IAmTodd's '94 POS, wait thats my Saab thats the POS

[sport97]

Nice find. They look to be in great shape. I wish I could swap in limited seats, but I have that goofy blue/green color so I couldn't have a matching color if I did that.

 

[IAmTodd]

Ah, yes. The green. My '95 had that. I didn't mind it except I could never find leather seats in that color.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

Nice find. They look to be in great shape. I wish I could swap in limited seats, but I have that goofy blue/green color so I couldn't have a matching color if I did that.

x2!

Seats look great, hard to find pre-owned leather seats in decent/non cracked condition--those look NEW. The willow green must not have sold well, it is hard to find interior replacement parts. I think the only time I saw willow green leather seats was in the sales brochure.

Nice job on the repair of the seats too Todd!

 

[IAmTodd]

It is pretty rare. I think there is one at the pick n pull that I go to if you need anything.

I've seen green leather in a sport many years ago, there was one at the pick n pull that had green perf'd leather and I've seen a '98 in a parking lot that had green solid leather. They are pretty hard to come buy but I think it was an ok color compared to the reds and blues that can be found.

 

[sport97]

I have the green leather in my sport. I have also come across a few 2 and 4 doors in the yard in the willow green. I pulled a few interior pieces from one. My trim piece for the sub came from a willow green 95' eddie for example.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

WoW, Cool- I am looking for a willow green sub cover if you come across one. I currently have a grey one Joe Dirt picked up for me (I painted it black with interior rattlecan paint). Looks pretty good, figured I would never find a willow green one.

 

[IAmTodd]

Had to tear the drivers seat down again. The other wire burnt through and I lost heat again. It's quite chilly so I wanted that fixed.

I also got an Avital keyless entry system from my SO for Christmas. Got that wired in over two days. I used a wiring diagram from a thread on here which was wrong so I had some difficulties. The instructions with the kit were rather lacking so I dug through some others and Bulldog instructions matched it. After switching some pins around it's working well. It's so nice having that back, truly is a feature that is hard to live without.

 

[IAmTodd]

I picked up some new tunes over the weekend. I was fed up dealing with a beat headunit and dealing with CDs. I picked up a JVC X50bt media receiver. Has a few USB ports, aux in, and bluetooth. So far I love it.

Now that I have properly functioning pre outs I hooked up my amp with a Saab door speaker in the JBL box. It's not ideal but I had the speaker on the shelf.

 

[IAmTodd]

And the next chapter begins in the Explorer's life. I picked up a set of mildly used Pro Comp MTs in 32X11.50 tonight for a reasonable price. I probably won't get them mounted until next week but I should have had them done for tonight.

Bonus, frost pic after picking the tires up. For really worn tires it still does good in the snow.

 

[sport97]

Those look brand new. Pro comps are pricey new so I'm sure you came out on that deal.

 

[IAmTodd]

From what I've read they should come new with 20/32nds on them, theses have between 14-17 depending on the tire. I got them for $575 so I don't think it was too bad. I was disappointed to see the siping in them isn't very deep. That was one of the swaying factors to getting these. Oh well.

 

[IAmTodd]

Much progress made today! I got the 32s mounted up and my spare tire situation sorted. I haven't felt very confident driving around without a spare. To the pictures!

I also decide to mount up my F-150 tow hooks. They are nearly a perfect fit once holes are drilled. The cut outs in the frame are a perfect fit to get bolts inside and get them snugged up.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

Looking Good Todd! Nice job on the tow hooks too, spent way too much time installing mine.

 

[IAmTodd]

Mine took a while as well. I was dealing with dull bits and in that area the frame is two layers. Made for a good time and a lot of hot confetti falling on my wrists.

 

[IAmTodd]

Yesterday was trial by fire and it did really well. Me and a buddy just went through some old logging trails and messed around in the snow and mud. With fully inflated tires and both sway bars connected I'm really happy with how well it did. It was nothing crazy but enough to get dirty and have some good fun.

 

[sport97]

Mine took a while as well. I was dealing with dull bits and in that area the frame is two layers. Made for a good time and a lot of hot confetti falling on my wrists.

That is why I only have some of the holes drilled. I was tired of the dull old bit.

Looks good, I like those tires under there. Snow wheeling goes against my self imposed rule of no off roading when there is snow on the ground. To many times getting stuck in mud that felt firm enough to drive on...

 

[IAmTodd]

More progress made on the old beast. I had a failed attempt at performing a leakdown test on the engine Friday night. The adapter in the kit wasn't long enough to fit into the plug hole. I destroyed two plug wires getting them off so I invested in some slightly better Bosch wires. I also retorqued the lower intake which was alarmingly loose as most could predict. Saturday I picked up the proper manual transmission ECU. Overall the truck is running much better.

Still left on the list to do:

Install CB/mount antenna
Replace radiator/thermostat
Rebuild LSD

As I'm nearing a year with the truck I can't believe that's all I'm down to doing. She's come a long way!

 

[IAmTodd]

More progress made! I installed a new radiator, thermostat, and rad cap last week. I'm no longer leaking (woo!) but the coolant temp still fluctuates a lot. My next step will be to pick up a standard duty fan clutch and possibly the updated fan. I also need to tackle the lower intake gasket. I think the coolant found a new way out.

CB is also mounted up, I need to get a hard mount antenna but my floppy mag mount will do in a pinch.

I also picked up a new speedo gear at the Ford dealer. I found that I was reading 9mph slower at 70 so that was grounds to take action. It was $7 for the yellow gear and I had it in in 5 minutes. Now I'm reading about 1mph faster which is I say is close enough!

 

[IAmTodd]

I had another offroad adventure on Saturday. A park about an hour away had their opening day so a friend and I decided to head out and see how it was. We stuck to mostly greens except the part where I made a wrong turn and ended up on a black. Truck still did great though. I removed the rear sway bar and made quick disconnects for the front to allow it to flex and ride a bit better. Only 'damage' I suffered is the lower shock stud coming loose. The original broke off and I got a replacement one a while back. Looks like it needs some locktite.

 

[sport97]

I'm itching to get off the pavement. Where is this park at?