Emmitt finally replaced his venerable Ford pickup when he purchased a 2001 Ford
Explorer Sport 2 door SUV (in keeping with Emmitt's philosophy of making the old
new again, he never buys new vehicles).
He challenged the staff to make the Explorer "his." His vision:
1. Find a more productive use of the rear seat space (staff note: no one dares ride
with Emmitt anyway).
2. Give it a bunch of lights.
3. Accommodate some ham radios.
4. Provide a 115V AC outlet.
5. Install bluetooth capability for a cell phone.
Here's what the staff turned out:
They tore out the rear seats and created two storage compartments that would hold all of the junk Emmitt carries with him as well as a place for the electronics Emmitt asked the staff to add.
In order to protect the cabling necessary to accommodate the additional lighting and electronics, a 40 amp circuit breaker was added in the engine compartment and a new fuse box was installed in the back where the electronics were going to be mounted.
To accommodate the lights up front, they added a grill guard. Old school driving lights and state of the art LED work (flood) lights were mounted to this grill guard.
Impaxx amber hazard warning lights were installed behind the rear window.
To light up the Explorer's cargo compartment, a high intensity LED lamp was mounted in the headliner.
A rechargeable Streamlight Stinger flashlight was installed right behind the seats, handy to either Emmitt or, on that rare occasion when someone would ride with him, his passenger.
A piece of the center console was cut out to make room for a Troy police style console that would hold the ham radio control heads and switches for all of the lights the staff added.
The original Ford subwoofer and amplifier were removed from the right rear cargo area and an automatic HF antenna tuner was tucked away it their place. Antennas were then mounted for the HF and VHF/UHF ham radios.
The two ham radios and a 300 watt inverter were installed in the passenger side storage compartment.
So that Emmitt could see the radio controls and switches at night, an LED light and brightness control was added to the overhead console.
Finally, a Motorola after market bluetooth adapter kit was installed under the dash. The staff now hopes that Emmitt can figure out how to use it.
He challenged the staff to make the Explorer "his." His vision:
1. Find a more productive use of the rear seat space (staff note: no one dares ride
with Emmitt anyway).
2. Give it a bunch of lights.
3. Accommodate some ham radios.
4. Provide a 115V AC outlet.
5. Install bluetooth capability for a cell phone.
Here's what the staff turned out:
They tore out the rear seats and created two storage compartments that would hold all of the junk Emmitt carries with him as well as a place for the electronics Emmitt asked the staff to add.
In order to protect the cabling necessary to accommodate the additional lighting and electronics, a 40 amp circuit breaker was added in the engine compartment and a new fuse box was installed in the back where the electronics were going to be mounted.
To accommodate the lights up front, they added a grill guard. Old school driving lights and state of the art LED work (flood) lights were mounted to this grill guard.
Impaxx amber hazard warning lights were installed behind the rear window.
To light up the Explorer's cargo compartment, a high intensity LED lamp was mounted in the headliner.
A rechargeable Streamlight Stinger flashlight was installed right behind the seats, handy to either Emmitt or, on that rare occasion when someone would ride with him, his passenger.
A piece of the center console was cut out to make room for a Troy police style console that would hold the ham radio control heads and switches for all of the lights the staff added.
The original Ford subwoofer and amplifier were removed from the right rear cargo area and an automatic HF antenna tuner was tucked away it their place. Antennas were then mounted for the HF and VHF/UHF ham radios.
The two ham radios and a 300 watt inverter were installed in the passenger side storage compartment.
So that Emmitt could see the radio controls and switches at night, an LED light and brightness control was added to the overhead console.
Finally, a Motorola after market bluetooth adapter kit was installed under the dash. The staff now hopes that Emmitt can figure out how to use it.
Click on any picture to enlarge it
Rear seat were removed and two storage
compartments made of plywood were
installed in their place
The passenger side storage compartment
with the hatch opened. This compartment
is ready to receive all of the electronic
equipment
40 amp circuit breaker in the engine bay
New fuse box for the new equipment
Grill guard and new forward lighting
Lighting wiring diagram
Streamlight rechargable flashlight
Troy console inserted in the factory console
The automatic tuner for the HF antenna
HF antenna as installed
All of the electronic equipment installed
Electronics wiring diagram
Console down lighting and control
Console light wiring diagram
Bluetooth control unit
Bluetooth wiring diagram
Emmitt's retired truck
Emmitt's completed vehicle