What's new

1993 Explorer - Built to Smash

Brecklin

Red Skull Member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
634
Messages
389
Loc
Appleton WI
I finally started building this year's demolition derby truck - a 1993 Explorer. This will be the fourth 1st gen Explorer that I've built for this, so I'm hoping to be able to tweak some of the fail points from the last builds.

This is one of the cleanest ones I've had. Living in WI, the salt pretty much kills anything and everything. I figured this one was pretty solid but I was happy to see a fully intact floor when I pulled the carpet last night. The last one I built, even before running it. The floor was not attached to the rest of the body. The only thing holding most of the body to the frame was my cage.

Right now I'm still stripping all the unnecessary shit out of it. I'll update the thread when I actually start building. I've got quite a bit of wiring to go through and get rid of, as well as basically everything under hood besides the engine. The dash has to go, along with all glass, etc.

Here's some pics of how it looks right now. Pretty nice compared to some of the ones I've smashed. 😝
 

Attachments

  • 20210616_151115.jpg
    20210616_151115.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 158
  • 20210616_151049.jpg
    20210616_151049.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 106
  • 20210616_151037.jpg
    20210616_151037.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 87
  • 20210616_151019.jpg
    20210616_151019.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 104
Here's a couple of the last ones I've built, just in case you don't know what my finished product will be. Just redneck shit, but smoking people is almost as fun as wheeling. 😎
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20200228-222553_Instagram.jpg
    Screenshot_20200228-222553_Instagram.jpg
    443.1 KB · Views: 163
  • Screenshot_20200920-182109_Gallery.jpg
    Screenshot_20200920-182109_Gallery.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 163
Got quite a bit of the cage done. Still have to add a piece to triangulate between the passenger door bar and bar between the rear door posts. I'll mount my battery box off of that.

Mounted off the rear post bar will be the fuel cell mount, which has some built in protection for it.

Everything is 3/8" wall and will unbolt and bolt back together into the next truck. All bolts are 5/8 or 3/4"

Ran out of gas for the welder, which cut the night short.
 

Attachments

  • Snapchat-141472674.jpg
    Snapchat-141472674.jpg
    949.7 KB · Views: 121
  • Snapchat-465268512.jpg
    Snapchat-465268512.jpg
    911 KB · Views: 130
Cage is about 95% done, just have to get some shorter bolts to replace the 4 that are too long (you can see random nuts used as spacers) and add down bars from rear most bar to the frame.

Next up, setting up the front and rear suspension and getting front and rear bumpers on it.
 

Attachments

  • 20210706_210945.jpg
    20210706_210945.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 110
  • 20210706_211022.jpg
    20210706_211022.jpg
    3.6 MB · Views: 104
  • 20210706_211029.jpg
    20210706_211029.jpg
    2.9 MB · Views: 99
  • 20210706_211048.jpg
    20210706_211048.jpg
    1.5 MB · Views: 102
Got out in the shop to work on it today. Added a Chevy 63" leaf to each side (rules say you can't add springs or modify packs, but they never can tell). The trick is to add the spring in upside down, it helps flatten the pack.

In these pictures I am chaining the axle to the frame humps. I'm using my squarebody to keep force down on the back of the Explorer so I can jack the axle up before adding the chains. I do this for a couple reasons. The lower your rear bumper, the better it is for tire shots on other vehicles, which will usually lead to breaking their axle. Keeping it low will also help the frame from going up, as most hits are going to have a downward force. Adding these chains also helps keep the frame from blowing apart at the humps, which it would normally do if you don't add some tension.

The only thing left to do to the rear suspension is spring clamps. I whipped up some plates to sandwich the spring packs, which help add strength to the main spring. I didn't have enough 7/16 hardware, so I'll grab some tomorrow after work and post a picture.
 

Attachments

  • 20210718_155206.jpg
    20210718_155206.jpg
    7 MB · Views: 116
  • 20210718_155213.jpg
    20210718_155213.jpg
    7 MB · Views: 121
  • 20210718_155217.jpg
    20210718_155217.jpg
    2.6 MB · Views: 115
Here's a couple of the last ones I've built, just in case you don't know what my finished product will be. Just redneck shit, but smoking people is almost as fun as wheeling. 😎
Whats the deal with the tires on the old one? equipment tires?
 
Whats the deal with the tires on the old one? equipment tires?
The rear tires are 25x8.5R14 8 ply skidsteer tires. I have a regular passenger car tire stuffed inside, and then a tube. It's a 14 ply total tire, it is damn near impossible to get a flat.

The fronts are 750-15 14 ply forklift tires.

This truck will be the fourth vehicle that I've run these tires on. Rears are getting pretty haggard, this might be their last run..we'll see though.
 
No rules on tires? I figured that would be one of the things they would restrict.
 
Some events have tire rules, mostly strip the car and go type derbies make you run DOT tires. I used to have a set of snow tires that I doubled and tubed, they dont know the tire is doubled and it is a definite advantage.

Most places just have rules on wheels. People run bead lock wheels that have a locking ring that covers the entire sidewall of the tire, most derbies wont let you run that style. My wheels are DOT wheels that I've braced with steel, which is allowed where I run.
 
Just for grins, here's one of my old cars. I used to run a lot of these W body GMs...Lumina, Grand Prix, Cutlass, Monte Carlo, etc.

This car was built for the midsize weld class. The unibody was plated from the firewall forward with 3/8" plate. The bumper "shocks" were square tube 16" into the unibody. The bumper itself started as a Chrysler pointy and had tube steel on the inside and a lot of plating on the outside.

These cars were fun, I built my own intake manifolds that ran a Rochester 2J carb. You didn't have any electronics or factory wiring to fail. The only sensor was the crankshaft position sensor, which communicated with the coil pack. Transmission was hot wired to default to 1st gear, with a toggle for second.

I enjoy running the truck class more, but the midsize cars hit a lot harder.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20210719-122531_Instagram.jpg
    Screenshot_20210719-122531_Instagram.jpg
    832.9 KB · Views: 107
  • 20171013_164050.jpg
    20171013_164050.jpg
    2.7 MB · Views: 105
Only pics I could find, was from around 17.
 

Attachments

  • 20170911_214651.jpg
    20170911_214651.jpg
    1.4 MB · Views: 98
  • 20170829_221500.jpg
    20170829_221500.jpg
    1.3 MB · Views: 109
assuming the duct tape is there for keep your damn thumbs out of the wheel? :lmao:
 
I neck and back hurt after looking at those videos. :laughing:
It's not so bad, really! I ran an 80's Caprice for my buddy last summer. He is shorter than I am, and it was setup for him. My helmet would bounce off the roof on the hard nose to nose hits. That hurt the neck the most lol!

assuming the duct tape is there for keep your damn thumbs out of the wheel? :lmao:

Spot on. A long time ago I caught myself on video reaching through the wheel trying to fix something. It isnt something you think of while youre out there, but the results could have been pretty cool had I gotten hit while doing that. Now every steering wheel gets taped up. They do make a solid faced wheel for derby, but its expensive and bends really easy.
 
Spot on. A long time ago I caught myself on video reaching through the wheel trying to fix something. It isnt something you think of while youre out there, but the results could have been pretty cool had I gotten hit while doing that. Now every steering wheel gets taped up. They do make a solid faced wheel for derby, but its expensive and bends really easy.
That's funny. I wheeled a stock Samurai with no power steering. You'll always see my thumbs out. :laughing:
 
Rear suspension is done and the rear bumper is about there, ran out of wire in the welder but just have a couple finishing welds left.

The rear bumper I chose to run a stock one this time, like I did on my first Explorer. I ran a 2x4 tube on the last one and I think the bumper being harder than the frame rails hurt me in the end.

I ditch the stock brackets and cut a piece of 3/8" thick angle to weld the bumper to the frame. Between the frame rails I also welded in a 3x4 tube, which the bumper was also welded to this. It worked well on my other builds, so why deviate?

Thanks for looking at this post guys. I know it's just a little gay demo truck, but not many people realize the amount of work you can stick into these things, if you want.
 

Attachments

  • 20210721_182801.jpg
    20210721_182801.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 60


Last derby I ran in 2020. It was a fun one, the top 5 trucks left were my buddy in his Dakota, myself, and 2 Explorers and a Ranger that were all on the same team. It was 2 on 3 but my buddy and I lit them up pretty good. When it came down to the 2 of us, we laid into eachother hard. My truck was completely dicked and his wasn't fixable anymore. He has won so many derbies with that truck, shame it's junk now.
 
Did a few things tonight after work.

2x2 tube from the cage down to the frame. Rules allow you 2 vertical bars down to frame. On these Explorers the frame narrows in quite a bit, conveniently right where my seat bar lands. These tubes welded where they are really help the frame from turning into a "Z" where it narrows.

The chain also helps keep the frame from bowing out and doing weird things. It runs from rail to rail and the tighter you can get it the better.

The frame plate is not legal, but hopefully they won't be able to see it. Its only on the passenger side, right in front of the shackle. The rail has a hard bend and gets narrow. Without a plate there, it tends to kink and then it wants to push the rail inward.
 

Attachments

  • 20210722_182423.jpg
    20210722_182423.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 87
  • 20210722_182332.jpg
    20210722_182332.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 81
  • 20210722_182329.jpg
    20210722_182329.jpg
    6.8 MB · Views: 79
  • 20210722_182321.jpg
    20210722_182321.jpg
    2 MB · Views: 90
I haven't updated in a while, mainly because I haven't done too much on it.

Got the radiator done and mounted in. All that's left is to build a cardboard fan shroud, not so much for the cooling aspect but to hide what I did around the radiator. It's mounted to the frame crossmember below. I use expanded steel to cover the side facing the fan. It keeps the fan clutch from shredding the fins and causing a leak. It's not always a garauntee to work, but it'll definitely buy you some more time before you start losing water. The radiator is captured by some steel straps that are welded to the crossmember below. Finally, I cut the shit out of the core support so that it has to come pretty far in and get mangled before it hits the radiator. That usually doesn't happen, as I set my front suspension pretty high and other people's bumpers end up underneath mine.

I also mounted the front bumper. Rules say you can have "x" amount of inches of tube inside the frame rails to mount the bumper. I cut my frame back to the core support, which gets rid of the crush boxes. I usually cheat a little bit and add a couple more inches of tube inside the frame. It's hard to tell as I drill or cut out the tube where it'll land on the holes in the frame. The 4x4 bumper gets welded to these tubes and then welded to the frame itself. Before welding, I like to use a bottle jack to pressure the rails apart and then weld the bumper. It's a common derby trick, for some reason rails are a lot harder to bend when they are under tension. I don't know why, it just works.

Also started welding all the doors shut tonight. I hate welding on sheet metal, it sucks. Rules say you can have 5" plates spaced 5" apart. Mine are mostly 5" apart..mostly.

Getting closer! It has to be done by Sept 17th as thats when I run first, but I'm looking to get the doors all welded shut and windshield out as I'm having my buddy come and lay a sick paint job on it early on next month.
 

Attachments

  • 20210728_172329.jpg
    20210728_172329.jpg
    2 MB · Views: 66
  • 20210728_172424.jpg
    20210728_172424.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 63
  • 20210811_210404.jpg
    20210811_210404.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 65
  • 20210811_210422.jpg
    20210811_210422.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 60
  • 20210811_210415.jpg
    20210811_210415.jpg
    1.4 MB · Views: 63
  • 20210811_210442.jpg
    20210811_210442.jpg
    1.4 MB · Views: 71
Before welding, I like to use a bottle jack to pressure the rails apart and then weld the bumper. It's a common derby trick, for some reason rails are a lot harder to bend when they are under tension. I don't know why, it just works.
How many inches of spread do you give it?

I assume you do this front and rear? How does the rear work out since there's so much less length of frame rail you can freely bend before it kinks? Do you remove the rear crossmember?
 
How many inches of spread do you give it?

I assume you do this front and rear? How does the rear work out since there's so much less length of frame rail you can freely bend before it kinks? Do you remove the rear crossmember?
Good question! I usually go about an inch in the front. I don't know what would happen if you went further, probably nothing. There's a good amount of mustard and onions put out by the bottle jack to get that inch, so I'm not sure how much more it'll spread.

I've never tried putting tension on the rear rails, mainly because of the heavy crossmembers right there. The rails do have a bunch of tension on them from the chains holding the axle up to the frame. Usually they start getting funky up in front of the forward leaf spring hanger. The rear is all C channel so there's not much to work with.
 
I haven't had one bend sideways yet, but anything is possible.

One of the best ways to keep your shit straight while on the track is to square up before making hits. Things really start bending funny when you make hard hits using the corner of the truck.

The frame tries to fold on itself right about where the downbars go from the cage to the frame. Those bars help a lot.

The thing about adding strength is there's always a place down the line that'll bend. Sometimes building a successful derby vehicle is understanding it will bend, and that you can control where it bends by leaving certain areas untouched.
 
Hood is mounted. Going to pull the windshield after I finish this beer.
 

Attachments

  • 20210817_165930.jpg
    20210817_165930.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 57
  • 20210817_165913.jpg
    20210817_165913.jpg
    2.1 MB · Views: 53
Do you purposely go for 1st gen explorers or do they just happen to fall in your lap?

They would be my first choice after seeing how much abuse they can take in the desert stock
 
Top Back Refresh