I bought this back in 2002 for $38,000 cash; I like nice round numbers. Before this I had a 1991 Eddie Bauer Sport; the first year Explorer was made and the only year and in very limited quantity they made the Eddie Bauer in a sport model. After 300k extremely reliable miles on that one I decided to buy another.

I was not as nice to this one as I was to the 91 model. Two weeks after receiving it, someone rear-ended me in Pasadena, CA. At 30k miles I took it in for service and ended up with a loaner for five weeks because they had shorted a wire taking out three computers and the AC compressor.

Having a company provided vehicle, another Explorer, I didn’t have to drive mine for work which helped keep it nice. However, in 2005 it looked like we would loose company provided vehicles which did happen in 2006. With both high fuel prices and driving mileage I bought a much more economical vehicle and made the mistake of selling the Explorer to my Father; there it received marginal care. When Father died, my brother got it; not sure why as it should have came back to me based on the family rules, whatever... after that it received even less care, in fact the work done to it did more damage then good with less-than-qualified people doing said work. Before he destroyed it I offered to buy it back at Blue Book mid value, but he would not sell; then he somehow slightly damaged the driver’s door panel; by this time I had written it off. In 2016 my brother, doing whatever he does, got the Explorer impounded. He came to me saying he would sign it over to me and I could get it back as he was going to lose it anyway. It cost almost exactly the same as I offered to buy it for, six months earlier. I got it home and parked it until my mechanic friend could evaluate it hoping I had not bought something that belonged in pick-n-pull.

It was still running good, everything was solid except the transmission, alignment and needed new tires and seats. Getting closer to retirement I crunched the numbers and decided to restore over buy a new one after I retire. I wanted a truck frame, not a station wagon on a car frame.

The photos in this album start with the first day it was delivered to my mechanic; any bloody body parts, fingers flipping off stubborn stereos or gas cans and torches are his.