My name is Patrick and now that I've finally done some work I'll start a registry to keep track of where it's been and where it's going. I'll try to organize it chronologically as best I can.
I got the truck in June of 2008 with 70,000 miles on it.
Newest Setup: SAS/SOA, 3" BL, Warrior Shackles for ~12" total lift.
Some quick stats:
2001 Explorer Sport Trac
4X4
4.88 Gears
LP Dana 44HD Front Axle with leaf springs
SOA Stock 8.8 in the rear
35x12.50 BFG KM2s
17x9 Cragar Soft8 wheels
6x5.5 bolt pattern all 4 corners
Advantage Hard Hat bed cover
Here she is the day we brought her home
And of course it had to be approved by our skilled research team
The first thing I did to it was add a little ford emblem over the door badging. This pic is pretty recent but the best closeup I have of it. And when you're 15 stickers are still fricken sweet haha.
Another pic after a nice bath and detailing
My backyard; well sorta. Shenandoah National Forest is about 20 or 30 min away. I really like the view
This is a mountain bike park my buddies and I hit up a lot. The sun was at a cool angle so I snapped a quick picture.
Next thing (About a year and a half later) was a new set of shoes as beach driving was in the very near future and I needed a tire I wouldn't get stuck with. Got a set of Hercules Terra Trac A/T's in the stock size yet again. Before the beach trip I added a CB since we were traveling with RV's as a little group to OBX. That was just mounted on the passenger side of the console and the antenna was run under the carpet to the magnet mount antenna on the roof.
And the best way to go to the beach:
After the beach trip I decided I needed a little extra light in the back for hooking up trailers and just for more light whenever I wanted. Or to tell someone behind me to shut their damn high beams off. So I went down to Autozone and for $20 picked up a cheap pair of 3X5 Pilot Aux lights and hooked them up to a switch that I put down on the side of the console.
Also that was after a little fun with friends in an old park I found near my high school. Also from this next pic you can see how worn out the old shocks are. They were creaking over every little bump. Ended up having a local shop replace all 4 - Monroe Sensa-Tracs on the front and Monroe air adjustable shocks in the rear so it could be leveled out under heavy loads.
Heres a somewhat side shot with the new shock. Easily an inch or 2 higher. Before I learned mud was the devil...
A pic of the air shocks getting a workout. The setup is about 6000-6500 lbs. - Little overloaded but at the time it was our only choice for a tow vehicle since we got rid of our 3/4 ton with the 8.1 liter Vortec. Truck did fine the temp gauge didn't even rise but she didn't like overdrive at all.
My friends and I are big into snowboarding. Since the bed is so small, had to put the board up on the roof. So a Yakima rack was added on top.
That sunbleached gray cladding just wasn't cutting it anymore and I started to see guys on here that painted theirs black and I loved the way it looked. After researching a little I found Krylon Fusion to be the main paint everyone used. Got a few cans and started the project.
And After:
For a year and a half the truck really didn't change. I was too busy with school, sports and helping remodel the entire house to really think about it.
I then got into Clemson University and joined the Offroad club. There was already a sport trace in it!! although it was stock. But hey 2's better than 1.
We took a couple trips but I've really only got pictures from Uwharrie Nat'l Forest just outside Charlotte.
Decided while I was there to get my wheels repainted dirt brown. Still haven't learned my lesson about mud
I went to the wrong state to want college and coming home to VA only gave me a little hope before our annual trip to Snowshoe WV. And yes we're dumb enough to men bike in a couple inches of snow.
Back at school I was starting to go crazy not bing able to do work on my truck after looking over projects on here all winter. I got a small fix when Offtrac said there was a guy selling a brush guard which I had been looking for. He also threw in some clear corner lamps for nothin!
Finally finals week was done and I could start working on the TT/Shackle Lift
Heres a picture of it before the lift:
I was experimenting with the front bumper and was too lazy to put it back on for the picture.
Like Lono I put the jack stands on the frame right in front of the wheel wells and used the bottle jack to push the leaf springs down so i could put the bolts in.
With the shackles only: the stupid bolt killed what daylight I had left so the torsion keys had to wait for the next day.
After the TT so its all done! And now the cladding is off to be painted minus the front bumper. I wanted to see what it looked like.
Finally looking like a truck
After that the body lift was next:
TT/Shackles:
And after body lift:
There wasn't a terrible amount of trimming to do. Still waiting to see how it all flexes out. It took me long enough. After 4 years of owning the Trac and almost 60,000 miles later its barely the same as when I bought it home from the dealer. It took about 2 and a half years before I even started looking to do anything. I really have to thank everyone on here for their help and guidance. Now she sits high but there's always room for improvement and I'll update as I go along.
I got the truck in June of 2008 with 70,000 miles on it.
Newest Setup: SAS/SOA, 3" BL, Warrior Shackles for ~12" total lift.
Some quick stats:
2001 Explorer Sport Trac
4X4
4.88 Gears
LP Dana 44HD Front Axle with leaf springs
SOA Stock 8.8 in the rear
35x12.50 BFG KM2s
17x9 Cragar Soft8 wheels
6x5.5 bolt pattern all 4 corners
Advantage Hard Hat bed cover
Here she is the day we brought her home
And of course it had to be approved by our skilled research team
The first thing I did to it was add a little ford emblem over the door badging. This pic is pretty recent but the best closeup I have of it. And when you're 15 stickers are still fricken sweet haha.
Another pic after a nice bath and detailing
My backyard; well sorta. Shenandoah National Forest is about 20 or 30 min away. I really like the view
This is a mountain bike park my buddies and I hit up a lot. The sun was at a cool angle so I snapped a quick picture.
Next thing (About a year and a half later) was a new set of shoes as beach driving was in the very near future and I needed a tire I wouldn't get stuck with. Got a set of Hercules Terra Trac A/T's in the stock size yet again. Before the beach trip I added a CB since we were traveling with RV's as a little group to OBX. That was just mounted on the passenger side of the console and the antenna was run under the carpet to the magnet mount antenna on the roof.
And the best way to go to the beach:
After the beach trip I decided I needed a little extra light in the back for hooking up trailers and just for more light whenever I wanted. Or to tell someone behind me to shut their damn high beams off. So I went down to Autozone and for $20 picked up a cheap pair of 3X5 Pilot Aux lights and hooked them up to a switch that I put down on the side of the console.
Also that was after a little fun with friends in an old park I found near my high school. Also from this next pic you can see how worn out the old shocks are. They were creaking over every little bump. Ended up having a local shop replace all 4 - Monroe Sensa-Tracs on the front and Monroe air adjustable shocks in the rear so it could be leveled out under heavy loads.
Heres a somewhat side shot with the new shock. Easily an inch or 2 higher. Before I learned mud was the devil...
A pic of the air shocks getting a workout. The setup is about 6000-6500 lbs. - Little overloaded but at the time it was our only choice for a tow vehicle since we got rid of our 3/4 ton with the 8.1 liter Vortec. Truck did fine the temp gauge didn't even rise but she didn't like overdrive at all.
My friends and I are big into snowboarding. Since the bed is so small, had to put the board up on the roof. So a Yakima rack was added on top.
That sunbleached gray cladding just wasn't cutting it anymore and I started to see guys on here that painted theirs black and I loved the way it looked. After researching a little I found Krylon Fusion to be the main paint everyone used. Got a few cans and started the project.
And After:
For a year and a half the truck really didn't change. I was too busy with school, sports and helping remodel the entire house to really think about it.
I then got into Clemson University and joined the Offroad club. There was already a sport trace in it!! although it was stock. But hey 2's better than 1.
We took a couple trips but I've really only got pictures from Uwharrie Nat'l Forest just outside Charlotte.
Decided while I was there to get my wheels repainted dirt brown. Still haven't learned my lesson about mud
I went to the wrong state to want college and coming home to VA only gave me a little hope before our annual trip to Snowshoe WV. And yes we're dumb enough to men bike in a couple inches of snow.
Back at school I was starting to go crazy not bing able to do work on my truck after looking over projects on here all winter. I got a small fix when Offtrac said there was a guy selling a brush guard which I had been looking for. He also threw in some clear corner lamps for nothin!
Finally finals week was done and I could start working on the TT/Shackle Lift
Heres a picture of it before the lift:
I was experimenting with the front bumper and was too lazy to put it back on for the picture.
Like Lono I put the jack stands on the frame right in front of the wheel wells and used the bottle jack to push the leaf springs down so i could put the bolts in.
With the shackles only: the stupid bolt killed what daylight I had left so the torsion keys had to wait for the next day.
After the TT so its all done! And now the cladding is off to be painted minus the front bumper. I wanted to see what it looked like.
Finally looking like a truck
After that the body lift was next:
TT/Shackles:
And after body lift:
There wasn't a terrible amount of trimming to do. Still waiting to see how it all flexes out. It took me long enough. After 4 years of owning the Trac and almost 60,000 miles later its barely the same as when I bought it home from the dealer. It took about 2 and a half years before I even started looking to do anything. I really have to thank everyone on here for their help and guidance. Now she sits high but there's always room for improvement and I'll update as I go along.
