New Explorer Guy

[weatherdne]

Well hello everyone i am Daniel. New to the Explorer/Expedition side of ownership. I have had around 21 Mustangs, including my current 2001 GT convertible triple black, and know a few things about the venerable 302. But alas i was stationed up here in Alaska by the US Army in 2007, did my time, now a Reservist, and have come to love AWD anything up here. I have kind of ventured away from my Ford roots for some time now, having in my stable 1995 Eclipse GSX, 2003 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8T, 1997 Grand Prix GTP (supercharged 3.8L), and recently found my self wanting a Ford again. To that effect i bought a 1997 Eddie Bauer Expedition AWD/4x4 and a few days ago a 1997 Explorer AWD 5.0L So now it begins! Words can not fathom how happy i am to say i own a 302 again lol And AWD is awesome. The previously mentioned vehicles were meant to all be upgrade projects till i came across this Explorer. I am in love with it but so far, despite the plentiful bounty of parts for the Mustang, i do not seem to find much via performance parts like true dual exhaust, progressive rate lowering springs, cold air intakes, specific programmers, wheels as in what other vehicles can i just bolt on or use spacers with, etc etc. Hope to hear great things and much needed advice on this site and thank you in advance.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum!

 

[RyansX]

Welcome to the forum! A lot of things like the true duals will have to be custom fabbed and as for wheels any wheels that you can put on your Pony can go on the X, as well as any Ranger wheels will fit it to. The lug pattern is 5x4.5 so just use that for future info

 

[weatherdne]

Thanks for the thread info BrooklynBay. And thank you Ryan for answering a few of my questions but with a Mustang anthracite FR500 rim what tire selections are there for 17" and 18" options? I am leaning toward the 17" as Alaska's roads among other things are horrible so i think i might need the extra cushion on the sidewall with 17"s. Future plans are the before mentioned anthracite FR500 rims, custom plated anthracite front and rear bumpers & brush guard & potentially side nerf bars (if i decide to replace the running boards) & possibly the grill, replacing the front end/clip with a 2001/newer Ford Ranger Edge (love the honey comb grill). If i go with the anthracite nerf bars i am going to get custom/modified factory fender flares (without running boards) off of a Ranger Edge or something. And if i may add another question but did my year model or affiliated years ever come with a black leather interior? And where would i find or look for that stuff! Geez i do feel like a wannabe despite my knowledge of Mustangs lol Thanks to anyone that can answer more of my questions

 

[R1dd1cK]

Sorry you will not find a stock black interior. That color was never an option as far as I know. As for lowering. You do not lower it with coil springs as it does not have any. It has leaf springs in the rear and torsion bars on the front. You can lower the front by taking out 2 bolts but then you need to get a camber kit and install it.