N4T1VE_T3X4N

Thought I'd create this since my rig has come a long way since I got it. Bought it completely stock (with the exception of aftermarket stereo) back in 2010 w/ 148k miles on it. Now has close 178K. It's a 2000 F-150 Lariat 2wd, and I love it!


I had it for about a year before the mod-bug finally hit me lol. After seeing my brothers and a few friends blacking out their trucks' wheels, I decided to do the same.
I used duplicolor black paint in a spray can, and it turned out sweet! I didn't use a clear coat though so after a while it started to fade and chip away.





My next mod was mounting some fog lights behind the grill. These were a cheap $40 pair of lights I bought at Autozone (I was a broke college student), so they provide very little extra light at night. But I think they look pretty cool when they're turned on driving down the road. Plus they don't blind oncoming drivers


I wanted to do something to make my truck stand out and make it original without breaking the bank, so I decided to paint my rocker panels and bumpers with bed liner.

Rustoleum bed liner in a spray worked great for this. I used a total of 8 cans. I really only used 6, but one crapped out on me half way through, and one did not work at all. If you decide to do this, I recommend you buy at least 8 cans so you don't get halfway through and run out.
Went ahead and blacked out the emblems while I was at it.

N4T1VE_T3X4N

Also FYI, if you do this when it's cold outside, it helps to stick the cans in a bucket of hot warm prior to spraying to warm them up.



Did the rocker panels first. Looking good.


Then I did the bumpers


And after it was all finished. Also had some custom Texas A&M emblem overlays ordered

N4T1VE_T3X4N

This way a bad day


After getting it back from the body shop, it started to have horrible wind noise the front upper corner of the driver's side door. I've adjusted the door slightly and added some weatherstripping to reduce, but it'll still get loud if the wind hits it just right at high speeds.

Ordered some Hella driving lights, and couldn't figure out where to mount them. Decided to come up with the idea of making a PVC light bar. The thing was cheap and crappy, but got the job done. Didn't like the looks of it though, so only lasted a few months.




Some of my dash piece were starting to chip and had been scratched up, so I decided to paint em. And what better color scheme than camo lol.


Btw, the b.s. wiring has been cleaned up and neatly placed behind the dash now.



To be honest, I never really liked the color red for my truck. Even with blacking out a lot of stuff, it's just not my style. So I decided to some more painting. Decided on Kubota, or neon/hunter orange since I never see other fords with an orange paint scheme.

My brother had used John Deere tractor paint to paint his dodge, so I thought I'd use tractor paint since it's cheap, $30 a gallon, and easy to find. Tractor Supply has a crap ton of this stuff, and has it in a ton of other colors.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/stor...-kubota-orange


Prep work was a PITA! Taping off the truck took 5 hours alone!! I ended up mixing 8 parts paint with 1 part enamel hardener (same brand provided at Tractor Supply) and 1 part paint thinner.

After 3 coats, it was finished. I ended using less than 1 gallon of paint. However, looking back I wish I had done a few more coats. It looks good and is thick, but I'm afraid it may wear down over the years.

N4T1VE_T3X4N

I love the color scheme now. It came out a little streaky in some places, but it's hard tell most of the time. And I don't know if I would have the patience to repaint it again lol.

N4T1VE_T3X4N

Finally decided to give in and start lifting it. I went with Doetsch 3.5" lift spindles, which were pretty good for $400. Although at that time, I couldn't afford to lift the back with it

N4T1VE_T3X4N

Next paycheck, I decided the "Cali" rear bumper sag looked dumb and I needed to lift the rear. So I got some 3" blocks from Crown Suspension. They were quality blocks and only $60. Though they didn't mention that the U-bolts (no nuts w/ it) were a different thread size then factory, so I had to hunt all over the Fort Worth area for these right thread-sized nuts.
Long story short, don't trust the idiots who answer phones at many hardware/tractor supply stores. I called several of them asking for these bolts/nuts and was told they don't have them, when in fact they did.

Installation


Here they are installed

N4T1VE_T3X4N

Most recently, I purchased a grill guard off of craiglist for $100. It's pretty nice, though it does not fit 97-03 f150s like the seller said.
The bottom rails for the guard do not line up with the frame properly, about 1" off. So I decided I would just mount it to the bumper.


My lower valence had a huge dent in the left side (from the wreck), so I just decided to completely remove it for now. Gives me more clearance for bigger tires later on


Mounting to the bumper supports it really well, but I wanted to get rid of all movement in the guard. So I fabbed up some brackets and bolted the bottom rails of the guard to prexisting holes in the frame. Now it's sturdy as a rock!

HardcoreOffroading

Wow you've come a long way man! Total turn around! Looks great!

Black FX2

looks good! will look better with bigger tires

N4T1VE_T3X4N

Thanks guys! Bigger tires are definitely next on the list. At least 33s. Need to look into whether 35s will fit or not