My Ford Expedition, Family Vehicle! and The Trail Jeep!

[joecrotch]

hey guys long time lurker. Wanted to introduce myself and show my rides. My name is Joe I live in Northern New Mexico Just south of the Colorado border so montains and open space everywhere. I have been in the process of building my 97 Ford Expedition XLT 4x4 for about a year now since I bought it. My goal is to make a capable DD that I can go pretty much anywhere my heart desires lol. So far all I have done is replace EVERYTHING that is replaceable to get it back to Show room quality. I turned the torsion bars up 1 3/4" and the back is stock I do plan to put a 2" spacer in back though. Right now I am running 35" by 10.50 16" tires all the way around and have zero problems rubbing. I had a small Roof basket on top but have since put it on my dedicated trail rig, and I am in the process of building a larger basket for the Expy.

My trail rig is a 87 Jeep XJ 5 speed with 4hi 4lo & 2hi. I have chopped the rear area to give it a truck bed and removed back seat. I only need 2 seats my 8 month old will not be in this vehicle lol. I also have a Dana 44 rear end and d35 up front with axle shaft conversion to eliminate the vacuum disconnect. This jeep is only half way done but I am building it in stages so stage one is almost done just a lot of welding left to do. Lots of frame stiffeners that need to be welded in and my own design on a cage that will be tied into the body at several locations for strength. These are both my first attempt at building off road vehicles so I am sure there is things that lots would not do, but I promise I have researched until it hurts before I have done any mod. i hope to keep a running log of all the work I have done anyway on to the pics enjoy!!!

Expy on first day (with torsion bars adjusted)

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

3 by joe30bmw, on Flickr

9 by joe30bmw, on Flickr
Below here is with the 35" tires

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr
And here is the Jeep from the day I gotit until now! By the way I payed 200 bucks for it!!!

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Untitled by joe30bmw, on Flickr

Well thats it comments, questions, concerns?

 

[joecrotch]

by the way the rear of the jeep is being fitted for a custom cover made from BMW convertible top! with a little window in the center!

 

[DoWorkSon]

How is the unibody going to like having the rear chopped off?

 

[Poohbair]

Well ... I like the Expedition :sombrero:

 

[Got Beer]

Hey Joe, thanks for so many pics. Nice shovel mount on the Jeep. I bet you could gain additional top speed by spinning it so the handle was forward. Would make a nice side hood wing.

My real question is more details on your 35" Expo tires. Which tires are they? No rub with the 10.5 width? How much did it affect the speedo and mpgs? You're making my mind spin with possibilities.

 

[Ponyracer]

You can get a rear hatch off a newer one, cut it in half, and weld it on when you get sick of breathing exhaust fumes.

Here's my old toy.






As far as unibody strength goes.....

 

[Ponyracer]

Just for reference, those are 37's.

 

[joecrotch]

The tires I'm running are Hercules 315/75/16 so they are actually 34.6 inches but I'm going to 36's next because I still have so much more room. I actually have had the suspension at full flex more times then I can count and only minor rubbing at full steering lock. The part the rub on is the jack tab on the a arms and that can easily be removed with a grinder. As for mpg I haven't actually calculated yet but I do notice a slight decrease but I drive mostly stop n go.
as for the speedo it can be fixed with a programmer but when I am showing 55 I'm actually doing 62.

The jeep is on its way to a full cage so the unibody will be stronger than it ever was.

The back is also having a top made from convertible material. I was gonna do the rear Comanche window like most do but I like the open air feel. My other thought was a fiberglass slant back like hummers have. But I am happy with it like this.

Thanks for all the comments everyone!

 

[BCHauler]

I'm trying to follow what you said about the tires on the expy. They are 35x10.5x16 or they are 315/75/16? I would love to find a set of 35x10.5x16 so if that is what you have I'd like to hear more. Thanks Todd

 

[fatrunner]

hey man, not trying to rag on your build, but with that section of the roof gone you really reduce the structural integrity of the rest of the jeep. a cage should be next on the list.

 

[Madmaxwell87]

I'm trying to follow what you said about the tires on the expy. They are 35x10.5x16 or they are 315/75/16? I would love to find a set of 35x10.5x16 so if that is what you have I'd like to hear more. Thanks Todd

A 315/75/16 is a 35x12.5x16,I think he just had his numbers off and meant to put 12.5. I don't think any 35x10.5's exist except the Q78 swamper ltb

 

[98dango]

A 315/75/16 is a 35x12.5x16,I think he just had his numbers off and meant to put 12.5. I don't think any 35x10.5's exist except the Q78 swamper ltb

you mean q78 tsl not ltb there is also the 35-10.50-15 ssr interco has lots of narrow options. Back in the day a q78 was the best tire in the north west I ran buckshots my self

 

[joecrotch]

I'm trying to follow what you said about the tires on the expy. They are 35x10.5x16 or they are 315/75/16? I would love to find a set of 35x10.5x16 so if that is what you have I'd like to hear more. Thanks Todd

The exact tire size on the truck as stated on the sidewall is 315/75/16 which if I am correct is a 35 inch tall tire and 12.5 inches wide on a 16 inch rim. And zero rubbing with just my torsion bars turned up. I hope that helps if you have any questions feel free to ask. But a 35 should fit on a stock 4x4 Expy with no problem. But you must stay with the stock backspacing!

hey man, not trying to rag on your build, but with that section of the roof gone you really reduce the structural integrity of the rest of the jeep. a cage should be next on the list.

If you read through the post I mentioned the cage design is currently under way and the vehicle will be several times stronger than factory when done.