Figured I would start a build thread for my truck. I bought this truck last summer so I haven't had it a full year yet but I have gotten a few things done to it so far. I also have a 1938 Ford coupe and three motorcycles i'm working on so it gets busy haha.

The truck is a 2013 FX4 with the 5.0 Coyote motor that I bought completely stock minus the tail lights that I didn't really care for but we will get to that. It has pretty much every option available for this year as far as I know minus the sunroof that I didn't want. I searched for a long time to find the right truck for me as i'm sure many of you have also and it's a headache. Red wasn't even on my list of possibilities until I started seeing some "modded" ones and then I found the winner!






I drove about 3.5-4 hours for this truck and the drive home was amazing! I couldn't wait to get home and start throwing money at it. The first thing I did was order the leveling kit and wheels/tires that I had picked out the week before haha. I went with a 2" Rough Country leveling kit and then 22"x12" -51 Arkon Ceasars with 33"x12.5" Atturo Trail Blade XT's which required a little bit of trimming to fit but that wasn't the worst part.




With the wheels and tires here it was time to get started. But it wasn't long before I ran into trouble.



Upon finding a broken coil spring I was forced to go buy two new struts and install them before I even got to the wheels. Which wasn't all bad since the struts had to be removed anyways and now I have brand new ones so I won't complain too much about that.





So out with the old and in with the new! Had I known about this before hand I would have ordered a better set but these will do just fine for now. Next I got my wheels on and got to trimming.





I'm super happy with how it all came out. I know this look isn't for everyone with the wheels sticking out or the big wheels in general but I dig it.

 

Next on my list of things to do was the exterior lights. So I ordered Anzo G2 black tail lights, Axial smoked LED third brake light, Morimoto smoked fog lights, Axial sequential turn signals for the front and back of the mirrors and LED license plate lights. I haven't gotten the new turn signals on yet but I will be doing that tomorrow I think.

Same exact style as the ones that were on it but black housings which I liked better than the chrome.



Stock

Morimoto.

LED EVERYTHING Lol

 

Just a month or so ago I rolled over 100k miles in it and decided to do something special for the ol' girl. So I bought all new fluids for the differentials, transfer case, and transmission as well as got a new exhaust from Pypes for it. I still need to do the coolant and brake fluid as well as some other routine maintenance just hard sometimes being a single dad and working all the time. My daughter loves being in the garage getting dirty but it's just too cold here currently so I limit our time out there.










New exhaust!

 

I know what you mean about finding time around the kids, though i suspect your daughter is older than mine

Are you going to pull out the gauge console to polish it? And kudos for the 100000 mile pic

 

My daughter turned four in October but she does love to spend time in the garage with me.

I may just try to clean it up with some cleaner and microfiber towel first since it's really not scratched up but it is covered in smudges from my curious kid who sometimes sits in the front seat while i'm at the car wash haha.

Also since I have been watching your build thread I have gotten quite a few good ideas off it. One of the many reasons I joined this forum!

 

Mine will be 3 when yours turns 5, but we just added a son

I will say that the plastic used by all manufactures on the gauge screens is very soft, if you use a MF on it, it will actually add scratches, you need to use an ultra soft brush for dusting and something like a peach cloth of cleaning - it's basically one of those, don't touch it, ever, kind of things It's partly why you saw mine was so scratched up and needed polishing.

I do like these threads, they're mostly maintenance with some upgrades, but i like all that stuff and as you say, i find good ideas, or good reminders to do things.

 

Congratulations on the newborn! I'll have to look into getting something softer for the gauge cluster. It probably would be easier to just pull the thing out and do it. Normally it's only a couple bolts holding the plastic bezel in and then a couple more holding the cluster. Did you remove your steering column plastics when you did yours? Some cars i've had to and others I don't if I tilt the wheel all the way down.

Once it warms up i'm going to give the truck some much needed detailing. I've bought multiple different detail brushes and microfiber towels as well as leather conditioner and cleaner ect.

I'm also working with another member currently on my next purchase for the truck and i'm super excited about it! may be another week or so before it ships but i'll post it up when I get it!

 

Thanks
Yes, gauge clusters are a pain, and for this one, i do recommend pulling it, it's so much easier. Having said that, it does look like some trims might be more awkward than others; i removed my upper column trim, needed to, but it was attached to the display bezel via a piece of black vinyl which doesn't detach, so had to work around that. It was easy to remove all of this, it's as you say, a few obvious bolts etc. but i will say it was an utter pain to get it out past the column plastic as whilst it did fit past it, it was a lesson in patience and one of those executive puzzles in getting the right angles and slight bends in plastic parts

So yeah, for sure get it out and clean it up, the feeling when driving and not paying attention to it was oddly satisfying, not sure why it felt so much nicer.

You've probably noticed already, but this is my first full size truck, and the reality of detailing it is horrible, it looks bigger, but not until you actually start a detailing job that you realise it's humongous and will take much longer than you expected.

 

Ah crap, mine has that black vinyl piece as well now that I think about it. I know for sure because it is quite the dust collector haha. I know i'm for sure getting the switchback lights that you put in your headlights because that was such an improvement! I've also looked into the door detents and the rear bed liners for the wheel wells. Living in the rust belt I feel those can do a lot of good for me.

 

Having done some snow and mud since fitting the wheel well liners, i've seen what gets caught up in there, i would never run a truck without them, as i've also seen that it's a 'narrowing to a point' gap between the bed side and the fender side, it's a rust trap.

The switchbacks seem to be doing fine still, but i will warn you if i didn't put it in my thread, that when the engine is running and i use the indicators, there is a kind of flicker to the start of the amber flash. It's interference from the engine/electrical/etc. as it doesn't happen when it's off, but i left them in, as the effect is 99% the same as you see on ambulances with that flicker start of the emergency lights, so it's a good attention getter IMO.

Love the door detents, parking lots and my garage, that extra 'stop' gets used 90% of the time.