Ford 6.0l to V10 swap with new frame questions

[Missiongravity]

Hi All,

So I have two vans currently. A 2005 E350 that was outfitted last spring only to have the 6.0L diesel die in it. I will spare the details and the saga involving that. So it is currently sitting with the body pulled off of the frame. I recently purchased a 1999 E350 Quigley(lots of mods to suspension since it was Quigley'd) with a fresh V10 and semi-fresh beefed up tranny. The problem is that it has been rolled. The frame is toast and not worth having a body shop straighten.

SOOOOO...I am planning on gutting the 6.0L frame down to a bare chassis and then doing a parts swap over from the V10. There will be ample amounts of torching involved I am sure as well as a fuel system swap, drivetrain swap etc.

What I was hoping to find out from anyone here who has intimate knowledge of these frames is how different the cross-members etc will be from the 6.0L to the V10. This will be a HUGE job that I am hoping to document as much as possible but if I am opening a can of worms that just shouldnt be opened I would love to know before towing the V10 6hrs to the shop.


Thanks in advance for any help!



Here are some pics:

4WD flipped van

Body and Frame to be swapped to:

 

[Stumpalump]

Best mod you could ever do to any diesel van is to swap in a gasser. Good luck. I can crawl around my 02 V10 if you need me too.

 

[WVI]

I'd take it down to a rolling chassis to see how bad the other associated parts are bent as well.
Have you actually talked to a frame shop?
The cross members should be pretty easy to get hold f off junked vans, depending on where you are.

 

[Missiongravity]

I'd take it down to a rolling chassis to see how bad the other associated parts are bent as well.
Have you actually talked to a frame shop?
The cross members should be pretty easy to get hold f off junked vans, depending on where you are.

Hey WVI.

I have talked to a frame shop. I actually had them put it on a rack and pull measurements. The main xmember I am worried about compatibility with is the engine xmember. They are welded in and would be a major job to swap out. The coil buckets are the same, the transmission xmember shouldn't be an issue to swap and I am not keeping any other frame parts of the rolled van. My 05 frame is perfect and another thing I never mentioned was that the 4wd is a short body and the 6.0L is an extended.
I've done some decently involved suspension work on previous Econolines I have owned. This will just be the next level.

 

[Bbasso]

Best mod you could ever do to any diesel van is to swap in a gasser. Good luck. I can crawl around my 02 V10 if you need me too.

Im guessing that is your opinion because it's definitely not my thoughts.
I've had a V10 and diesels, I speak from personal experience.

 

[mgmetalworks]

Not a lot of differences in the frames through the years. I had a 2005 frame and it was really close to my 2013 frame. A few holes here and there were different but cross members all very similar.

 

[Missiongravity]

Best mod you could ever do to any diesel van is to swap in a gasser. Good luck. I can crawl around my 02 V10 if you need me too.

Thanks for the offer. I am thinking I will just have to get the two vans together at the shop and see what comes of it!

 

[Missiongravity]

I know this is going to be a monumentally large undertaking so I think I am going to break it down in to phases. I have a perfectly good 2005 2WD chassis right now with a nearly new front out of a 2013. It just has a bad motor. First phase will likely be transplanting the V10 engine/tranny and transfer case in! This will get me going in 2WD and let me use the van for the raft/climbing season and in to fall when I can do the 4WD front axle install. This will take a bit of the load off as there is a good bit of front x-member trimming to be done and frame bracketry to swap over to complete the 4wd conversion.

This will also allow me to ponder the options of an MG 4wd conversion instead of the Quigley front axle set up that I currently have. This would net me a much newer front end, tighter suspension and better brakes. Its been really nice having that front end out of the 2013 and would be a little bit of a bummer going back to a straight axle from 1999.

If folks would be interested in a build thread I would be happy to do that! It wont be nearly as cool as MGs as I am poor and going from a 6.0L to a V10 gasser. So nothing groundbreaking.

 

[Missiongravity]

Alright....It is ON. Here is a teaser. I plan on starting a full on build thread for this but right now I am in the sticks and there is no internet here aside from my hotspot so it will have to wait until I am back to a better connection. But here are two glimpses in to the world of chaos I am in right now.