Salvaging a Quigley

[Crash_AF]

I have a 1995 E350 Club Wagon XLT that is clean and has no mechanical issues. I have been toying with selling it to buy a 4x4 van, but then I saw this on the "FOUND Vans for Sale!" thread here.

http://daytona.craigslist.org/cto/4822336086.html

So (given mechanical experience to complete such a project) how difficult would it be to take the Quigley parts from that rusty van and put them on my clean 2WD? Dav!d said in the thread:

Yes it is a Quigly and yes it's $2,500 but this thing has an extreme amount of rust both on the body and the frame. It is beyond salvageable and should be considered a parts only Van IMHO. I checked it out and the frame rust is way beyond repair there was actually holes in some places. It's a New England Van and it shows, which is a shame, because the interior is in nice shape and the motor sounds good.

So, what sayeth the experts here? Would it be feasible to convert using the Quigley for parts and a template, or should I keep looking for one already converted?

Thanks for any advice that can be provided.

 

[ujoint]

If its rusty then it would not be worth swapping. Better off converting your van with a kit from those guys at Ujoint

 

[boardrider247]

If the van is truly that rusty I would not plan on using any of the suspension components. So what you are buying is just the driveline. Front and rear axles, transfer case, driveshafts and transmission.
Are those parts worth $2500? How much will it cost you to get the van to your home? How much can be recouped from parting out what is left of the van?

Personally if that van was local to me I would buy it on sight. But I'm not sure I would put much effort into retrieving it from another state. Don't forget it does have almost 200K on it, so any parts you are salvaging may need to be rebuilt as well.

Good luck let us know how it goes.

 

[R.G.]

I have, well had a 96 E250 I used as a service van. My brother owns it now for his company. It is sitting on 282k, and lived its life as a work van from day one. I don't like Ford, but there Econoline vans are MF'in tough, damn near Toyota tough. As far as rust, the body on the craigslist one looks damn clean. I can see a couple small spots. If you want to see rusty I can take a pic of my old van.:smiley_drive:

If you are just looking to make your current van a camper, and don't care about the 4wd then just build what you have how you like. No need for templates, just be creative. If you gotta have a 4x4, then get in touch with the guy, and get more info. If you like it sell yours, and start planning a road trip.

 

[Crash_AF]

Well, I don't have the money for a U-Joint conversion or I'd have done it already, but when you're on a shoestring, you do what you've gotta do. LOL

I'm also not looking to build it into a camper yet, I'm looking to get a 4WD passenger van for the family. Camper will come later.

As far as what are the parts worth? Well, the axles are probably worth about $1500, those aluminum wheels are worth about $500-800, and the tranny and t-case are at least another $750. The driveshafts would be at least $800 to have made, and the modified fuel tank would be what? $500? So I think it would be a way to get all the parts in one package, even if I have to replace the springs, shocks and wear items.

 

[devildog303]

Did you end up buying it? I'm in the same predicament, I have a quigley and the body it rusting from 15 years in Hawaii. I'm planning on finding a clean body and dropping it on the frame

 

[Crash_AF]

Not yet, I'm still researching things, and need to find out more about the truck itself. Leaning towards it though.

 

[DAV!D]

I have, well had a 96 E250 I used as a service van. My brother owns it now for his company. It is sitting on 282k, and lived its life as a work van from day one. I don't like Ford, but there Econoline vans are MF'in tough, damn near Toyota tough. As far as rust, the body on the craigslist one looks damn clean. I can see a couple small spots. If you want to see rusty I can take a pic of my old van.:smiley_drive:

If you are just looking to make your current van a camper, and don't care about the 4wd then just build what you have how you like. No need for templates, just be creative. If you gotta have a 4x4, then get in touch with the guy, and get more info. If you like it sell yours, and start planning a road trip.

I'm the one who posted about that van. When I say it's rusty, trust me it's bad. If it wasn't bad, you can bet for $2,5k that the van would have been in my drive way the day I looked at it. I had money in hand when I went to look at it and if it had been anything as nice as it looks in the photo's it would be mine right now. Also trust me in the fact the guy has had "lots" of calls on this van as he had others coming to look at it after me. You can bet that if it wasn't as bad as I'm saying, that someone else would of bought it after I decided not to.

There were holes is sections of the frame and one of the stabilizer bars broke off the frame when he hit a curb due to the rust. It was patched back together, but I'd suspect it would break again if it took another hard hit. I pushed on the frame around the rear leaf springs and it flexed. I didn't screw with it long enough to tell if it was "caked" up rust or if the actual frame was rusted through there as well, but either way it's bad news. The body was also completely shot from salt around the bottom of the van. This wasn't just a New England salt van, but he also lived near the coast so it got it from both ends.

It's a shame, because the van started right up and the engine sounded good. The interior was also in great shape, but it's value is only that of a parts van.. I think you would spend way more money than it's worth trying to cut the quigley parts off the van to put on another frame (assuming the brackets were salvageable).

 

[DAV!D]

Well, I don't have the money for a U-Joint conversion or I'd have done it already, but when you're on a shoestring, you do what you've gotta do. LOL

I'm also not looking to build it into a camper yet, I'm looking to get a 4WD passenger van for the family. Camper will come later.

As far as what are the parts worth? Well, the axles are probably worth about $1500, those aluminum wheels are worth about $500-800, and the tranny and t-case are at least another $750. The driveshafts would be at least $800 to have made, and the modified fuel tank would be what? $500? So I think it would be a way to get all the parts in one package, even if I have to replace the springs, shocks and wear items.

If you have the ability to cut all the quigley parts off that van's frame to put on another frame you could do a DIY conversion. It's not like you have to buy every flashy part which is sold by ujoint. You can get the front leaf spring brackets for $600 and source your own dana 60 & springs. You can put the axle on the van with out doing the drive train right away allowing you to do the trasfercase & transmission swap later or even before you do the axle. As far as drive shafts.. Do what backyard mechanics have done for years.. Find a junkyard drive shaft that can be shortened. It doesn't need to cost $7 or $8k unless you need all the fancy do dads.

 

[dar395]

Clean E-350 4x4 cpnversion 22k on the clock!

Sorry can't find the web address for this one but ya can find her on Autotrader, the dealer is "Westbrook Auto" in Grand Rapids, MI the van E-350 just 22,000 Miles on her with the Quigley Conversion around $9,000 I've purchased from these guy's and they are a stand up dealer Pop and Son store front.

Their number is 866-491-2466 if your looking this may be the one.