Welcome!
What's up everyone, my names Benjamin Hobson and I thought I'd throw up some pics and info on my 2003 Sport Trac. If anyone has any questions or comments you can email me at gti250hp@yahoo.com or instant message me on aim at greenbean2pt1. I hope this gives people some ideas or motivation because sport trac's are a lot of fun and look sick when you put a little $$ into them.
Answers to most questions I've got in my email can be found at the very bottom!!
Front view with my new fabbed up tow hooks and since I'm a firefighter I'm representing with the plate.
Performance Accessories 3" Body Lift Kit
15x10" Pro Comp Series 1059 Extreme Alloy Wheels wrapped in 33x12.5r15 Mickey Thompson Baja Claw Radials
I was at the mall when I saw a stock Sport Trac so I had to take a shot to compare.
Side shot of my fiberglass box. I like it because I still ahve room behind the box to put my come-alongs and straps.
The box pulled out from under the seat. JL Audio 10W-v2. I'm very impressed with these subs. They have a low mounting depth, require small volume and beat down well.
Audiobahn A8002t amplifier mounted behind seat. I like this amp because it has plenty of power and also has a built in fan to keep it cool back there.
Digital 1.2 Farad Capacitor to keep my amp loaded and my lights from dimming. Even at full volume, it never dips below 13 volts.
Night shot
New headlights and foglights. Sylvania Silverstars for that crystal white look on the road. I wish the pictures could show how much cleaner they look. I've also installed Sho-me head light flashers that randomly flash both my fogs and brights when I'm in route to the scene. On top of that I've got 2 led's behind the grill (red/blue) and two in the back window to clear traffic.
I got a little bored and found a field after a rainstorm.
Snapped a pic in our bar district.
TO DO MODS:
-Custom Exhaust setup for a little more tone. nothing obnoxious
-Safari Basket comes soon for the spare to bolt to.
-I bought the Go Rhino front push bar, but I haven't installed it yet. I'll get on it, I promise. I just need to fab up some brackets to compensate for the body lift.
UPDATE!!
I finally got a digital camera so I thought I'd snap a few pics over my Christmas break when all the roads were muddy from snow. I also got around to putting on my Safari Rack, but I don't think I'll be putting the spare in it. I doubt that will help my gas mileage. Anyways, on to the pics!!
ANSWERS:
Most of the questions I get are about the body lift. It is indeed a Performance Accessories 3" body lift. You can find these kits on ebay now or at almost any internet truck parts store.
Things to keep in mind while doing the 3" body lift:
Make sure you have a good shop/garage to start in... full of all the tools you might need. Air tools help a little, but are not mandatory. The most important tool I used was a very large set of channel locks. I had to go buy a pair for about $15 from Lowes. You use these on the bottom of the carriage bushings that hold the cab to the frame. This is one of the few places I needed a buddy for help. I had to hold these bushings with all my strength as he blasted out the bolts with an impact gun. As for everything else, it was pretty straight forward. The directions are detailed... almost too detailed as I skipped a lot of things since I think I'm so "mechanical knowledged". It says to undo all the gas tank bolts and hoses when raising the bed... don't do this. there is plenty slack in the hose for a 4" bed lift. That eliminates a good hour of work. Also, dropping the radiator and shroud sucks, but just bare with it and make sure you have no rubbing from the fan on the shroud. That's about all the tips I have on the body lift. It took my buddy and I about 5 hours to knock it out. Oh, you also have to do some cutting on the stock front bumper support, so have a sawzall, cutoff wheel, or in my case, a plasma cutter and it will go by really quick.
2" Torsion Twist
If you plan on running 33"s, make sure you do the torsion twist up front or expect only about 70% turning radius and than you have major rubbing problems. To do the twist, set aside about an hour and start by measuring the distance between the very top of your tire tread and the bottom of the middle of the fender... on both sides. They say you can't do more than 2" otherwise you lose handling characteristics. Probably a good rule to stick to, so I did 1.5" each side to play it safe. Crawl under neath with a red Sharpie and put a mark on the front side of both torsion bolts and chassis so you have a starting point. Than throw a jack under the front of your truck to get the tension and weight off these torsion bars. I don't know how many turns around I gave each bolt, but start with 4 complete turns to each bolt, let it down, jump on each side step to get the springs to settle again, and than measure. do this until you've got clearance from the front bumper or until you're close to 2". If it rides fine after this, ie: steering wheel is straight and it doesn't pull either direction, than don't get an alignment, but I always recommend doing this. I did just incase so i don't wear my new tires improperly.
I also took everything a step further. I trimmed some off the back of the bumper where the tire might meet with excessive off roading. I did this since I've got some pretty aggressive tread on the side of my tires... last thing I need is this tread to catch my bumper and tear it up or break some clips on it.
Prices:
Wheels/Tires I got from
Sportz Trailers . I got the tires mounted, balanced, lugs, valve stems, and shipped to my door for $1080. Definately a good buy from these guys!!
Good news, the same company also carries the 3" body lift for $235 shipped to your door. That is the cheapest price I've found thus far, but then again I haven't searched the net since I've had my kit.
