Santa's List for Offroad Projects??

Its that time of year again. What is the stuff you would add to your Explorer / Ranger / RBV if you could just go purchase whatever you wanted, and why? Here is my list for Santa:

- New rear shocks; 1" shorter shocks would allow me to move them outward at the top helping with on-highway body roll, smoother ride.
- Atlas Transfer Case; Better low range, stronger, no chain, and because its an Atlas.
- 8.8 C-clip eliminator kit; Much stronger rear axle without any other suspension modifications, eliminates wheel adaptors (5x4.5 to 5x5.5).
- Custom leaf packs from National Spring; Smoother ride, military wrap springs, etc.
- 37" tires and 17" wheels; Increased ground clearance, 35's are so last decade.
- GM 3800 supercharged V6 engine swap; VRRRRROOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM, and totally do-able with my 700R4 transmission.

I think that's about it. I can't believe I am getting so close to where the Explorer would be my version of the ultimate all around trail / expedition / rock crawler rig.

 

[gmanpaint]

RCV axles for the 2nd gen IFS......... $2k for a set! Nuff said.

Full roll cage....... This is sorely needed, but I lack the skills to build anything safe, and would be a waste of time & $$ if I tried. Shops would charge a fortune to make one.

Suspension Reclining Seats, that are both comfortable EVERYWHERE, and aren't too high off the floor....... My New Corbeu's aren't what I expected, I'm old, and need support on the trails, and cushion for the long hauls.

A set of tunes, from Torrie @ Unleashed Tuning....... Need to wake up this stock 5.0 for fun, and also a tow tune for the small camp trailer.

A better low profile winch...... the 8500# winch isn't going to cut it, with a trailer in tow on the trails anymore, w/o multiple snatch blocks, and that's just a pain to do.

And a hawt blonde magical Elf lady co-pilot. ...... Self explanatory!

(Edited for reason why, as I can't read instructions worth a damn.)

 

[KurtECV]

A rear locker for my 9 inch. Cause mine is still open.

4.86 ring and pinion for the d44 because it's for 3.50s right now.

5.3L vortex engine, harness and a tuned ECM. AND a manual trans flywheel. To bolt to my np345/Dana 20 to drop in my sport.

New set of 35 inch tires. Because I still have my set up tires

 

[Brian1]

Exp1
Hardshell RTT. I've been against a RTT for a long time but regularly camping with friends who have them is starting to show how the convenience outweighs the cons
Bigger shocks. My Bilstein 5125s are fine but bigger is better right?
Custom leaf springs out back. I put on the dirt miles and like to go fast-ish. I know there is an improvement to be made
New 32" tires. Old ones are getting very worn out
Cummins R2.8 crate engine. I've been around them enough now to know it is the real deal and would be a great match.
New bumpers. I would do several things differently now and my skills and tools have become better since they were built 10+ years ago
New seats. Old PRP is getting worn out and doesn't match stock passenger seat, also worn out
Drawer system behind the 1 fold seat. I'm fairly organized now but it could be more efficient with a nice drawer setup I think.

Exp2
609 hybrid front axle because everyone says solid is better
Coilovers for above mentioned axle because stock stuff wont work with it
Doubler. Need that crawl ratio!
Aluminum beadlocks because my steel beadlocks are heavy
Some sort of better cargo organizer inside. Rack/Basket? Drawers? Because I don't like current setup
Yukon rear axles to get rid of spacer adapter
New wrap or paint because why not make it look better?

 

[R.J.]

If I could purchase whatever, I would start over. I would want to build a class 4600 ultra4 rig. Probably a single cab ranger 4.0 5spd. Or a full size 78-79 Bronco.

 

[stephen93Eddie]

- some more trail time.
-maybe a different winch? grandpa winch is heavy and I wanna mount one lower and between the frame rails.
-maybe a front spartan locker. Because I'm not sure when or if I will actually SAS the explorer. well I have an axle.
- different rear shocks, maybe mounting them like @BKennedy.
-decide what direction I'm going with this explorer.
-rock slider, or material to make rock sliders. or a tube bender?
-different shifters.. the stock 5 speed knob hits drinks in the cup holders.

 

[traveler]

Bumpers front and rear, each with a receiver. And if we're fantasizing why not made of 3/8" aluminum? Strong and light.

Front skid plate

9000# winch (minimum)

Lockers front and rear with locking hubs front

3" body lift to make room for the...

315/75/16 tires

I think each is relatively self explanatory.

 

[fordpickupman]

Hmmmmm

I would want new 35" Treps to replace my 40% MTRs.
King coilovers for the front and some tuned to tie it all together in the rear.
Winch in the front
Some good LED lights.

I did install the 4.88s and Trutracs before Christmas, so I don't need that on the list anymore.
I picked up all the stuff to retrofit the Saginaw pump onto the 4.0 from an E250 on Monday. So that is next.

Maybe I should start a build thread.

 

[BKennedy]

Maybe I should start a build thread.

Yes you should.

 

[timtimtimajim]

A little late for Christmas, but...

1) New engine. Original one is tired and ready to be replaced

2) 5 speed manual swap. Tired of the automatic

3) Atlas transfer case. Because why not

4) Dana 44 with coil overs up front and a Ford 9 inch out back. 37” tires. On about 6 inches of lift... and about everything else for the SAS I’ve got planned

 

[yostyexplorer94]

I am really late to this

1. A really nice warn winch
2. Aluminum 17" real beadlock wheels
3. Polycarbonate lexon for rear quarter and hatch glass replacement
4. Many 1-3/4 Dom tubing in .120 and .240 wall
5. Corbeau seats

That would keep me happy for a while!

 

[Fordnic92]

A little late for Christmas, but...

1) New engine. Original one is tired and ready to be replaced

2) 5 speed manual swap. Tired of the automatic

3) Atlas transfer case. Because why not

4) Dana 44 with coil overs up front and a Ford 9 inch out back. 37” tires. On about 6 inches of lift... and about everything else for the SAS I’ve got planned

Hey buddy what do u need to swap a dana 44 under I'm looking for a lift kit and tired of fu*king around searching so swap it all and swap it up can u Hel me out

 

[timtimtimajim]

Hey buddy what do u need to swap a dana 44 under I'm looking for a lift kit and tired of fu*king around searching so swap it all and swap it up can u Hel me out

I’m not sure I’ll be too much help since I haven’t done the swap yet... I would start by looking through the threads here

Solid Axle Swap Registry

Everyone kinda has their own way of going about the swap, but they all do follow a kind of general idea

 

[Fordnic92]

Thx I'm still new to this frist off road truck haha

 

[BKennedy]

@Fordnic92 Everything you need to know about SAS's are in the Registry mentioned above, and the Off Road Projects section of this forum. Its all been done and documented there.