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BKennedy's 1994 Explorer

SAS / Re-Wire / Updates in progress;
Bkennedy's SAS and Rebuild Thread

Since I have been a member for over eight years, I thought it was about time I registered my Explorer:

1994 Ford Explorer XLT 4X4
White with tan leather interior
Owned since 1995

Modifications:
The modifications list is mostly up to date as of 04/08/2020. The pictures are older, which show the evolution of my Explorer. There are tons of pictures and modification details in my SAS thread that is linked above.

Front Suspension / Axle;
SAS with 76 F-150 HP Dana 44 cut-down to Early Bronco width.
14" Radflo coilover shocks with Viper 250/300 coil springs and Eibach helper springs.
James Duff radius arms.
BC Broncos, tie rod over steering. Tie rod has been rebuilt with newer, stronger tube.
BC Broncos track / panhard bar.
Custom shock mounts and track bar mounts fabricated by me.
Eaton E-Locker.
Solid diff cover.
5:13 gears.

Rear Suspension / Axle;
Spring Over Axle (SOA).
Custom leaf springs fabricated by North County Spring, Escondido.
Superlift SOA brackets (modified for strength and welded to tubes because they broke).
Rancho 9000XL 11" travel shocks.
Custom shock mounts and cross member.
Detroit locker (used to have a PowerTrax No-Slip but it went boom).
5:13 gears.
Differential guard (forget the brand).

Drive Train;
Stock 4.0 with 1999 Explorer air intake for relocation due to SAS.
GM 700R4 transmission.
B&M Mega floor shifter.
Atlas II, 3.8 transfer case.
Advanced Adapters for transmission and transfer case.
Custom drive shafts with double cardigan joints on both.
Custom transmission cross member with torque arm and skid plates.

Tires / Wheels;
Maxxix Razr's 35X12.5X15 on 15X8.5 ION Alloy wheels.
Custom hub / wheel centric adaptors (4.5X5 to 5.5X5) on rear axle from Bullet Proof.

Interior;
Full internal roll cage (custom bent at first cage building party)
Custom center console with all the accessory switches in one place.
Extra gauges for transmission (PSI/Temp.)
Kenwood CD player
Boss speakers
Cobra CB radio
Kenwood HAM
Few extra switches
Extra lap belt for driver (so I don't have to deal with stock seat belt locking up all the time)

Other Modifications;
Protofab plate front winch bumper (modified to fit from XJ to Explorer)
Custom light hangers
Custom front bumper mounting
Warn 8500 winch
Custom rock sliders welded to frame
Custom rear bumper with swing out tire / gas can rack, CB antenna mount and side protection
Custom roof rack made from 1/2" and 3/4" conduit. Spans most of the roof with 42" curved LED light bar
Two LED light bars; 20" CREE flood, 42" OSRAM curved combo, both have custom made vinyl covers by Zukman
LED rock lights
Second battery in old spare tire area (with custom box)
Puma 12 volt 1HP air compressor and tank mounted with swing down skid plate in old spare tire well next to aux battery
Battery relay type isolator mounted behind grille, 2 manual breakers and a 450 watt mega fuse, all in line
Roadmaster auxillary braking system for "dingy" towing behind RV
18 slot auxiliary fuse panel under hood for all the accessories, including radio, most go to secondary battery
Aluminum water bottle windshield washer reservoir (had to remove stock unit for SAS)
RedHead steering box with fluid plate cooler
Electric cooling pusher fan on trans cooler

Future Modifications/Plans;
Redo the rear bumper tire and gas can mounts DONE

Things I would have done differently;
Tossed the TTB and gone SAS right away (would have saved a lot of money and countless hours trying to make that stock front suspension work)
Had my transmission built by someone other than Bowtie Overdrives
Gone with a Detroit locker in rear the first time

Favorite Modification;
Gears, transmission and transfer case setup.

Pictures;

Rock Crawling (literally, it crawled right up the rock...)
IMG_20141209_162525_696_Large_.jpg

IMG_20141209_162415_114_Large_.jpg


New LED light bars with covers, and roof rack
IMG_20150415_102426994_Medium_.jpg


Pancake Rock Trail (East San Diego County)

IMG_20140805_142718_533_Large_.jpg

IMG_20140805_160720_966_Large_.jpg

IMG_20140805_161057_155_Large_.jpg

IMG_20140805_161153_560_Large_.jpg


Truckhaven;
IMG_20140117_164232_644_Large_.jpg

IMG_20140120_112624_021_Large_.jpg

DSCF5032_Large_.jpg

DSCF5022_Large_.jpg

3817TDS_2005_138_.jpg


Corral Canyon;
3817Corral_Cyn_16_.jpg

Custom center console (older version);
c11.jpg

New version
20190905_171317.jpg

Cage work;
Rollcage.jpg

Completed cage;
Cage_1.jpg

Aux fuse panel and other stuff;
IMG_20140313_204629_434_Large_.jpg


Transfer case / skid plate / cross member;
IMG_20140924_120743_932_Large_.jpg


Old shock mounts
IMG_20141125_135303_808_Large_.jpg

Tow rig (old);
May06_Vacation_197_Small_.jpg
 
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I've never realy seen your Explorer up close but I did not know you had a cage! :)
 






I've never realy seen your Explorer up close but I did not know you had a cage! :)
Iz, do you live inside your computer? I just posted this about two minutes ago. Cage bent at the original cage party at Zukman's house.
 






Iz, do you live inside your computer? I just posted this about two minutes ago.
Yes father, I live inside a computer :). No, I just came in from the cold to warm up (34 degrees F here) -- I'm removing the Comfort Inn decals from the van.
 






I've always loved this truck! But i never realized you didn't have a registry, it's about time. :thumbsup:
 






Yes father, I live inside a computer :). No, I just came in from the cold to warm up (34 degrees F here) -- I'm removing the Comfort Inn decals from the van.
Should we change your login to "HAL"? 34 degrees. That sounds cold. I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt because its 72 degrees here! It does get down to a chilly 58 at night though. brrrrrrrr.;)
 






I decided I needed a cage after flopping the Explorer on its right side. The A and B pillars have been comprimised and I was afraid if I did it again, the roof would crush right down to the bottom of the windows. Then when Fakawee rolled his and the cage saved it, us guys in Southern California got smart and had a cage party.
 






Finally... Now it will be easier to reference people that 35s will fit with a ~5.5" lift. :)

BrianFlexRear.jpg


BrianLedge.jpg


BrianClimb1.jpg


BrianButt.jpg
 
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Thanks, Colin. I was looking for some pictures of the back of my Explorer, but now I have one gas can turned sideways instead of the ground grabbing two pictured. There is a little front fender trimming necessary. Rear rubs a little on the inner fender at full stuff and on the front edge of the fender itself. It has rubbed all the paint off, but no damage to the tires because its a smooth edge.

That third picture from the top, I always hated that hill with that offset ledge at the top. Bumping up a ledge is not fun with about a 100 foot drop behind you. The first time I went up that, I was following you, actually.:p: Now that trail is so dangerous, its not even worth trying.:(
 






Looks sweet! I didn't realize you had a cage either, i like it a lot. Hopefully this year i'll see this beast in Moab again. :thumbsup:
 






Found some more on the external HD.

(dead links)
 
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Some More Pictures;

Big Bear, April 2004;
BB_042004_13_Small_.JPG

Glamis, October 2004
Glamis_102004_83_Medium_.JPG

Calico, May 2005;
Calico_96_Medium_.JPG

Moab, May 2006;
2294894000089462589HFoaLr_ph_Medium_.jpg

May_06_Vacation_637_Medium_.JPG

DSCN0154_Small_1.jpg

May_06_Vacation_1044_Medium_.JPG

May_06_Vacation_1894_Medium_.JPG

May_06_Vacation_1904_Medium_.JPG

Truckhaven Hills, Various Dates;
Brian3_Medium_.jpg

DSCF0077_Medium_.JPG

DSCF0431_Medium_.JPG

Death Valley, November 2007 (with the old folks)
Death_Valley_2007_312_Medium_.JPG
 
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nice x u got there
 






My home built "Torque Arm" to keep the transmission / transfer case from twisting.
DSCF1228_Medium_.JPG

DSCF1238_Medium_.JPG
 
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Got anymore specs on that? Im gonna need one for my 700r4 cross member.
 






Got anymore specs on that? Im gonna need one for my 700r4 cross member.
I made it out of 3" wide 3/16th thick channel with a sway bar bushing for the arm. I think it cost about $10.00 total, plus a few hours work. I don't have any specs other than the building material because I had to make it fit and modified my original plan a few times. If I was doing it again, I would have just built an entire new cross member with wider spaced mounts for the transmission, eliminating the need for the torque arm.
 






BKennedy, I would definately say that your a serious off roader. Very Sweet set up! :) :thumbsup:
 






Very nice! Do you have any better pics or specifics on your rear bumper? I'm planning to have a rear built soon am looking for ideas to steal.:) Anything you would do differently next time?

Thanks.
 



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About time you put up a registry!
 






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