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Thanks to Kris Guilbeaux I now have a new Explorer to play with. I just recently acquired Red Flyer from him as I needed a replacement for the gas guzzling Ram. I am so impressed by the work Kris has put into this truck. The fit and finish is amazing and the full paint job is incredible. I don't think I'm gonna run out of good things to say about this Explorer. Without anymore ado here is the list of mods and specs copied from Kris' old registry:

Specs:

1998 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer
4.0L SOHC
5R55E
4.10's Open Front and Spartan Locker in Rear
Manual 1354 Transfer case
Falken Rocky Mountain 285/75/16 (33's)

Mods:

Lighting
6000k 55w HIDs
LED Off-Road Lights
Clear Headlight Corners and Lenses

Lift
Warrior Shackles
Add-a-Leaf
Torsion Twist 1.5"
1" Body lift
Rancho RS5000's

Interior
Limited Steering wheel with redundant radio and digital temp controls
Digital HVAC
Short console
Custom leather upholstery (red leather in place of perforated leather)

Electronics/Communications
Scangauge II
CB Radio

Exterior
Custom chili pepper red Paint PPG concept
Tupperware removed and holes welded up
"Serious Explorations" license plate frames front and back
Cut and re-welded front fenders 5" to clear larger tires
Limited Color Keyed Front Grill
Painted Rear Bumper
Front bumper trimmed and bedlined
Westin Bullbar reinforced


Sound
JVC 6.1" DVD Bluetooth Head Unit with Nav and PAC adapter to keep steering wheel controls
Kicker 5x8 speakers

Maintenance
New Fuel Pump and sock
New Fuel Filter
New bushings on Passenger side window motor
New Upper Ball Joints
New Lower Ball Joints
New Brake Pads
New Shocks

As always, red flyer always shines pretty good

What lift do you plan on going with to fit the 33's? Also, what are you putting in the front diff?

I have a 1" body lift on the truck already and I am planning on getting at least 1.75" out of the torsion twist and shackles. Plus the fenders have already been trimmed by kris to fit 32's as it sits now. The front diff will probably stay open for now. I was cautioned against using auto lockers in it, but I may put a selectable locker in it down the road. Tow points are the next big concern for me. As it sits there are no tow hooks or even a trailer hitch to fasten a strap to if I get stuck.

Thats because its too pretty to go out and get stuck

Part of the reason I bought Red Flyer was so that I could join in on some of the runs instead of riding shotgun and watching everybody else have fun. Don't get me wrong, 80% of the time this rig will be pavement queen, but every once in a while I would like to drop it in 4 low and sling it around with the big dawgs.

Finally got the lift on:

With just the shackles:


Plus the TT:


I think I'm going to need some bigger tires!

Had to crank a little more on the driver's side torsion bar. Truck was looking weird so I brought out my my tape measure and that side had settled nearly a full inch! I gave it two more turns and got it within half an inch of the passenger side. I guess with the driver and the gas tank on that side the bar got soft over the years.

Looks like Red Flyer is getting some bigger treads...





Falken Rocky Mountain ATS' in 285/75/16. I only picked up two this time. I'm going to wait till my next paycheck to get the next two and then get them mounted.

I think I can make them fit. I know they will in the back and I may have to crank a little more on the torsion bars in the front ad maybe a little bumper trim.

Anyways, here are some more up close pics of the tires. And damn these things are HUGE.



Tread Pattern



I also read good reviews about these tires when it comes to rain, which is a big plus where I live. Its been raining off and on for three days.

Lol. Okay let me clarify. These are the largest tires I have owned. Compared to yours they are tiny.

I don't think this is the proper forum for the two of you to be comparing sizes.....

Funny Chris.

Anyways, the new treads went on this afternoon. Had a lot of compliments about Red Flyer from the Discount Tire guys. They weren't sure about the fitment, though, and I was also a little queasy about it myself. Fortunately once everything was put back together I only had minor rubbing on the front bumper. A little sawzall work took care of that, though. Well enough talk on to the pics!

Before


After

Congrats bud!!! They look swell!!

After several setbacks with my fuel pump, it is now and forever fixed...knock on wood. Thanks to Russell for helping me get everything back up to snuff and Kris for putting up with me for the weekend. Also found out that the recall on the cruise control switch actually works. For months my cruise control didn't work and it wasn't until I popped open the fuse caps on the recall harness that I found I had blown a fuse. Apparently my switch decided to start leaking and the harness did its job. Thanks Kris for getting the recall done other wise Red Flyer would be "Black" Flyer. I also had messed up pin on my 4x4 switch that was grounding out and draining my battery, fortunately it was an easy fix. I got everything done that I needed to get Red Flyer back on the road reliably thanks to the Demon 4x4 "Austin Chapter."

Well fuck me, I am going to have to drop the tank AGAIN. Apparently there is a little plastic piece that goes underneath the fuel pump that holds gas even when it gets sloshed around. It has since gone AWOL in the tank and is making a nice noise in there. That plus the stalling when I stop or turn gave me some clues and thanks to Kris, he pointed me in the right direction so I can get this fixed once in for all!

Tomorrow is D-day for that. Today was mod and fix. I went ahead and painted the engine cover (red of course) to make the engine stand out a bit. I also fixed the hinge on the back glass. The problem was that Ford in its wisdom decided to use a fine thread zinc coated bolt to attach a soft aluminum hinge. Over time the screw stripped out the threads in the hinge and it fell apart. I had some taps laying around from when I did the timing cover helicoil on the original Flyer and found one that was close to the original size hole and tapped it out with a wider thread. I then went through an odd assortment of machine screws to find something that fit. In the end I had to modify the screw length and after dropping it into the rear hatch sub frame multiple times I finally got it in. Hopefully it will last for a while.

Might be time to scrap her?

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I think I need to come over to both your houses and beat the shit out of you for saying those things about the Flyer.

If it wasn't for me being a dumbass and not seeing that something was missing in the gas tank this would have been solved a month ago.

Good luck finding me. I went off the grid.

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I'll find you ALL. The staff at Google maps owes me a few favors.

BUWAHAHAHA

I will not tolerate threats made against me.

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Lol.