Project Phantom: F-150 Murdered out.

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***Note: doing a copy/paste from my build log to post here***

I bought this truck in October of 2011 with 22k on the clock. This is my 5th pickup, 3rd f150. It is an XLT with 5.4, 4x4, and not much else.



Detail guy did a shittty job, much of the clear was micromarred, as you can see on the wheels, he doesn't know anything about tire cleaner. The windows where also terrible. They offered to clean it up, I told them if they touch it anymore I won't take it

I took it home and did a quick detail using clay and all my goodies..



The end result is MUCH better...Not a fan of the chrome though...

I decided it was time to dump the hard bed cover and also the 4x4 stickers, these just don't look like they are quite at home here...



This looks MUCH better!

I also had some plans for it over the weekend...

Before:



After:




I gave it a 2" drop using drop shackles. I chose to drop/level the back as there is not a lot of clearance in my garage. While I don't mind tastefully lifted trucks, I don't like to get in and out of them... I also took some VHT to the tail lights...

I also wanted some auxiliary/reverse lights.




The lights I used: http://www.maxxima.com/products/prod...ght/view/.html

I wired them off of the 7 pin towing harness to get the reverse as well as constant/switched power. Even though the draw was about .5 amp, I still put in a relay.

The relay is mounted behind the rear driver's side tail light. Wire was ran to the cab and a switch installed under the headlight switch. When flipped towards R, reverse only, in the middle, nothing, to the left, auxiliary lights. With how it is wired the lights will not be on unless the key is on so there is no "whoops" and forget to turn them off.

Here is a shitty pic from the other night. I need to mod them so I can swivel them out to the sides a little bit more and tighten the mounting screws

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Added an airaid CAI today that I got a sweat deal on...





Took a touch over an hour to toss this on. So far I like it. I can feel an improved throttle response. There is a lot more noise and seems like it moves out a little better in terms of passing power.

Out in the garage today and installed a plug and play hid kit in my fogs. These are Kensun brand that I received as a birthday gift and are 4300k.


Hard to see, ballast is mounted behind the horns on the passenger side, up out of the way. Wires zip tied and following stock fog light wiring.


Ballast mount location on driver's side. I did not feel comfortable with how the ballast sat on this side and added additional support.


After pic up close. These are bright!


Low beam and fog side by side. I use the Phillips extreme halogen bulbs in the headlights.

I will be aiming this later today, came in from outside as it is only 19 degrees out, my feet got cold. I will get some night time pics later. Will be also modding the fog light relay so they stay on with the high beams

Here are some night time pics...


Just the fogs in the driveway, unaimed.

Above is cell phone pic


Just headlights

Just fogs

Both fogs and headlights

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Doing some plastidip, going to do the chrome rings on the dash.



BEFORE



DURING



AFTER
Doing the wheels as well, scroll up for before pics...



DURING

Center caps




Wheels ready for reinstall.

I used 4 cans total at about 4 bucks a can. It was also a nice time to get the wheels really clean, using my favorite cleaner, Autowash P21S.

Wheels finished





For Christmas this year I got some goodies. Going to do a projector conversion and I have never done this, so what the hell.



Parts and donors:


Projectors:



Shrouds:

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Went to my brothers and put this on:




I have manager in my job title so I watch someone else work:p

Saw my old Thunderbird:

this car has a mild 302, ported e7 heads, e cam, 1.73 rockers,MSD ignition, 94/95 mustang gt ecu, maf, and injecotrs, 3.55's w/ t-lok, Supercoupe suspension, 5 speed(m5r2), supercoupe interior, disks on all 4 corners, dyno tuned using a tweecer.



My brother's daily driver. Not sure what year it is, all I know is he cares about this thing more than I would if it was mine. It's been lifted, bigger tires, some fancy relay BS with the trans to manaully pick gears and lock it up. IDK...

Some more of the headlights...

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I installed a new deck/speakers in the truck today.

Pioneer AVH-P4300DVD and 2 pair of polk dxi571's. HUGE improvement over that stock garbage. Also installed an automatic parking brake



****ty pic, will get some more when it is day light out.
There are a bunch of pics, these might take a bit to load, some progress on the headlights, still haven't whacked into them.


Pic of cracked shroud from pulling the housings apart

Same housing, another angle. Bowl in bottom is also cracked and down the front, hard to capture with this chrome.

Crack on bottom, there is a crack that runs let to right that is about 2" long on the "corrugated" portion.

Tapped up and setting with JB weld, tape was to hold it together.

Pic of the one that is not broken.

Plastidip applied. I think I love this crap!

Went over the corner marker with the plastidip.

Peel that stuff right off!

Peel this right out...

There we go!

Mock-mounted on stock halogen reflector


With the corner marker in, you could see chrome on the edges, time to fix that. I want to keep most of the chrome.

Touched-up, tape still in place.

Corner markers hit from behind with a light coat of VHT to darken them up. These will go over shiny chrome on the shroud, so hopping they lighten up a bit.

top-down. That is not a scratch you see, that is my head/camera reflecting.

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Well I was thinking, how the hell could I mount this projector...then it dawned on me, what if I could wrap something to the back of the housing and have some tabs hanging? I realized I had some joint ties from another project.







Hid bulbs from theretrofitsource.com, 4300k.






Projectors are done for the fogs. Before/after pics below. Both are hid-based with 4300k bulbs.
Before:

After:


Initial impressions: Hids in the factory housing was a lot of glare, but the beam width was much greater, and much brighter. Not a good choice for oncoming traffic.

I got a mess of pics on the camera I will post up after the web server is done moving.
Here's a "rough" step-by-step on how I mounted these projectors into the stock housings.

Parts list:
Hid kit, I got this one for my b-day: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...tomotive&psc=1
Projectors, I got mine from here: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...roducts_id=249
Bulbs, if you don't have ones with the 880 base. I used these in 4300k http://www.theretrofitsource.com/pro...oducts_id=4124
Some nuts/bolts/washers, #10 or #12 should be fine, 4x screws, 4x nuts, 8x washers
2x Joint ties, I used some that where about 6" long
4x 2-1/8" hose clamps or smaller, I used what I had on-hand.
1 tube black RTV
Dremel tool with cut-off wheel and sanding drum


This is a hid kit used in the stock fog light housings, note the glare and uncontrolled lighting.

You will need to take them out of your truck, and separate them from the black bracket. This can be done by lifting the tabs with a screw driver.


Here is the fog housing out of the bracket, I put a spray paint cap on the top of this. There is a nub that is the up/down adjuster. Put the cap against that and trace.


Here is what it looks like traced.


I whacked this out with a cut-off wheel and cleaned up with a sanding drum on the dremel.


Where my fingers are you will need to widen to fit.


Quick mock-up of the projector in the housing.


Black bracket trimmed to fit.


Here is a joist tie I whacked up to hold the projector.


Assembly held in vice.


Bend this on the "dotted line" to curve around the black bracket

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Starting to bend around the bracket...


Start whacking it down to something like this.


Here are some 2-1/8" hose clamps I had.


Take them apart.


Put them together and zip them down to fit.


Now they should fit over the back and hold your bracket


Bracket ready to be drilled and mounted


Line up the projector on the outside on each side and mark with a sharpie and drill.


Mount it up...


Screws/washers I had. I also had some nuts I used, washers under the head of the screw and under the nut.

Assembled. Do not tighten all the way! You will need to adjust these before you snug them down.


You will need to install back into your truck and aim each projector inside each housing. Only put in the top 2 bolts on each of the black brackets. This lets you "hinge" them up and tighten your hose clamps.


Take them out and run some black RTV around the edge. I used the little tip that comes with the tube and a q-tip to get into the hard to reach areas. Hold up to the light and look from the back of the housing through the front for any light leaks. Let cure overnight and your ready to roll.


Here is an after projector shot. You can see there is not any glare.

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Here are some of the interior, installed Polk speakers.

Here are some more pics from the other day. I did not get pics of the new speaks, I was pretty emo and wanted to be left alone!


Back door apart

Front door open

Old speakers

USB mounted by cig lighter.

Correct way to do your wiring, soldered and heat shrink tubing!


Pic of new speaker

USB port mounted by cig lighter, textured using plasti-dip

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Worked on the projector conversion on the headlights today.


Low beam


High beam.

I didn't take pics of whacking up the housing and mounting the projector, I did not want to get the dust near my DSLR, **** really makes a mess.

The projectors are currently drying, I glued them in. Hoping tomorrow to have them buttoned up and start on closing them up. Need to route some of the wires a little better, was hoping they where going to be longer so I might whack up the harness to route the wires down and under the radiator through the bumper like I did with the fog relay, keeps the wires out of the way and neater.

Also will prob find a fuse block and make a bracket to hold it and re-terminate all of these relays to look neater and more stock-ish. It looks like a rats nest with all of the wire all over.

Here is a quick mockup of the projector in the stock housing. The blue is the reflection from my shirt. These will get put together later this morning, I need to get some sleep!



Here are some ****ty cell phone pics. The headlights are getting polished today then will try to get more pics. Black is hard to get detailed pics of...

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Headlights are done, got the truck washed, and figured what the hell, and busted out the canon L glass.




Don't think I posted a good pic after doing the tails, so here ya go:





The LED strip was only added to ensure the brake lights can be seen, the VHT came out admittedly darker than I wanted.

I've done a few things to the truck as of late:
Added remote keyless to the tailgate
Truck washed/detailed
Bought some FX4 wheels that I am going to get painted
Bought some new brake components
Got some hella projectors from my brother that I am going to turn into fog lights
Debating what I am going to do with the chrome bumpers

PIc of washed/waxed:



Did plasti dip on the chrome today, here's a shot I grabbed with the cellphone...

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I have some FX4 wheels in the bed that will be getting that treatment and then hopefully new tires within the next month or so!

What I did today thus far:

New brakes, Hawk LTS pads and Raybestos premium rotors

Stockers-dusty sons of bitches!

Washed the wheels

This looks nice!

Touch up with plasti dip

Since I've gotten my truck, I have not been a fan of the chrome, it looks tacky and sloppy. As a result I've been looking at blacking out the truck. Looking at many of the products on the market, there are pros and cons. Durability and longevity has been an issue. We've been using some gun coatings at work on fire arms and other items. A few weeks ago I approached our sales guy and one of our head sprayers who worked in R&D, and asked them about something that will work on both plastic and metal, but also be durable and minimal scratch or abrasion damage. We have something.

I am going to be taking the bumpers, grill, grill surround, badges, and my other OE headlights apart to get them coated. I will be using a product called cerakote than can be applied on plastics and metals. I am pretty excited. We have some samples in the shop and banging them together, they do not burnish or scratch like other coatings or paints that would be used in this application.

Our company was just factory certified to apply this coating. The coating contains ceramic and is also known for its durability as well as corrosion resistance. Another plus to this material is while very durable, it can also bend and remain adhered to the surface.

http://www.cerakoteguncoatings.com/finishes/H-146Q/

Pic of truck as it sits:


Currently has plastidip on it, I don't like the rubber feel and have had it get snags/shrink/peel.



On our our sales guys' rifles that shows some of the cerakote coatings in action.

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Today I tore down the stuff to get coated. I have some pics, not as much as I would love to have. It was about 90 outside and I was getting the point of just wanted to get everything wrapped up.



I bought some FX4 wheels to replace my stockers. I really like the 5 spoke pattern. The upside to an OE wheel is no fitment issues. I went to my local wal-mart to have them dismounted. The bald headed guy has worked on my stuff before, he does good work, wal-mart prices are just right, $10 even to dismount.


Here is the front bumper, tow hooks, grill, and fog lights off.


A bunch of the **** from inside the front bumper, fog lights, bracing, etc.



FX4 wheels stacked up, waiting to be scrubbed down and loaded into the van.



A bunch of the stuff in the driveway. It's starting to get warm at this point.



Rear bumper off. These bumpers are really flimsy, I was expecting beef...



There's the spare tire, backup lights, and wiring for the backup lights, since I can get to it easier, I will wire loom it.


Do we call this MN winter gold?:p



Black tailgate logo. Look close you can see I dimpled the tailgate There are 3 small dimples, going to talk to a local body shop that does PDR and see what they want to take care of that, hope they can...if you don't know the dimples are there, you don't see them...




Old tailgate logo.

At this point it was warm so I was in a hurry to get everything washed up and loaded into the van. today all logos, bumpers, grill, wheels, fasteners, some brackets, and the new(er) center caps where wall washed and tossed into the van. We have a few large jobs in the shop this week so I am hoping that my stuff will be done at least by the weekend of the 23rd(father's day).

I'll grab some more pics tomorrow, right now its like 90 outside and I have a headache from being in the sun

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Some crappy cellphone pics, started on upgrading factory grounding.



A bunch of 1/0 I have from previous projects.





Some of the tools used.



How I cut 1/0. Make sure the blade is new.



Worked this open with a die grinder to fit on the motor.



Where I put the engine to chassis ground. This is one of the locations for the stock cab to chassis grounds. This was eliminated as it was upgraded at another point. Love this flashlight!



Stock ground strap vs. the 1/0 I used.



Upgraded cab to chassis point. Will do this on the driver's side as well. You can see the seat belt bolts in the background. This is where I grounded the amp in the cab. I have some ideas I am contemplating to update my grounds.

I've got some other goodies on order to finish up under the hood and clean up my wiring as well.

Teaser pic on the wheels...



The heavy looking spots are wet spots as the coating is not air dried. These will be baked yet.

]New wheels!







I'll get some better pics after its all done!

Exhaust came in yesterday, blasted it this morning...




Should be coated today then will install this weekend.

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Bumper in spray booth



Wheel caps getting done-the final product orange peeled like a mofo so they are getting reworked.



Grill done, 2 shades of black.



Exhaust coated with techline high temp ceramic coating.

Bumpers, hooks, plastics done with cerakote ceramic coating.



Closer up of the grill.



Closer up of bumpers.



Fasteners recoated.



Look close, you see a scratch. FFFFFUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!



As it sits. Child was "helping" with my grill, it needs to be touched up





I think tomorrow it is time to quest for a battery with a side post terminal lol.

You tube vid of new exhaust. First youtube vid ever so let me know how crappy it is!

http://youtu.be/IxEtsQkOzVc

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Today I started the prep on the bed liner. My brother bought me a herculiner bed liner kit. Line-X was $450, so, for some elbow grease I'm doing it for myself. There is a lot of mineral deposits under the lip of the bed rails, so this will get taken care of.



I got some touch up to do here. I think the bed caps might come to work with me and get coated



Got the grill back, this was redone, the inside did not match the outside in appearance or finish. There where also scratches on it as well, so last night stayed late at work and sanded it down, this afternoon the J-man sprayed it up for me with his shiny newer spray gun and some cerakote air dry. Almost thinking of getting the whole truck done in this:eek:

Tomorrow's list:
Finish sanding bed and tailgate
Wipe down with acetone
Lay down herculiner
Stick badges back on truck
Clean up wiring on battery terminals
And it looks like in the last pic, I need to adjust the front bumper.

Finished sanding everything down. I used 80 grit and a very coarse 3m scotch brite pad. The kit came with a green scratchy like you'd use to do your dishes, so I think in the sake of overkill, this **** won't come off






The material seems to be stupid easy to work with, not too difficult. You can work it around a little bit if you get it too thick or any sags. Just lightly roll it around and it moves the coating around a little bit. I've got the truck parked in the hot sun and will hit it up with some more coating. The box said 1 gallon does a 6' bed, I have a 6.5 and have 1/3-1/2 gallon left, so its close. Did buy another quart so we won't run out.

Took some pics today, f-ing hot...this is what I got developed.