KillinTime's 2017 XLT Build Thread
 

2017 Ford F150 XLT Sport FX4 2.7L Twin Turbo Ecoboost

So my wife bought this truck for me for our anniversary in April 2017. It had a 2" level kit, the rims and tires you see in these pics, vent visors on the windows, bug shield, and a roll up bed cover. Of course, I knew about the purchase ahead of time so I started buying stuff before the paperwork was printed. First up was 1.5" wheel spacers, pre-cut tint off of Amazon, and some FX4 stickers. We chose this truck because of what was done to it already; although, I started modding it from the very beginning. Now, I understand these few little things don't count as actual mods....just wait, it gets better. This is where the need for this thread is necessary. More on that in another post...first, here are some pics.




https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...cfd5d0ac3f.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...8b5f8635c4.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...798b9bb990.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...5248eb672d.jpg
Without spacers.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...f97e9e66d9.jpg
With spacers.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...11e3f2705c.jpg
New stance

Then it starts.....

So I discover this forum and all hell breaks loose. The Ecoboost badges are gone and I buy a couple of cans of PlastiDip. I think this is the greatest thing ever and even try to PlastiDip the kids. Lol. Next up is polishing ole girl to a beautiful shine. Somewhere along the lines, I bought a Stubby antenna. I didn't care for the lack of reception so I went back to my original flag pole mast and cut it down. I think I cut about 13" off of it....super easy mod and no loss of reception. I used a pair of vice grips and a towel to grip the ball on the end and with a little twisting action, it came right off. A hacksaw did quick work for the cut and a grinder helped with tapering the tip so I could get the ball back on. A little JB Weld and some black spray paint and it looks factory.



https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...ee65cdd5de.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...7792dfc8c3.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...b7870d3cd2.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...9df2d74ab3.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...71abc775e6.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...cccf91c3f3.jpg

Just wait brother...there's definitely more coming. This forum is going to run me broke. Lol.

My wife took our two daughters to Biloxi one weekend and left me at home with one of our sons. Well, you can't do that and not expect us boys to play with our toys......So, my son and I tore apart the front end and started baking. Not cookies.....headlights. This was a two day project and the goal was to paint the piece inside the headlights that separated lows, blinkers, and highs. I also wanted to get rid of the ugly amber reflectors so I painted them too. With this little customization, I decided to change every exterior bulb to LEDs. What an amazing difference with the LEDs and switchbacks. Also, somewhere in there, I pulled the lower valence and trimmed it. No MPG change so all is well. How about some more pics...


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...e81776a21b.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...2321370ebd.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...83a3bee7d5.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...f1708e9e31.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...de20337120.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...99aa2e8811.jpg

Now lets kill some time with story time (get it???? Lol.) I have been reading and researching through this forum for quite a while. I've never had a lifted truck so I have been checking out a lot of threads that have to do with this subject. Which, of course, led to more threads of other mods and, in turn, led to spending more money. It's a vicious cycle none of us are immune to. Anyway, curious as to what size wheel and tire I can fit on my truck, I stumbled across a thread that directed me to Custom Offsets where I can actually see what fits and how a particular setup looks. It's like the Heavens opened and I was reborn into the world. Okay, so that's a little dramatic. Then, I subscribe to their YouTube channel and things take another turn. Custom Offsets posted a Limited Edition Spotlight of a black F150 they built that I (and my wife) fell in love with. Here is where it gets crazy and these little mods turn into a full on build. On that truck is a set of rims and tires that I have to have so I contact Custom Offsets and put a deposit on them because they are on backorder. This is early November 2017. I have to say that they have amazing customer service. I got an email once a week letting me know the status of my order. Months are going by and my rims of choice are still on backorder; all the while I'm watching every video they post and entering every contest they have. The best part of the contests isn't the giveaway, but the causes the money goes to. Also with this time I've spent reading through posts on this forum and getting ideas. The longer the backorder, the more money I was spending. Lol.

Fast forward to today and I have a living room that looks like an auto parts store waiting for my rims to be available. Well, I decided I can't take anymore and I want this build to be done. So, after over 200 emails back and forth with one of the installers at Custom Offsets, my wife and I are taking a trip from south Louisiana to Wisconsin to let them do the build. We decided to go with a different rim to get this build kicked off. All in all, we are one year from the date of original purchase and I'm getting another bad ***** anniversary present. My wife has been extremely supportive; although, she has had to pull the reins back on many things. One of us has to have a level head. Lol. I really can't say enough nice things about the people at Custom Offsets. They have been amazing; especially the guy I've been talking to. He has answered all my questions and went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable with my purchase. If you guys get a chance, contact them and let them take care of you.

Anyway, stay tuned for the conclusion of this build. In the meantime, I will post other mods I'm doing in preparation for the trip.

From day one of ownership, I wasn't that interested in leather seats. As the interest grew for a build, so did the list of mods. This eventually turned into a Katzkin desire after this forum "made me do it." I called some local shops and the cheapest I found was $1100 installed. Yea....well, that ain't happenin. Off to eBay I went and found a set that I liked for just over $500 shipped. Within a few days the box arrived and I was a kid again. This was a fun little job and not that difficult; just time consuming. The most difficult part was figuring out how to get everything apart. The leather went on super smooth and pretty easy. Taking our time, my son and I completed the install in one day.




https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...4a75df96ad.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...3dc621f354.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...7a663f61c3.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...f45616f8e8.jpg

Truck looks great. What wheels are those on there now that you will be replacing? One good set of wheels to another has got to be fun.

Thank you. The wheels are Procomp 20x9 0 offset. I'm sorry, I don't know the model of wheel as they were already on the truck from the dealer when we bought it.

I'm super pumped about this entire build and I think the new wheels are really going to bring everything together.

Two weeks from today, my truck will be on a lift getting everything done.