Beckmanfarm
New member
Recently my wife and I tracked down our dream family van: a 1999 Ford E-350 with the 7.3 Powerstroke. ? It took us searching for a long time to find one that met my two requirements. 1) I wanted it to have fewer than 100k miles (89k is what Big MAW has) and, 2) I wanted it to have very little rust. We bought this van from New Jersey, sight unseen, though we did have it inspected by a AAA mechanic prior to purchasing it. The experience was a nightmare, when the van arrived we anticipated the worst (long story) but we were pleasantly surprised and excited to move forward with our build.
Build goals: Create a van that is built around utility and fills my family’s needs. We have 4 young kids and vacations are expensive when you fly and rent a car. This van solves that. We tow a lot and need a rig that can handle the loads of rock, excavators, etc. This van solves that. We have a big extended family that is active in our lives and just need a people mover. This van solves that. My wife loathes driving a minivan. This van solves that and so many other needs for our crew.
The name: Big M.A.W. came about because as my search went on and on, my ideas for it grew. Everytime I came up with a new idea i would run and show my wife; her response always was “might as well”. And it’s a play on words, too: my wife is a petite woman who is a mama to four kids. So it’s a little hilarious that this small lady will be driving this big car.
Project scope of work: Small engine mods for reliability. UJOR 6” conversion, new interior, new exterior look. And of course the basics like roof rack, ladder, nerf bars, etc.
First thing we did was gut the interior so I could assess the rust issue. We bought the van under the pretense that there was very little rust. The mechanic who was paid to inspect it said there was very little rust and it was sound. When it showed up I spent about 45 minutes under the van and found two spots that it was clear someone tried to hide some rot (and did a good job at it). So I gutted the van.
After I opened it all up it was clear I had some significant patch work to do. The seller ended up giving me money back to cover some of the headache but in order to pay someone to weld in a new front floor pan assembly we are talking $4-5k. I don’t have that kind of money. So…. its gonna be me, the welder, and a couple weeks of late nights.
When I found the rust i started to have my doubts about the prepurchase inspection so i decided to take it to my diesel shop locally and have them go through EVERYTHING. It just got done there and everything came back looking great minus a few small things and the rotted floor pan. The diesel shop (plateau diesel in WA) did an amazing job. I had them do a compression test and while they were in there they replaced the glow plugs and UVC harness.
Currently, I have purchased a whole front end for 200 bucks from a junk yard. I’m going to remove the front floor pan and install it in Big MAW. They also gave me the dash, so i can salvage that and install it in mine (the junkyard find was in better condition, as mine is a bit faded.)
Build goals: Create a van that is built around utility and fills my family’s needs. We have 4 young kids and vacations are expensive when you fly and rent a car. This van solves that. We tow a lot and need a rig that can handle the loads of rock, excavators, etc. This van solves that. We have a big extended family that is active in our lives and just need a people mover. This van solves that. My wife loathes driving a minivan. This van solves that and so many other needs for our crew.
The name: Big M.A.W. came about because as my search went on and on, my ideas for it grew. Everytime I came up with a new idea i would run and show my wife; her response always was “might as well”. And it’s a play on words, too: my wife is a petite woman who is a mama to four kids. So it’s a little hilarious that this small lady will be driving this big car.
Project scope of work: Small engine mods for reliability. UJOR 6” conversion, new interior, new exterior look. And of course the basics like roof rack, ladder, nerf bars, etc.
First thing we did was gut the interior so I could assess the rust issue. We bought the van under the pretense that there was very little rust. The mechanic who was paid to inspect it said there was very little rust and it was sound. When it showed up I spent about 45 minutes under the van and found two spots that it was clear someone tried to hide some rot (and did a good job at it). So I gutted the van.
After I opened it all up it was clear I had some significant patch work to do. The seller ended up giving me money back to cover some of the headache but in order to pay someone to weld in a new front floor pan assembly we are talking $4-5k. I don’t have that kind of money. So…. its gonna be me, the welder, and a couple weeks of late nights.
When I found the rust i started to have my doubts about the prepurchase inspection so i decided to take it to my diesel shop locally and have them go through EVERYTHING. It just got done there and everything came back looking great minus a few small things and the rotted floor pan. The diesel shop (plateau diesel in WA) did an amazing job. I had them do a compression test and while they were in there they replaced the glow plugs and UVC harness.
Currently, I have purchased a whole front end for 200 bucks from a junk yard. I’m going to remove the front floor pan and install it in Big MAW. They also gave me the dash, so i can salvage that and install it in mine (the junkyard find was in better condition, as mine is a bit faded.)
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