Paraphoe's 97 XLT

[Paraphoe]

Pictures added from off roading in the Jersey pines yesterday. Wild day with a near rollover posse application and a near hydrolock.

 

[Jd0gg919]

Did you paint the ugly gray trim yourself? If so what did you use? just regular ol' spray paint?
awesome X by the way...mine will be lookin like that soon with all the goodies on it lol

 

[Jd0gg919]

2 more questions haha
1. Did the steelies make that much of a difference in acceleration or speed being so heavy?
2. How much of a differenc did the KKM intake make?

your Ex just has a look to it i want mine to have so i'm just a bit curious lol

 

[patman]

hey man i love your truck almost all the mods you've done i'm planning on doing on mine i just have a few questions...
1 how much was the lift?
2 did you leave it after the lift with stock rims for a day or so
3 how much work was the lift?

 

[Paraphoe]

Gentlemen, sorry about the response delay - I'm not email subscribed to my own registry thread.

hey man i love your truck almost all the mods you've done i'm planning on doing on mine i just have a few questions...
1 how much was the lift?
2 did you leave it after the lift with stock rims for a day or so
3 how much work was the lift?

Thank pat. My lift was the cheap combo a lot of people do. The TT/shackles cost only the $60 for the shackles and maybe $10 if you need longer torsion bar bolts. The body lift kit was only about $170. All in all, a very cheap option compared to a suspension lift kit like a superlift.

I did not leave the stock tires or rims on. The minute the lift was complete, the new meats went on, sorry.

The lift itself wasn't horribly difficult. My father and I got it done over two days. The main problem we encountered were the frozen body mount bolts in the engine compartment, which took 9 hours to break free.

If you'd like further details, I have an in depth writeup saved in a word document. PM me if you'd like.

Did you paint the ugly gray trim yourself? If so what did you use? just regular ol' spray paint?
awesome X by the way...mine will be lookin like that soon with all the goodies on it lol

J-dogg, thanks for the compliments. I recently touched up the paint, you can find a thread that will answer some of your questions here:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=216871

2 more questions haha
1. Did the steelies make that much of a difference in acceleration or speed being so heavy?
2. How much of a differenc did the KKM intake make?

your Ex just has a look to it i want mine to have so i'm just a bit curious lol

Don't worry about the questions. It's the best way to learn.

The steelies, honestly, are lighter I think than my stock rims. I wouldn't, however, be able to tell a difference because I've only ever run the steels with 33s and lifted. As soon as the lift was complete the stock tire/rim combo came off and the steels/33'' combo went on, so I can't compare.

The KKM made a solid difference, I think. Not as much as some people make it out to be on this site (but it's different for everyone), but it was worth the $100 or so it cost back then. I wish I kept better track of my MPG numbers back when I put it in so I could tell you if I had any gains, but I didn't pay it much mind 4 years ago, sorry.


Any more questions, so not hesitate to ask.

 

[Jd0gg919]

Thanks for the answers. I'll probably be ordering one of those intakes after I get ball joints.

 

[WhiteLimited]

First time I have taken a close look at your truck I have to say it is very, very nice looking. We may have opposite styles with our trucks but wow I like yours...

 

[Paraphoe]

Thanks man, appreciate it. Those pics aren't even the most recent, I should throw up some new ones soon.

 

[WhiteLimited]

Thanks man, appreciate it. Those pics aren't even the most recent, I should throw up some new ones soon.

I love your Registry so much I re did mine...Take a look and post what you think? The link is in my sig...

 

[ericautopart]

This is one of the most beautiful trucks I've ever seen. Where in NJ are you? (I'm not going to steal it).

 

[Paraphoe]

Wow, thank you. That's a helluva compliment, appreciate it.

I'm actually no longer living in Jersey. I just graduated college this past spring and moved into my own place near my job in Willow Grove, PA.

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

that thing looks better and better every time you do any thing to it....im curious about the interior of it. Any pictures of that too?
ps: i never figured how to get those damn tow hooks on the rear....i swear you like used a shoe horn to get those in.

 

[Paraphoe]

Haha! The rear towhooks weren't bad at all man. I'll try to take some pics in the coming days for you of both the towhooks and my interior. Nothing too fancy going on inside, but I keep it clean. Looking to do more interior work in the near future too, as I'm taking an extended break from offroading because it's costing me too much ($800 in suspension repairs last week, busted 4wd and just too much wear and tear for a 40 mile a day DD).
Gonna clean her up a bit (you should see my engine bay...), might switch from muds to ATs when my tires are finally worn out this spring, and focus a lot more on maintenance and repair/touch up. I also might be adding emergency lights soon, as I'm beginning training for the volunteer fire department this week.

Thanks for the compliments though, means a lot. I'll try to get some pics up soon.

 

[ericautopart]

I've been on the fire dept for 8 yrs. I've also got a Blue/Amber brand new Dash LED if you want it I'll sell it to ya cheap. $30 or so. It'll look good in the rear window of your truck.

 

[Paraphoe]

Cool man, I'll let you know. I've gotta talk to the department about what is and isn't allowed. I think the law in PA is you only get one blue light, either dash or roof mounted. Kinda disappointing, as I wanted to get a wig wag for head/tail flashers, but we'll see.

 

[ericautopart]

Nah most towns don't care. It's SUPPOSED to be one rotating blue light in the center of the dash. On my DD I've got blue/white whelen slimlighter mounted above my mirror. I know people w/ full strobe kits, wig wags, etc. Usually the cops could care less what the local firefighters do.

 

[Paraphoe]

that thing looks better and better every time you do any thing to it....im curious about the interior of it. Any pictures of that too?
ps: i never figured how to get those damn tow hooks on the rear....i swear you like used a shoe horn to get those in.

Ask and ye shall receive.

Towhooks here:

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/Paraphoe/th2.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/Paraphoe/th1.jpg


Interior pics:


All lit up at night

Custom Scangauge install (finished this recently)

Black painted vents:

Console. (Console cover by Redline Leather Goods). The switches are for my off road lights - the two black rockers for my roof rack and the one with the red LED for my PIAAs.

Hideaway CB radio.

And finally my reverse sensor with custom display (the guy above the radio):

 

[WhiteLimited]

Dude Jason! I love the inside! I like the CB hidden very well! Better then Fairbanks his is all out in the open...What are the switches for by your cup holders? By the flash light...

 

[Paraphoe]

Dude Jason! I love the inside! I like the CB hidden very well! Better then Fairbanks his is all out in the open...What are the switches for by your cup holders? By the flash light...

The switches are for my off road lights - the two black rockers for my roof rack and the one with the red LED for my PIAAs.

Thanks man.

 

[WhiteLimited]

Thanks man.

Haha sarcastic much : Thanks for it, I read over it haha...