Ford Build Thread: FrED the Ford. '98 E350 7.3 4x4 The More We Explore's Adventure Van

Build Thread: FrED the Ford. '97 E350 7.3 4x4 The More We Explore's Adventure Van

Current state:




[video=youtube;-yu9VlSV_-c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yu9VlSV_-c[/video]

it's a great van. '97 7.3L, 125k miles, 15 passenger. A little surface rust on the frame (it's from NJ). It's got a lift from Tulsa Truck Manufacturing D60s front and rear, mile marker hubs, and brand new 33s.. I'm not crazy about the lift (leaf spring with shackles in the front), but it does the job. I'll probably end up slapping a bunch of Ujoint parts on it. It's got some bump steer and it wanders a little at 65 mph +. Overall it's a very very solid platform. It's HUGE.



Specs/details:
- 1997 EB (Extended Body) Passenger Van
- 7.3L Diesel
- purchased with 124,444 miles on it
- 285/75/16 all-terrain tires (10 ply)
-Warn front manual locking hubs
-Dana 60 front and rear axles, fresh oil in both
-4x4 conversion completed by Tulsa Truck Manufacturing
-New roof rack almost the entire length of the van
-Trailer brake controller
- Mile Marker manual hub upgrade



Maintenance notes:
- heavy duty torque converter (for an RV) installed in the tranny back in 2011. Nice, crisp shifts.
- 2013 - tranny has a recent fluid change, filter replacement and new gasket.
- 2013 - new driveshaft U-joints
- 2013 - new bilstein front and rear heavy duty shocks
- 2013 - new bushings in front sway bar
- 2013 - new rear sway bar
- 2013 - new super steer track bar
- Dual front steering stabilizers
- Spring 2015 - New AC pump
- Spring 2015 - Fresh oil change, oil filter and fuel filter


Why a van? We recently sold our house in an effort to get an RV and live on the road. The more we looked at RVs, the more we felt overwhelmed. When looking at airstreams, we fell in love. We started racking our brains how we could live in an airstream full-time, yet still safely carry our bikes and camping gear without it getting stolen. Then the idea hit us: a van would allow us to have a tow rig to tow the airstream, while we could also safety transport and store our bikes, camping gear, and everything else that wouldn't fit in the airstream.

So we began the search for a good E350 7.3L diesel van.

Episode 1: Why a Van?
[video=youtube;PawUJiqrCkI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PawUJiqrCkI&list=PLWysv3wFKyy6D8gj8lWmAuB7B--nAeSOT&index=1[/video]

Episode 2: Meet Fred
[video=youtube;wabzeQLxX00]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wabzeQLxX00&index=2&list=PLWysv3wFKyy6D8gj8lWmAuB7B--nAeSOT[/video]

Episode 3: Pre-op

[video=youtube;1RWVulkxy0Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RWVulkxy0Q&list=PLWysv3wFKyy6D8gj8lWmAuB7B--nAeSOT&index=3[/video]


Episode 4: Work Begins

[video=youtube;WKQQOWb2oMg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKQQOWb2oMg&list=PLWysv3wFKyy6D8gj8lWmAuB7B--nAeSOT&index=4[/video]


Episode 5: The Struggle

[video=youtube;EJhtcsCMS0I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJhtcsCMS0I&index=5&list=PLWysv3wFKyy6D8gj8lWmAuB7B--nAeSOT[/video]

Episode 6: Finishing the Axle

[video=youtube;y39jCMKJz5s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y39jCMKJz5s&index=6&list=PLWysv3wFKyy6D8gj8lWmAuB7B--nAeSOT[/video]


Episode 7: Out with the Old
[video=youtube;wzsHQjWLzbo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzsHQjWLzbo&index=7&list=PLWysv3wFKyy6D8gj8lWmAuB7B--nAeSOT[/video]

Here's what it looked like when we picked it up.

Unfortunately I discovered an oil leak today. Probably from the tranny. I hate leaks.

Pretty sharp Rig. Hopefully it will serve you well for years to come.

The van looks perfect Steve, nice find! Hopefully the oil leak is something simple & easy to fix.

Nice! What does the inside look like as it sits? I think sleeping on that rack might be trying at least once.

Inside looks great. It's got a full interior, but I only have 2 bench seats for it. I'm going to be ditching the bench seats. I'm not sure how many people I'll be bringing with me on trips, but I'd like to be able to take a few without having to totally rearrange the interior.

Sleeping on the rack actually sounds pretty cool... if I could get up there. The main reason I want the rack off is because of how it's made. It's got metal L-brackets clamping on to the raingutters. I'm not to thrilled about that. I'd like something that's rubber-coated and actually made for going in the raingutters. I think I could salvage it and make something work if I wanted. I'll probably pull it off, store it for a month or two and see if I miss it. It's WAY up there. If I do keep it, I'll probably cut off the top part of it and make it a flat rack. No need for a basket.

Great van Steve, congrats!

Plasti-dip the feet... Not the new school spray stuff but the old stuff you actually dip which makes it super thick. I did that with the rack clamps on my old red Tacoma, it worked great and no paint damage.

I highly recommend a shackle reversal. I did that first thing on my YJ before I lifted it. When I sold it the new owner said ; Wow this handles great on the freeway .
Shoot me a PM about the bench seats if you dont want them.

cruiseroutfit said:

Great van Steve, congrats!

Plasti-dip the feet... Not the new school spray stuff but the old stuff you actually dip which makes it super thick. I did that with the rack clamps on my old red Tacoma, it worked great and no paint damage.

Click to expand...

Fantastic idea. I know the stuff you're referring to.

ModStock said:

I highly recommend a shackle reversal. I did that first thing on my YJ before I lifted it.

Click to expand...

Got any more insights on how it rode with the shackle reversal? I'm 99% sure I want to do a reversal, I don't know why a company would design it that way.

My old cruiser used to have the shackles up front. Rode like garbage! Could have been worn out bushings or a myriad of other things as well.

When I first bought the jeep . It was more of a 2 handed white knuckle driving (wandered). After the reversal , it was one handed driving with no wander at all. Best thing I ever did to it.

Awesome! Subscribed! Looking forward to the build.

bobdog said:

With a relatively flat spring (which most stock trucks had) the shackle will move back in a natural motion when encountering a bump. I think it becomes more of an issue the more arch the leafs have. If the leafs are relatively flat I can see no advantage to moving the shackles to the rear of the front springs. If your springs have a lot of arch then I think it may be worth reversing the shackles. Off road in rock crawling situations I have observed shackle reversals to be less capable than shackles in the front.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't the shackle still move forward when encountering a bump?

bobdog said:

Off road in rock crawling situations I have observed shackle reversals to be less capable than shackles in the front.

Click to expand...

I can see where shackles up front could help push the axle forward when climbing an obstacle.

Only in a competition would a standard shackle be more capable (something about traction and wheel-hop) but then ya hardly see that anymore with all the modern stuff in competition crawling but..... on the highway a reversal cant be beat . Off-road I never had any hinderance (being reversed) . It was nice to have the shackles out of the way and made the approach angle better.

well, I plan on competing in this in the next OSRC, so maybe I should leave the shackles up front.