Blue Bandit from the beginning! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Blue Bandit from the beginning!

Hello All. I guess it's time to finally have a registry page for Blue. But first, a little about myself.
My name is Russell Darnell. I'm 17, and I live in Mustang, Oklahoma. A.K.A. Indian Wasteland.
But back to Blue. He's a 1992 Eddie Bauer Explorer, and as Monster Garage said 'with a major personalitity change'. This post will be the transformation a stock explorer, into one, very nice and unique, vehicle.

It all started in December, 1991. Wilson Foreman, the son of a woman who was my sister's neighbor, happened to win the texas lottery. 12.5 million I think. Well, as a birthday/'Hey, I'm rich' gift, Wilson bought a brand new, 1992, top of the line Explorer. MSRP, $34,000. For 5 years, Blue was a grocery getter for an old women, and the usual service checkups and oil changes(carfax).
Well, in 1997, Wislon bought his mom a brand new 1997 Eddie Bauer Expedition. So, my sister was needing a vehicle to drive back and forth to seagate, where she worked. So, for another 5 years, Blue was a grocery getter/daily driver/farm mobile/hay carrier/feed carrier/go to the middle of 500 acres looking for a sick mama cow in the middle of winter in negitive 10 degrees for my sister. Until one day, she blew the head gasket, and cracked the head. Blue sat in her front yard for a year.
Then, in august of 2002, I was about to turn 16, and i was no where near having my 59 running, so i needed a vehicle, if i was goin to drive at all. My sister said i could take over the payments of the Explorer, repair what was wrong, and i could have it. Easy, i thought. Ha.
$951.63, and two months later, i was driving the explorer home from my mechanic. For the first couple of months, my mechanic knew my explorer very well.

here's Blue when i got him back home from the mechanic. i was so excited!

1755492fordexploreractionshot.jpg

Blue is on a hill. pretty decent shot, considering the camera i used sucked hardcore.

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ah yes, the cleaning the newly aquired car ritual. you wouldn't believe the amount of horse feed i found in there.

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yep, typical stock interior.

a lot had changed in the time ive had it. this post will follow everything that goes on with my ex. from the beginning, to my wreck, to the reconstruction and street mods.
 



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ok, so i have the ex. i take my driver test, and pass, and now i have my license(not to kill:D). Well, i guess Blue was still getting over the owner change, and decided to try and haze me a little. 1st day with me and my license, i go to school, and the started conks out on me in the parking lot. Hows that for luck? so, i wait for a tow truck to haul it back to my mechanic, and im sitting there in Blue, and he wont start. So, i rolled up the driver window, because rain was comming, and then i try one last time to start him. and of course, he was messing with me, cause he started right up. I drove to the mechanic, and @130.00 and 3 days later, im driving Blue again. That was fun.
well, the first thing i do to blue, is fix the arm rest bracket. It was broken, so i paid $69 for that new from Ford. i then took off the running boards(which are still for sale!), and set those aside.
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Life went on, and i slowly got bit my the street bug, cause i had to start customizing it somehow. Thats when i stumbled upon this site. and i discover Explorer Express. Well, next thing i knew, i had a billet grille. WoW! what an improvement!

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i then bought a jensen mp3 player for my b-day. Thats another story about that radio. I would recomemed crutchfield.com to anyone, but jensen is just a bad brand, in my case. could be different.

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this was an early idea of what i was wanting to do...it's changed.
 






Ah, july of 2003, its summer, im working, getting good money for Blue, myself, everything is goin great....until a 2003 Isuzu rodeo pulls out in front of me, and causes $2000 worth of damage. Ya, that wasnt fun. Cop was a jerk too. This is why i have bad opinions of Oklahoma City cops. hmm, heres some pictures.

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here, i got a new digi camera, so i could take better pics of the wreck damage, and reconstruction. thats why the pics are bigger. i also used the insurence check (all his fault, his insurence paid for all damages) to repair the damages myself, after i worked up enough courage to do it myself. and have some extra cash left over to get Blue painted blue, or buy some neat things.

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this was fun at 2:30 in the morning, with half your truck laying in a pile behind you
 






what then?? where's the rest o' the story?? i was really getting into that!
 






haha for real. i was interested in the story cause i know youve done a heck of alot since then!!
 






more story and pics please!
 






Hey everyone that has read this, sorry i havent updated this in over a year, things just got busy with school and family and such, so i apologize. Also, without an internet connection at home, its hard for me to upload pictures anymore on this site. but what i do have is a video detailing the life of blue from past to present. heres the link:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173127

when i find some time, i will continue the ever growing saga that is known as Blue Bandit
 






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