KRAKEN - 2 door Black Diamond "build"

[KRAKEN]

Finished painting & installing the grill letter overlays... much better match to the gray wheel trim rings. Also took care of a couple other front end things. Painted KRAKEN's capable bumper shackle brackets with Ford Blue engine enamel and cut out some trail marker inlays from some blue carbon fiber vinyl that I had laying around.

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[KRAKEN]

Prepping for some nice springtime topless weather I got a Broncover rain cover to help keep out the rain, sun, and damn barn cats that love to nap in any open vehicle. Great rat catchers, poor passengers.

 

[miami2823]

Prepping for some nice springtime topless weather I got a Broncover rain cover to help keep out the rain, sun, and damn barn cats that love to nap in any open vehicle. Great rat catchers, poor passengers.

Been thinking about getting one of these, @KRAKEN have you done an install yet? How fast can you get it covered?

One of my concerns was water pooling in the middle of it, but I think with some practice I'd be able to get it off without getting water in the Bronco.

 

[KRAKEN]

I have not used it yet. I have a couple of short over the road trips to do near term so I haven't pulled my top yet. I can't see how installing it would take very long after doing it 2-3 times and developing a routine. It has a pole to stand up in the middle of the top to shed water and keep it from pooling.

 

[KRAKEN]

Getting dirty doing Bronco stuff...

 

[KRAKEN]

Installed some SSV Works 6.5 inch Speaker Pods with some Blue Grills... and WOW, what a difference it makes. No amp, no forscan, just plug & play. Probably will be the extent of my audio upgrades. Sounds a whole lot better than those anemic OEM speakers and good enough for me.
Install note: The supplied directions were very lacking and could have been written better by a one-eyed Chinese kid on meth... but the install is simple enough to figure out.

 

[BigDaddySquatch]

Installed some SSV Works 6.5 inch Speaker Pods with some Blue Grills... and WOW, what a difference it makes. No amp, no forscan, just plug & play. Probably will be the extent of my audio upgrades. Sounds a whole lot better than those anemic OEM speakers and good enough for me.
Install note: The supplied directions were very lacking and could have been written better by a one-eyed Chinese kid on meth... but the install is simple enough to figure out.

Did those bolt up? Did you have to do any drilling?

 

[KRAKEN]

No drilling. Mounts to factory speaker holes. Comes with brackets to replace the OEM top speaker brackets.

 

[KRAKEN]

Replaced the tiny button head screws with black oxide Thumb Screws on my window molle panels. So much easier. These molle panels have to be removed to take the top off as they wrap around the outside of the "roll bar". I really like the outbound design of these molle panels and with the thumb screws removal/reinstallation will be easy.

 

[KRAKEN]

I got my electric hoist to lift the mic top installed. No ceiling clearance issues like a lot of you guys. It might be a little dusty in the barn, but I'll live with it. Now I just need a stretch of dry weather to pull the top...

 

[KRAKEN]

Installed some Desert Does It Seat Jackers. I installed the single 3/8 inch shims and reused the factory bolts as the directions stated. Stacking the shims provides 3/4 inch lift and requires the provided longer bolts. I was skeptical that 3/8 inch of lift on the front of the seat would really feel that much different, but I'm impressed with my initial tryout. I really need more time in the pilot seat to give a good opinion. I have been needing to drive my F150 a lot more lately

For reference I'm 6'2". Some guys swear by them, some guys hate them. Time will tell.
NOTE: Yes, you could stack 3/8 inch worth of washers and use the factory bolts to achieve the same effect, but I'm not rigging my $56K vehicle like that. We have a saying for that down here in the south that I won't put forth on the internet... not politically correct & all.

 

[KRAKEN]

Wash day... just in time for several days of rain.
Focused on the inside of the door jambs, seals, interior, rock rails, & wheels. Pulled the flares and gave them a good scrubbing and a coat of VRP. Got the body washed and applied a coat of Griot's.
Looks nice & clean... not my usual "spray off the clumps" wash.

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