The search begins.....

[bdog1]

Window issue I ran into is the window is flat and the van is contoured. My side (only) added window is only 14" tall and there's a half inch difference in the profile. Makes for a lot of 5200. My van was a cable splice deal and had the " mail box door" in that location, hence the window fix.

Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[89s rule]

Thanks for the info on the window, that's what I was afraid of. Anyone know of another resource other than Sportsmobile? I do not really want huge conversion van style windows.

Got home from visiting family only to find our rear driveshaft in the 4runner is shot. Plan to take it to a driveline shop on Monday and get it rebuilt. Spent most of the morning diagnosing that and getting the car cleaned out. Also had a package from Advance its my LPOP (Low pressure Oil Pump)

This afternoon I went and looked at a parts conversion van. It's a '94 Mark III e150 6 cyl under 100K miles. Skipping and will idle fine, but wont run long. Thinking a mix of old gas and ?? I was sort of disappointed as he said the interior was "perfect" to get there and see indoor/outdoor carpet and the middle row of seats missing. Interior is same color as my vans dash, etc. A/C blows cold (mine does not, although the resistor I got at the JY got me at least some speeds of my blower fan.) Front seats and rear bench are nice no rips or stains, rear bench lays down. (Seats are close in color to some I saw at the JY so these might all work until I can luck into some Sienna seats at a reasonable price.
Power windows and door locks, front doors are good. Rear and side are good structurally, but the door handles are messed up you have to pull the cables inside the doors to open them?? Not sure how easy a fix this is. These doors do not have windows that open and the trim is faded out, I know the rear doors only did it for a short time because of exhaust fumes, but what about the side doors?
Also both front and rear bumpers as well as drivers fender would swap over onto mine and clean up the few dents I have.
The good: Interior and exterior are the same color as my van and its rust and accident free. So I can swap most everything over and not look like a patchwork quilt rolling down the road.

The bad: doesn't or won't stay running. Guy selling it says the scrap yard gave him $750 for the last van he had without rims but this one is too nice to do that with. ( I agree its a nice van for what it is with low miles, but it would serve its purpose of parts for me.

I can get it for $800 and a guy at church has offered me $200 for the custom rims and almost new tires. So $600 net cost.

My question is this. Seems like a good price, if I can get a friend to help me get it home. Am I better off to swap parts from my van over and then try to sell this parts van as a complete "work van" or just strip this one and take it to the crusher for scrap? And if I scrap it how much can I realistically expect to get for it whole and/or for it as a shell with engine/trans?

 

[bdog1]

There is a cable repair gimmick for the door latches. Flea bay. Or you can swap over the pieces from door to door. Plastic "socket" at the end of the cable crumbles.
If you find a buyer for the motor or trans. You would do fine that way. I have a similar situation, right now my spare van is my storage shed! It's still complete and driving though.


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[dcguillory]

Not sure how big is too big for the windows. Try here

http://www.discountvantruck.com/vanconversionvanwindows/vanwindows.htm

 

[Bbasso]

I'm kinda late to the party but here's my two cents on fuel economy.
My 2000 7.3 E350 eb used to get a solid 20mpg hwy sometimes up to 22. Rather light load, cruise control set at speed limits.
My 2005 V10 E350 eb used to get 16-17 mpg under the same conditions But it had been tuned by Mike at 5Star.
I've also towed with both while the 7.3 got 4to 6 mpg better the V10& the 5R100 did it easier due to the transmission.
If your considering a gasser get the V10 but I strongly recommend that it's a 2005 or newer.
Less chance of spitting plugs and way better transmission.

I too am searching for another 7.3 eb... going for my forth van lol.

 

[89s rule]

Not sure how big is too big for the windows. Try here

http://www.discountvantruck.com/vanconversionvanwindows/vanwindows.htm

Those are the ones I have seen several post. I'm looking for the ones that are ~ 6" shorter (height).

 

[89s rule]

Thanks to Chris from Ujoint and a lady from Sportmobile North both getting in touch with me about window vendors.

I have a few more questions for everyone as the only ones that fit what I am wanting to do are listed for a Chevy van. These are from CRLaurence I just searched around to find a vendor who had a price posted.

This is what I want to get for my van:

http://www.glasswarepro.com/4105320...ss-Look-33-3-8-x-19-1-8-Crank-Out-1-8-CR.aspx

Looks liek what Sportsmobile installs, but I did nto have a part # when the lady from there called me back. I want them to fit the van, not have a gap or space at the top that needs caulk to be filled, etc.

I've got a few goodies on the way from Black Friday sales as well. I'll wait to post info about them later.

 

[89s rule]

Got the fan relay from the JY installed. I now have 2 speeds. Maybe another or new one would get me all 4 speeds.

I went back and bought the Parts van last Sunday. Here are a few pictures:



Plans are to swap all doors, bumpers, trailer hitch, seats, and most if not all of the front clip. Still debating on the running boards and the rear body windows. After I get everything pulled I will probably take it to the crusher.
Unfortunately it does not have the 2nd row of seats of rear heat or A/C. SO I will have to keep an eye out for those items.

I have been having a few issues with idling and running when I come to a stop (very randomly). So I decided to start troubleshooting it. First step was to change the fuel filter.

Pulled it I did not think it was too bad, so looked into the fuel bowl.

Yeah it was dirty, so I dug in and pulled the entire fuel bowl.

Rebuild kit:

Cleaned:

Then reasembled. The fuel pressure regulator screen was almost completely clogged, total of probably a teaspoon of crap in the bottom of the bowl.
I accidentally dropped a hose clamp down one of the intake tubes that runs into the head. I hope to get it pulled out today. Worst case senario for it is I have to go ahead and do my valvecover gaskets and glow plugs.

I also ordered a LPOP through Advance Auto, with the coupon code it was $65.

Hope to get it installed soon as well. My oil pressure is a little low at first startup and this is the fix for it as well as some idleing issues. Hoping a combination of these plus pulling my fuel tank and cleaning it will take care of the few issues I have had thus far.

In my order of the rebuild kit I also ordered this:

TS 6 position Chip. BF special: $200 shipped with tunes! I got stock, 50, 75, 100hp as well as the security mode. Main reason I bought it is fuel mileage. Reviews looked good so I bit the bullet. I will wait to install after I get everything back together and running well.

Considering how much noise the 7.3 makes and that this is supposed to be a family vehicle I have to do somethign about the db level. I was goign to use some coupon codes for BF and/or cyber Monday but ended up getting a better deal with a guy on eBay who only wanted local pickup. Even with shipping it was cheaper that the discounts.

Yes I could have bought something less expensive, but I don't want my van smelling like roofing asphalt. So I went with second skin damplifier pro. 96 sq ft. shoudl be enough to get me started. Debating on getting some other products to fill voids I cannot reach or cover well with a mat type product. (Spray and/or foam). Considering the DIY Lizard Skin: http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/160411/
Will follow everything with Reflectix and/or a BedRug. Not sure about plywood in the rear or not. I have seen builds either way.

Also bought the rest of the needed items for an oil change. I had already ordered the fuel and oil filters through Advance with coupons. Rotella T for oil at Wal-Mart $55 for 4 gallons:

 

[mapper]

Cool project. You'll get a lot of mileage out of creature comfort parts from that conversion van. I know you were looking for smaller windows but damn, you have some nice windows now. Sitting right there ready to go. If I had a large EB van I'd want at least one large window for those rainy days when you take advantage of the option to spend time in the van at camp. Plus, kids will love the windows on the road.

 

[89s rule]

I was excited to get the conversion van and have a parts van sitting next to mine instead of who knows how many trips to a junk yard. I pulled the rear bumper off of the E350 this week, was excited to see there was no damage underneath the crunched bumper. I plan to wait on installing the conversion bumper so I don't scratch/mess it up which doing the interior build.
Still debating on the windows, I may go with the larger in the driver foward space. I asked locally for a quote on the following:
FW904RS
VW21601L
VW21601R

Hope to hear back from them early next week. These are a shorter (height) window.

I am rethinking my interior layout. Thinking hard about going with a Sportsmobile EB27 style layout.

http://www.sportsmobile.com/1_eb-27.html
I think it might be a good fit for number of avalible seats while still making it have useful space.
Been reading Hal the Van build over on the Sportsmobile forum. Not sure I can pull off the goucho/dinette like he did but that is the best example I have seen to this point.
http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3336

My 4" Diamond Eye exhaust came in this week. I was able to get it on eBay. There was a special for 4x eBay bucks for purchases over $150, with the extra bucks I get back it made the exhaust $250!


I bought some gauges a few weeks back but forgot to post up about them.


Glowshift 7 color - EGT, Boost, and Trans. temp. It came with a F series 3 pod pillar. I need to sell the pillar pod and buy a E-series 3 hole gauge pillar. Cheapest I have found shipped on the e-series is Summit or eBay, if anyone has seen them cheaper than $73 shipped let me know. Also If you or someone you know needs a Tan F-series pod let me know.
.
I recently ordered a new GPR ( Glow Plug Relay ) as you know I was having a hard time starting in cold and want to get as much baselined as possible. (Fuel system cleaning, LPOP, GP and GPR for sure)After researching on the Powerstroke forums it sounded like OEM was not the route to take. So I went with the recommended White Brothers 586-105111

Everyone in cold climates (which I am not) raves about it. I also have some autolite GP that came with the van. (I have heard mixed reviews about these but they were free and I figured I might as well do it while everything is appart.) It sure will be nice to crank and idle without worries.

Few other goodies on the way, but hope to start finalizing som decisions here in the next week or so. I have off for Christmas starting this afternoon until January 2nd, so I hope I can at least get it back drivable.

 

[89s rule]

Got a little bit done on Saturday. I didn't feel like being greasy up to my elbows again so I started tackling swapping some parts over from the parts van.
(I'll post some pictures up in a few days.)
Front and rear bumpers pulled and swapped, Pulled rear hitch, bolt holes did not line up when I tried to swap. Maybe E150-E350 are different?
Headlight panels pulled (Switching from sealed beam to composite beam).




Height difference is not exact with this pic since the driveway is a few inches higher, but its obvious in getting in/out, especially in the rear




Swapped in the rear floor trim as I didn't have anything back there. My door areas are a little damaged, not sure what I will do there. I do have the parts van so I guess I could cut what I need to fix out and weld it into mine?
Pulled rear doorpanels, trim and swapped aftermarket speakers (testing fitment). I need to paint the faded plastic window trim at some point and also insulate so I went ahead and pulled everything. I wanted to swap out the rear doors but I figured it would be helpful to have help before I tackled them.


This these are shot?

Not perfect, but I pulled these out of a car at pull a part a few years back. Hoping they will sound decent.


Didn't know if the ford covers would work, but they fit like a glove!



This is where I ended the day. Add rain and Christmas events for 2 days and it all still sits for now.


I do have a few questions, I want to try and intergrade some modern vehicle features into the van and not 100% sure how to do some of them. I tried google searchign but didn't find much.

1. Cruise/Tilt wheel...Parts van has CC and tilt, however the engines and years are different. ('94 6cyl and '95 PSD) Is it possible to use what I have or at least part of it?

2. Power Windows and locks..I think I have this one under control. (Door and wiring swap)

3. Door well lights / puddle lights.... I want to illuminate the ground and steps when the door opens. Not sure if I want to have this 100% or have it on an extrernal switch as well.

4. Timed delay on accessories staying on after the switch is turned off and until a door is opened. . (In-laws Cadillac STS has this and its a great feature.)

5. Auto off headlights (Our '99 4Runner has this, they stay on until you open the door.)

6. Auto up/down windows (4runner and Cadillac have them. I found a little info about this in Fords but never any full writeup.)

I don't have to have all of these, but its a wish list, might expand it to more in the future.

If it matters I do plan on having at least one house battery. Probably will run it where I can charge it via a switch inside from the factory alternator. Considered a dual alternator setup as well.

 

[mgmetalworks]

4. Timed delay on accessories staying on after the switch is turned off and until a door is opened. . (In-laws Cadillac STS has this and its a great feature.)

5. Auto off headlights (Our '99 4Runner has this, they stay on until you open the door.)

6. Auto up/down windows (4runner and Cadillac have them. I found a little info about this in Fords but never any full writeup.)

You'll need a time delay relay for #4 (and possibly #5 too)... I found one here for my heated super duty mirror project: http://www.wolstentech.com/products/timedelayrelay/timedelayrelay.php

relatively cheap, simple to wire and nice quality.

#6 is possible but it'll require a little thought. A lot of those fancy functions in cars are done with microcontrollers and logic. It can be done...there are aftermarket solutions for this stuff...but it isn't going to plug 'n' play for a van.

 

[cjken]

Did you pull your turbo off to get at the back of your fuel bowl???
My 95 had a fuel leak. I rebuilt the bowl, and replaced the pump. Could not figure out how to get at it without pulling the turbo.
Now have a minor oil leak. No idea from where. Will have to address it this spring.
Interested to see how you like the TS chip. Since I have the same motor I will be following your thread closely!!!
Just looking to get mine leak free and reliable. The high idle function on the chip looks nice for cold weather starts and a bit more hp would be great as long as it does not have any impact on reliability and engine life!!

 

[bdog1]

On the accessories: I came from late model vehicles and missed all that stuff too... For a month or two, then I forgot all about it. Locked my keys in the van half a dozen times because I was used to keyless ign. Maybe what seems important today will pass?


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[djbonsu]

On the accessories: I came from late model vehicles and missed all that stuff too... For a month or two, then I forgot all about it. Locked my keys in the van half a dozen times because I was used to keyless ign. Maybe what seems important today will pass?


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

I thought I forgot about them after the 1st month then I locked my keys in the van 3 times, it was time for power locks lol. Not to mention PIA of having to lock/unlock ALL doors when cargo access is needed.