Luxury Chase Truck Build [2007 F250-Carli Coilover]

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For a belated Father's Day, my dad and his fiancé wanted to go out and see what I do as well as waste some lead. My fiancé and brother needed breaking in too. We all headed up to Cal City yesterday just for the day, waste of time, I know, but they wanted to go and I needed a fix before going back to work tomorrow for a month.

Truck ran great, it's nice to have solid work paying off. We had lunch and shot right under the mining tower and with the shade and breeze it actually wasn't too hot at all. Only bummer was being exhausted from moving into a new apt and being sick. Didn't get a whole lot of pics but here you go

Finally dropped the front coils too

See you in 30!

 

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Forgot about this little short I whipped up a few months ago...might have to watch it on the computer for some copyright b.s.

http://youtu.be/kfaG_6ZtY4w

 

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So bored out here...two more weeks.

Found some more food for thought:

My 1st spare fits underneath though so it would be smarter to make a jerry can rack one side. Looks awesome though.

Still in love with this skid setup

Just imagine

 

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Thanks for all the input guys. I had always wanted an optima back in the day but I'll probably look into an odyssey soon. I had half a mind to figure it out before the trip but I'm sure I'll make it with the ones I've got. I got a little busy today

Spent most of the day getting gear in order and I finally made my camper shell clamps out of angle aluminum. Eventually I might drill a bunch of holes in the vertical for straps if I need them.

Also got the oil changed and cleaned the coolant filter. I was really tempted to rip the turbo out and throw this little guy in but I don't have the right tools here. Hoping to do it tomorrow if I have time.

It's a Wicked Wheel 2 (reengineered billet compressor wheel). It's said to cut down lag quite a bit which would be killer. I'm impatient and I want my boost like, five minutes ago...

 

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Well I didn't get as far as I wanted today, which means tomorrow's gonna be a push. Just gonna have to ditch the purse and get **** handled.

Turbo is one bolt away from removal and the swap should be pretty quick.

Also swapped out this stock "package tray" for a more helpful storage bin. Forgot to get a pic of it actually bolted in.

Crunch time

 

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Photo dump:

Throwing the turbo back in 45 minutes before departure
















Pismo time:

Northbound 101


Elliot filming like a boss

Carlos owning the fence line


This is a long story but here's the short version: in an effort to line up for pulling the mouse (dwphoto's truck) out of the lawn, I unintentionally slid into the motherbowl. After several tries, and in the heat of the moment filled with adrenaline, exhaustion, and fog, I bailed out of a hill climb, dove into the bowl and carved it out. Apparently super dutys don't like bowl diving... Everything is fine, just the bumper pushed in. Should be an easy fix and hopefully a skid plate soon. And wasted for a good cause...








Rolling deep for a gas delivery for Flaunt on the 450






Mai Tai's amusement park


Bless Jr and Scarlet



So jelly


Bummed I forgot to scope this thing out a little more


That's about it. Didn't get a whole lot and kept forgetting to charge the gopro. Next time...

Awesome trip all together. Can't wait for the next one. Nice to see everyone again.

 

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Well I'm glad I waited to order a new bumper until I at least tried to bend it back. Hooked it up to my dads Tahoe tonight and had great success. The sides are almost dead straight again (the most important part). The bottom is still mangled but a little bit better, which doesn't matter anyway because the new skid will cover it up. Pretty stoked!

Also got super lucky with what I think is the tranny cooler. Haven't traced it yet. Anyway, the rigid amber had a bolt on the back that pushed in some fins and slid right between two tubes. Guess good karma paid off somehow

 

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I guess it's time I throw these up on the build thread. Big thanks to DWPhoto for the killer shots! Awesome as always, E. Can't wait for the next run.

Thanks to Carlos for the vid. Also above?
http://www.youtube.com/embed/LK9wzEHG9nk?wmode=opaque

The Destroyer - as coined by DWPhoto.........who knows how to paint shark teeth and hull numbers?

 

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Nuff said

 

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Nothing too exciting going on with this thing. It's been a busy vacation. I took The Destroyer and fiance up to Donner Lake (Tahoe area) this past Thu-Sun for a wedding. Got a couple shots.

It's all about highway miles...


The Bridge of the Destroyer. Beam me up, Scotty


A couple buddies and I on the way to a logging trail we found. This is a lookout point over Donner Lake. It's in the background behind the clouds. Pics DO NOT do it justice.






My buddy has a $1300 drone setup with a gopro. That thing is SO ************!!! We got some video which I'm trying to get ahold of.


A pic from the trail. This would've been even better if the clouds dispersed. I have vids form this too. Still gotta piece it together.


Despite the fact that I could stage this anywhere, anytime, it's one of my favorites from the trip. Gas station just north of the Grapevine on the way home.


After beating on this poor girl quite a bit, she deserved a little love. Being one man without a driveway, I coughed up some dough for a real clay bar, buff, and wax with a legit place in Thousand Oaks. Came out gorgeous. Thing didn't have much wax left, if any. While I was at it I had the front windows tinted. This is new territory for me. From what I hear, it all comes down to luck. I can handle windows down most of the time but when the girl gives a damn about the hair, that doesn't really fly lol. We'll see how it goes. The 'expert' recommended a shade lighter than factory to be safe with the boys in blue. I think it looks a little off but any darker and I'd be getting tickets for sure.

Second pic is most accurate. This is also broad daylight.



In other news, my power steering is toast. I flushed it and it helped a little but I'm going to order up a new pump. Considering a new high pressure line and keeping the old one for backup but we'll see. Also still need to replace the right rear shock shaft which I have the parts for thanks to Tommy at Poly.

Still need to finish the underglow/work lights

And my batteries are ******king awesome

that is all

 

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Spent all day at a buddy's shop swapping out the power steering pump.

It. Sucks. A lot.

Removed a battery, intake, inter cooler pipe, lower radiator hose and serpentine belt. Removed the pump, swapped the pulley with Tommy's help. Reinstalled everything. Topped off coolant, PS fluid. Also changed the oil for which it was time. Sounds a lot easier like that haha.

Just about to pull the old pump out

Pulley already swapped over

This contraption is what ended up getting it done for the high pressure line flare nut.

That's about it. Power steering and brakes are butter now. Almost forgot what I was missing. Huge thanks again to 84yota for the help and space.


Side note: saw this thing at the Ford dealership in Simi while picking up coolant. Happens to be running the same Carli coilovers rear shocks, and deavers as me. Dammit I want projects...

 

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Alright, looking for a few opinions here...
I'm in desperate need of a cargo solution. I've scoured hundreds of posts on several websites looking at ideas.
1. There are tons of ************ built-in sleeping decks with drawers, cabinets, etc, but I don't want to commit to having that in there all the time and it likely wouldn't withstand the bucking that may or may not occur on desert trips.

2. I thought about a bolt in "bed cage" system that could be modular so everything would have it's place, but that would make it impossible to sleep.

3. So far, the most low profile, universal, and sturdy solution is L-track/airline track. I'd go along the bed rails on the side, along the front, two on the floor, and maybe some in the lower corners. Infinite strapping points and still leaves the bed free for any operation. Then I'd just pack lighter and drag everything out at night like I have been. The only problem is drilling 50 holes in the bed. I'd really rather not, but if I commit, it will solve all my problems.

My only other idea was to make tabs that the bed bolts go through, and weld the L-track or a piece of holed out angle iron to them...

The only other piece of the puzzle are my shell clamps that I originally intended to drill out for strap points. I could build cross bars or mount stuff to them, but that doesn't really solve my problems.

Would popping holes everywhere really be that bad? Any way to go back?

 

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Just posted this in the GPS thread but figured I'd throw it in here to spread the word. Those more involved in the sport than I may have already heard...

Not sure how I missed this for the last year since I'm a fanatic but:

Yesterday on RDC I discovered a groundbreaking app coming out by LeadNav. Having worked with professional level nav equipment in the maritime industry for a long time, it's always been frustrating that no one could come up with basic features like 'dist to next wpt' or 'eta' on a powerful tablet (something even my first b&w handheld could do). They've been working on it for a while and it's completely geared towards off-road racing/enthusiasts!

It will likely blow your mind. They're integrating features like turn-by-turn voice guidance, downloadable maps, creating routes right on the device, choosing awesome/relatable wpt and turn symbols (like ditch or hard right), converting/merging routes into tracks, even a remote control for serious teams so a co-dog doesn't have to fight with a touch screen. The list goes on. They have a basic version out right now for iOS only (android next year). The upgraded version is said to be released soon (for free to those who already have the basic one-$5 I think). They're debuting an 'Elite+prerunner' version at the Baja 1K in a few weeks with Ricky Johnson and some others. It's marketed as a 'GPS/lowrance Killer', and likely will be, eventually.

Here's the RDC thread they jumped in on towards the end:
http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/index.php?threads/Attention-navigators.118964/

They have a website: http://leadnavsystems.com/

And if you want to quickly scroll through screenshots and follow updates, they have an Instagram under: leadnavsystems

Admittedly I haven't even downloaded it yet, as I'm offshore, but will soon. Hope you guys can use it!

 

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Well the big update dropped today. It's now called LeadNav GPS. If you bought if for 5 bucks before, you get the update for free! If you missed it, I think it might be 25 bucks now sorry. You snooze, you lose! Personally, I think it's still worth it for the functionality of this program. I think you can download bing satellite maps at that price but if you want google hybrid you can add custom url's with a $20/year subscription. The first url I had used with motion x isn't working off the bat so I'll try to figure that out.

Long story short, it's awesome. I have all my tracks and wpts from dmc trips saved in folders on Google drive so I'm importing them and converting to routes. It supports gpx. I've been messing around, importing routes that were created with various programs. The types of points vary a little depending on how what program the creator used. The easiest and most seamless way is to just do it right on your device now, which is easier than on motion x. Since I know some people might continue to use motion x, I took a couple screenshots to see how they display differently. I only have LeadNav GPS on the phone right now so it's not exactly to scale. Have fun.

Can't wait to use this in the dirt!

 

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Well the fiancé hooked it up for my birthday early so I can work the l-track around it and use it for thanksgiving. Thing's effing huge-on the outside. You definitely have to sacrifice a few surrounding inches for the benefit of supercooling capabilities. Good thing it's going in the #bless250

We discovered from Amazon reviews that these stainless steam table trays fit perfectly and are a quarter of the price of the pelican coated wire rack.

That is all