"Howdy Harrell" (hseason91)
04/15/2014 at 11:51 • Filed to: None
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"Howdy Harrell" (hseason91)
04/15/2014 at 11:51 • Filed to: None | 0
| 5 |
To make a camper out of one of these bad boys. Anyone know anything about these vans? What is a decent price that these things go for? Are they hard to work on? Can you convert it to 4x4(JW) ?
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I would probably strip the whole interior and do a purpose built luxo-camper for glamping. (Cars are not meant for real camping).
And for the VW guys, I want one too, but with all of those windows I wouldn't want to be sleeping in one.
lone_liberal
> Howdy Harrell
04/15/2014 at 12:09 |
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It's an Econoline which means they built it forever, though parts specific to that year might be getting scarce. I'm not sure of the aftermarket support. Do you like working on an engine that's located under a cover between the front seats? I've never done it, but I've heard people both bitch about it and say how handy it is. I guess it depends on what part of the engine you're working on. As for the 4x4 I'm purely guessing but I'd assume parts from a Ford truck would fit but you would have to change the suspension.
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> Howdy Harrell
04/15/2014 at 12:26 |
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Your question (4x4?) interested me, so I went looking. Turns out, I can't find any confirmation that it's a proper body on frame like the '74-on, and it's most likely not, *however*: that vintage does use contemporary Ford truck front suspension. It also was made into a camper version. This tells us a few things:
1. Proper frame rails or equivalent exist. It was offered in several weight capacities, bolstering this assertion, so while it's unibody (as far as I can tell), it's a reinforced structure style conducive to modification -see Aerostar, Astro, etc. of later years. The ride height compared to a Falcon Econoline bears this out - it's higher.
2. The frame rails are a standard width - if the standard F-100 or Bronco front suspension fit. Knowing this and knowing Ford, it's likely that even though the springs in back may be a funny length or the like, there is almost no chance of the rear axle setup being in any way non-standard.
3. It was offered with V8s, in a more standard-truck format and mounting. Following from 1, and the fact that the body is more properly *over* the drivetrain (permanent box frame/etc.), there is almost certainly room for 4wd. It was offered with the standard 3-speed column-shift, so a 4wd drivetrain from a full-size Ford, even not sharing the platform *exactly* would most likely fit. Worst case, you've probably got the room to improvise.
Short answer: yep, looks very 4wd-able.
As to prices, I saw a few for like $2500 while looking for chassis info. Probably anywhere from $2k to $10k depending on condition and market.
As to camper conversion: yes, it can be done. *Was* done, back in the day.
As to hard to work on: Probably not terrible. Enough of the engine is in the body that the cover off probably lays it pretty bare.
Frank Grimes
> Howdy Harrell
04/15/2014 at 12:48 |
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here is a sweeeet one from on any sunday.
Shiarlis
> Frank Grimes
04/15/2014 at 12:51 |
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Can't help, but this is on my list of things to do. Sexiest van they ever made...
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Howdy Harrell
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
04/15/2014 at 13:05 |
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Wow thanks man for the information! Haha apparently i'm not the only one into camper vans.