updateage- Now that it's not super hot here and i finished my house projects (which was a huge task this summer) it's time to turn attention back to the Explorer.
Nobody is going to buy this and need to swap in the engine so I decided it's time to get things done that have been sitting for the summer.
1st- fixed the caliper mount after a lot of calls and measuring what specialty parts I have. Also ran and bent up a new brake line.
Then I decided while I had some down time to drill out the rusted bolts on my limit strap and rear trailing arm. Bad idea. I was not able to penetrate this with the most expensive drill bit the hardware store had to offer. So when all house fails, light **** on fire. The cutoff wheel ended up getting these bolts, they were rusted solid in place. Now I'm trying to find a replacement bushing if anyone has any suggestions, it's about 1.5" tall, 1.25" deep
So then it was on to the front to prepare for the motor swap. I picked up this set of orange fenders to replace the glass fenders I abused prior to installing my coil spacers and bump stops.
Then I decided to pull my header panel on the front of the truck. It's going to need to come off anyway, but mine had broken fiberglass where the parking lights and fenders bolt in so I'm going to do a junkyard run. For those interested in a 2nd gen swap onto a first gen, it's really just a stock header panel secured with these 2 "L" channel parts and then that flat piece bolted to the radiator support.
Speaking of radiator support, I have touch up welded mine a few times (it was actually one of the first things I have ever welded) and it continues to rip out the hood pins and corners. This is just likely from rubbing tires into inner fender wells on very rough hits at high speed. I can guarantee that even with the new tires, I will be cycling the suspension w/o coils in place to make sure I won't rub like this because I like the truck looking pretty like when I got it from Joe.
I thought about cutting it all away and going tube front end but I don't see the need. Maybe in the future if I keep the truck and go with a coilover setup I will add an engine cage integrated.
So you fab guys out there, if I keep ripping the thin gauge metal of the radiator support, can I plate the hood pins and corners or would it not be worth it? If so how thick of steel should I use? I'm thinking like this.
I would cut away some of the sides to get a plate to rework that corner, join it together and basically spread out the weight of the impacts on the corner and hood pins on a much wider surface.
I'd rather do that as I don't see how I would mount all that junk on the fenderwalls and core support if I cut that out to go tubed.
And no, those fenders aren't going to go orange, I actually like the unique baby blue and got to run my first spray gun last weekend. It was so easy, that is actually what spurred the ideas to make it pretty again.
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But there is a hairline starting on the driverside maybe.
