"Thunder" 1998 Expedition Build Thread .... fixed pics!!

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My Expedition is obviously still naturally aspirated and dog slow, but while the engine is at the builder (Ronnie Crawford) and the heads are out for porting (Performance CNC), I figured I could get a head start on the exhaust setup, one less thing to do at the same time as the motor swap. I also had a small leak at the manifold, so I might as well redo the entire exhaust to fix it.

The idea was to future-proof the exhaust to make sure it would never be a bottleneck on power from day 1, so ARH headers with 1-3/4" primaries and dual 3" all the way back. Extra o2 bungs were added for a dual wideband down the road, along. with v-band connections for easy assembly and removal anytime. Since I don't want it too loud, it's catted, and I picked the Magnaflow 12599 muffler with an internal x-pipe, it's the largest 3" dual in/out muffler they make, which should keep it pretty mild. The exit is behind the tire as well to keep interior resonance at a minimum. Dual-wall 4" tips cap it off. I also used Vibrant's stainless steel OEM style hangers.

Danny Fernandez at South Florida Muscle Cars put the parts all together, he did great work and it looks fantastic.

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A second set of o2 bungs was added to the headers to allow for adding a dual wideband air/fuel gauge down the road.

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Here you can see the Vibrant hangers and v-bands on the exit of the Magnaflow muffler

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Tailpipes over the axle in progress

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All set!

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The tips turned out extremely nice as well - 4" double wall stainless with angle cut openings. A great ebay find!

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aaaaand of course, the obligatory sound clip:


it's just what I wanted, aggressive and throaty when you're on the throttle, with a great timbre from the headers, unobtrusive and very subtle at idle and cruise.
what kind of headers are they? meaning are they for for lightning 5.4? want to do the same for now. doing a coyote swap. building my motor as we speak. but for now want something for the truck.
 
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MISTERgadget

MISTERgadget

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what kind of headers are they? meaning are they for for lightning 5.4? want to do the same for now. doing a coyote swap. building my motor as we speak. but for now want something for the truck.
They're ARH headers for a Lightning, yes
 
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Got the heads back from the porting wizards at Performance CNC (cncport.com)

Fully CNC Ported exhaust/intake runners and combustion chambers, 1mm oversize valves, new valve seals, new guides, new valve seats, upgraded crower springs and retainers.

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Got the paint matched fender trim on, way overdue!! It totally transformed the look of the truck.

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The Expy also took a trip with me to the West Coast of FL to see family over the holidays

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Got a couple other small things ironed out

Installed a Moroso transmission pan (adds 2-3 quarts of capacity) along with fresh fluid and a new filter. Will look good with the matching Moroso oil pan :)

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Got new front and rear swaybar endlinks and new front shocks on too. I had been driving around with stock length endlinks with a 3" drop, so the swaybars weren't sitting level. Used shorter OEM style endlinks up front and Hellwig adjustable endlinks in the rear, it's amazing how much flatter the truck corners just having everything setup correctly. Turn in felt improved as well.

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What brand and part number for the sway bar links? I cant find anything. I did the djm suspension 4” drop with the control arms. but no links.
 
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I knew the engine swap was going to be involved, and I wanted to give myself the time and space to do it right.... (famous last words as little did I realize just how involved, a couple of curveballs thrown my way changed everything), so I distracted myself with a little bit of interior upgrades for the time being.

I knew that I wanted to follow the example the concept SVT Thunder set in using the Lightning interior bits.... and the school bus steering wheel in old man tan sticks out bigtime...

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While the recovered Lightning buckets, smaller 4 spoke steering wheel, and the black trim on the dash and console gave the Thunder concept a much much better look.

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So I raided my bin of leftover Lightning parts and first to go was the steering wheel. bye bye!

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Test fit looks good, but we can do more while we're here.

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Let's get the cluster out and give it some contrast!

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Forgive my eagerness to add a little bit of flair on there, I know it's a shameless upbadge!

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Cluster back in, and while you're in that far might as well take care of some other stuff...

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Added a black cluster surround that holds some of the speedhut gauges we saw earlier.... much better already

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While it was all apart I added a Sony XAV AX100 headunit, which ruins the other gauge pod I had on hand, but does let me add carplay and a backup camera to keep all the conveniences you'd expect today.

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Wheel is back on

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and now one of my favorite tricks, airbag from a Ranger/Explorer fits and has a metal Ford emblem instead of just the embossed Ford logo in the plastic. Just feels like the right way to cap it off.

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The original wheel from my 2003 Lightning was on there, and it's real nice.... but I had gotten used to the nice heft of a slightly thicker wheel like the custom thicker one with suede and leather I had made for my Lightning. I didn't want to go that far down the rabbit hole here though, so I used a leather wheel wrap kit to give it some more thickness and have both smooth and perforated sections like the Cobra and FR500 mustang wheels.

For my first time ever trying something like this, I was pretty happy with my work.

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I hid all my ugly stuff in the back

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Looks like nearly a brand new wheel about to go on

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And now I'm really thrilled with the outcome

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Where did you get that gauge pod set from?!?! I want that so bad for my expedition
 

JoelMunoz3

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MAN OH MAN!!!! This is quite literally my dream vehicle! Thank you so much for taking the time to thoroughly document this build. One heck of a write up including part numbers etc. BRAVO! Hopefully, one day, i can come back to this and use it to build my own.

My actual dream would be to make one with the A4WD version but idk how much power the TOD can handle.
 

5starChad

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I knew the engine swap was going to be involved, and I wanted to give myself the time and space to do it right.... (famous last words as little did I realize just how involved, a couple of curveballs thrown my way changed everything), so I distracted myself with a little bit of interior upgrades for the time being.

I knew that I wanted to follow the example the concept SVT Thunder set in using the Lightning interior bits.... and the school bus steering wheel in old man tan sticks out bigtime...

View attachment 68382

While the recovered Lightning buckets, smaller 4 spoke steering wheel, and the black trim on the dash and console gave the Thunder concept a much much better look.

View attachment 68383

So I raided my bin of leftover Lightning parts and first to go was the steering wheel. bye bye!

View attachment 68384

Test fit looks good, but we can do more while we're here.

View attachment 68385

Let's get the cluster out and give it some contrast!

View attachment 68386

Forgive my eagerness to add a little bit of flair on there, I know it's a shameless upbadge!

View attachment 68387

Cluster back in, and while you're in that far might as well take care of some other stuff...

View attachment 68388

Added a black cluster surround that holds some of the speedhut gauges we saw earlier.... much better already

View attachment 68389

View attachment 68390

While it was all apart I added a Sony XAV AX100 headunit, which ruins the other gauge pod I had on hand, but does let me add carplay and a backup camera to keep all the conveniences you'd expect today.

View attachment 68391

Wheel is back on

View attachment 68392

and now one of my favorite tricks, airbag from a Ranger/Explorer fits and has a metal Ford emblem instead of just the embossed Ford logo in the plastic. Just feels like the right way to cap it off.

View attachment 68393

The original wheel from my 2003 Lightning was on there, and it's real nice.... but I had gotten used to the nice heft of a slightly thicker wheel like the custom thicker one with suede and leather I had made for my Lightning. I didn't want to go that far down the rabbit hole here though, so I used a leather wheel wrap kit to give it some more thickness and have both smooth and perforated sections like the Cobra and FR500 mustang wheels.

For my first time ever trying something like this, I was pretty happy with my work.

View attachment 68394

View attachment 68395

I hid all my ugly stuff in the back

View attachment 68396

Looks like nearly a brand new wheel about to go on

View attachment 68397

And now I'm really thrilled with the outcome

View attachment 68398
Where did you get the leather wrap kit for it?
 

bluesun

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well i wanted to give a standing ovation
but couldn't figure out how to put a gif in
anywho excellent build
i plan on doing a thunder build using turbos
so i will be referring to this thread often
thank you much
 

LAexpy

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Summer has been slow so no good updates yet unfortunately. There are a few little details I've worked on recently.

Running boards came off, although it kind of looks a touch high now. Means it needs moar low ;)

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Picked these up, a little bit of customization is going to happen before they go in ;)

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Also got my new JL amplifiers and JL stealthbox in. Unfortunately no pictures of the stealthbox during the install, and as the name implies the completed picture is a bit underwhelming ;)

Amps went under the passenger seat. Please forgive my carpet stain :(

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The stealthbox is...well... stealthy...

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What year Expedition did you source those seats and center console?
 
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