supercharged 5.0 true fire 98 explorer sport

[vroomzoomboom]

spring is finally starting to look like spring! evils 20's went back on, took it for a quick little ride, and a wash (not sure how many liked me swinging it out sideways going onto the street but, meh).
i also finally got to fit the new hood. was pretty happy with it.

also (or at least from what i can see so far) it isnt distracting to look at it threw the windshield either.

im also pretty happy on how it fits. was worried i would have to do trimming on the sides or some stuff like that. will have to move the fenders a little bit. it also sits high at the back near the cowl, so i will try and ream the hood hinge holes where it mounts to the firewall and bring it down some. i am going to open the holes up on the outside, and they forgot to make them on the inside, so i will have to do that as well, then off to paint. i figured i would get that started while i am changing a few things as well (like getting my mount fixed so it sits flat which i am sure was causing a few problems as well as put a new replacement of TMH's on).
im just happy its warm enough now i can work on it again!

 

[Rick]

spring is finally starting to look like spring! evils 20's went back on, took it for a quick little ride, and a wash (not sure how many liked me swinging it out sideways going onto the street but, meh).
i also finally got to fit the new hood. was pretty happy with it.

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also (or at least from what i can see so far) it isnt distracting to look at it threw the windshield either.

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im also pretty happy on how it fits. was worried i would have to do trimming on the sides or some stuff like that. will have to move the fenders a little bit. it also sits high at the back near the cowl, so i will try and ream the hood hinge holes where it mounts to the firewall and bring it down some. i am going to open the holes up on the outside, and they forgot to make them on the inside, so i will have to do that as well, then off to paint. i figured i would get that started while i am changing a few things as well (like getting my mount fixed so it sits flat which i am sure was causing a few problems as well as put a new replacement of TMH's on).
im just happy its warm enough now i can work on it again!

Looking good. Is the same person that painted the truck going to paint the hood?

 

[410Fortune]

No more issues with her cutting out on you?
It is hard to get a fiberglass hood that fits proper! That one looks great!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Looking good. Is the same person that painted the truck going to paint the hood?

unfortunately no. he moved out of province years ago. i messaged him to see if he was coming back for a visit anytime soon, and he wasnt. the funny thing was that he recommended someone to do it, and that was my old boss's son (who i did tribal flames on a buddys truck years ago (when i worked for his dad). he can old school freehand pin strip and all that stuff. i called him, and he thinks he should be able to get it close, so thats the option for the moment, or i drive out to edmonton, alberta with evil lol.

No more issues with her cutting out on you?
It is hard to get a fiberglass hood that fits proper! That one looks great!

if you are talking about the tuning part of it cutting out, there is still more to come. i have to make some changes first (2 1/2 bar holley map, level the mount to the lower, new headers, try to finish all loose ends for my wiring)
now, if you are talking about the hood, yes, it fits better then i thought it would. it does have a little wavyness to it, but nothing 20 mins of boarding will fix. going to open the cowl holes a little more today. @ahodges had mentioned to me that they use gutter screen over the openings (smart) to keep any stuff from getting into the engine bay, so i will have to go grab some of that today as well.

 

[ahodges]

@vroomzoomboom, it sounds like all the same issues I had with mine. I never could get mine to sit perfectly flush in the back so I just live with it now. The main issue is that the hood is much thicker than the stock steel hood and it really affects fitment at the firewall.

 

[410Fortune]

Might be able to slot the holes in the hinges a bit to get them to drop 1/4”

Rangers have different hinges over the years, when we replace a 98 front clip with say a 06 front clip you have to change the hinges too. Wondering if maybe some ranger hinges could work with your hood (02 rangers have thick hoods fiberglass) the firewall is similar)
Something to consider trying to bone yard parts
Or you could cut chop weld the hinges to get the desired height once all is set

 

[vroomzoomboom]

@vroomzoomboom, it sounds like all the same issues I had with mine. I never could get mine to sit perfectly flush in the back so I just live with it now. The main issue is that the hood is much thicker than the stock steel hood and it really affects fitment at the firewall.

i was looking at the pictures you had sent me a few months back. mine looks like it sits higher. the other thing i am also wondering (because i put the hood on first, then took it off THEN looked at the instructions lol) is if the bottom of the edges need to be trimmed a bit. either way, not worried. i will make if fit because if i doesnt it will drive me absolutely nuts!

Might be able to slot the holes in the hinges a bit to get them to drop 1/4”

Rangers have different hinges over the years, when we replace a 98 front clip with say a 06 front clip you have to change the hinges too. Wondering if maybe some ranger hinges could work with your hood (02 rangers have thick hoods fiberglass) the firewall is similar)
Something to consider trying to bone yard parts
Or you could cut chop weld the hinges to get the desired height once all is set

thats what i was meaning when i had said ream the hinges a little to bring the hood down. that is if the edges arent holding it up.
that is good to know about the ranger hinges. i have a 02 or a 03 stashed at work. i was going to take the prop rod, and the hardware from it to replace the hood pistons that they tell you to no longer use, or find ones that are shot. guess i will grab the hinges while i am at it as well.

i opened the holes up some more yesterday on the outside, and made a opening on the inside. didnt think to take pitures of it, and the hood is back in the box. i called the guy that will be painted it black, and i will have to find some time later this afternoon to drop it off.

also when i took it for a short drive on saturday, i did notice lots of black smoke. it fowls the plugs if it sits idle for too long on start up. something that will hopefully be addressed this next round of tuning. they were bad enough that i was just able to make it run to back out out of the back yard, but wouldn't start to drive it back in. when i pulled the plugs, all were black, and soaked.....i cant remember if i put new ones in before it was parked for winter. looks like a also will be ordering a ton of plugs from rockauto this week as well.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

hole opening before

opening now

just dropped it off at the bodyshop. told him if he had it done in a month that would be fine. he laughed, and said it should be finished way before that.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i feel like i have been here before.......
blower is off as well as the mount. i dropped it off to a machine/welding shop this morning to show what i needed done.

if you look at the bottom of the intake mount, from left to right are my boost reference port, iat, and my map. what i am doing is, moving the boost ref port to the center, and from there it will be mounted to a vacuumed tree, or brick what ever you like to call it that will sit where the factory ecm sat on the firewall. have to block it off anyway because its a open cavity might as well put it to use. i am also going to relocate the map into it using a 2.5 bar holley sensor (the tuner said it stopped reading boost). i think it got too hot back there and fired it. speaking of relocation, i also bought a different type of iat sensor that has a probe. it will be moved now to the upper mount on the drivers side between the injectors and intake bolts. i also believe it was getting heat soaked and giving false readings.

on the motor side of things, i have a new set of TMH's for it. the headers i had on there i also think leaked (after replacing the og leaking headers). i also want to do a leak down and compression test just to see how bad i have buggered up this motor.

hood should be painted by the end of the week, now to also get a hold of the guy that i want to flame it. have had no luck in the last week. not good.

also replacing the door hinges because the bushings are finished, and its the 3rd set of oversized bushings. more then likely the holes are worn so i grabbed some out one of my 4 door parts trucks (don, your old black truck lives on again lol).

 

[Dono]

Wow, you have been busy already.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Wow, you have been busy already.

yuppers. who knows how long this nice weather will last until it snows again. want to get this over and done so i can start driving it again.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

new TMH;s are now in. i forgot how much of a PITA they can be. also have one hinge in as well. stared making my mount plate/cover for my vacuum block. i also drilled one hole in the wrong spot, whoops. tomorrow ill hopefully put the other hinges in. remember what i said about snow? shouldnt have said that.
we got it. screwed my entire week up as well....

 

[Dono]

Impressive. I see you yanked the AC box. That sure gives lots of room. Nice to see your so motivated.
I wish I had your energy.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Impressive. I see you yanked the AC box. That sure gives lots of room. Nice to see your so motivated.
I wish I had your stupidity.

there, fixed it for you don.
the last go around in the fall i believe when i went to change the header, i looked at it and figured i would pull the box out to see how much easier it made it. it made it a lot, that and with nothing in the a/c system, and no coolant it was a no brainer.
want to get everything done, so when the mount and lower intake come back, i can dunk them on. also no word yet on the hood, and i am ok with that.
another thing i forgot to mention was i could smell a little antifreeze from time to time. also when i went to fire it up, the coolant was down, nothing in the oil (thank god), but also nothing on the ground. when i pulled the box off i could see wetness inside the blend door. i really hope the core isnt leaking. that will be a hell job to pull the dash.
also did a compression test. everything ranged from 150 to around 165. didnt bother with the leakdown when i saw that.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

todays update. the vacuum box is now done, and new lines are in. this is the boost reference one i am talking about. i went from lines that were plastic, rubber using hose clamps (yes i know there is a barb fitting, cant find something that i can use for the valve on the supercharger) to the push lock style. i also needed a block off plate for where the stock ecm went because its a open cavity going into the cabin. 2 birds, one stone. going to use brass fittings for now. maybe later down the road ill get the fancy fittings. i also drilled a hole into it to fit the map sensor. now its not near any heat.

was also going to pick up the hood from the body shop (they just did the bodywork and black, no flames yet). noticed a wave that they missed. i wouldnt have cared normally but this was right in front of me if the hood was on, and would have drove me nuts, so he said he would fix it, then repaint it.

then the event that happen today........

after it gnawing at me, i broke down and ordered a heater core. as mentioned before i saw some wetness inside the box. i had also started to think that the windshield had a small patch of fog at the bottom of it in the fall when i drove it, as well as i was able to smell a little coolant from time to time. this winter, all the windows were also fogged over. after looking at some videos, and a couple of write ups, on here i was haft way there so i figured i might as well go all in. not too bad, but its not something for the bucket list thats for sure, and you wont be able to put the dash back in place with one person. i had also finally noticed that not the top of the carpet was wet, but the bottom. so this now is also done on my small list of things that have bugged me over time. i can also now say not counting unbolting the body from the frame, unbolting the hatch, or opening up the front diff, i have taken everything apart in this truck. and i do mean everything. not sure if thats something to be proud of, or institutionalized.

 

[Turdle]

Glad you got that heater core done . That's an easy job considering the evil thrown at you previously.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Glad you got that heater core done . That's an easy job considering the evil thrown at you previously.

never really thought about that until now. when you can say putting a heater core in, or putting a set of TMH's in and telling people it wasnt to bad to do, i guess thats when you look back and realize your back has been up against the wall for a while lol.
also when i was in there, i took that next to impossible bolt to reach out of the blend door actuator. it will be fine with 2 bolts. this way if (when with my luck) it to bites it, it shouldnt be hard to change out.

 

[410Fortune]

Did you test the old core? Didn’t have a hole in it? Looks awesome so far! Can’t believe the body shop left a wave in the paint sheesh

Battle on! Sorry I missed your call I will be available today!!

 

[donalds]

Go...go...go...
I like the vac box Smart

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Did you test the old core? Didn’t have a hole in it? Looks awesome so far! Can’t believe the body shop left a wave in the paint sheesh

Battle on! Sorry I missed your call I will be available today!!

no biggie jamie, wanted to know if i had to disconnect any wires when i pulled the dash back, but as you can see i figured it out lol. your not off the hook yet however, will need some wiring help when its all back together and running (a/c, and reverse lights come to mind for now). as for the hood, i may have let if fly, but for what he charged me, i am going going to tell him to fix anything i see.

Go...go...go...
I like the vac box Smart

i saw a couple of mustang guys use them on holley terminator x facebook page (the moderator was the one that fixed the harness, as well as made some modifications to it, as well as shipped to to Turdle so i wouldnt pay threw the nose with shipping). as well as a member on here (who is on my facebook page, but for the life of me, cant remember his screen name here) had put on in his truck. its a lot better then the way i had everything put together.