have2goski's '91

[have2goski]

well i wasn't sure if i should put this here or maybe under the before and afters

anyway....

i have a....

-1991 Ford Explorer
-4 door
-4x4
-originally was standard eddie baurer package blue and tan, but now black
-leather
-had the 15" sawblades but now have some later model 16's
-Bought it with rusted out rockers/dog legs on both sides, gas filler door had a hole near it that wasn't supposed to be there, door bottoms were just as chewed up as the doglegs, front of hood had rust, etc etc etc....
- currently (11/30/04) has ~201,300 miles on the ticker


Last summer I spent a lot of time chasing the rust on this thing. I had a pretty good mental image of what i was trying to end up with and I am very pleased with the results. Some of you may have seen me on the board and a few pics of my ride here and there, but i figure this would be the appropriate place to have a thread of my own, stuffed with pics of my ride

anyway on to the pics!!!!

ps: sorry dial up guys....

and then just a few of what it looked like at various times last summer....

these are just a few shots i took along the way. i think you can really start to appreciate the ones above when you see these.....

while i was in there i had decided to put down a coat of truck bed coating.....benefits of doing such? beats me, but it only took a little bit of time to do and i knew that it was taken care of

and here it is all primed and waiting for the black paint......
(thanks to the old man for taken a day to help with final sanding and masking)

Well hope you enjoyed the pics. I had a blast doing it and can honestly say i probably wouldn't have under taken it if i had never found this site. (not sure if that is a good thing or not )

ps: i showed my GF how to weld and she laid down a few beads on the inside of one of the doors, and is damn proud of it.....probably the best welding on the whole car

 

[j602]

Looks awesome man. Love the wheel swap and valance. Later.

Josh

 

[XplorerKid]

Looks awesome man. Love the wheel swap and valance. Later.

Josh

I usually dont like stock/street 1st gens, but i have to admit, that is one of the Nicest, Cleanest i have EVER seen....... I almost wish i could make mine that nice.... Keep up the good work.... Do you have anymore plans??

Like i said looks great!!

-Caleb

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

That looks really awesome!!! The 3rd gen wheels are just the ticket.

What about the mechanicals of the truck? at 187k, any work planned?

 

[410Fortune]

Thats a super clean Gen I! Good job!

 

[have2goski]

thanks for the compliments guys.

as far as future plans.....

1)I would like to do a seat swap sometime. Mine are really showing their age.
2)I would also like to put a stealth box in the back. I'm not really a huge audio guy or anything but would like the extra bit of low end a small sub could add to what i have up front.
3) lifting it would be great, but i decided along time ago that if i were going to lift it, i would make sure i could afford the wheels/tires and gears to go along with the lift....so far, my lotto numbers haven't come thru for me
4) I also dreamed of doing a motor swap as most of us 1st gens have. Probably won't ever happen unless my engine craps out and i have the extra cash to play around with it right then.
5) exhaust will be upgraded if/when mine rusts out
6) as most of you can probably see me windows aren't blacked out so a mild tint would be nice


as for the mechanicals of the now 193,000 mile rig....

stuff is going pretty good. i am realy looking foward to rolling over the 200,000 mark. I had bought it with about 115,000 on the ticker and had the tranny rebuilt within a year of that. Since then i had found this site and i have taken pretty good care of it. I installed an aux. trans filter and another factory cooler to try and keep that A4LD going strong. The engine runs strong. I change my oil dead on 3,000 miles and have been using max life the last few years and am very pleased with it.

I had done some of the bolt-ons with the engine before. I had an Apten chip, BBK TB and rigged up an open element K&N. I ended up parting with the chip and BBK.

I also made a MAF housing. I have been using it for probably the last 10,000 miles with no ill effects. When i put that on i still had the chip and the BBK. I ran it with and without the chip and could tell no difference (i could before the maf), which is why i parted with the chip i had. I then sold the BBK i had. That one definately dialed me back alittle, may try to find a deal on one of those again sometime. I never did a write up on the MAF b/c too many people on here are way to critical of such endeavors and i am not going to put my car on a dyno to try and prove anything. I'm happy with it and thats what matters to me.

Anyway thanks again for checking in on my ride here. I actually just looked at this thread for the first time in awhile and saw a few of you had replied.

see ya on the road

 

[Carl D.]

Wow, you did a excellent job. Sounds like you deffinitly know what you want to do in the future with theold X. These vehicles are excellent. Keep up the good work and the excellent photo's.

 

[bmxking5]

Looks great. REALLY clean. Keep up the good work.

 

[95offroadx]

have2goski,
what size tires do u have?

really like your truck.. i love the wheels

 

[Positive Vibes]

Nice job! Like you said you can see all the work you did in the last few pics! Very nicely done!

 

[have2goski]

thanks for the compliments

the tires are just stockers off a late model XLT 235/70/R16

I picked up the wheels and tires as take offs with a few miles on them from a guy doing an aftermarket wheel upgrade. got a pretty good deal and it has worked out well for me. I really like the way the newer wheels changed the look of my explorer from the stock saw-blades I had on there.

 

[have2goski]

Just thought i'd let you guys know i rolled over 200,00 about a week ago. Currently at 201,3xx.

Still running good. I have added a stealth box to the back. Made it out of MDF and it holds a 10". I didn't get any pics when I installed it but if I ever get back behind that panel again I will snap a few.

later

 

[dolphans1]

What type of paint did you spray over it, and why the bondo on the door well area? Was it rust or repair?

Nice job, how long did it take you?

Thanks, d-1

Just thought i'd let you guys know i rolled over 200,00 about a week ago. Currently at 201,3xx.

Still running good. I have added a stealth box to the back. Made it out of MDF and it holds a 10". I didn't get any pics when I installed it but if I ever get back behind that panel again I will snap a few.

later

 

[have2goski]

the bondo is rust repair. I bought formed doglegs and rockers, but the stuff on the doors is just flat stock sheetmetal. Cut out the rusted areas and welded in new metal. Used the bondo to make the seams smooth. The bondo isn't very thick. I'm not sure which picture you were talking about but i basically spread it on for coverage an then it thinned out as i sanded it down.

As for the paint, its cheap stuff. Made by dupli-color. They sell gallons at Murray's. Its a one stage shot meaning you don't use a clear coat over it. It came out pretty good but i'm guessing the more expensive stuff would be more durable in the long run. Oh...I also did the primer, sealer, etc. before the paint.

I also used a cheap...and I mean cheap gun. It would have been nice to have something of higher quality but i wasn't really sure how this was going to turn out as it was my first time. so i went with the cheap stuff which makes sense to me being a car with 214,000 miles on it now and the salt is still pretty heavy in the winters here. the paint as held up well. I have a buble or 2 some chips here and there but nothing major that would make me consider this project a failure. the imperfetcions are always more apparent to me than others as well.

 

[dolphans1]

The job turned out nice. Maybe next time you can use that Base Coat/Clear Coat paint with hardener. It's a real tough paint, but more expensive. There's a guy around here that paints touch up at dealerships who uses this and he's really good in blending it in. Once the paint is on it's never coming off.

I saw an Explorer here in on a trade-in, at a dealership, that came from Wisconson and that truck was so badly rusted out in places I had never seen before, a hole right above the gas tank filler and all along the bottom of the door. To me it's ridiculous that States even salt the roads and the expense of losing your car.

I appreciate the reply back......

d-1

the bondo is rust repair. I bought formed doglegs and rockers, but the stuff on the doors is just flat stock sheetmetal. Cut out the rusted areas and welded in new metal. Used the bondo to make the seams smooth. The bondo isn't very thick. I'm not sure which picture you were talking about but i basically spread it on for coverage an then it thinned out as i sanded it down.

As for the paint, its cheap stuff. Made by dupli-color. They sell gallons at Murray's. Its a one stage shot meaning you don't use a clear coat over it. It came out pretty good but i'm guessing the more expensive stuff would be more durable in the long run. Oh...I also did the primer, sealer, etc. before the paint.

I also used a cheap...and I mean cheap gun. It would have been nice to have something of higher quality but i wasn't really sure how this was going to turn out as it was my first time. so i went with the cheap stuff which makes sense to me being a car with 214,000 miles on it now and the salt is still pretty heavy in the winters here. the paint as held up well. I have a buble or 2 some chips here and there but nothing major that would make me consider this project a failure. the imperfetcions are always more apparent to me than others as well.

 

[410Fortune]

My next project on my BII is rust repair , prep, and paint.
I have some interesting rusting area's the hardest is the roof is seperating from the windshield pillar, I will be using BII body parts from junk yard to weld in all new metal in the rusting spots. My truck is close to being a candidate for a complete body swap, because of the FUBARED Macco job, the rust along the roof, the holes in the floor (not rust - rocks), and well because shes got 273K miles on her.
However I think the body swap at this point would be more work, mostly due to all the custom wiring my truck has, I would have to swap it all over to the new shell, everything.
So rust repair it is.

In colorado I dont think clear coats do well, I am going to take a hint from the hot rod guys and just go with a hard enamel. Plus being a trail truck part time she always gets scratches.

Anyt thoughts on this?

 

[apcom]

I'm trying to put the leather seats in a 1991 explorer from a 1993 explorer limited edition but the floor is different.Is there an answer?

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

lookin good

 

[larivera1989]

nice 1st gen x the paint job and interior is lookin clean keep up the good work