In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Wow I just had to double check that this thread was located in our "Extreme Makeover" Section and it sure is! Looking good you are making quick progress.

I can't wait to get on the outside of this thing with my Meguiar's Products.

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Not much progress today, even though I didn't really intend on doing much. In keeping with my push to do at least one thing a day, no matter how small, I decided to install the new fog light bulbs I ordered from RockAuto. Well, they are the wrong bulbs. So instead I vacuumed out the cargo area and wiped down the plastic panels. I also had to cut a chunk of dried caulk off the back of one of the rear seats that looked like it's been there for ages.

I'll shampoo the back carpets later. My goal is to make it clean enough to sleep back there during the BBQ competitions I participate in. Typically they start Friday afternoons and run until Saturday evening. You have to sleep close to your smokers, and I don't want to sleep in a lawn chair!

Oh yeah! I was also excited to see that the truck came with a big rubber cargo mat. I learned today I shouldn't be excited. It turns out that it's not a rubber cargo mat but a carpeted cargo mat that was turned upside down because it's disgusting! LOL

This is a before:


The disgusting cargo mat. I think I'll shampoo it so it doesn't have any funky smells and use it upside down.


Caulk on the back of the seat!


I carefully cut it out.


All vacummed and wiped down! I hope this responds well to the carpet shampoo machine.

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Big progress today but only a little progress on the detailing front.

I'm really, really, proud of this. I saw big progress today, and it really can't be seen! I rebuilt the door which included riveting on a new exterior door handle, installing a new lock actuator, new latch assembly, new interior door handle, and re-attaching all of the door linkages. It was a PITA and took way longer than I expected but I'm proud that I figured it out and made it work! Once I had everything hooked up, and working, I cleaned the interior door panel before reinstalling it.

For some reason I feel the same excitement about this old-*** Ford Explorer as I did for my first car when I was 17 and just getting my driver's license.

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Today's progress report:

It's not huge progress but it signals the change of focus from the interior to the exterior! And while it's not a lot of progress, it was still hot and hard work! LOL Today I removed the degrading pin-stripe from the sides of "The Turd" as well as the stick on "chrome" wheel arch accents and the residue left from a long ago lost tailgate spoiler. I used a rubber vinyl decal eraser wheel chucked into a drill to accomplish all of this. I got lucky with the chrome wheel arch trim. It was actually a rubber strip covered in a very degraded chrome foil with a heavy duty double-sided adhesive. I pealed off the wheel arch trim and attacked it with the rubber wheel.

Unfortunately progress will be slowing down on this in a couple days time as I do some family stuff. But when I start back up on it, it will be to polish "The Turd"!

Here are some pics!

BEFORE:


DURING:


AFTER:

[Fast_Eddie]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Taking it to the extreme.

[Nick Winn]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Nice!! I am the same way when it comes to acquiring vehicles, I can't help myself but to start restoring/reconditioning!

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

I'm back from my trip out to Texas! (Where I at the BEST bbq brisket I've ever experienced in my life! It was a religious experience!) Since I'm only home for a couple of days before we head back out again, I didn't want to get too deep on anything with the Explorer so today I just grabbed a bottle of ScratchX to assess what I am going to have to tackle with the paint.

So here is a test spot where I knocked off the pin-stripe decal. You can see that the sun has baked the stripe into the paint AND I screwed up with the rubber wheel stripping that pin-stripe and dug into the paint a little. I think I'm going to have to hit these areas with nicks with touch-up paint and wet sand them before attempting the paint correction.


Here's a part of the hood. I think someone attempted to scrub the grime off of it with a broom or something and scratched it up pretty good. Towards the left is where I applied the ScratchX and it made a decent difference but it'll need more work to really clean it up.


And then there is this; towards the leading edge of the hood there is basically a line of messed up paint. This was caused by the sun/wind deflector that was on the front of the hood and filled with dirt and debris for, at the least, the past four years. I'm thinking of sanding this back to clean it up, hitting it with spray touch-up paint, and wet sanding it to blend into the hood better. I know it wont be perfect, but if it looks horrible I'll just put the sun/wind deflector back on the hood!

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Today's small progress:




Had to get out the dremel...






I also shot a quick clip of it idling. It runs pretty smooth for a neglected vehicle!

[exploreco]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Sounds like it does run pretty good. And the fun thing with a old car like that you can practice doing some things you may not have not otherwise tried on your other vehicles. If you mess a spot up on this one you won't feel too bad lol Keep up the good work!

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Big day! I finally got the title for this thing yesterday and got it registered today. I also had an oil change and radiator flush knocked out. I can't wait to get started on the exterior!

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Minor progress today...

A piece of the interior sunroof trim had broken off just over the driver side of the truck and it was annoying me because bright light would stream in and it was distracting. I super-glued that back into place.

And slightly more exciting (only slightly more) is that I fixed another annoying issue. I had to drive this thing home from where it was parked for 2 or 3 years with only a passenger side mirror. Then I spliced in an Explorer Sport mirror on the driver side. Well today I installed the rear-view mirror on the windshield! Luckily it came brand new in a box with some rear-view mirror adhesive. Now, the adhesive is is somewhere between 2 to 4 years old so I had to fudge the mixing of it but I got it work.

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

I really need to find the time to do a exterior detail on this thing! It wont ever be perfect but it'll look damn good. I'll do a wash, claybar, wash again, and then out with the DA for compound polish, and wax. But since I'm going to be taking it to a car show tomorrow (I'm not showing my Mustang, I'll be working it), I had it washed today.

When I got it:


Today:

[Nick Winn]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

Can't wait to see the before & afters!

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

A little fix that made me very happy today...

Here is my stereo. It is actually on.


Here is the stereo with a replacement power supply board.


It goes on the right side of the stereo.


And it works now!

[GLOCKer]

Re: In-Progress Project - 1998 Ford Explorer Limited

So, wanting to keep some momentum going on fixing this up but not being able to do anything with all of the parts I've got stacking up for it, I decided to start working on the paint today. So far, I've only done the hood and front driver side fender.

The paint is in ROUGH shape! It is very dull, etched, and scratched. There are also 16 years of stone chips on it. (Only 16 years because it sat un-driven for the past four years! LOL)

Being the paint is so rough, I've decided to limit myself to how much work I'm going to put in it. There is no way this thing will polish out to look like my Mustang does, so I'm not going to put that effort into it. So, to keep it simple, I'm compounding it with Meguir's Ultimate Compound and then following up with Meguiar's Black Wax. The Meguiar's Black Wax is a wax with polishing compounds in it. It's almost like killing two birds with one stone.

When I first got my hands on The Turd, I thought it was a dark blue color. Then after it was washed a little, I realized it was black. Today I learned it's actually metallic black!

Before:


After:



Before:


After:


Some after pics in the light...






Ughhhhhhhhhh! I still have to do the whole rest of the truck!