Kenne Bell Explorer Phase 2 build begins!!!

I finally got off of my lazy butt and started tearing KBX down for its phase 2 stage of mods I have planned for it. I took a vid but way too busy/lazy to post it. The whole front end and hood are pretty much torn off and I just dropped the radiator out. I should be pulling the engine tomorrow if my schedule allows. A lot of interesting things going on with this stage of mods. After this stage of mods are completed I should be able to lay down some pretty respectable power finally; along with some good ET's in the 1/4 mile.

So far the additional mods that are sitting in my garage are:

*VT built 4.6 Billet shortblock
*Kenne Bell 8 rib swap kit w/ 2.75" snout pulley
*KB 8.5" crank pulley (20psi boost)
*New adapted fenderwell CAI fabbed by yours truly (very custom)
*Steeda billet fuel rails w/ -8AN crossover
*JBA headers
*Meziere electric water pump WP347
*Meziere wiring kit
*SD 60 lb/hr injectors
*SCT BA2800 MAS (swapping from my existing BA2400)
*Art Carr 4R70W tranny w/ 3200 stall TC built to withstand 900 hp. I am sure the swap from the 5R to the standalone 4R will be fun.
*8 bolt flywheel
*SN-197 Tranny K-member adapter for 4R70W
*Dual Ford GT (supercar) fuel pumps
*Dual -8AN fuel lines
*Aeromotive A-1000 FPR
*-6AN return line
*Baumann TMU for 4R70W
*4R70W tranny wiring harness



*Custom driveshaft (after new tranny is in)


Anyways in the list of mods I am probably forgetting something in one of the lists. Should be fun. Hopefully I can get it to 600 within the next few months if things go well (money+time). I love doing all the work on my own truck and all, but I kind of wish I could snap my fingers and have it done. Along with the power mods I am also going to be going with a chrome accented Black and Ford blue theme under the hood. The valve covers will get the Ford blue along with the billet rails which already are blue along with the elec fan. Depending on price I might take my PA perf. alternator I been running and have it powdercoated blue also. Well I have yapped for long enough in here tonight. Good night.

 

[rocket 5979]

How about some pics of the progress.

Maybe in a day or two, but I am not bothering with that right now.

 

[rocket 5979]

As you can see from the timestamp I have been up late tonight working on the truck. I got a really late start due to the wifes work schedule.

I got the new tranny cooler lines fabbed up and installed. I haven't connected them yet due to me having to still mount the new aux tranny cooler/fan unit. I will probably do that tomorrow.

I also installed the Heat Exchanger tonight as well.

And I also installed pretty much everything that I took off the front end when I tore the truck down.

One other thing I did was start prefabbing my fenderwell CAI. I wish I had me a 4" 45 degree pipe! I would love to weld this all up and have the CAI ready for powdercoat!

Besides the wiring which can be a slight PITA at times I am definately in the home stretch of things now. Just got to install the tranny cooler with more wiring and pretty much everything else is just bolting back in what I took off from before. I love it when my Exporer is starting to look like a real vehicle again!



I will probably run the fuel line and reinstall the gas tank tomorrow. And of course start the fun task of wiring up all the different electrical accessories that I have added to this thing.

 

[Jakee]

As you can see from the timestamp I have been up late tonight working on the truck. I got a really late start due to the wifes work schedule.

I got the new tranny cooler lines fabbed up and installed. I haven't connected them yet due to me having to still mount the new aux tranny cooler/fan unit. I will probably do that tomorrow.

I also installed the Heat Exchanger tonight as well.

And I also installed pretty much everything that I took off the front end when I tore the truck down.

One other thing I did was start prefabbing my fenderwell CAI. I wish I had me a 4" 45 degree pipe! I would love to weld this all up and have the CAI ready for powdercoat!

Besides the wiring which can be a slight PITA at times I am definately in the home stretch of things now. Just got to install the tranny cooler with more wiring and pretty much everything else is just bolting back in what I took off from before. I love it when my Exporer is starting to look like a real vehicle again!



I will probably run the fuel line and reinstall the gas tank tomorrow. And of course start the fun task of wiring up all the different electrical accessories that I have added to this thing.

You're very dedicated, and I respect that. I thought I was the only looser in here that stayed up till wee hours in the morning doing things to my truck; However, I like working at night cuss no one bothers me.

Can't wait to see a vid of the thing cranking.

 

[rocket 5979]

You're very dedicated, and I respect that. I thought I was the only looser in here that stayed up till wee hours in the morning doing things to my truck; However, I like working at night cuss no one bothers me.

Can't wait to see a vid of the thing cranking.

In big project like this I have found that i start out with gobs of dedication and then after a while it kind of ebbs down a bit and then near the end of a project it goes back up again for the last push.

 

[Turdle]

Am I the only one who has fallen asleep under his truck?

Good work !

 

[rocket 5979]

Am I the only one who has fallen asleep under his truck?

Good work !

Not at all. I have taken naps under my Exploder and the LS too. When I was installing the nitrous on the LS I took a nap while doing the fuel lines.

 

[Turdle]

Ah-good times!
I once fell asleep hugging my exhaust trying to install a Jet Shift improver. I called them and they recommended making the electrical connections right at the trans harness ( why I don't know)
My garage door was open-it was in the wee hours. A cop woke me up--thought I was dead!!! lol


What a waste of time---and $$$

 

[rocket 5979]

My garage door was open-it was in the wee hours. A cop woke me up--thought I was dead!!! lol

Hehehehe.

So let me get this straight, you fell asleep while giving your car lots of love and affection? Ok, buddy I have slept under my car but I don't think I love my car enough to sleep WITH it! :

to install a Jet Shift improver......What a waste of time---and $$$

A Jet product being a waste of money? A real shocker there. hehe.

 

[Jakee]

Well, I wedged myself between my exhaust and ground while crawling up under my truck a couple months back. I thought I was gonna have to start squeeling like a pig to get some one's attention but managed to free myself.

 

[rocket 5979]

Well, I wedged myself between my exhaust and ground....I thought I was gonna have to start squeeling like a pig to get some one's attention.

Looks like someone needs to start drinking light beer?

 

[Sarek]

Hey Rocket,it's been a long time, good to see you finally getting this project up and runinning, looking forward to the results! Feed us some pics already! hahaha, keep it up man.

 

[Jakee]

Looks like someone needs to start drinking light beer?

I'm actually not a very big fellow. Anyways, if I was drinking you could be assured I'd be sleeping under the truck.

 

[BeauJ]

Long time, speak Robert. There's about 5 pages I don't want to read through, so give me a quick update on where you're at..

How's it been treating you?

 

[rocket 5979]

Long time, speak Robert. There's about 5 pages I don't want to read through, so give me a quick update on where you're at..

How's it been treating you?

Damn near done. I am getting ready to fab a really nice looking custom CAI. I decided to go with all welded steel and then have it powdercoated Ford blue like the rest of my engine theme. It should look dead sexxy and pull some nice cold air from behind the front bumper.

 

[rocket 5979]

Bought a nitrous kit for the Explorer...

I bought a NOS brand nitrous oxide kit for the Explorer today. I got it as a really good deal from one of the guys in my local Mustang club and just could not pass it up.

I bought the entire kit for $100 with a full bottle of nitrous. Nitrous usually goes for about $4.00 per pound (10 lb bottle) here so really I only bought the kit for about $60.00. Not bad.

I just got to buy another solenoid, a wet nozzle, and a few more lines and I will have another full wet nitrous kit. Probably only going to run a 50 shot in the Explorer for starter though.

Once I get the Modular Powerhouse 2.5 heads and blower cams (next winter) then I will shoot for 700+rwhp and 10's in early 2008.



Just started fabbing the custom CAI the other day. Should be done once I can put a few more hours into it. I want to make it look REAL nice so I am grinding down all the welds as smooth as possible so it looks like one piece of bent tubing. Should look beautiful once it is powdercoated.

I also recieved my DSS built driveshaft today too. Purdy.

 

[rocket 5979]

Finished the custom intake pipe off and took it over to Zion Auto Body to get it powdercoated the other day. The fella I talked to had to order a different shade of Ford blue so once that comes in then the powdercoating should begin! Should be done and back in the truck by early this coming week. The intake should REALLY help the engine bay stand out, not to mention the extra power from drawing true cold air from outside the engine bay.

I also got pretty much all the engine bay wiring done tonight. The Meziere water pump, aux trans cooler fan, Flex-a-lite elec fans (rewire), and dual fuel pump relays are all wired up and tucked inside a little panel box that I created.

My heater ran out of propane about 1.5 hours before I was done so it was getting colder than a witches titty in the garage for a while there so I didn't have the patience to run the 10 gauge wire back to the fuel tank area and then test all the new electrical systems. Tomorrow I plan to test it all and make sure there aren't any bugs.

Once I get the intake back from powdercoat I will snap a few pics to show the updates.

 

[Jakee]

Finished the custom intake pipe off and took it over to Zion Auto Body to get it powdercoated the other day. The fella I talked to had to order a different shade of Ford blue so once that comes in then the powdercoating should begin! Should be done and back in the truck by early this coming week. The intake should REALLY help the engine bay stand out, not to mention the extra power from drawing true cold air from outside the engine bay.

I also got pretty much all the engine bay wiring done tonight. The Meziere water pump, aux trans cooler fan, Flex-a-lite elec fans (rewire), and dual fuel pump relays are all wired up and tucked inside a little panel box that I created.

My heater ran out of propane about 1.5 hours before I was done so it was getting colder than a witches titty in the garage for a while there so I didn't have the patience to run the 10 gauge wire back to the fuel tank area and then test all the new electrical systems. Tomorrow I plan to test it all and make sure there aren't any bugs.

Once I get the intake back from powdercoat I will snap a few pics to show the updates.

Oh man, I'm getting excited. I want to see that intake creation you came up with.

I wish I would have powered mine. Painting the damn thing just doesn't do a quality job. I'm just tired of dicken with mine so it is what it is.

With all the dedication to details and looks, I figure you'll have that thing in a mag.

 

[rocket 5979]

With all the dedication to details and looks, I figure you'll have that thing in a mag.

I think that once it is noticed by someone connected to a mag that it should definately be mag worthy. I would LOVE to get it into MM&FF! That would be a small dream of mine.

 

[rocket 5979]

Got the custom CAI tube that I made back from powdercoat today. It turned out really sexxy and should really add to the underhood looks and especially lower my IAT's considerably now that the intake is relocated outside of the engine bay.

The metal work took me a little bit to weld it all up and then smooth the welds back out flush with the surface. Overall the bent piece of tubing looks like it is just made out of one piece of tubing instead of having been welded together at that 25 degree angle piece.

Now just to reinstall it into the area I cleared in the fenderwell.

Here is a pic...

 

[Jakee]

Darn. I should have power coated mine. I have to find someone around here.

That looks awesome. The good thing is it will last!