dasfinc's Old, New, Used truck

[dasfinc]

I know noone will really care since this isn't some bad ass new car, or high-horsepower monster, or project, or classic etc... but its something unique with a little back story.

Purchased this back in 2009 for winter off its original owners who had just moved up from Florida. Gave it a tune up, and drove it through winter. Sold it May of 2010 to a personal friend who then put some money into it (New tires/suspension/brakes all around) and then the transmission decided it was done with 1st and 2nd gear last winter (Jan). Just bought it back off him recently (Been sitting since Jan), and had Atomic Transmissions (In Lombard or Villa Park IL) repair it and finally snapped a couple of pics:

For those interested, Atomic did a FANTASTIC job... it took 2 weeks, which was excessive (Granted they were very busy and lost power for a day over the course of these 2 weeks), but they only charged me about $375 in labor (removed the transmission, replaced the 1-2 shift fork, machined the flywheel, installed a new clutch/PP I provided, reinstalled)

Onto specs/pics 1997 Ford Explorer Sport 2wd, 5 speed, 4.0 OHV, 124K on the clock, 3.73 open rear end:

 

[adsm08]

Epic. I love that body Explorer. It was one of the vehicles I considered when I was thinking about replacing the Ranger a while back.

 

[cody93]

very clean, always had a soft spot for the 2door exploders

 

[straycat]

Very clean!! Just way to stock looking. Any plans for it???

 

[Hunter95R]

needs a straight axle

 

[84bluebronco2]

The second gen is second only to a first gen in my book. I like 5spd explorers a lot!

 

[doorgunner]

Looks good to me......keep taking care of it!


My wife had a black one....


first---Firestone recalled the tires....

then..........

somebody turned it upside down for her...

it was a great little vehicle

 

[dasfinc]

Thanks for all the comments everyone!

I can't stress enough how happy I am..... that it has A/C, screw the rest

But also I'd forgotten that its shorter than my Std cab/Stepside bed ranger, totally caught me off guard how much 'bigger' it feels despite being a solid foot shorter (Having interior space again, yahoo!!!).

Very clean!! Just way to stock looking. Any plans for it???

I'm a HUGE fan of the 'Pre-Runner' Look, and the truck needs very little at the moment to be made 'mine'

The full list of plans:

Replace leaky Valve cover and lower intake manifold gaskets.
Flush steering rack of whatever blockage it inhaled under my friends ownership.
Remove all the lower cladding, and the rear bumper and spray-on bedliner it all except the plastic cover for the top of the bumper.
Replace driver side front fender and hood with Junkyard parts (Rusty)
Replace the front bumper with a Tubular one (Pre-Runner style for looks/function and because the current bumper is a bit jacked-up, hard to tell in the pics)
3-4 inch lift (SUUUUUPER cheap on 2wd's, like $400 for a brand new kit, keeps all the new suspension pieces my buddy already replaced, just replaced the spindles in the front and shackles in the rear IIRC.)
Toss my black Cragar Soft 8's off my ranger onto this with some beefy tires.
Change to a 4.10 gear (removing the 4.10 from my ranger in favor of 3.55's, so might as well make use of it)

Hoping to accomplish all of this before winter, (Minus the tires, which I may skip for the moment anyways since the tires on it are like 8 months old and nice all terrains) should be fairly cheap (Already have the gaskets and spray for the cladding)

 

[dasfinc]

Well for those interested, I did my first 'step' with the truck, and replaced the fender/hood/bumper with fresh bits, and went with a 98+ front bumper for the looks.

The truck looks like a million bucks now with the rust nearly all gone:

New hood and bumper, but old fender

New hood/bumper/fender

 

[shane96ranger]

Awesome! My friend 98 Explorer Sport that was pretty quick. The two doors have a little more spring in their step than the four doors.

 

[dasfinc]

Awesome! My friend 98 Explorer Sport that was pretty quick. The two doors have a little more spring in their step than the four doors.

Mine has the less powerful OHV 4.0 V-6, but between the 5 speed, and being about 900lb's lighter than a 4-door, it does help it get out of its own way.

And it being 'quick' is the last thing I care about, have you seen my other truck ?

 

[shane96ranger]

Mine has the less powerful OHV 4.0 V-6, but between the 5 speed, and being about 900lb's lighter than a 4-door, it does help it get out of its own way.

And it being 'quick' is the last thing I care about, have you seen my other truck ?

Oh yeah, I've seen her. I've been drooling over your parts in your other thread..... just waiting for them to get thrown on and hoping you get a lower ET.

But the SOHC in a sport makes it pretty impressive.

 

[ranger_mclaren]

Do I hear whining noises coming from under the hood in the near future? LOl. Nice truck man.

 

[dasfinc]

Oh yeah, I've seen her. I've been drooling over your parts in your other thread..... just waiting for them to get thrown on and hoping you get a lower ET.

But the SOHC in a sport makes it pretty impressive.

I KNOW I'll get a lower ET , just a matter of how much

Do I hear whining noises coming from under the hood in the near future? LOl. Nice truck man.

HONESTLY I would LOVE to stuff a mild NA 302 into this thing, especially with a 5 speed, but I should really save my money

Yay, all fixed! anyone got a center cap they wanna give me?

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

sharp looking Explorer!
ive always liked those.
get a 4.10 geared axle, that should make it take off better LOL