Nothing life threatening here, but I just bought a '00 EB Expy w/ 5.4 and all the goodies. Never willing to leave well enough alone, I'm already starting a list of addons, mods, and tweaks that I want to do in the coming year. With my '91 Bronco (R.I.P), I just used the galleries here and @ SuperF0rd to do my "shopping", seeing what looked good, what didn't, etc. The problem is, it doesn't look like anyone's really doing anything with the Expy's. Haven't been able to find any pics at all of grill guards, nerfs, hoods, taillight guards, roof racks, lights, flares, all that stuff. There's been a couple of tiny manufacturer's pics I've found on other sites, but nothing that really lets me see what the addons are going to look like. You guys were always right there when I had a prob with the Bronc, so I'm hoping to find the same now that I've moved on to Expy Country.

If anyone has any pics, galleries, whatever of mods they've done to their late 90'ish to '00-'01 Expy, I'd so sincerely appreciate it if you could find time to post either the pics or links. Thanks a bajillion, and I welcome any thoughts the Expy community has to offer.

P.S., unrelated, what's the biggest tire that'll fit on a '00 with LLS(sans lift)? I know some guys have been able to cram 285's, but I read somewhere that they won't work with the LLS. Thoughts?

Thanks again guys!

 

Wow... anyone? I guess that's why I had such a hard time finding pics, everybody's leaving 'em stock...

 

There are probably a million+ Expys in Houston alone and I've only seen a dozen or so that have been heavily modded. Put it this way, mine's one of the "baddest" looking Expy's on the streets around here and it's nearly bone stock except for 285's and some PIAA's up front. Sadly, most people buy Expys to haul kiddos around.

 

Yeah, buzzard, that's what I was afraid of... I'll tell ya, though, I'm diggin the look of the 285's on yer beast. Does it have the LLS? Do you have any trubs with rubbing or anything?

All in all, I'm not looking to completely freak out on my truck or anything, but I was thinking a few minor things, i.e. grill guard, lights, rack, and maybe some taillight guards. Just something to "man" it up a bit. The worst it sees is some farm trails, so I don't really need to buff it up much, but I'd really like to get it a little less "soccer-mom" looking.

 

Sometimes most is best.
My wifes exped has a Smittybuilt brushguard the whole set up,
and smittybuilt side steps and after market wheels (bigger) tires
275-70s and hella driving lights. Ans magne flow cat back exhaust
and all that gives it a nice bold look and sound,the wife digs it,next a k&n intake system and should be good. sometimes to much is gotty. good luck and dont go overboard.

 

Oh and spend a little extra for stainless steel it'll last longer

 

For the love of.... PICS, MAN, PICS!!!

 

I would like to attach some pics of all my vehicles so as people
could what im talkin about sometimes i just dont know how to
I need some schoolin on this and im also pretty computer illiterit
and have bad spelling.

 

I know how that can be. I tell ya what, email me the pics and I'll get them posted for you. I'll PM you the address.

 

smaulzeb.
when i figure out how to get my pics out i'll have them on
my site here at fte.

 

I was thinking of installing a Westin Bull Bar on my '03. I need to know more about it, like how strong it is, before I spend the $$. It's a GREAT looking bar.

 

Matt, I can attest to Westin's quality. Had one of their bars on my '91 Bronc. The things are built like a brick... well, you know what... HTH

 

I was thinking that the top of the bar might be a little too free to move, since it mounts only at the bottom where the tow hooks mount.

 

I haven't seen how they mount on the Expy, but on the Bronco, it mounted by clipping over the bumper and using the existing carriage bolts. I was a little leery about it at first, but once mounted, you can literally hang on it without it moving.

 

smaulz-

there are some simple but effective things you can do (i've done each on my '97 eb)

-tails....
there are lots of plug and play choices. i chose to use the outside portions of (our model years) navigator tails. pop out the expy's, with the 3 silly grooves, and pop in the gator's. if you do this, however, you will need to consider backup lights as gator tails don't have them in the lense. now, if you really wanted to get sexy, you could opt for lincoln blackwood tails- just like a gator, only with the backup light "built in". pricey tho.....

-take off your roof rack. visually lowers the expy- and if you're like me you'll never use it anyway. one less item of wind resistance!

-body paint your d pillars at the back hatch. my truck is moonlight blue and looks much better with all that black around the rear windows and hatch body matching. rattle cans and clear, take your time!

-change out your front grill. i unclipped my insert with the silly inverted c shape (found on '97,98 only, not your second gen version) and clipped in the f150 equivalent. body painted it first of course- looks way better imho.

-badging....lots you can do there (except remove as under the badges there are holes in the body panels). the eddie bauer part is simply tape- lift it off with a knife edge. make custom vinyl pieces to replace, or i used reflective orange in the tape slot.

-install a dash kit. lots of choices now- different woods, cf, brushed aluminum, etc. and/or you could simply paint the plastic- unclip, paint re-install. do make sure you carefully and completely clean before painting, else you'll get fish eyes and a mess!

-airfoil....i have the ford oem rear airfoil, painted the eb contrasting color. you rarely see the ford expy oem foil- and i think they look great! find 'em on ebay every once in awhile....

-complete the eb stripe! buy one side of tape, and "finish" the stripe across the back hatch. looks way better!

-some don't care for the eb contrast and so have chosen to body match the eb trim- a monochromatic look. they remove the eb tape stripes also....

wheels, tires, exhaust can all change the stock look. shaq front fenders with the built in vents would really set your expy apart- that's beginning to get pretty expensive tho.

lakeside