Welcome to my latest build thread - this has been a project I have been planning for a few years now. This is 1994 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2dr I’ve named Reef Bandit. It’s a Cayman Green Eddie Bauer which has always been a favorite color of mine on the Eddie Bauer. I found Reef about a year ago wasting away in a field; his title was lost and it had exchanged hands a few times. I got the vin and when we ran the uniqueness of the options of this particular vehicle, it was a 1 of 1 production. The only thing this Explorer had that none of it’s other 8 Cayman Green clones possessed was a factory JBL sound system with CD player. Overall, this is a very rare Explorer. I had to buy it.
The title work was a pain but I was able to obtain one after many hours of work using what is known in Texas as a bonded title process. It’s not cheap but thankfully knowing the right people helps. During this process I found all the previous owner's information that explained why the title was lost. The latest owners were an elderly couple that has since passed. The husband passed in 2013 and the wife in 2015. Reef has been off the road for at least 10 years (the last record of it being on the road was in 2009 at 144k miles when it was inspected last). When I picked up the vehicle, the odometer stated 145k.
So here I am with this broken truck. I have no clue if the driveline is good and the interior Is trashed beyond repair. The radiator was missing, I found evidence of a collision repair (albeit done badly) in 2000, and of course the fuel pump is dead. Believe it or not, I still choose this truck as the vehicle I want to restore for a special trip.
Now an undertaking like this is not easy while working a full time retail job. I estimate roughly 8-9 months of hard work to rebuild this truck. Some planned upgrades will come as well but the end goal is to keep it mostly stock as Ford designed it.
The special trip I speak of is the great American road trip. After the restoration is completed I plan to drive this Explorer across the country, eventually visiting 49 states and documenting the journey along the way. I’ve decided to name the journey 'Explore the USA' to coincide with Ford's recent announcement of #RoadtripRewind with their new 2020 Explorer.
I hope meet up with the many Explorer owners across this land and share this experience with everyone. I am so glad I’ve got myself back to a place where I can do this.
I will be posting more updates on this restoration as they occur. I have already started the tear down and hopefully I will be getting it ready for the body shop soon.
Minor updates will include factory keyless entry with a keypad on the door, limited slip rear differential (currently open), updated brakes with dual piston calipers up front, disc brakes in the rear, transmission updated with better bearings and pump from the 5R series transmissions, and a Bluetooth Kenwood headunit.
I will be doing detailed documentation of the restoration and hope you all follow along.
The title work was a pain but I was able to obtain one after many hours of work using what is known in Texas as a bonded title process. It’s not cheap but thankfully knowing the right people helps. During this process I found all the previous owner's information that explained why the title was lost. The latest owners were an elderly couple that has since passed. The husband passed in 2013 and the wife in 2015. Reef has been off the road for at least 10 years (the last record of it being on the road was in 2009 at 144k miles when it was inspected last). When I picked up the vehicle, the odometer stated 145k.
So here I am with this broken truck. I have no clue if the driveline is good and the interior Is trashed beyond repair. The radiator was missing, I found evidence of a collision repair (albeit done badly) in 2000, and of course the fuel pump is dead. Believe it or not, I still choose this truck as the vehicle I want to restore for a special trip.
Now an undertaking like this is not easy while working a full time retail job. I estimate roughly 8-9 months of hard work to rebuild this truck. Some planned upgrades will come as well but the end goal is to keep it mostly stock as Ford designed it.
The special trip I speak of is the great American road trip. After the restoration is completed I plan to drive this Explorer across the country, eventually visiting 49 states and documenting the journey along the way. I’ve decided to name the journey 'Explore the USA' to coincide with Ford's recent announcement of #RoadtripRewind with their new 2020 Explorer.
I hope meet up with the many Explorer owners across this land and share this experience with everyone. I am so glad I’ve got myself back to a place where I can do this.
I will be posting more updates on this restoration as they occur. I have already started the tear down and hopefully I will be getting it ready for the body shop soon.
Minor updates will include factory keyless entry with a keypad on the door, limited slip rear differential (currently open), updated brakes with dual piston calipers up front, disc brakes in the rear, transmission updated with better bearings and pump from the 5R series transmissions, and a Bluetooth Kenwood headunit.
I will be doing detailed documentation of the restoration and hope you all follow along.
