Finially got decent pics...

Well I finially got a lot of stuff done over thanksgiving break. Finially got rims, as seen on Tommy98016's Saleen and expo5.0's ex. Also tail covers made by expo5.0. Tinted the tail lights, painted the calipers and anti-sway bars, and painted the tail light covers.

Mods shown:

18" Saleen rims w/ Yokohama AVS S/T tires

Explorer Express anti-sway bars.

Painted calipers

Custom tail covers w/ tinted tails.

Clear corners.

Questions:

-Should I remove the pinstripe?

-Should I paint front+rear bumpres & the side moldings white?

-Should I remove the side moldings?
(maybe some photoshop gurus could gimme examples?)

Here are pics of what a 1995 stock limited explorer looks like, minus the white tail wing (I think I'm going to get one of those though )

Please excuse the fact that they were taken at night... tonight was the first time I had access to a good digital camera since I put everything on.

Over xmas break I plan on dropping it 1-2" pending successful tweaking of the Air Ride Control system.

 

[hydroxy]

yea, I actually have a set of locking lug nuts sitting on my passenger's seat waiting to be installed... just been really busy this week. I'll do it tomorrow morning =P I plan on getting 5 different sets of lug-nut locks. I figure at $10 a pop, $50 for the best protection possible is nothing compared to what losing them would cost. It is just going to annoy the **** outta any mechanic who has to take my wheels off for legit reasons... =P

 

[hydroxy]

Also, mud flaps are not coming off... I had to drill holes to put them on, last thing I want to do is spend time filling + painting those holes. I Might however take them off and paint the side not facing the tire white to match the truck... we'll see.

I'm kinda going crazy about painting everything white... I was thinking even the window molds, rear lift gate sides, license plate holder (definetly doing), Ford emblems, and even maybe the interior (I think i'm starting to go insane with that last one...).

This is of course after painting all the trim white =P

 

[hydroxy]

OK - questions!!!!


What do I do about the rear bumper?!?! Do I paint the top part of it? I would think that if I did that, the paint would get worn pretty quickly just because that is a place you normally rest things on, sit on, etc etc. Also, what do I use to prep that since it is a very textured plastic? Just start with a 100ish grit and work my way up? Do you think that the paint will hold up?


Thanks,
Patrick

 

[TAS98xlt]

I would suggest you not paint the rear bumper if you plan on using it at all. On mine I have to be careful not to hit it with anything. And it also makes it difficult to wash the top of the truck without standing on the rear bumper.

 

[hydroxy]

what should I do about it being grey then? Just leave it? I might paint the lip of the bumper white and leave the top grey...

 

[X~FACTOR]

Hydroxy- just wait for BM's roll pan and then paint that.

 

[hydroxy]

I dont think I'll be ordering one of those unfortunetly - $$ and I use my bumper too much.

 

[hydroxy]

Pinstripe removed...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=95838

 

[hydroxy]

removed the bumpers while the ex is in the shop getting a $1200 front diff repair... bearings hopefully. (OUCH!!!!)

I thought the front almost looked good without the bumper on it... here are some pics

I need a digi cam.. I know the pics arn't the best.

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

you need new head lgiht's and corner's.....

the X is lookin NICE even without the bumper's..lol

what's with all the wires hagging where the bumper's used to be?

 

[XplorerKid]

those are for his foglights.......

 

[hydroxy]

front black wires were the fogs... and white wire was where I had offroad lights... just havn't removed the wire for them.

The rear, the two thick black wires are for the license plate lights. The jumble of red wires are the ones which connected to my reverse lights (only have one left). I'm going to be removing it though.

Howcome I need new corners/headlights? My headlight on the left has a lotta condensation in it from installing the strobe... going to fix that when I get the ex back.

Here is a pic of the front lights I used to have. (on the left)

 

[boominXplorer]

by the camber i guess you got it lowered?

 

[hydroxy]

not yet... I think the alignment went outta whack when I got the new wheels... I tell you, it doesn't look THAT out of alignment if you see it in person. But looking at that picture now, I do see it looks bad. I had never noticed that before.

Well I'm lowering it whenever I get the explorer back, and then I HAVE to get it aligned...


wow, that does look outta alignment a lot tho - I wish I could go outside and look at it to see if it really did look that bad... I guess I never noticed it that much w/ the bumpers on...

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

cause they look all fogged/yellowed..maybe it's just the pic

 

[Trevor92xlt]

the mud flaps gotta go

 

[hydroxy]

Flaps are staying... they help keep my ex clean like no other. I think I'm gong to trim them up a little bit tho and paint them white so they flow more with the body

 

[JTX]

I think it looks sweet! Nice X!

 

[Ak LTD Xplorer]

have you tryed using that "krylon fusion"?..that stuff ROCK'S!! i used the white on my granpa's 03 super crew..match exacly!!(it really bond's with the plastic!)

 

[hydroxy]

To do what with?