97 F150 "Roxanne" and 97 Expedition "Mel"

[Exped4x4]

So I have two builds going right here for different occasions. The first and primary is a 97 Flareside F150 reg cab, "Roxy". Equipped stock with a 4.6L V8 mated with a 5spd manual. I bought it stock in 07 and have been piecing it together since. Parts include; Rancho 4in lift, atx artillery teflon rims, 35x12.5 BFG ko2, warn hidden winch with smittybilt x20 amphibious winch, walmart special cargo basket with 300 watt LED bar, KC 130 watt spot lights, custom rear bumper from Wits End Fab in MD, KC c-series square flood beams, ARB diff cover/guard, torsen rear diff off a boss 302 leguna seca, posi-lock cable for front axle disconnect, CB radio with 140in whip, and of course the Volant cold air intake. Also, rattlecanned satin black after a few run ins with trees on an off-cantered slope. Not pictured but an honorable mention, i fabbed up a rear facing bench seat from a bronco. Still much work to be done!

The second is my old Expedition my parents bought new on 96 after special ordering it in Germany. Turns out it is the 13th Expedition off the assembly line! Planning on this one being a more streetable overlander. Future plans include a 2-3in so I dont have to drop the torsion bar bracket and just enough for ~33s. rear bumper with swing away tire carrier and accessory mounts for cans and hi-lift, front winch bumper, roof basket, fuel cell for old spare tire location, and the other usual add ons. let me know what y'all think!

 

[Raul B]

Looks great man..... Digging the single cab F150

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[Overland-Indiana]

Lookin' good! Welcome!

 

[Exped4x4]

Thank y'all! They're certainly comin along, just wish it was a little cheaper haha

 

[Exped4x4]

Got the badges mounted up

 

[Egan]

Nice rigs, how do you like the hidden winch setup? Did you do the install?

 

[Exped4x4]

Nice rigs, how do you like the hidden winch setup? Did you do the install?

It is a pretty sweet setup actually. Fits up to a 9.5k winch, and it helps stiffen up the frame. Also you can still bolt up the tow hooks which is a nice plus

 

[Egan]

It is a pretty sweet setup actually. Fits up to a 9.5k winch, and it helps stiffen up the frame. Also you can still bolt up the tow hooks which is a nice plus

I looked at that setup while back, but did not pull the trigger. I need a little bit bigger winch, my rig weighs 8800lbs.

 

[Exped4x4]

I looked at that setup while back, but did not pull the trigger. I need a little bit bigger winch, my rig weighs 8800lbs.

yea, mine is only 6600 gvwr, so an 8k should've been plenty, but i've maxed it a couple of times haha. if you're looking at the one for the excursion, they may allow for a larger winch since there's more room between the frame than an expedition or 150 has

 

[Egan]

yea, mine is only 6600 gvwr, so an 8k should've been plenty, but i've maxed it a couple of times haha. if you're looking at the one for the excursion, they may allow for a larger winch since there's more room between the frame than an expedition or 150 has

The other option I have been considering is an Ironcross bumper, not sure which I want to do.

 

[Exped4x4]

The other option I have been considering is an Ironcross bumper, not sure which I want to do.

Im going to end up getting a winch bumper as well. I too looked at the iron cross, but found it was better to go to a local fab shop and have one custom made so its exactly what i want and line x'd for the same price. Plus it supports local small business and theyll fix it if anything happens

 

[Egan]

Im going to end up getting a winch bumper as well. I too looked at the iron cross, but found it was better to go to a local fab shop and have one custom made so its exactly what i want and line x'd for the same price. Plus it supports local small business and theyll fix it if anything happens

I know a guy in Fresno that will fab one for me and he does good work, it would save me a couple of hundred dollars, but he has been really busy lately and has not had the time to do it. Maybe I should just wait.

Have you ever heard of Move bumpers? A neighbor has one, it looks great and he loves it, They send all the parts, you weld and finish it. They are only $400 for the basic bumper on an Excursion. Unfortunately I am not welder and to hire one would cost more than to have one fabbed.

 

[Exped4x4]

I know a guy in Fresno that will fab one for me and he does good work, it would save me a couple of hundred dollars, but he has been really busy lately and has not had the time to do it. Maybe I should just wait.

Have you ever heard of Move bumpers? A neighbor has one, it looks great and he loves it, They send all the parts, you weld and finish it. They are only $400 for the basic bumper on an Excursion. Unfortunately I am not welder and to hire one would cost more than to have one fabbed.

Just checked em out and it looks pretty cool. But yea, youd probably be running about the same cost. My guy up in Maryland says it would be about 2100 for the winch bumper i drew up, line-x and all.

 

[Exped4x4]

I know a guy in Fresno that will fab one for me and he does good work, it would save me a couple of hundred dollars, but he has been really busy lately and has not had the time to do it. Maybe I should just wait.

Have you ever heard of Move bumpers? A neighbor has one, it looks great and he loves it, They send all the parts, you weld and finish it. They are only $400 for the basic bumper on an Excursion. Unfortunately I am not welder and to hire one would cost more than to have one fabbed.

So my recommendation, just wait till your fresno guy can make it and take care of the whole thing for ya

 

[Exped4x4]

Hd some extra lights sittin in the garage and decided to mount em up. Not sure I like the location yet since the toolbox top blocks em when its open, but we'll see.

 

[Exped4x4]

Got some more work done on the old exped. Wrapped the steering wheel and some grab handles in 550 olive drab paracord, got the smitty x20 hidden winch mounted up, took off the old moldy and flaky chrome door trim and painted it olive drab beliner along with bedlining and accenting the luggage rack and guards. Next is putting an inch spacer on the rear coils, crank up the torsion bars on thw front, and the custom roof rack is in progress.

 

[Exped4x4]

Finally back from the bottom of the world and got to install all the parts that were stacking up in the garage! Iron Bull front winch bumper, 12k X20 remote winch, KC Apollo 5" fog lights, Dometic DZ-CFX75 fridge/freezer, Cobra 75WX CB radio, homemade table/storage shelf (housing a full-size propane tank, camp chef Explorer dual burner stove, tool box, smittybilt heavy duty compressor, and tow strap). Other upgrades since the last update are Raceline Shift 17x9 rims wrapped in 285/70r17 BFG mud terrains, rear upper and lower control arms, custom roof rack, 360 lighting, ARB RTT, and limb risers. She's coming along rather nicely!

 

[JJEVZ]

Wow your truck looks amazing! I am wondering how the factory roof rails are working with the rtt? I have a leer topper i want to add expy rails to mount my tent on! Love the truck!

 

[Jackman547]

The builds look great!! Love to see another f150 build out there!

 

[Exped4x4]

Wow your truck looks amazing! I am wondering how the factory roof rails are working with the rtt? I have a leer topper i want to add expy rails to mount my tent on! Love the truck!

Thank ya! She's definitely coming together. The factory slide rails themselves are holding up very nicely. However, I wasn't as sure about the 20yo crossbars since they have a plastic base, so I installed another support when I installed the roof rack to distribute the weight more evenly. I also took the rails off, cleaned em, and sprayed them with some rustoleum bedliner before remounting them.

But yes, they should work nicely combined with some thule crossbars or similar for your leer topper!