Another 1998 Explorer Sport V8 Project. . .Completed!

[Fix4Dirt]

Thanks for the response, and what a pleasant surprise! We are actually heading back over there next week; my son has been accepted into Temple University in Tokyo, and 5 years of studying the language worked well for him and us when we visited for the first time last year.

We had about 6 weeks to tour the country last spring/summer, and between trains, buses, and 2 weeks of car rental and other daily rental excursions, we managed to take what the people we met called an "America-jin" vacation. The two weeks driving was spent going counter-clockwise from Tokyo, through Niigata prefecture, down through Okayama and Hiroshima, to Nagasaki, and then back through Shinjuku and Shizuoka, and then back to Tokyo. On our Northern excursion, we rode the bus to Sendai, then flew to Sapporo, then took trains down to Akita; from there, it was the overnight bus back to Tokyo. In between that time, we kept coming back to Chiba and Minamiboso, as well as staying in Kunitachi (on the southern outskirt of Tokyo).

My favorite? That is a tough one, but there is definitely a place in my heart for anything on the Isumi Railway in Chiba; I told my students before I retired that if I ever moved to Japan, you could probably find me within sight of the Kazusa-Azuma station lol. Second choice would be Okayama/Hiroshima, or anything in Setouchi; however, Fukushima and Miyagi could easily steal my heart as well. Everything about Japan is beautiful, and the inspiration of Japan's performing arts has no parallel. . .I'm an Idol Otaku (Nogizaka46), and my dream is to write a book or screen play telling the story of their beginnings and struggles, especially the first and second generation UnderGirls. Do you still have family or contacts there? One of my fellow Otakus and Nissan enthusiasts lives in Shizuoka, and I'm definitely planning on spending some time there.

How cool!!! Japanese is such a tough language to learn (hence why I can only understand very little!)

That sounds like a great trip. A bit American, yes, but it gets you a feel! Just gotta make sure you stop at 7-11, such a far cry from American 7-11! Once you go to the countryside, it completely changes everything too.

That's a good one. The arts are so intriguing there, as is the culture as a whole. Far cry from America, both are far from perfect, and each has its pros and cons, but there is an argument to be made for both.

O I always thought you were a red neck like me lol

Haha no not hakujin, but I do enjoy fishing & wrenching. There are a surprising amount of JAs like that, more than the other asian groups imo... although most of the JAs offroading I see own a Toyota! Ford/Chevy a rarity in the asian group hahaha

 

[CDW6212R]

I was able to look at the thread, so I'll make a quick comment on the wheel decision history. Initially, I was running the original 15x7's and 275/60R15 tires (trying to balance tire height and width), but the tires were too wide for the 7" rims, and just didn't look right. The only choice would have been to go with a 70 series tire if I wanted to either stay with that tire height or taller, so that direction ultimately reached a developmental dead end:
View attachment 451925
View attachment 451927
The next consideration (for me at least) was to look at the 17x8" offerings; however, most of those were very "airy" (even the stock Ford offerings for other applications), and I realized that our Explorers are very poorly endowed in the brake department, and certainly not something I would want to advertise. Call me modest, but going out in public with a revealing set of 17x8 inch rims, when you are only packing 12" rotors at best (even when warm), was just too much of an embarrassment. My dream wheels, if they had ever been made, would have been the old Mustang SVO wheels from the mid-1980's in a 17x8 with a 4.5" backspacing; aerodynamic, and still with enough modesty to not give away that you couldn't swing with the Big Brembo Boys in the brake department:

View attachment 451926

I respect your thoughts as you went through the process of selecting wheels and tires, ride height etc.

I began with two 1st gen Explorers, then my 98 Mountaineer. I bought the Explorer Express X-spec kit for the suspension, it was aimed at a 2 38" lowering. It worked great with that, though I chose to bring the front down a hair more later. That was with 29" tires, same as stock 15's, but they were 17's, 255/60 on old 1995 Cobra 17x8's.


Long story short, these Explorers vary a ton in final dimensions. Some trucks can be lowered 3" without any big reduction in tire wear or CV axle joint wear. That describes my Mountaineer, it never had issues with anything but the rear hitting the bump stops. The Mountaineer got the softest springs, and leaf springs, so mine were too weak for the height with any load, for big bumps(dips). That's fixable too, like replacing the torsion bars.

I bought three more 2nd gens later, and all three don't lower well in the front, the camber goes positive fast below stock height. That's a random difference of trucks, some have more negative camber possible. That's harder to fix, aftermarket UCA's are the easiest path(but $700+).

Brakes are hard, nobody made anything, except the Saleen XP8 parts, but those were all recalled. I put together the only real large brakes for the front, 12.75" by 1.25" rotors with 4-pot aftermarket calipers. The stock brakes are actually very good, especially for their 11" sizes. It's a hard thing to upgrade brakes, but it can be done, it's just not a cheap $500 thing with these. I ended up with closer to $1700 in the front.

 

[redavis460]

I respect your thoughts as you went through the process of selecting wheels and tires, ride height etc.

I began with two 1st gen Explorers, then my 98 Mountaineer. I bought the Explorer Express X-spec kit for the suspension, it was aimed at a 2 38" lowering. It worked great with that, though I chose to bring the front down a hair more later. That was with 29" tires, same as stock 15's, but they were 17's, 255/60 on old 1995 Cobra 17x8's.


Long story short, these Explorers vary a ton in final dimensions. Some trucks can be lowered 3" without any big reduction in tire wear or CV axle joint wear. That describes my Mountaineer, it never had issues with anything but the rear hitting the bump stops. The Mountaineer got the softest springs, and leaf springs, so mine were too weak for the height with any load, for big bumps(dips). That's fixable too, like replacing the torsion bars.

I bought three more 2nd gens later, and all three don't lower well in the front, the camber goes positive fast below stock height. That's a random difference of trucks, some have more negative camber possible. That's harder to fix, aftermarket UCA's are the easiest path(but $700+).

Brakes are hard, nobody made anything, except the Saleen XP8 parts, but those were all recalled. I put together the only real large brakes for the front, 12.75" by 1.25" rotors with 4-pot aftermarket calipers. The stock brakes are actually very good, especially for their 11" sizes. It's a hard thing to upgrade brakes, but it can be done, it's just not a cheap $500 thing with these. I ended up with closer to $1700 in the front.

View attachment 451957

View attachment 451958

Those brakes are gorgeous, and no doubt took a lot of research and engineering to actually bring the project to fruition. When I think back on all the brackets and braces I had to fabricate, and small things like perhaps a hose or wire having to be replaced because the new part was too long/short/different fitting/whatever, it is hard to explain to others what is involved in order to do something like what you have accomplished here.

I too have been surprised in how well the stock brakes have behaved on these applications; I was thinking those rotors were 12's, but now that you mention it they must be 11" (roughly the same specs as the old Granada)? I also went with the slotted and drilled rotors like you show on the stock size underneath, and with the Bendix/Wagner police/fleet compound pads, it is surprising how well the brakes perform.

I'm glad you mentioned your experience with the suspension work, and that is what I revere about all of you on the forum. Your practical experience on these suspensions is obviously beyond mine (I've only owned this single example except for the donor car), so perhaps mine is just a worst-case example. On this Sport, at stock ride height it still wants to contact the bump stops on any kind of moderately hard bump, and that is with the thickest production bars I could find that were ever made for the truck (I sourced the part number from a Ford "Assembly Manual" that showed every part number for every single part and option for them). I wasn't even aware they made modified geometry UCA's for these cars (I guess they would have to be longer), either that or the pivot point at the frame would need to be raised to keep the ball joint and control arm bushings horizontal at rest. . .but of course the steering tie rod geometry would also have to follow suit to avoid bump steer as well. Like we've all observed, many of those settings can be slightly out of spec and not be noticeable, but when they all start adding up, it isn't long until something "just doesn't feel right" in the driving experience.

One last comment about wheel options: there was one card I could have played, but even with the car's capabilities, I questioned it's worthiness. As you all know, in the world of Ford performance there are some things so sacred that only the best can have the privilege and honor of being so equipped, and that includes the numbers on the track to back up their reputation. Two examples I don't take lightly are these:

On the Mini Lites, they are available in a 17x8, and one of the few aftermarket wheels that are rated with the strength of a production wheel. As I surmised by your own choice of wheels and sourcing production offerings, it soon becomes apparent that not everything offered in the aftermarket wheel catalog is created equal; even back in the golden age, many of those designs never would have met production manufacturer's requirements. That was one of the reasons I tended towards the Magnum 500's; even though they started their design life as an aftermarket wheel, their inherent strength won the rights to be stamped with a Ford part number (something the likes of Cragar SS, Keystone Klassics, or ET slotted mags never achieved). On wheel choices for a performance car, you really have to thread a needle; you want something with the strength and confidence of having a manufacturer's part number, but you also may be faced with needing measurement specs that don't jive with what's available (and spacers are never a good idea if avoidable). If you have about $10K, it is possible to have a company spin up anything you want, but would they guarantee it to stand the forces required at the Silver State Classic? (Of course, Magnum 500's probably wouldn't be a first choice for that either, but I wasn't afraid to run them up to over 130 that day in Florida).

It looks like the auction will be up in a few hours, so if the car does find a new home, I hope the new owner finds you wonderful guys and joins the community. I'll stick around awhile as well in case anyone needs my meager input.

 

[donalds]

I need to go on and get me some drilled rotors

 

[CDW6212R]

I need to go on and get me some drilled rotors

Those first rotors I got in 2004 with the EE suspension kit. Those were EBC, spot faced, not drilled, and slotted, a little over $150 back then for the pair. I got 40-45k miles from those first stock brakes, with EBC pads. Later on about ten years before now, I discovered the Ford severe duty pads on Rock Auto. They did away with the rear versions, but I still prefer those front pads, for my mail delivery.

Wheels are tough to pick, for fit, strength, and taste. I don't like many wheels, the OEM have been my favorites in general. For my project Explorer I found an aftermarket wheel(Volk GTC) that I loved, but it was obsolete and never made for a Ford. Made for Subaru and Honda etc, the right bolt pattern, but 12mm studs; they had a unique lug nut. Extremely unique, it's very long with very little seat area, and a hex end hole for the installation tool.

But it does fit the Ford hub, using a weird ET-#### lugnut(has an extended tip 3/8" past the conical seat), and can be machined to work. The holes are made for the Volk lugnuts, so the seats are not deep enough, and they are a little small for the special installation tool. So I'll have to have the holes machined a little deeper, and larger for the tool. Then refinished, they should work if the offset is good(16mm). These are 17x9", forged, for racing, and under 22lbs.

 

[fast_dave]

@redavis460

A few years ago, you and I exchanged info re: 5 Speed Manual -

In the true spirit of the forum, I am grateful for you sharing your top-notch build with us; putting the time, energy and pics into your build thread.

I had the same color/condition Sport, except in 4wd - and I lived vicariously through your build.

My Sport "Hank" is gone now, but lives on in my heart.

The other day when I read on this thread that your Sport, I imagined what a tough decision this was for you, and wondered why you were selling it. Thanks for telling us the backstory behind the sale - good to hear it wasn't due to bad health or something similar.

Happy to hear that a friend of yours won the auction. No doubt he'll take great care of it as he knew what you put into it.

As a plus, since you sold it to a friend, you'll have the chance to visit and probably drive it on your return trips home to FL.

Good luck in your future endeavors' in Japan, and again, thanks so much for sharing with us all you learned.

fast_dave

Below: My old Sport, Hank. I miss rowing 5 gears...

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto, the auction ended and gladly at a more respectable level than how it started. I hope the new owner enjoys it a lot, and it has a long life. You too, enjoy retiring to Japan with your family, and thanks for your time here.

 

[redavis460]

@redavis460

A few years ago, you and I exchanged info re: 5 Speed Manual -

In the true spirit of the forum, I am grateful for you sharing your top-notch build with us; putting the time, energy and pics into your build thread.

I had the same color/condition Sport, except in 4wd - and I lived vicariously through your build.

My Sport "Hank" is gone now, but lives on in my heart.

The other day when I read on this thread that your Sport, I imagined what a tough decision this was for you, and wondered why you were selling it. Thanks for telling us the backstory behind the sale - good to hear it wasn't due to bad health or something similar.

Happy to hear that a friend of yours won the auction. No doubt he'll take great care of it as he knew what you put into it.

As a plus, since you sold it to a friend, you'll have the chance to visit and probably drive it on your return trips home to FL.

Good luck in your future endeavors' in Japan, and again, thanks so much for sharing with us all you learned.

fast_dave

Below: My old Sport, Hank. I miss rowing 5 gears...

View attachment 451969

Thanks for the kind thoughts fast_dave; I had to do a double take on that picture for a moment! Believe it or not, if those Explorers of that year came with the nerf bars, the bottom skirts actually called for a different part number and profile that didn't flare out. . .but otherwise almost a twin!

Actually, my friend in Florida ended up with the car back in December of last year, and he is the one that put it up for sale (he is out of room to store it). The auction closed, but I don't know if it met the reserve that was on it. If I was in a buyer's shoes, it might be tough to bid that kind of money for one of our cars; however, if looked at from the perspective of "I love the power of a small block Ford, and I want one for a daily driver, but i love creature comforts too", then the purchase begins to make more sense. In a way, with a build such as this, you aren't so much buying a Ford Explorer as much as you are buying a driving experience that just happens to be packaged in a Ford Explorer. The vintage vibes always reminded me of a cross between a 351 Cleveland Mustang and a WS6 Trans-Am with a little bit of 1972 Hurst Olds thrown in for good measure due to the full frame construction (and maybe a Boss 429 under the hood when you slammed the go-pedal). Of course, the rack and pinion steering put the responsiveness and road feel even beyond those, which is why I enjoyed driving it so much once it was done.

It was interesting to read all the buzz on the auction site towards the end, but it was really surprising (and somewhat worrying) at how many of the bidders saw this build as some kind of drag car. While the acceleration of the car can easily rip the tires loose in first gear, no stick shift car is going to last long under acceleration time trials (better known as the drag strip), period. If it does end up with a new owner that values those things, and he ends up reading this, then my suggestion is to yank the interior and a/c, put an automatic in it, run 4.56 gears, and change the suspension to a 4-link with 3" wide rims up front and slicks in the rear. . .maybe then, they will put up some impressive 1/4 mile times that will make them happy. For me, I'm all about long road trips on two-lane roads, powerful engines with broad torque curves and wide-ratio transmissions, and plenty of good music in between. Who knows, maybe I will find a good Nissan Skyline coupe while I'm in Japan that could check some of those boxes lol.

 

[redavis460]

I'll leave you guys with a video I found; I don't know the car's fate from here, but these are the memories I will always cherish. The "Cookie Monster" (as my daughter named it) was her first car when bought from Carmax all those years ago, and has been in the family more or less since then. Good times!

 

[sandsprayer]

As per the tac!
My 66 C20

 

[97Sandbox]

Those pictures probably go a long way towards explaining why the car was such a pleasure to drive and handled so well, even though there have been some suggestions that the ride height should be lowered; there is no way to do that on our cars without adversely affecting camber gain, bump steer, A-arm to frame contact, and a host of other issues (believe me I tried). You could go with a larger wheel/tire package, but at the factory suspension settings, for every inch that you try to fill up the wheel well, you are adding another inch of ground clearance. The problem we are trying to work around is in the sheet metal and body lines. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but then again I didn’t design the thing!

Late to enter the chat (as usual), but I've followed this thread since its inception. It was a huge inspiration for me as I began building my '00 Sport and I was shocked to see the truck on BAT.

On the note of lowering, most everything said here is true in my experience.

I stuck with 29" tires, but like @CDW6212R moved up to 17" rims. That -- combined with poly suspension and body mount bushings -- definitely makes for a harsher ride (though the rig has more confidence in the corners now).

The readily available control arms and steering knuckles are the biggest challenges to achieving good-handling front supension as you mentioned. With stock knuckles and a 2" drop, I'd be lying if I said I was satisfied with my UCA angles. My alignment is in-spec at the current ride height, but camber gain is certainly more than factory since the UCAs already point uphill from the frame to the UBJ at ride height. The tie rods don't seem as unhappy as the UCAs, but bump steer is noticeably worse with my setup -- maybe that's an issue with caster being off now, I'm not enough of a suspension expert to say.

Sorry for the dark/blurry pic, it was the only "level" one I could find that shows my CA angles.

I have seen one decent way to remedy this, but have yet to try it myself. I've seen two Ranger builds -- one autocrosser and one drifter -- swap to SN95 Mustang knuckles which are much shorter thus lowering the UBJ so the UCA is at an angle closer to stock. I believe both rangers are using custom UCAs (among other heavily-modified/custom-fabricated parts) though. I don't think there's a simple way to mix pieces from the Ford parts bin to solve all the front suspension issues, but one of these days I'd like to pull some Mustang knuckles from the salvage yard and start experimenting. I have to imagine some mix of ball joints and tie rod ends could make for a much-improved setup with off-the-shelf Mustang and Explorer parts.

 

[redavis460]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I think part of the spirited discussion both here and online probably boils down to how each of us defines "Handling", and the sacrifices we are willing to make or not make in our pursuit of the perfect combination.

On the cars we suspension tuned in the 1970's, of course the tire construction didn't exist like it is now; the closest thing was the short lived Michelin TRX wheels and tires that came on Mustangs for a few years starting in 1979. They were a patented size and technology, and it was tried several times with poor results on some of the earlier Mustangs and Mustang II's. Of course, the 1979 Mustang also used a live axle, but it utilized control arms instead of leaf springs, and as you know ran a modified McPherson strut in the front. Retro-fitting the rolling stock to the older cars resulted in a vehicle that still wouldn't match the handling of even the admittedly-flimsy 1979 Mustang, and destroyed the joy of how the car daily-drove due to the harshness (it felt as if you suddenly heard every rattle in the car, and you were driving a bucket of bolts).

In those days, the "Holy Grail" of a touring car ride was, believe it or not, a 1979 Pontiac Trans-Am with the WS6 handling package with the 15x8" rims and the biggest tires you could fit, usually close to those same 275-60R15-type tires as what I ran on my Explorer. Pontiac advertised this as their "Radial Tuned Suspension", (Edit: I mistakenly mentioned this generation GM F-body as having rear coil springs, but they did in fact run leaf springs). The sway bars on those things were huge, and body roll could be tuned with rubber or urethane bushings on the ends or centers to mix and match for under/oversteer. Those Firebirds made for a much more luxurious driving experience compared to the 1979 Mustang, and the only place the TRX setup could outshine it may have been on a slalom or skidpad. . .but at the end of the day, you would have had very few takers that wanted to trade a T-top Pontiac with that gorgeous T-handle shifter and machine-turned aluminum dash for a Ford Fairmont stepchild that rattled the interior every time you hit Georgia 400's concrete expansion joints.

But, back to defining handling, what trade-offs can be made and still have an enjoyable car that retains its utility? The things I enjoy are transient response, flat cornering, and a stiff ride that still maintains enough road insulation to not shake the bolts loose on the car; this was the secret recipe for how the Pontiac F-bodies worked their magic, and when 8 inches of tire footprint started to lose their grip, you learned to tell by the change in how the relatively soft sidewall began to stiffen up at the end of its flexibility. By 1984, GM introduced the C4 Corvette with the then-new 16" wheels and modern tires that cornered so hard the seats needed bolsters, but to say the ride is enjoyable on them is laughable. The worst was the Z51 package that could literally cause a pregnant passenger to have a miscarriage on public surface streets (I kid you not); it was then I learned what a true modern sports car was capable of doing, as well as being honest with myself as to how many people would really enjoy riding in them all day.

Living in Atlanta and being a few hours south of some of the best mountain roads in the country, I can tell you it is rare and dangerous to push a car over about 70% of its limits up there due to off-camber and decreasing radius turns (think Tail of the Dragon); not only that, but seeing around the corner at speed is literally a fools errand in those conditions. Besides, there is a difference between driving briskly with a car that anticipates steering inputs, versus throwing everything around inside the car. . .a good way for people to invite you to stop and let them out. Thanks to the help of swshawaii and his rear sway bar thread, I was able to add the Addco 1" rear bar and correct urethane bushings and end links for a very flat-cornering, rack-and-pinion-equipped, short wheelbase experience. . .and I wouldn't have traded it for anyone's Corvette (for my purposes at least). Even with all of our car's limitations, it was very seldom I looked in the rearview mirror and saw a line of modern cars lined up behind me in the twisties; usually it was the other way around (YMMV).

Rear Sway Bar End Link Length

FINAL SOLUTION (See link on bottom) Does the stock 91-94 use the eyelet style or the bayonet stud type rear end link? Offset distance and overall length would be very helpful. Trying to restore the sway bar back to level after a 3" drop. Can't find for sale, pics, or info anywhere. TIA Pic...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[fast_dave]

Just adding, what I feel is the best comment from this Sports' Bring A Trailer auction:

"Sure, motorhead’s will notice the Magnum 500’s, the multitude of gauges and the thumping exhaust, but this two-tone beast’s muscle is hiding in the best place to hide, in plain sight."

To me, 'nuff said; I feel that that quote best sums up this epic build -

I hope that the new owner finds this forum and introduces himself!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Just adding, what I feel is the best comment from this Sports' Bring A Trailer auction:

"Sure, motorhead’s will notice the Magnum 500’s, the multitude of gauges and the thumping exhaust, but this two-tone beast’s muscle is hiding in the best place to hide, in plain sight."

To me, 'nuff said; I feel that that quote best sums up this epic build -

I hope that the new owner finds this forum and introduces himself!

always love the sleepers where there are small hints, but it all stops when the light drops

 

[Josh P]

always love the sleepers where there are small hints, but it all stops when the light drops

You're as fast as me, until the light turns green.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

You're as fast as me, until the light turns green.

0 equals 0
then im slower haha once the light is green

 

[Josh P]

0 equals 0
then im slower haha once the light is green

Killing me smalls. Just a great quote to your comment about sleepers