so i decided to remove my lower cladding, i wasnt 100% for the grey 2tone from the start. so i picked up some of those eraser things that go on the drill to remove the adhesive, man what a life saver! much better then blistered fingers.

now i need to get some of the small black trim peices that came on the early XLT excursions.

i think it looks much cleaner, after i get some stuff painted and the new front end parts it should look pretty good IMO

the before shot




during



the trim i need.



done, i also removed the painted on grey pinstripe also.

 

Very clean! I like clean.

Now you need to paint the door handles. Even painting just the pulls would look good.

 

thanks! i try to keep a clean look with my trucks. with the insurnace money i'll get the door handles and more painted . i should be able to make it look alittle more like mine with $1,100 to blow on her.

i've been debating on the front end, everything from 05 bumper/grill, '04 harley bumper/grill, to stock with painted valance.(debating on keeping chrome bumpers or not)

then paint the door handles,wiper cowl, mirrors, bumper pads, running boards...and maybe some interior parts we'll see.



btw does anyone by chance know the name of that small trim part i need on the rear QT panal? and where online i could buy it? thanks!

 

WOW, that red looks 100% better without the gray cladding. I like it. Agreed, very clean look.

 

Looks nice and clean now.I like it.

 

I would have to agree that looks much better without cladding, good move

 

I've always disliked the cladding - your truck looks much better this way! Good work! Now I'm encouraged to try it (someday...).

I put the 05-07 headlites and grill on my F350. LOVE the grill and like the look of the lites - but the 9008/H13 headlite bulbs are a LOUSY design. I wish I had stuck with the earlier clear-lens housings and the 80/100 watt bulbs. They produced more light (w/o annoying other drivers like the HID 'conversion' a-holes ) and you can get 'heavy duty' plugs for the bulbs. My late-model headlights and pigtails have only been in there for several months and the plugs/pigtails have already melted beyond reliable operation. (stock-wattage Hella bulbs)

The problem is probably worse due to the fact that I have a relay harness, so I'm getting full battery power to lites instead of the common 2v drop provided by the retarded factory headlight wiring. The issue is the pins on the bulbs are TINY and the weee little corresponding connectors on the pigtail just get SMOKING HOT trying to transfer the juice. Currently, the plastic around grounds (center pin) on both of my pigtails is melted and making poor connection - new pigtails waiting for me when I get home from this trip...

My vote is for a cut-down '05-'07 XLT grill. Inexpensive (compared to grill+bumper), but dramatically changes look!

 

They are called Stone Guards. Looks like Ed (FTEPartsGuy) has them for less than $16 a side!

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...layCatalogid=2

It's #3 on the picture in the above link.

 

you sir, are a SAINT! lol thank you!


i dont plan on using the 05-07 headlights. i use HID headlights with that in mind i'm going to go with black one peice projector headlights. they have seperate highbeams which works well with my single beam HID kit.

thanks guys! my buddys at work even commented on it today, asking what i did that was different. i never expected anyone else to notice.

 

Looks better man.

 

thank you sir! i think i like it much better too.

 

Me likey no claddy...

Looks like you were fortunate not to find any rust blisters under your cladding. Mine was quite bad even though you wouldn't have known it before the plastic came off.

 

luckly theres no rust on this truck. i was a bit worried when buying it when i found out it spent 2 years in the east coast. CT to be exact and since i know they love to use salt back there it worried me. but from there it went to CA then to AK which here in anchorage they dont use salt thank god. thats why my 96 explorer and 91 f-250 are toatly rust free down to the frame and susp parts.

i still need to finish removing the pinstipe on the drivers side. then i'm going to buff the whole thing hopfully get out some of the small scratches she has.

 

are you interested in selling that cladding?

 

How faded was the paint above the cladding compared to the paint under the cladding? Was it obvious, was the line easy to see?