If the RIGID Hyperspot lights weren't enough, I had a pair of RIGID Spot light cubes added today. This evening I went to dinner and on the way home stopped by a wall that I use to aim my lights and set them up. The regular spot lights are activated with the OEM fog light switch and the hyperspots are on a separate switch next to the gauge dimmer just left of the steering column. The regular spot lights put out what I would call more of a flood beam (~11 deg), but the hyperspots project a pencil like narrow beam (~6 deg).Here's what they look like now during the day followed by a couple of the back of the bumper showing the mounting. The're turned on with a switch at the bottom of the dash. The rotary **** is the dimmer for the overhead gauge pod backlights.

 

I always wanted the "one-touch" window feature so I had a window module installed this morning. To be able to just touch the up or down switch momentarily and have the window roll all the way is nice. I only wanted the feature from the drivers position and only the two front doors. I wonder why I didn't have this done years ago...

Way Cool!

 

New OEM front parking lights arrived the other day and I coated them with 3M paint protection film clear. I did the headlights as a test two years ago and they still look brand new. The headlights are 4 years old and at the two year mark they became yellow and faded so I polished them with Flitz. They came out like new. Even around the edges got polished. The PPF came from Invisible Mask (https://www.invisiblemask.com/imask/...ormation_id=24) but only covered the face. Around the edges it’s aged looking. It’s not that noticeable but when it comes time to replace the headlights again, I’ll be sure to wrap around the edges. Using the Invisible Mask product is a great test to see how the PPF protects the headlights. The faces still look crystal clear like new and you can’t even see the film.
I’ll probably install the new parking lights this weekend and take pictures.

• Parking light Assembly
  • XC3Z 13 201 BA (LFT)
  • XC3Z 13 200 BA (RT)

 

After a mechanic buggered up my leather steering wheel, I had to have it recovered again. Apparently the mechanic was wearing gloves with abrasive palms and wore through the leather. I waited too long to place blame thinking it was just dirty. An expensive lesson! Now I have some of those plastic steering wheel covers and seat covers that many dealers use in their service departments.
Here is the newly covered wheel and re foamed seat.

 

I have the identical truck in V10 guise. For rear wiper, Amazon has one now.
I thought my truck was in good condition - yours is even better.
Need To do the drivers seat and covers now tho.

 

Wow, yours is a beauty!
Mine needs cosmetic work on the outside now that the interior is nearly done. I plan to re do the front seats (again). My drivers seat lumbar adjuster is shot. It took some searching but I found a new one.

When you do your drivers seat, you might as well do both so they’re both fresh. While you’re at it, the seat bottom foam for the drivers side is still available from Ford. With a small modification you can make a driver side foam work on the passenger side so both seats can have fresh new seat bottom foam. Unfortunately the seat back foam is no longer available. As for new covers, go to a good upholstery shop and have them made from quality leather. It’s not much more and well worth it considering a seat cover supplier is going to use the least expensive material they can. Quality material and superior craftsmanship will pay off in looks and longevity. See where this is going? lol

I’m planning to go this route sometime this year.

 

As I mentioned in the last post, a new lumbar support adjuster arrived today. It likely won’t go in for a couple months as I’m getting ready to have the hood painted, the plastic part around the third brake light, and have a bit of rust repaired under the passenger side rocker panel just forward of the rear wheel well.

The body shop tells me that they have to sand all the way down to the metal, prime, paint, then clear coat both the hood and the rear panel around the third brake light. ~$1400 plus fixing the rust another $2k. This is gonna hurt! 😞




New lumbar adjuster

 

She's a beauty for sure!

I'm going to look into that Line-X treatment of the roof - my silver pearl paint is missing in a bunch of spots on the roof, and I like the idea of a permanent protective fix.

 

Hey guys! I am a new member and this is my first post! Although I am a long time lurker. Bought my (new to me) 4x4 7.3 Ex in October of 2023, with 242,000 on the clock and drove it from Utah all the way to Florida. Since then I have added almost 20k miles. No crazy mods, just a rough county 3" lift and dual steering stabilizer, 35" Duratracs, Donaldson air filter, 4" straight pipe exhaust. Since I have owned the truck, I have added SSBC rotors and calipers to the rear, replaced all brake hoses with the Russell kit, Redhead steering box, and Morimoto 2banger combo lights upfront. Engine is pretty much stock other than the air filter. It is my daily and I use it for occasional off-roading and road trips. It will eventually become the family hauler!

 

That was exactly why I did it. Not to mention it’s basically maintenance free!

 

January update....

I began purchasing the parts to refresh my ac system. I have the dryer, the compressor just arrived and just ordered the Magnetic Disc, Clutch Assy, Pulley and condensor. Currently the ac is blowing a cool 50 deg on an 80 deg day. I would expect closer to 40-45 deg. It may not seem like much but 5 degrees is a lot on a hot day when it's 100+ deg outside. I'll see how much better it is after all the new ac components are installed and it's recharged.

I found a little rust on the very bottom of the passenger side rocker just for of the rear wheel. I took it to two restoration shops and both quoted $1200 to cut fab in new metal, and paint. Add repainting the rear trim piece around the 3rd break light and the hood, another $1100. I'll probably have that done in the next few weeks and post pictures of the finished product.

I found where my rattles and squeaks were coming from after years of headaches. The second row seat, passenger side had an annoying rattle. I found a new seat track and while the seat was at the upholstery shop, they cleaned out all the mechanics. The recline and rolling action work much better and the rattle is gone. The other annoying noise that sounded like someone tapping on the glass has been corrected. After having multiple people help locate the origin I found it almost by accident. The front passenger side door has been gone through tightening everything possible, the second row door, same treatment and even the B pillar has been disassembled more times than I can remember. I was sure it was coming from that area. Then I decided to squirt a little WD40 silicone in the door latch and all of the sudden the noise was no longer.

Now I can drive with a smile from ear to ear. What a joyful experience is is to drive in comfort.

There's more to come and I'll try to post pictures soon so stay tuned!

 

After purchasing all the major parts for the a/c system (Compressor, condensor and dryer), I had them installed this past week.They did a complete system flush, replaced the little micro filters and recharged with 4.25 lbs of refrigerant. Fortunatley I had the opportunity to put it through a light test this week driving to Thousand Palms, Calif. From The beach area it was about 146 miles round trip and while in the low desert, the outside temp reached 76 degrees. I know that's not a hot day but with the a/c on and the fan at 3/4 speed, the dash vent measured 43-48 degrees. I would imagine if the outside temps were 100+ degrees, I would see a more consistent low 40's readings. So far I'm pretty satisfied. After all, the compressor, condensor and dryer were original and bound to fail sometime soon.

I want to add that I tried to use a CSF condensor and even though all of their advertising shows it in black, if you order one, it will come in silver. Given that our grills are so large and from the front, you can see the condensor, I wanted it in black. I even ordered it twice. The first I returned because of the color and the second arrived damaged. I thought maybe paint it but two problems there, One is paining it would void it's warranty and second, it was damaged in shipping. These condensers are very fragile. It doesn't take much to damage the fins. I've always favored OEM parts and these OEM condensers are very rare. Fortunately with enough persistence I found one at nearly triple the cost of the CSF.

It was a pleasure to drive the miles this week after all the work and money has been invested in this truck. It's quiet inside, the engine purrs like a kitten and the ride is super smooth as it should be. No rattles or squeaks. With 2 layers of 80 mil Kilmatt everywhere, it was a worth while effort.

I also replaced the front corner lights with new OEM Ford housings and amber led bulbs from VLEDS. I also applied 3M clear paint protection film to the corner lenses. Years ago I added the same to the headlights and they haven't yellowed at all. I also added the same to the third brake light that I wrote about earlier in this thread. The only thing left are the tail lights and I'll get to those sometime later. Now, all the lighting is complete with VLEDS led bulbs everywhere except the headlights are HID from DDM Tuning and two sets of Rigid driving lights. One set has a hyperspot pattern 6 degree spread and the outer are regular spot pattern with an 11 degree spread.

Today at 207K on the clock, Bessie got an oil change and full tank of diesel.

Next on the list is a small amount of rust on the passenger side rocker at the rear wheel well. While at the body shop, the hood and rear spoiler will get re painted. Maybe paint the grill so it looks new again. (pictures of the rust below) Estimates from a couple body restoration shops quoted $1.200. Seems a bit high but this is SoCal where things are a bit higher priced. If they do a good job then I'm happy.


Not much to see but here's a picture where you can see the new a/c compressor and dryer.

 

A little detour from the plan, I had a couple new Everstart Platinum AGM batteries installed today. I feel more comfortable knowing that they should last 4+ years and if they don’t, Walmart will replace them for free up to 4 years.

More to come so stay tuned!

 

Been following your battery search the last few days. Lots of helpful conversation in those posts.
I am running AGM batteries from Sam's club, not sure if they are the same ones Walmart sells.
I got the first set 4 years ago because they had a decent price and 3 year replacement. At about the 2 year 8 month mark they started giving me issues, went back to Sam's and they replaced both at no cost.
​​​​​​I'm sure I'll be checking out Walmart when I need another set for one of the trucks.

 

And Walmart installed the batteries for free!

Another thing I discovered is they do oil changes for far less money than anyone else. They even have Rotella diesel oil at the best price. I’ll bring my own OEM oil filter. Hopefully they can change the fuel bowl filter too and I’m set!
I’ll find out in 7K miles.