My Explorer (little dif than most on here)

[danwaters]

Hey guys. Ive been a member for a while but dont visit all that often usualy. I have a 1997 Explorer 2wd with the 5 liter. It has just past 100K on it milage wise and I am very happy with it.

It has a few thousand off road miles as well. I am more of a desert rat so my mods are slightly different than the trail rides I mostly see on here.

I have 3" extended control arms with dual shocks and an air bump off the UCA. I have Custom leaf springs in the rear with 12x2.5 sway-a-ways. I run 35x12.5 BFG Baja TA's and front and rear fiberglass by Fiberwerx. I also cut the factory wheel wells out and fitted a set of 38" Compettition Eng wheel tub set to allow the 35s to stuff all the way under the rear at full bump. I have modified an 01 F-150 8.8 to fit in the rear of the explorer and have a Wilwood disc brake kit as well stuffed with 4.56 gears and a Ford LSD

Here are some pics.

<P>

<P>

<P>

<P>

 

[rileyrs]

thats a sweet rig!
any engine mods?
did you did the suspension custom, or buy it somewhere?
i love the prerunner trucks, they look great, and that suspension style is really fun to drive with.
anyway, that explorer looks good, i like what youve done with it

 

[celly]

That's one funky Ex you have there. Like you said, a "little different" than most. I say a lot different.

 

[section525]

Ehhh.. You should get rid of that thing.






















And sell it to me. Completely badass!

 

[danwaters]

Thanks guys. I really enjoy it. I have had a few "prerunner" Rangers and the last one I rolled and bought this to play with . It has been my DD up until recently.

As for engine mods I have FMS GT-40x Heads with roller rockers, and Torquemonster headers sitting in my closet waiting to redo the top end. In the truck now we built a custom exhaust all out of 3in and a custom y-pipe with a dynomax race muffler as a resongnater and a Spintech muffler. I have A KKM intake and a hypertech programmer. Eventually Ill drop a 347 stroker in it.

Future plans are full roll cage starting next week and 4 link rear suspension with a 32 gal Fuel safe fuel cell.

 

[Turdle]

Ok yeah. That thing is slick and has seen some air.

 

[Tbars4]

...You should bring it out to Truckhaven...
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=251735

 

[rileyrs]

wow, your deffinately put some time into that.
and i bet it pays off, it looks like it would be a blast to play with, especially over there in california with all the desert land.
those headers you have waitin will make a huge difference too!

 

[danwaters]

thats a sweet rig!
any engine mods?
did you did the suspension custom, or buy it somewhere?
i love the prerunner trucks, they look great, and that suspension style is really fun to drive with.
anyway, that explorer looks good, i like what youve done with it

Oh and the suspension was all built by me and a friend of mine...besides the fabtech lift spindles

 

[Dannyboy]

I like it...I like it a lot.

I want 1) pics of it in the air 2) links to videos of it on youtube hauling through the whoops 3) a ride in it 4) a good excuse why you've been on this site for 6 years and this is the first I've seen of this truck.

 

[danwaters]

I like it...I like it a lot.

I want 1) pics of it in the air 2) links to videos of it on youtube hauling through the whoops 3) a ride in it 4) a good excuse why you've been on this site for 6 years and this is the first I've seen of this truck.

haha. I dont jump it on purpose because I have not completed the shock hoop crossmember completely and since my air bumps strike off the upper arm and are part of the engine cage/crossmember that is unfinished I dont. I have some video and pictures of it haulin' ass though Glamis, and Ocotillo Wells out here in so California. Ill look through them

 

[rhauf]

Thanks guys. I really enjoy it. I have had a few "prerunner" Rangers and the last one I rolled and bought this to play with . It has been my DD up until recently.

As for engine mods I have FMS GT-40x Heads with roller rockers, and Torquemonster headers sitting in my closet waiting to redo the top end. In the truck now we built a custom exhaust all out of 3in and a custom y-pipe with a dynomax race muffler as a resongnater and a Spintech muffler. I have A KKM intake and a hypertech programmer. Eventually Ill drop a 347 stroker in it.

Future plans are full roll cage starting next week and 4 link rear suspension with a 32 gal Fuel safe fuel cell.

just curious, are you thinking of doing an inside cage, or an outside cage?




nice lookin' truck by the way.. and yes, lets see some videos!

 

[BrianDye]

WoW!
Badass lookin X

 

[gmanpaint]

Could you post a couple of pics of the front suspension mods?

I would like to see how your UCA & LCA look with those extra shocks.

Maybe a link to your build thread(if you have one) on Desert Rat?

 

[danwaters]

just curious, are you thinking of doing an inside cage, or an outside cage?


nice lookin' truck by the way.. and yes, lets see some videos!

Interior rollcage out of 1.75x0.120 DOm tubing. Im leaving the stock dash and working behind it. I did the same thing on my ranger. We will be notching the frame over the axle to acheive more compression travel because these things in the desert run out of compression travel very fast and tend to "buck" which is not fun.

Oh and I have a couple pictures that are a little older of the front end

heres a side view of the front end. Dont mind the red strap, my battery mount broke and that was to get home, haha

Hers from the front, shows the modified LCA. The tabs are for the limit straps which are not installed in the pic.

And heres the wheel tubs I got in there to ensure no rubbing from the tires. They are raise a few inches to allow for more compression travel.

 

[Dannyboy]

Looks great, I know all about how these things like to buck at higher speeds. Since I added my 3.0 bypasses I've been good to go in that department. I really like the wheelwell tubs. That's one of those "Shoulda woulda coulda" from my build.

For some good ideas on your cage, I always thought these guys had some good functioning trucks without sacrificing too much of the luxury. Even though you're a 2nd gen, the cabs are very similar. http://www.off-roadweb.com/features/0808or_1993_1992_ford_explorer_prerunner/index.html

 

[danwaters]

Looks great, I know all about how these things like to buck at higher speeds. Since I added my 3.0 bypasses I've been good to go in that department. I really like the wheelwell tubs. That's one of those "Shoulda woulda coulda" from my build.

For some good ideas on your cage, I always thought these guys had some good functioning trucks without sacrificing too much of the luxury. Even though you're a 2nd gen, the cabs are very similar. http://www.off-roadweb.com/features/0808or_1993_1992_ford_explorer_prerunner/index.html

Thanks. They are a must. My 33s rubbed alot and the 35s wouldnt even fit very well cause I like a lower ride height. We also cut them in to move the wheel base back three inches with the new rear suspension. My rear fenders are designed the same so the wheels will be centered in the opening and I like the idea of a 115" WB as to a 112

AS for the cage, Ill take a look. We have the design pretty much figured out. Its not my first cage so I learned alot on the first one. When its all done Im going to have the thing re-carpeted and have all the tubing and the roof tweeded. There is a *****en upulsterer near my house whos prices are more than fair.

 

[danwaters]

I checked out the site you linked me too. I know those guys. Ive been out with them here a few times. I have a video from those two explorers mine and one more racing down the sand drags in glamis sand dunes. Fun stuff. My cagework will have to be a little more extensive than theirs because we will be 4 linking my rear and notching the frame so it will take a little more tube work.

 

[ford99_1979]

Nice Ex. Great to see a different approach to building up these trucks. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Rick]

Nice tub job. I have been wanting to do that to mine since the tires rub and keep the axle from twisting any farther.

Great looking Explorer you've got there