"Pixel" (Improbcat)
03/16/2019 at 21:00 • Filed to: Project Colony Ship
7
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"Pixel" (Improbcat)
03/16/2019 at 21:00 • Filed to: Project Colony Ship | 7
| 8 |
Finally had a nice day, and got the hitch installed on Project Colony Ship.
The front bolt holes didn’t line up at all, so I had to cut a slot where the bolt hole was, then weld in a reinforcement across the end of the slot. My awesome partner actually did the welding on that. She also welded the bolts to metal plates to make the pieces to insert into the frame.
While she was at that I drilled the front holes in the frame, ground the terrible factory Ford welds so the frame bottom was flat, and primed & painted that area. Next up comes wiring in the hitch plug.
I’ve been doing further research on the Explorer 5.0 V8 swap. Looks like 2wd V8 ‘96-’01 Explorers are rare in the Northeast. But it looks like I can get a V8 AWD donor truck for the engine, wiring harness, ECU, etc. Then get a Crown Vic 4R70W 2wd transmission, which will actually have the correct tailshaft for the speedo cable.
I also bought a replacement radio on sale at P ick & P ull today, which was sadly a fail. My radio doesn’t play cassettes. When a cassette is put in this one, it emits a deafening tone from the RF speaker.
LongbowMkII
> Pixel
03/16/2019 at 21:34 |
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That’s one way to make new colonists
Sovande
> Pixel
03/16/2019 at 21:50 |
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I did some work on my old wagon today too. I think yours may be in better shape than mine...
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Pixel
> Sovande
03/16/2019 at 22:08 |
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Yikes! I’ve got some r ust issues, but the floorboards are one of the few places I know aren’t rusted through. Though have only seen them from the bottom, so no idea how *close* they are to rusted through. E specially given the long-term windshield leak I only fixed this fall.
PS9
> Pixel
03/16/2019 at 22:11 |
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Twin turbo coyote swap. A Ship that holds a whole damn colony needs some serious power. DU ET
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Pixel
> PS9
03/16/2019 at 22:15 |
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Not interested in investing the many thousands that would cost into my $500 beater wagon.
5.0 explorers are under $1000 all day, and gives me a lot of extra parts to sell. So even with extra parts to buy I should be able to keep the engine swap project under a grand all-in.
Urambo Tauro
> Pixel
03/16/2019 at 23:28 |
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Is your awesome partner single? :)
Seriously though, good work! What kind of tow rating does the car have anyway? Enough to justify a 7-pin socket ?
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Pixel
> Urambo Tauro
03/17/2019 at 14:50 |
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Nah, it’ll get a 4-pin. It is a full-sized wagon, so it can tow a fair amount (and I upgraded to police front brakes for this reason). I mostly wanted a 2" receiver in case I ever needed to dolly a car or tow a camper.
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Urambo Tauro
> Pixel
03/17/2019 at 15:29 |
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Well the upgrades you have in mind sure help to maximize that towing capacity. I still haven’t put a brake controller on my truck, b ut I did pre-wire it anyway with a 7-pin socket so it won’t take much t o set up. So far, I’ve only needed a 4-pin, for which I use an adapter.