This month we take to task the exterior appointments of our Project Baja Expedition. The most important criteria we used in selecting accessories to dress up and protect the the vehicle were that besides being first rate quality, they must be easy to install for an average mechanic working with basic hand tools.

   We wanted to avoid exotic hand fabricated goodies for the sole reason that most of readers don't have the skills, tools, bottomless bank accounts and months of time it takes to build a custom truck from hand fabbed bits of chromoly and unobtanium. As you can see, a hot looking truck can be built without mortgaging the farm and in a few hours stolen here and there from a busy schedule.

   To finish off what we started with the fiberglass fenders we had to lose the ugly stock chrome grill and grill shell. Many Expeditions (Sport, Eddie Bauer) come equipped with the cleaner and better looking body colored grill shell making this an easier project, we were not so lucky with our XLT. Our would have to be entirely replaced.

   Stull Industries manufacturer the best piece for the job. Along with billet and wire grills, roll pans, rocker sills and dozens of other body dress up parts, Stull is the leader in this market.

  The grill shell came molded in white, perfectly finished and ready to paint. No prep was needed. After the shell came back from the body shop and the paint was allowed to cure overnight, installation was easy. It fit like a factory part.

The Stull billet grill was a little tougher to install. The directions were a little fuzzy and took some head scratching and cussing to figure out how the hardware was supposed to connect it all up. Once this obstacle was overcome it went together quickly, and fit perfectly. Those of you with big fat clumsy hands will have some trouble. It's a tight squeeze behind the grill to get everything bolted up. Have your wife or kid handy to help reach the tight spots.

   The improvement to the Expeditions appearance is obvious. Gone is that big chrome station wagon look, replaced with a lean, mean new expression.

Ratings:

Quality, fit and finish are all excellent. Installation is easy to moderate. Overall satisfaction is excellent. Only gripe is that the directions for the billet grill could have been more clear.

   We wanted to get a wider more aggressive body posture for the rear to match the three inch wider front 'glass fenders. So we went to the guys that invented the bolt on fender flare, Bushwacker. We chose their wider Extend-A-Flare for its additional 1 1/2" of tire coverage to get the visual look we were after.

    The Bushwacker flares normally are shipped four to a set, two front, two rear. We special ordered the rears only, obviously having no need to flare our 'glass front fenders. Shipped ready to paint with no additional prep, these were sent to the body shop to be sprayed along with the Stull grill shell.

   Installation is easy, and requires only the drilling of a few small holes in the fender lip, using existing screw locations where possible. As we found out later this is a big plus. If the flares must be removed there is no visible permanent damage to your sheet metal. Ratings:

   Quality, fit and finish are all excellent, installation is more than easy and overall satisfaction is excellent.

Note: Unfortunately the flares were incompatible with our tire choice. The flare slightly intrudes into the wheel opening in the area just below the rear door so that it keeps an even width. At full suspension compression the tires just barely hit and damaged the flares, forcing their removal. With a 35"' or smaller tire this would not have happened. We loved the look of the flares and would never have removed them otherwise.

  On to more goodies...

Click Here for Page Two of the story!

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Rear Window Spoiler