1994 explorer prerunner builld!

[dezertranger]

whats up everyone. i wanted to start a build thread for my 1994 limited expo on here.

been into desert racing as long as i can remember. my most recent truck was a 1993 ranger that i built and drove for the last 8 years. here she is

I finally decided to sell it because i have 2 babies and they need a spot in a truck too! so here we are starting over with an explorer haha

my kids are still babies, so for now this will be a pretty mild build. lots of bolt ons and keeping it stock width but itll still be plenty fun in the desert for the guys trips when the kids arent around.

heres the plan so far.
1. get the a4ld trans rebuilt as we determined in another thread it doesnt have 3rd gear


FRONT:
d35 beams cut and turn with uniball pivots and some plating to strengthen them up
cookcraft radius arm kit with pivot/trans crossmember
2.5 king race series IBP coilover on a simple shock tower
cookcraft double swing steering

REAR:
cookcraft bolt in rear shock mount with brackets to work with gen 2 f150 raptor stock shocks


im collecting parts right now. have about 75% of it all.
my raptor shocks are with my shock guy getting rebuilt and a ballpark valving stack inside

here goes nothin!

 

[410Fortune]

Dang
Now I need to research cook craft that’s a nice looking setup

 

[dezertranger]

Dang
Now I need to research cook craft that’s a nice looking setup

He’s the man. Been building race trucks for years and is focusing all efforts to supporting the explorer community. He’s an expo owner and saw a hole in the market for bad ass parts so he’s really killin it.

 

[RangerX]

Ranger looks super clean and functional.
Is the Explorer 4wd? Can’t quite tell if there’s auto hubs in that photo or not.

 

[dezertranger]

Ranger looks super clean and functional.
Is the Explorer 4wd? Can’t quite tell if there’s auto hubs in that photo or not.

Thank you. It was a ton of fun and handled insanely well.

Yeah the expo is 4wd. Auto hubs for now…

 

[Paul]

Okay, three weeks in - - - updates?



That CookCraft gear is damn near 4x4 p@rn. . .

 

[dezertranger]

Progress was slow, kids bday, baby shower and holidays got in the way. I did collect more stuff though!
The trans got rebuilt. Upgraded valve body and deep oil pan tapped for a temp sender. Otherwise a stock rebuild.

Got most parts back from powder coating.
Finished rebuilding and doing a ballpark valving on my rear shocks. I’m not sure I mentioned but I’m using gen 2 raptor rear shocks for the back of this. They’re 12” stroke, 3” diameter with a typer of internal bypass inside. With some tuning they should work well!
I plan to start taking everything apart this Saturday!

Okay, three weeks in - - - updates?



That CookCraft gear is damn near 4x4 p@rn. . .

 

[toobladink]

Do you plan on an engine swap or any upgrades for more HP?

 

[dezertranger]

Yeah eventually I’ll put in a sohc since it’s so easy like I did with my ranger above. Super simple since you can use the ohv wiring and computer and all that!
But that’s down the road atleast 2 years when my kids get older and this gets a cage.

 

[toobladink]

Yeah eventually I’ll put in a sohc since it’s so easy like I did with my ranger above. Super simple since you can use the ohv wiring and computer and all that!
But that’s down the road atleast 2 years when my kids get older and this gets a cage.

nice! what else are you thinking other than sohc? do you plan on leaving it stock?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Looks great! This is gonna be a great build. I swear I saw a Ranger very very similar on the 5-grapevine a few weeks back. Probably just a coincidence haha.

 

[dezertranger]

nice! what else are you thinking other than sohc? do you plan on leaving it stock?

Mostly stock. I’ll probably do the same I did to my old one which is a Melling high volume oil pump, some porting in the heads but nothing crazy and a tune on the dyno.
Cookcraft is in r&d stages for a trans adapter plate to put a really cool trans (I don’t wanna speak on it too soon) behind it so I’ll probably do that too at the same time. The sohc is a great engine and will provide plenty of power in stock form for this explorer. For sure the leaf springs will be the limiting factor not the hp… for now haha

 

[dezertranger]

Looks great! This is gonna be a great build. I swear I saw a Ranger very very similar on the 5-grapevine a few weeks back. Probably just a coincidence haha.

The new owner wrapped the truck red a couple weeks ago so I’m not sure if it was it or not! Maybe!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

The new owner wrapped the truck red a couple weeks ago so I’m not sure if it was it or not! Maybe!

It was 2 days before thanksgiving but it was white. I can think it was haha! I was in the right lane so I got passed by it.

 

[dezertranger]

Finally some updates!!
Got the car into the garage on the stands and started rippin into it. Started by removing pretty much everything rear suspension related. Axle, leafs, leaf hangers and shackles and the exhaust.
The new rear shock mount crossmember requires the removal of a stock crossmember and spare tire mounting structure also so a ton of rivets needed to be removed to get that stuff out. That was fun lol.
The frame on this has a ton of surface rust on it cuz it was from Washington so I spent HOURS with a wire wheel and a DA sander bringing the steel back to life. I’m super happy with it and have started painting the frame.
Im going to drop the gas tank tomorrow or Friday so I can clean that portion of the frame rail also.
Here’s some before,during, and after pics for progress so far. Enjoy and happy holidays everyone!

 

[Paul]

Must have been an Eastern Washington Explorer - - - that would be a lot of surface rust for a rig on the wet side of the Cascades. . .

Nice work and thanks for keeping us updated.

 

[dezertranger]

Front shocks are here! A bit fancy for an old ass car haha.
2.5 x 10 king IBP coilovers with compression adjusters and race series finned resis! Super excited to get these things mounted up and start tuning em

 

[Fix4Dirt]

This build is reminding me of TravisFabs build! (not the no door the other one...)

 

[TrackAire]

Front shocks are here! A bit fancy for an old ass car haha.
2.5 x 10 king IBP coilovers with compression adjusters and race series finned resis! Super excited to get these things mounted up and start tuning em
View attachment 460118

So looking forward to this build! I have an off the subject question about the Explorer....I need new headlight assemblies for mine. I've looked at those clear lens units with the multi faceted reflector. Have you tried them at night and if so, what did you think of the beam pattern? Not looking for something racecar bright, just a better beam pattern than factor that doesn't blind oncoming traffic. Thanks in advance.

 

[dezertranger]

So looking forward to this build! I have an off the subject question about the Explorer....I need new headlight assemblies for mine. I've looked at those clear lens units with the multi faceted reflector. Have you tried them at night and if so, what did you think of the beam pattern? Not looking for something racecar bright, just a better beam pattern than factor that doesn't blind oncoming traffic. Thanks in advance.

They are headlights from rock auto. I think tyc brand. They’re ok. The beam pattern is pretty even except one of them seems to have a bit of a spotty area that shoots a small portion of light super far. The otherside does not. Kind of annoying and maybe I just need to do a little more adjustment to get rid of it. The trick to this style reflector and housing is to use a 360 bulb in it. So a halogen or hid. LED bulbs do not work in this style housing even if they’re advertised as 360° you’ll just have light goin everywhere.
I run the halogens that came with the housings and I have no complaints. I live in a town with no streetlights and it’s fine. The High beams are great too.