those vents look sweet

 

Dont think twice about it go with that 03 front end it looks killer. I love that hood.

 

Looks great! Can't wait to see it all painted.

 

Well I'm comitted now to going with the 03-06 front end. I have too much time invested in the hood and fenders to not use them. The hood is modeled off a 02 Mustang GT so I may also be using the factory GT top scoop also. Not trying to look like a Mustang but nobody makes custom hoods for 03-06 Expeditions and I wanted to keep the looks in the Ford family.

I'm also using the Stillen lower valance on the front bumper.

 

Another small update.....

Just got in my Stillen lower front bumper valance and rear roll pan. The front valance is really for a 2007 F150 so I have to make some adjustments to make it work. It is designed to fit over the stock 07 lower bumper on the F150. So I also have to buy a lower bumper bar and brackets. I may also have to cut off and buy the frame horn brackets off the 07 and weld them to my frame to get this all to work.



Still waiting on my Bell Tech lowering keys (which have shipped) and I went with DJM 4" colis for the rear. Those are on backorder and may screw me up with my deadline but we'll see.

 

Another small update on my project. Finally got in my DJM rear coils and Bell Tech keys. I really would love to bag the truck but thats not so easy with torsion bars, so for now I just wanted to get it as low as I could for now. Overall I'm happy with the end result. I still have to figure out what shocks to go with and I still have to trim the bump stop frame brackets but I think the truck looks much better then it did before. I also finally began the process of paint edging the engine compartment.

Take a look.

Here is where I started with height wise.



After installing the springs and keys





Engine compartment painting underway. More photos when I get the truck in the booth.

 

good progress, is it just an optical illusion or does your front wheel stick out like a foot past the body of the truck?

 

Must just be the angle of the photo, they don't stick out. I'm also going to be adding the stock EB wheel flares. Currently the truck is riding on my old 20" wheels. Plans call to change them out to these wheels in 22's with 305/40 tires.

 

thats going to be a huge wheel/tire setup, you're probably gonna rub.

 

No big deal if I do I'll just get out my BFH...lol. Worst comes to worse I'll just widen the rear quarters a bit or shorten the rear.

 

Here are a few more photos of the engine compartment repaint. Now that the painting is done we reinstalled the radiator and other components. Now all we have to do is hang the fenders and hood and I'll be ready to paint the truck. I'm still throwing around the idea of tu-toning the truck in either black or a dark grey Lexus Pearl on top and then perhaps a third color as a dividing graphic. Stay tuned for more photos.

 

Engine bay is gonna look perfect when your done. Your truck has come a long way in the past couple weeks.

 

Thanks. To me its really moving at a snails pace. Unfortunately customers also come before me. Anyways I painted the underside of the hood today. To add a little interest I decided to add some gloss black to it. Still may add a dark grey pinstripe between the Pearl white and black though.



Engine compartment is mostly put back together in this photo. I had planned to use an 03 Expedition engine cover, but I may now switch to a Navigator cover. Which ever one I go with I will color match it to the truck. I'm also going to paint the factory air intake but I think I'm going to make it into a Ram Air set up taking in air from the Stillen front valance that I'm installing. I'll have to fab up the piping for that in the next week or so. In order to use the stillen cover I have to also install a lower bumper fro man 07 F150. I also have to cut off the bumper brackets on the frame and utilize the 07 brackets. I have to mock that all up before I finish the bumper so they get welded in the correct place on the frame.

 

Looking good cant wait to see the end result

*** Anyone know if the stillen headlights fit 03's

 

Finally the day has come to get this thing painted. I'll be doing a small tu-tone on the hood down into the grille area, using a Dark Grey Lexus Pearl. I'll also be using that color on the dash gauge panel and console. More photos tomorrow.