'98 XLT 5.0 Frame Off Restoration

[obie]

So Rick moved this to the modified 2nd gen section since I'm well beyond just bodywork at this point. Thanks Rick! Hopefully this should reach out to more members since the bodywork posts don't show up on the main home page.

At some point I should go back and add an addendum to my first post, since it's no longer the six month, three grand project I had initially wanted. At this point, between what I've paid the bodyshop and parts and paint and stuff I've bought, I'm at about seven grand. My buddies at work joke that it's gonna be the most expensive Explorer by the time I'm done, but it'll be well worth it.

 

[FIND]

Meh, while you are at it, see if you can cram a coyote in there. It's been done in a Ranger... If you are gonna go over budget, go all out right? It is dimensionally quite a bit smaller than the 4.6.

edit: Granted, that was a 2wd ranger I think... So different suspension, and I couldn't say for sure it would fit around everything else up there.

 

[obie]

Meh, while you are at it, see if you can cram a coyote in there. It's been done in a Ranger... If you are gonna go over budget, go all out right? It is dimensionally quite a bit smaller than the 4.6.

I've seen that before, don't tempt me though! I don't even know what I'd do with an extra 140hp and 100ft lbs. If I do ever swap one in, I'll get one from an F150. But for now my motor is strong, but if it ever goes...

I'll start putting away some money for it now

 

[obie]

Not much to report. Got some misc parts in, no bodywork done yet. I did pick up my driveshafts today, they turned out nice. New front CV boot, new rear slip yoke boot, rust cleaned up, new weights welded on, perfectly balanced, everything greased up good and those Moog u-joints installed. I'll probably get the paint on there next spring when it's warmer out. With all that work and some POR/KBS on there, should last me a few hundred thousand more miles.

I bought some heavy duty inner tie rods from Fat Cat here. They're made by Dixon Bros. Racing and they use a beefy clevis set up that should eliminate the tie rod weak point. So between those and the Napa/Moog outer tie rods ends I already have on there, my steering should be good.

I also got my RCI skid plate in recently, and that's gonna help beef up the front end too. Extremely well made, perfect laser cuts and bends and the powdercoat was flawless. Can't wait to smash it on a boulder

I'm kinda undecided about a body lift. Right now while the body's off is the easiest time to get it done. I don't want the full three inches, but supposedly an inch and a half doesn't require anything besides trimming the lower fan shroud. I'm just worried about the long term durability of the steering shaft with the angle being slightly off. Though I suppose the extra clearance to stuff my tires in the wheel wells is a good trade off.

 

[obie]

Good news! It's been a while, but the Ex is finally back in the shop and getting the boob job, I mean bodywork, started on. The Mustang they were working on before this is pretty much done, and looks awesome.

Rotted cab mounts were replaced already, and it looks perfect. The body man found a few more things that were rotted while he was poking around, mostly in the rear wheel wells. Not only is the wheel arch rotted, but it went deeper than I'd feared. Nothing he can't fix though. I've seen his work on the other vehicles, and when he told me it would look better than factory, I believe him. The exhaust shields were rotted though in a few spots, so I'm just gonna leave them off. I don't think it's gonna be a big deal especially with the way the new exhaust will be routed.

I'm also waiting for my Superlift kit to get here, my coilover conversion brackets, and my Fox shocks and Eibach springs to get here as well. Once all the suspension stuff is in, they'll get anything painted or POR'd that needs it, get it installed, touch up where they had to grind and weld with POR, and then it's gonna get the bedliner painted on

It shouldn't be very long before the body is back on. I still have to order the 33" Duratracs, so that way they can do any trimming necessary before the final prep and paint. I'll make sure that every wheel gets checked at full stuff and full droop and that the fronts get checked at full lock too.

I'm also back to debating the cowl hood. It's gonna be the single most expensive bit of fabrication, especially if I want it to be full steel. He quoted me around $1800 with it being fully functional and painted. I have a few weeks to decide if I wanna spend that much on just a hood. Makes me wish there were more aftermarket options, dunno why companies don't make much for the most popular SUV ever.

I also talked with him about converting the column shift to a floor shift, with something like an Art Carr, B&M, or Lokar. I don't know how well this will work, as I still want to keep the rear climate control functional. Added to that is that fact that there aren't very many aftermarket shifters I like that will work with a 4R70W without doing some linkage and bracket modifications. That can be held off until after the body is on anyways, so it will be easier to see how everything would sit.

I'm making a rough timeframe of six months to a year before I can drive it again. I didn't really plan on spending 4K for suspension and tires until after everything was done, but if I get a good tax return and my insurance claim settled, that should be able to take care of quite a bit.

So within the next few days or so, I should have some good pictures to show you guys! I'm so excited I've actually been dreaming about driving this truck, haha

 

[Maginley]

hey man looks good so far love to see em restored. i was thinking of doing this over the summer just not as extensive as you went . or maybe even doing it in sections like under hood first the interior of something . well ill have to start the thread when i get around to it. if you got any tips and tricks i could use limme know man. i like the looks of it so far keep it up!

 

[obie]

hey man looks good so far love to see em restored. i was thinking of doing this over the summer just not as extensive as you went . or maybe even doing it in sections like under hood first the interior of something . well ill have to start the thread when i get around to it. if you got any tips and tricks i could use limme know man. i like the looks of it so far keep it up!

Thanks! My biggest tip is to document every single thing. I took before and after pictures of each component from every angle I could get to, as well as bagging all the parts associated with it, and keeping all the different sections boxed up together. I also had the factory manuals on hand to check out whenever I had to look something up. Haynes and Chilton are fine for most repairs, but for something this in depth it's worth it to have access to the Ford manuals. Lemme know if you have any more questions, I'll do my best to help you out!

I hit a pretty long setback today. 4-6 more weeks for Superlift to get the kit out to me. I ordered it on December 15th. 4WheelParts.com had none in stock, and neither did Superlift. So, they have to make it. Which is good in a way, I guess. It means that despite a lack of inventory, it's at least not discontinued. It also gives me an extra month or so to save up more money before the frame and suspension get finished. I just called the local goodyear store and I'm getting 4 brand new 33x12.5R15" Duratrac Wranglers I'm picking them up Saturday and getting them mounted and balanced. The old wheels and 31s will stay on until it's time for final prep so that way the new ones don't get scratched or dinged or anything while they're working.

I'll post those for sale here once that happens for an exclusive one week period before they go to general sale. I figure I'll take a hundred off for any local EF member who wants them. Wheels are stock 15x7s (QTY 4) in good shape, and the tires (QTY 4) are 31x10.5R15s Duratracs with about 2,000 miles on them, still in perfect shape. Roadforce balanced too. Does 750 (650 for EF guys) sound fair? I paid around 900 just for the tires and balancing, with the road hazard (which isn't transferrable). If the wheels or tires do get damaged, I'll adjust the price accordingly.

 

[obie]

Here are a few shots to show the progress and a bit of carnage:

 

[FIND]

makes me wonder how much hidden rust I could find on my rust-free explorer...

 

[Varsity]

makes me wonder how much hidden rust I could find on my rust-free explorer...

x2. This thread is pretty awesome and I check back all the time, but I get a little more nervous each time...

 

[TheGTkid]

I love this project, when you're done we need to hit Bundy in southern Michigan!
maybe I can come down and hit some trails in Indiana with you too!

 

[obie]

makes me wonder how much hidden rust I could find on my rust-free explorer...

x2. This thread is pretty awesome and I check back all the time, but I get a little more nervous each time...

It is pretty scary just how much you can't see. I thought I had all the rust pretty well documented. Once they started tearing into it though, I realized just how rough it really was. Despite the cost, it makes me glad I chose to have a shop that specializes in restorations do the body work. I'm horrible at it, haha. It'll be nice to have it back to pretty much factory condition, and making sure that I keep it clean, keep it coated in and out with rust prevention stuff, and using salt-x during the winter should keep future rust repairs to a minimum. I have no illusion that rust will never return though, but as long as I can fix it before it starts rotting through, the body should be able to last me til the apocalypse. And then it becomes a zombie hunter truck

I love this project, when you're done we need to hit Bundy in southern Michigan!
maybe I can come down and hit some trails in Indiana with you too!

Thanks, and that sounds like a blast! My girlfriend lives up in Michigan too, about halfway between Ann Arbor and Detroit. How far away from there are you? And if you ever wanna come down here, Indiana has the Badlands :roll: I haven't been down there in a few years, so I've been really itching to go again.

 

[obie]

More progress shots! I'm amazed and impressed by how fast and how good their body guy is. He's also the paint guy, and damn good at that too. I feel very confident that I brought my baby to the best guys for the job. Heck, he's been doing paint and bodywork for longer than I've been alive. He says that all the bodywork should be done by either the end of this week or early next week, depending on if he finds any other tricky hidden spots. Excuse the cell phone shots; I really need to start carrying my camera in my truck.

And the glass also got pulled today. No rust on the glass lips! I'm so very much relieved about that. Every single one is in perfect shape. I do need a new front windshield though, as there are a few nicks from where a semi was throwing debris as it almost ran into me head on. I'd trade a new windshield for my life any day though.

We also started getting the colors set for the paint job, and I'm trying to decide if I want to do the full four color pattern, or simply the base and the next two darker colors. And after talking with the guy, I think I'm going to go with the satin clear coat. From what he was saying about the flat, I would have a lot of problems. It chalks, and then is a lot harder to keep clean and to fix any kind of blemishes, like trail rash. It should keep a very low sheen and still look good, and be easier to take care of. It looked good when he showed me a satin clear on some black paint.

I'm not sure if I want to keep that darkest brown in there. For the real camo, it's necessary. I think it might look kinda out of place on the truck though, since it's so different from the other three colors. What do you guys think?

 

[FIND]

Aren't they discontinuing the digicamo?

 

[AtlasRucker]

Looking really good and is in way better condition than mine. I have a long road ahead of me.

 

[obie]

Aren't they discontinuing the digicamo?

I think you're thinking about the Army's ACU stuff. It was supposed to be a "universal" pattern, but sucked at pretty much everything except urban environments. This is the ACU pattern:

And thanks Atlas! I'm pretty impressed with what you're doing though, doing it all yourself. I'm taking the easy way out, haha

 

[FIND]

I think you're thinking about the Army's ACU stuff. It was supposed to be a "universal" pattern, but sucked at pretty much everything except urban environments.

That's because the Army, in it's infinite wisdom, picked the pattern and colors that everyone recommended against. Yeah though, you were right, I was thinking about the universal camo for ACUs.

How large are the pixels going to be? I see a lot of them that they go either too small or too large, and it just ruins it.

 

[obie]

Lotsa updates for today!

First, the bad news. I had to drop out of the TMH group buy because I had almost a grand of unexpected expenses pop up and I needed to use. Since Al's never charged me, I'm pulling it from my header fund. I'll probably just order them once the Ex is all back together again.

Also, Superlift is still making the lift. They're waiting on parts and said it'll be another two to three weeks.

And now the good news!

I thought the shop was just waiting for me to get tires and headers and the lift/suspension parts in before doing anything else, but they've been very busy on it. Check out some of these pictures (again, I need to carry a camera with me. My phone really washes out the colors)

Door jams all painted up, looking gorgeous:

Fenders and doors getting prepped:

Underbody POR15 and bedlining all done! The color is nearly a perfect match to the base coat, minus the gloss. Ignore the fact that it looks grey in the picture, and I'll post another picture with a real camera:

All the mechanical stuff is done too, like my liftgate unlock actuator and window latch, drivers door unlock motor and window regulator, and a few other odds and ends. I was so excited to see all this unexpected progress I actually jumped up and down a few times, haha. It's really starting to come together and I can tell it's going to be amazing. I also saw the paint sample they put together of how the pattern's going to look, and it's exactly what I want. Crisp pixels, large but not too large and chunky, and the colors are dead on to the Mil-Spec.

I had to put off the tires for a bit, but today I paid for one of the 33 Duratracs and I'll get it mounted and balanced Friday, and they'll just switch the tire to each hub when they check for fitment and possible trimming.

I think that's pretty much it. Yeah, lots of good things happening

Edit: Oh, forgot to mention that they got me a new fuel tank since the old one had too many pinholes, and a new filler neck since it was cracked, along with new straps. That should fix my evap codes too, so passing emissions won't be a problem once she's back on the road.

 

[FIND]

God... making me jealous. I've been doing all this work at restoring and modernizing mine, but... Your frame off is just a whole different level.

 

[AtlasRucker]

God... making me jealous. I've been doing all this work at restoring and modernizing mine, but... Your frame off is just a whole different level.

Well said...

I may have similar plans in my future with mine obie...

I will have to see what I can do when I get in my new place.

It looks amazing! the undercarriage is in great shape and looks great!

So whats been done so far with the body work? There is just been so much you have been doing to this and I wanna know what I'm in for... Lol

Looks great! Hope to see more updates.