What about some '13 XLT wheels

 

Jim... I'm not sure if your on facebook and have liked the FTE page, but I am and have. And yesterday Friday July 1 your build thread was featured on FTE's facebook page. Just thought you'd like to know.

 

Alex, I'm not on Facebook, but thanks for letting me know. That's an honor I guess. Cool!
Actually this and LinkedIn are the only two social media sites I participate in for a variety of reasons.

 

The XLT wheels of the 09-14 gen trucks was my first thought, but nobody would notice anything different about it. Know what I mean? The chrome steels from the previous generation truck would look good on here, still having an OEM theme; but the close observer would still notice the difference. Yes there is a method to my madness! My other thought was ordering a set of wheels from Discount Tire Direct. They have an MB Razor wheel in the 17" size for $102/piece. These would look awesome on my truck, but won't give me the OEM theme.
The latest update though is I just ordered a set of seat covers and a bed mat for it this morning from Car ID. Got everything, including a bottle of protectant for the seat covers for just over $300.
My goal is to have this truck ready to show at a local event every Friday night up in Wexford, PA by the end of August. I've decided that it'll be there with or without a new set of wheels. If I'm still on the stock wheels, I'll just explain that it's still a work in progress. I will post pictures from that event here.

 

Update on wheels: I found a set of the 17" chrome steels on Craigslist that are still available. I will call the seller tomorrow, and try to arrange to drive out and get them on Friday. Fortunately I have a half day of work on Friday for a doctor's appointment, so I'll leave right after my appointment. They're about 90 minutes or so drive from where I live. These are the chrome steel wheels that were standard OEM on the 2004-08 XLT's. These wheels include a set of tires, too but the tires are the OEM type Hankook Dynapro's which totally suck! That's what's on my truck now and they want to lose grip in the rain, so I know snow is going to be horrid! I had the Dynapro's on my '06 and the first winter that truck was all over the damn road if you even mentioned snow! It was 2wd, but limited slip. Once I started putting better tires under it, the truck was great in the snow! So I've had experience with these Hankook's before and I hate them.
I wanted to stay with the 17" size so that I can take full advantage of the 3.73 gear that the truck has. Only having the V6, I'll need all the gearing I can get when it's time to really start using this truck for some hard work. I also don't plan on going too much bigger than the 235/75 size either. My 2006 truck had the 4.2 and 3.55's, and that one always did fine with 245/75 All-Terrains, and this 3.7 has the power to put the old 4.2 to shame.

 

Okay it's been a while since I checked in here but I was waiting for some of my recent purchases to come in. About 2 weeks ago I ordered a bed mat and seat covers for through Car iD. The bed mat came in yesterday, the seat covers should be in next week sometime. The bad mat was a quick install but I'll share pictures anyway.
When I bought this truck it had a plastic drop-in liner in it from the PO. I asked the dealer to take that out because I don't like those. They serve a purpose, but they don't suit my needs. A spray-in liner for this truck was out of the budget, at least for now. I'll also post pictures of the damage caused by the plastic liner where it rubbed through the pain, down to bare metal. I'll eventually get around to fixing that. I'll buy some Vermillion Red in a spray can at my local Pep Boys. They usually have a decent supply of factory matched spray paint. As long as I keep the bed cover on it, though it's staying dry so shouldn't rust.

 

By the way, I found a set of the Chrome steel wheels that I wanted for this truck on Craigslist, and I'll go out to pick them up next Friday after work. About 2 hours drive for me but it's worth it. The wheels I'm buying are from a 2007 XLT, and from the pictures I've seen on Craigslist, they look they're in really good shape for their age. Can't beat the price either!

 

I agree with you...I like the rubber mats in the bed much better than the plastic liners that beat up the paint. Looks good!

 

Yeah I saw a truck at a car show last year that was for sale, an 89-91(?) F-150 and under the rubber mat the paint still looked like new! On the other hand I've seen where the plastic liners can trap so much water underneath that the bed floor develops rust holes. I've had plastic liners in 2 previous trucks and took them both out.

 

I am originally from MI where u learn very early, NEVER use a plastic Bed-Liner

I think I'd have put that $100 the bed mat cost toward a spray-in liner, since that's what u really wanted anyway & have some paint damage already. I only spent $350 for a lifetime warranty spray-in liner from Leonard Truck Accessories (if u have a Leonard around).

 

No Leonard around here. The cheapest I could get a spray-in around here was $450, which still ain't bad. It's a local truck accessories shop that seems to be a real pain in the a** to deal with. Gone in there a couple times, never left with a very good feeling about them.
Besides that we're also trying to save as much money as possible for other obligations in the next few years. That's why this truck has to be done on such a tight budget. I'm fortunate that I'm able to do anything at all with it. This is all getting done with the money that I got from selling my '06, and there needs to be a lot left over.

 

Hey y'all it's been a while since I've posted with any progress but there has been some made as far getting additional stuff, I just don't have anything installed yet or any pictures uploaded yet to show. Someone on here was kind enough to send me a pair of the reflector strips for the mirrors (Thanks Nassty!) and a few days ago I got my seat covers in from UPS. This morning I drove a couple hours and picked up a used set of wheels that I found on Craigslist. The wheels are the chrome steel 17'' wheels from a 2007 model XLT 4x4. They are exactly what I wanted. They look real good already, and with some clean up work, they should look even better!
I did find a picture of the reflector strips so I attached that. I've been pretty busy lately and have not had time to take pictures of the seat covers yet. The wheels, I'm hoping to atleast get a picture of one put together and sitting beside the truck taken and uploaded tomorrow to post. Busy weekend, though so can't promise anything.

 

Update 7/18/2016:
I have the wheels! I got exactly what I wanted at a very reasonable price, just had to drive a few hours to get them. No big deal, I'm always up for a road trip and the truck did great! I found these on Craigslist for $200 including tires, which were junk so I've already had them dismounted and disposed of. These came from a 2007 F-150 XLT. So far everyone that has seen them likes them and thinks they'll look really good on my truck! Let me know what y'all think...

 

I think those wheels will look great on the beast. Sounds like it coming together quite nicely Jim. And the reflectors sure will help with breaking up the black on those mirrors. By the way how are the steps holding up?

 

Steps are holding up great Alex thanks! They're spotty as !!! right now because it rained a few weeks ago less than 24 hours after I polished all the chrome to a nice high shine
I had to go out to Altoona area to get these wheels and the truck averaged about 18+mpg the whole way with the AC on! I'm impressed