the polyurethane bushings on the front bar; however, the sheer force applied to the brackets on the 1" rear bar (made even more severe by the short "arms" coming off the bar) meant I could never get them right (the brackets would constantly flex and work harden, then snap within a few thousand miles).

I am feeling better about the bigger bars in our case now that I hear that the Saleens had them; I trust their engineering expertise much more than I trust mine! Even though I'm not running the sticky rubber and short sidewalls you guys are running, I might see about trying one; I have a fair amount of weight in the rear:

What the picture doesn't show is another 10" JL sub and an MTX thunderform in the stock location on the right rear, plus a 15 lb PCV shelf that the nitrous bottle and the pair of 12" subs bolts to....a hell of a way to get a 50/50 weight distribution!

 

[Hacra]

If you manage to source that saleen sway bar, i had to modify 19mm PU bushings to make them fit, i made thread about it.

 

[RickOTR]

i put a TA girdle in mine that has the bolts going to the bearing caps for support so the carrier wont push out of the axle. granted, the caps on the explorers are not flat so they kinda defeat the purpose. the only issue i had was the spare tire carrier bracket was rubbing it because i lowered the truck 2 inches. other then that, i didnt have to modify anything for it to fit in and it clears a EE rear sway bar with no problems either

View attachment 179380

Does that cover have a drain plug...

 

[CDW6212R]

The rear of these leaf spring trucks move side to side quite a bit. Did you also replace the fifth shock back there when you did the bilsteins?

I bought all five of them when I did my Mountaineer. That fifth shock was worn out when I replaced it, and the new bilstein helped to reduce the rear tire rubbing the parking brake cable. I tied the cables inward a bit also besides routing it inboard of the V8 track bar. It all helps, reducing body sway makes them safer.

 

[redavis460]

The rear of these leaf spring trucks move side to side quite a bit. Did you also replace the fifth shock back there when you did the bilsteins?

I bought all five of them when I did my Mountaineer. That fifth shock was worn out when I replaced it, and the new bilstein helped to reduce the rear tire rubbing the parking brake cable. I tied the cables inward a bit also besides routing it inboard of the V8 track bar. It all helps, reducing body sway makes them safer.

I did; the quality control on the fifth shock leaves a lot to be desired. The first one I bought started leaking before I even got the car running; and, the replacement one (a KYB I believe) just came in a plain white box. So far, this one hasn't leaked. I do know when I first took the car out, those Bilsteins were VERY stiff; at first, they had to warm up every time before the car rode correctly. Now, they seem to ride ok from a cold startup.

 

[CDW6212R]

Interesting. My truck already had some things in it before I rebuilt the front suspension etc. So mine was already fairly stiff, and the Bilstein's plus bigger front bar just added to it. I didn't notice a change later really, and one other item was I swapped to a stiffer "B" torsion bar. So I tried a lot of available parts, and building up another 98 will be a combination of most of those things.

The rear bar needs to be as large as possible(the EE bar), or one of the lesser rear bars, with urethane mounting bushings to stiffen it more. The EE bar is just about perfect with the provided urethane mounts on the diff. My large Addco front bar I believe needs a little rubber in the end links to soften it a hair. This is for street driving of course, handling on road, not soft or off road use.

 

[redavis460]

Interesting. My truck already had some things in it before I rebuilt the front suspension etc. So mine was already fairly stiff, and the Bilstein's plus bigger front bar just added to it. I didn't notice a change later really, and one other item was I swapped to a stiffer "B" torsion bar. So I tried a lot of available parts, and building up another 98 will be a combination of most of those things.

The rear bar needs to be as large as possible(the EE bar), or one of the lesser rear bars, with urethane mounting bushings to stiffen it more. The EE bar is just about perfect with the provided urethane mounts on the diff. My large Addco front bar I believe needs a little rubber in the end links to soften it a hair. This is for street driving of course, handling on road, not soft or off road use.

Thanks for the info. I might go ahead and add that my experience with the F67Z-5B326-FA/FB torsion bars (the 1.09" ones I believe, or "#1's") is that when I got them installed, there was no need at all to crank the adjusting bolt in to raise the front of the suspension. Keep in mind this was with the substantially heavier Boss block plus all of the factory accessories (however with aluminum heads). For a stock block, it may have been overkill.

I've got an email out to Explorer Express asking them about availability on the rear bar; no word from them as of yet. Looks like Hellwig or Addco make the 1" diameter versions? Hopefully they will clear the fins on the GT500 aluminum inspection cover at full compression; the stock one is already VERY close. I may need to shim them out if they don't.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Does that cover have a drain plug...

yes

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i wouldnt be too worried about breaking anything. maybe a u joint if they are hollow. ive only heard of one other member breaking a axle and that was years ago. totaled the truck however, but he wasnt racing or anything like that. if i remember he was towing a trailer. was a freak accident.
when ever i race anyone, either on the street screwing around, or at the strip, it gets launched in 4x4 and it has a 2600 stall in it and the truck with me in it is around 4600

 

[410Fortune]

You may consider adding the v8 trac bars also if you have not already
V8 96-01 had some nice above axle trac bars from the factory, helps with axle wrap up and axle sway

So now a 1" sway bar, a 5th shock and trac bars, that rear axle should stay put pretty well!