The Orca: 2012 Tuxedo Black Screw Build

[TaylorF-150]

I've been chipping away at a lot of projects on the rig lately. I snagged a set of taillights off Craigslist where the edges of the housings had been painted black. It's a small difference in the housings, but a HUGE improvement on a black truck IMO.

Before:



Side by side comparison of the taillights:



After:



Next was a new set of wheels. I've always liked the KMC Enduro beadlocks, so when a deal on a set of them came up locally, I jumped on them. I had them powder coated to match the OEM fender flares:



Here they are mounted on the truck. I'm really happy with how they turned out.

 

[TaylorF-150]

I also snagged a set of the new/improved SVC tie-rods, and a set of gusseted OEM spindles. It's a bit tough to see the knuckles in this pick so I'll try to snag a better pic when I have the wheel/tire off next time. I can't say enough good things about the new SVC tie-rods. The fit and finish on these things is fantastic. What a great re-design.

 

[TaylorF-150]

Last week I snagged a S&B intake kit, and got it installed yesterday. It's a nice kit for sure. I'm not sure whether or not there's much gain in terms of horsepower, but it looks cool and sounds cool when you stab the skinny pedal.

 

[Shinocu]

those rear lights look so much better

 

[TaylorF-150]

I slapped a set of Deaver +2's on the truck last weekend (with the help of Christian @ Vital Designs), and they really are a great mod for these trucks. I've owned a number of trucks over the years with Deaver spring packs on them, but these were the biggest noticeable difference of all the trucks I've had them on.



And then this weekend I was trying out some different wheel offsets, and managed to snap some pics of my front setup now that the tie-rods and gusseted knuckles have been installed.

 

[TaylorF-150]

I've been working on a few different small projects lately, the first was getting some OEM tailgate and door handles and having them painted to match the rest of the truck.

Swap in progress:



And then all handles swapped and washed up:





Also, I had SVC install one of their V3 rear bumpers...I love the way it cleans up the look of the truck. I had the bumper customized a little bit to add a couple flush mount S2 Pros to be used as reverse lights.





Then I had some extended shackles from Blitzkreig Motorsports installed to drop the rear ride height down a little bit:



I also had Christian over at Vital Designs fab up some rear limit strap mounts for me since with the Deavers and extended shackles, I suspect that the rear suspension is now capable or dropping out further than the rear shocks will permit. I also need to ditch the remainder of my Magnaflow tailpipes and do a couple turn downs, since as it's configured now, the exhaust would be blowing right on the limit straps.



I've got some more fun stuff in the works as well, here's a couple preview pics.

Readylift fabricated knuckles with some double shear tie-rod tabs that Christian @ Vital Designs whipped up for me:



And some Camburg lower arms. No tabs for an aux bypass shock which is a bit of a bummer, but the deal was too good to pass up. I can always add the mounts later on down the road for a few hundred bucks if I decide I really need em.

 

[BenBB]

Looking good!!!!

 

[WFWP]

Do those KMCs have TPMS? If not do you turn the "notice" off on the dash display?

 

[EricM]

Not sure if you've tried it or not yet, but since you seem to like painting stuff, you really should finish off your parts with a 2K clear for it to last and look the best. 2K = 2 part = paint with a hardener in it. You can sand it and polish it to a perfectly flat shiny finish too.

The cans are expensive, but well worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0082LJMC6/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

2 part paints with hardener require a respirator while spraying, but a good 3M mask for organics is only $30 or so. The spray from those Spraymax 2K clear cans is unbelievably smooth, a nice fine fog. It's only good for a day or so after you activate the hardener in the can, so make sure you have enough stuff lined up to paint with it. One can will paint a surprising amount of stuff, even with multiple coats.

 

[TaylorF-150]

Do those KMCs have TPMS? If not do you turn the "notice" off on the dash display?

Those wheels work with TPMS just like pretty much any other wheels that I've come across, so I'm running them.