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Ditched the Autometer DashLink with my phone for a Scan Gauge II. Don’t like having my phone constantly hanging in front of me from the windshield. Mounted the Scan Gauge on the steering column. Feels more natural looking down at it. The Explorer drives way better now. I think the original VW...

After the whole debacle with the ECU I decided to reconfigure a few things. Wanted to move the ECU to a safer location that was also easier to get to. An hour or two on Solidworks I came up with this weatherproof box. Almost eight days straight on the big 3D printer and we’ve got an ECU case...

Time for an update I've been keeping quiet for a bit: Right after Christmas I was over visiting with my parents. Left their place and got about 200 yards from their neighborhood and the Explorer shut off. Tried both the key and popping the clutch to restart, but no luck. Was acting almost as if...

Off the top of my head I don’t. I’ll take a look on Monday and report back!

I think for the 3.0 it should be about the same as the other four cylinder swaps. Transmission adapter, fuel system, and a standalone harness. The biggest part would be tricking the ECU to run in a different vehicle without certain modules attached. That’s true, but also depends on how the...

Performance wise I really like it so far. It has really good power delivery. Doesn’t struggle to get up to speed and over hills. It responds really well to the right foot! With that being said I still think a re-gear is in order. First gear is kind of a pain and I find myself dancing between...

First oil change for the TDI today. Have to siphon the oil out through the dipstick tube. Can’t get to the drain plug because of the engine crossmember. This was the 500 mile break in oil change. Oil was nice and clean. Engine is healthy! Also got a working glow plug light installed today...

So an update on this for you Jamie… my truck was not bought from Peter’s place. However, Peter is still alive. Sounds like he’s slowing down and getting near the end. He still has a few fire trucks sitting around. Couple of my friends are looking at buying two or three of them from him. If that...

It might just be the same guy! I’ll have to ask my friend who bought the truck from that area. Could very easily be the same guy.

That’s a good looking bus! I guess I needed another project since the TDI is more or less complete😂

Plan right now is to just foam fill the tires. I can get new ones through Coker but they’re pricey and it doesn’t really solve much. For the amount this will get driven foam fill will be good enough. It does have front brakes! Front and rear are drum and shoe. It also has the driveline brake...

Here’s another old picture. This one, and the one in the first post, would both be from the early 50s because of the 1951 Chevy panel truck.

Yep! They’re the old split rims. It might have been! I’ll need to ask my friend who bought it from there. I think it was an older lady selling things off.

Several of my friends are firefighters and my “boss” is a retired fire chaplain. Most of them have classic/vintage fire trucks. We get together to rescue and work on these old trucks. A lot of times it’s so we can all decompress from the stresses of the day, especially the firefighters who deal...

The TDI is a great swap for this platform. The common rail CJAA have an almost identical power output as the 4.0. Would be a good swap if you’re not wanting to have a heavily modified motor. Would just need to figure out a solution for the power steering as the CJAA’s are all EPAS. The old ALH...

That 3800 V6 swap would be really cool too! Wouldn’t it bolt right up to your transmission? I know a TDI would fit really well with your shock towers and give your Explorer even more cool factor than it already has. Easy to find an old ALH/BEW/BHW. There’s also a ton of the 2.0 CJAA motors out...

It’s taken a bit to come up with the MPG numbers. With work only being four miles from home, a couple trips to the grocery store, and no long drives yet it’s been hard to put a lot of miles on the Explorer. Having driven 235 miles (this is how far I used to get on a tank) and the gauge still...

Well fixed the hard to get rolling off the line issue… or rather it fixed itself. Driving home a couple days ago heard a loud pop and what sounded like a spring had released. Next couple stops were super easy to get moving all of the sudden. Got home looked everything over and realized the...

Well shoot the Kilmat is what I had saved to give it a shot. Think maybe I’ll see how I feel about the noise in 6 months. Right now it doesn’t bother me, but I’m still in that “ooh it makes cool sounds” phase.

Got a couple USB charge ports installed on the shifter console. Wanted to add at least one cig lighter style port but no good place and I can’t remember the last time I used one. Still need to order a new CB. Not urgent though. Quick trip to the hardware store for steel spacers and longer...

I’m curious too! I think we could make something happen!

Yep was thinking Yukon gears and lockers front and rear. Thinking a Detroit or something similar in the rear. Was thinking something selectable up front. Leaning towards an Eaton E-locker up front. I think I can squeeze one maybe two into the front of the center console. The ports I’ve got on...

Shift boot/center console done! The one I had on hand worked perfect! I think it’s for a 98ish Explorer or Ranger. Took the rubber shift boot out and used the hardware to attach my leather shift boot. Just a little bit of the hole in the carpet is still showing. I’m going to have to think about...

I’ve got the probe here: I’ve heard the 12-24” rule too. Most of the kits I see for TDIs have the probe on the exhaust manifold where the EGR used to be. I’m not really sure which is best. Something from a Ranger might work! I like the one you’ve got there. I’ve got one in storage from a 98...

Driveshafts are modified and reinstalled. Ended up having the rear extended 3.5” and the front shortened just a hair over 4”. Couldn’t get the transfer case skid back on though. The transfer case ended up slightly lower than it used to be. Will need to make some spacers and grab longer bolts...