I am getting ready to re-locate to Alabama and had to get my truck together to put on a hauler.

The front flip assembly works GREAT. cant believe how well it turned out. the pivot point is between the front valence and the bumper.

The wheels i got are BOSS 304 20 inch rims. The one problem i am having is the combination of the 01 explorer rear being narrower than stock and the backspacing of the rims put the wheel touching the outside of the bedside. I was pondering tubbing or spacers. tubbing would be ok but i have the wider fenders and the wheel needs to be out farther to fill the fender. are spacers ok to use???

I put the explorer rear on top of the leaf springs and i like the stance. i have 6 inches from the bottom of the frame and the top of the axle. there is no wood floor but i got on the back, at 300lbs, and it only lowered about .5 inches.


before fender cut... it opens 90 degrees before it contacts the bumper. maybe some electric screw actuators down the road

thought these were over kill but work great.








engine will be a 68 302. not sure what i am going to do with it yet. too far down the road

 

I think I am going with the 2 inch spacers

 

looking good so far

 

Hey Army,
We also have the Exlorer 8.8 in. axle & yes we used spacers to get the wheels right in opening. Our spacers are 2 inch but I've seen folks with 1 to 1.5 inches as well.

Good luck over there - It's really starting to look nice!

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 (351W/AOD)

 

Does it work pretty good, are any brands any better than the other?

 

Hey Army,
The spacers work fine - I can't recall the brand - we bought it off Ebay.
Tire places aren't super fond of spacers - they made me take the tires off the truck to balance them. Not a big deal. You'll have to measure to see what size you need - like I said I've seen anything from 1 inch to 2 inches used.

The truck drives fine - no wobble or vibration.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

A couple years later and the engine and tranny are in, the explorer rear end is done. Mustang gas tank installed and I just finished the cooling system. Now onto the body and wiring

 

Rear end and tank


This is the look I am going for. Red distressed with tan grille and interior

 

Looking good!