2018 Off-Road Expedition from LGE-CTS
Daily Slideshow: The kind of off-road vehicle that has a freezer/fridge and floodlights.
Breaking the mold
This Expedition was designed, built, and painted all at LGE-CTS Motorsports out of San Dimas, California. The shop is a family affair headed by Theresa Contreras, her sister Sara Morosan, and their father Louie. With this new Expedition, there has been a complete revamping of the model by Ford and there were virtually no templates to go off on for modifications. The job was trying, to say the least, but the shop was up to the challenge and made it all happen nicely.
A better ride
When the shop got their hands on the SUV, the first thing that they did was to modify the stance. A custom Icon Vehicle Dynamics 2.5-inch Stage 2 lift kit was designed by way of this Expedition being the prototype. At all four corners are 2.5-inch coilovers with remote reservoirs and are equipped with CDC valves for 10 levels of compression adjustability. At the front, there is a tubular upper arm with an Icon Delta Joint and Hellwig Products sway bars to help with load control as well as traversing various roads.
>>Join the conversation about the LGE-CTS Expedition right here in Ford-trucks.com.
Pretty snazzy
On the outside of the vehicle, there is a custom mix of PPG Paint with the goal of highlighting the SUV to make it pop. There's a subtle blue base color with subtle blends of grays and blues running throughout the exterior. Gold pinstriping was added and many components that might seem stock have actually been worked and painted matte grey and black. Theresa and Louie worked closely together to design and build all of the custom parts that are now for the company's Baja Forged product line site. Those products range from a front bumper, rear bumper, roof rack, and matte black fender flares. On the roof went an ARB USA Rooftop Tent and Awning for the weekends when you need to get out of the city.
>>Join the conversation about the LGE-CTS Expedition right here in Ford-trucks.com.
Inside the cabin
For the interior of the SUV, the Expedition was turned over to Rogelio’s Auto Upholstery in Baldwin Park. The vehicle was built at the factory with all of the options checked including cushy heated seats. The leather seats were modified to add in blue and grey leather inserts with gold stitching to match the exterior of the truck. An ARB Fridge / Freezer combo unit was installed with a couple of ARB camping chairs thrown in for any outdoor outings.
>>Join the conversation about the LGE-CTS Expedition right here in Ford-trucks.com.
Across the country and back
When the Expedition arrived at SEMA late last year, it received a Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Achievement in Design from Ford. After that, Ford took the Expedition on the road to the L.A. and Detroit auto shows to display how the SUV could be given a much more rugged stance. Since then, the SUV has been used at local events to promote the shop and show off how a soccer mom vehicle can become an off-road warrior.
For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section in the forum.