I just finished fixing my explorer after the Paragon Destruction 2006 run.. only took a few shots so..
The frame with the old plates and tabs removed:
And now boxed on all four sides:
Again, but with the extra gusseting and other stuff like the limit strap tab.
The plates that make the "box" were first tack welded together while on the vehicle. The top plate was then removed leaving a channel of five plates on the chassis (the bottom consists of three plates + 2 side plates = 5). This was then removed from the vehicle and welded together to ensure proper penetration (welded both sides of every joint when possible). The panhard tabs were also welded while this channel was off the vehicle. The channel was then placed back onto the vehicle and then finally welded along with the top plate to properly form a "box". All of the plates were of course 0.25".
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Forgot to post this a while ago, this was before the winch install which required me to move the transmission radiator up so the winch can sit as far back as possible:
But of course no part comes out w/o being modified
So I ripped a small fan from a first generation Toyota Supra and tack welded it onto the back of the transmission cooler:
Simple switch on the dash for the fan:
During both days at Paragon, I kept the fan on while on the trails (90% of the time in 4LO). Whenever I exited the vehicle, i touched the cooler and it always remained just "warm" to the touch.
EDIT: Forgot to mention this, I discharged the air shocks and refilled them with ~120 cubic centimeters of shock oil and then properly filled them with nitrogen for proper ride height. And now the front acts like a trophy truck
On normal accelerations, the front rises probably 10 inches and all I see is sky. Left off the gas a little bit and it comes back down to normal height. Fun fun
: I also herad Will Smith want to play you in a movie
