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1993 & 1992 Ford Explorers - NS Off Road Explorers

Brothers Building A Bright Future
August, 2008
By Jordan May
Photography by Jordan May
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Two Explorers Main
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Two Ford Explorers Parked Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Two Ford Explorers
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road White Tan Exterior Side View 1
First up is Austin's '92 Ford... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road White Tan Exterior Side View 1
First up is Austin's '92 Ford Explorer (white and tan). This truck is kind of a wolf in sheep's clothing. From the exterior, it looks pretty tame, but underneath is a more-than-capable, well-built desert machine. The truck rolls on 33-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/AKO tires and Eagle Alloy 589-series 15x8 wheels.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Ns Plated Guard
Much of the truck as you see... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Ns Plated Guard
Much of the truck as you see it was built by Austin himself. The I-beam suspension system is comprised of Ford Bronco II extended and plated beams rebuilt and fabricated by NS Offroad. They measure 6.5 inches wider per side and provide 18 inches of usable wheel travel.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road I Beam Suspension System
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Radflo Coilovers Reservoirs
The front shocks are Radflo... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Radflo Coilovers Reservoirs
The front shocks are Radflo 2.5x12-inch coilovers with reservoirs providing ample damping services. The entire cage and shock hoops were also fabricated by the brothers of NS Offroad.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Prp Race Seats
A pair of PRP race seats and... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Prp Race Seats
A pair of PRP race seats and a matching PRP bench seat hold everyone tight in their seat. An interesting story about Austin's interior is while welding up some of the cab cage, the cabin caught fire. Austin had to replace over 80 percent of the cabin. He did a great job, as no signs of the fire were evident.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Cage Work
Opening up the rear hatch... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Cage Work
Opening up the rear hatch reveals the main portion of the cage work, providing function over beauty. We all love high-dollar trucks, but there is nothing like seeing a well-built truck built by a team of brothers that just plain works. There is no extra bling in Austin's truck because as one famous off-road racer once said, "You don't need bling to get you home."
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road White Tan Exterior Front View
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Hannemann Fiberglass Fenders
Both the front and rear bumpers... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Hannemann Fiberglass Fenders
Both the front and rear bumpers were fabricated by Austin, with the front holding a pair of Hella Rallye 4000 lights. Hannemann Fiberglass fenders are providing the room up front for tire clearance.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Racerunner Series Shocks
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Deaver Leaf Springs
A pair of Sway-A-Way 2.5x18-inch... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Deaver Leaf Springs
A pair of Sway-A-Way 2.5x18-inch RaceRunner Series shocks with reservoirs is mounted in the rear, working in conjunction with Deaver leaf springs and extended shackles.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Jumping Catching Air Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Red White Exterior Front View
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Exterior Front Red White Explorer
You may think you have seen... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Exterior Front Red White Explorer
You may think you have seen Austin's brother Jerrod's red and white '93 Ford Explorer in the pages of OFF-ROAD before. We featured a Chevy S-10 in our Feb. '08 issue that had a very similar paintjob.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Hella Rallye 4000 Lights
Much of this truck, like his... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Hella Rallye 4000 Lights
Much of this truck, like his brother's, was built by them in their garage. Sitting atop the roof is a custom lightbar holding four Hella Rallye 4000 off-road lights. Having lights above your cab during high-speed night driving is extremely beneficial. It spreads the light across the coming desert much better than bumper lights.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Glassworks Unlimited Fiberglass Sides
Jerrod's Ford is sitting on... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Glassworks Unlimited Fiberglass Sides
Jerrod's Ford is sitting on 33-inch BFG T/AKO tires and American Racing 15x8 wheels. The Glassworks Unlimited front and rear fiberglass sides really give this truck a great appearance. Jerrod cut the back portion of the glass to have it line up with the rear bumper. This allowed for more tire and mud clearance.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road King Smooth Body Reservoir Shocks
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Camburg Engineering Shackles
Underneath the truck, we find... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Camburg Engineering Shackles
Underneath the truck, we find a Ford 8.8-inch rearend stuffed with 4.56 gears and a limited-slip differential. The rear suspension on this truck was installed by John Baker of Baker Motorsports. It is set up with King smooth-body reservoir 16x2.5-inch shocks on both sides. John also installed some oversize poly bumpstops for safety. Camburg Engineering shackles were added to extend the rear wheel travel to 16 inches.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Blue King Coilovers
John Evans of Speed Unlimited... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Blue King Coilovers
John Evans of Speed Unlimited built the front suspension for Jerrod. It uses 4 inches over stock width custom I-beams, providing 17 inches of travel. Shocks include King 12x2.5-inch coilovers and King hydraulic bumpstops. The stock steering system needed to be reworked and extended to accommodate the new suspension.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Fullsize Spare Tire
Jerrod's rear compartment... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Fullsize Spare Tire
Jerrod's rear compartment holds one fullsize spare tire and a pair of side storage compartments. Each side compartment has enough space for his towstrap, tools, camping gear, and more.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road King Shocks Cage Mounted
With the tire removed, you... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road King Shocks Cage Mounted
With the tire removed, you can see how the King shocks were mounted to the cage. Both brothers' trucks are set up well but very different.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Interior View
Moving into the back seat,... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Interior View
Moving into the back seat, we see a pair of Beard race seats using Crow five-point harnesses. Jerrod also installed a fire extinguisher between the seats for safety.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Interior View Ipod Dash
Surrounding the front seats... 
   
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Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Interior View Ipod Dash
Surrounding the front seats is the remainder of the NS Offroad custom cage holding two more Beard race seats with Crow five-point harnesses. Jerrod also built a custom center console holding water- and oil-temp gauges, light switches, a power outlet, and a place to set his iPod. We also noticed an Icom IC-V8000 race radio set up for race communications.
Ford Explorer 1992 Ford Explorer Ns Off Road Interior View Red White

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