2003Ziggy

Decided to call it a build. It has been more like a slow process of "fixing up" the old truck. gonna build her in fast forward if no one minds in a few posts.

so long story,

I bought her in Dec 2002 brand new. 2003 Supercrew 2wd XLT with 4.6. First new truck since my 1991 Ranger SC. She has been a great vehicle. I ran her for years until my eldest headed to school. This was about 4 years ago. He drove her for year or two. He turned 200,000. I put majority before then. He bought his own 2012 Supercrew 4x4 and handed my 2003 back. I then drove her for another year or two until my middle son turned 16. He is now driving her 1 1/2 years later.

On to the build:

She had been stock until about 6 months before number 2 son took over.

First thing I did was tint the windows. Believe it or not, I never did all those years and not sure why not.

Second in the line while I was driving, we added 2 10" Kikker subs and a 400+ watt Kikker amp into the center console with after market radio. She thumps alright. We cut the rear plastic panel behind the back seats to fit around the box. Installation turned out pretty nice for a first timer. My was were old school cutting holes in metal door skins and slapping 6x9 tri-axials.

Here are a couple pics of speaker system under construction and installed.

2003Ziggy

so on with the build

Son #1 had talked me into buying aftermarket fender flares/trim. They sat in the box for couple years easily. just never got around to installing. even tried to sell them. no luck. when #2 started driving, we decided what the heck. lets install them.

before and after pic. note old original headlights. Those become next item on list. the replacements can be seen in next couple posts

2003Ziggy

moving ahead to this fall.

so the 03 never had a sliding rear window. I wanted to go with n electric. unfortunately with subs taking space on rear of cab wall, there is no room for the motor etc. my son loves fresh air running with windows down. he plays a lot of sports. I decided no better way than to keep airflow and air fresh in the truck. I found a factory slider brand new in box. no knock off brand. Ford original.

we then started the process of pulling interior loose and removing rear window. not a bad job. little messy and take your time. window came out nice. even had additional tint added before installation.

couple pics:

2003Ziggy

so fast forward a few months, now November this year

we decided to trash the originally installed "Bedrug" carpeted bed liner. had been great and loved it. after 12 years though, time for updating and giving it a rest. included a picture of the wheel under the original liner. paint was beautiful. kinda of hated to destroy it. we went with Raptor Bedliner spray kit. not bad, $125 with gun. 3 hrs worth of prep and 1 hr worth of spray. love the stuff the way it sprayed and flowed. I have Herculiner on another project of mine. I like the smooth finish vs chunks of rubber. we will see how she holds up.

added a heavy rubber mat on floor to top off bed. while in process, my middle son wanted to show his support for TX and sports. he wanted flag poles in bed. I posted that build in another forum. basically home made brackets, couple home depot metal closet poles and some hardware. came out fairly well.

here's some pics

Jkry2121

Looks incredible please tell me more about how you did your flag poles mine keep falling out

2003Ziggy

Thanks Jkry2121

the receiver tubes have a bottom stop welded in and then I drilled through the receiver tube and flag pole. I have a keeper pin that we insert. you can see it in the pic below near bottom of receiver tube bracket. hope this helps.

CCR90

Nice job. The sub box is a very nice and clean install, I really like it.

2003Ziggy

Alright, last installment to get me up to date on the fast forward build.

story behind this episode:

The old truck had been needing new ball joints, shocks and steering stabilizer links shot. most of you know, the uppers require new control arms as ball joints not replaceable in factor arms. I bought the pieces a year ago and could never get around to tear down. Those items then morphed into, "while I am tearing apart front end, might as well replace the 12 yr old, 200,000+miles coil springs". That took another step into, "man if I am doing that, lets do something fun like a lift". she needed a new attitude for my 17 yr old son.

so we ordered a Rough Country 3" spindle lift/leveling kit with shocks and 2" rear blocks. one cannot have a lift without new shoes look. This too sat stored away in the garage until last weekend. About 4 months ago, I found a great deal on a set of King Ranch factory 17" wheels with Wranglers which still had use-able tread life. These are taller than my current and as well as rim size larger than the 16" rims currently on truck.

so after a year of procrastination, my 21 yr old son, my 17 yr old son and I dug into her this past weekend. We spent a full day. We shared a few choice words. In the end, well worth it.

here's some pics of the action, finished product as well as 1 before and couple afters.

Jkry2121

lift looks good

Summers22

iTrader: (2)

Looks great! I personally would paint the gold inserts on the KR wheels black.