The Ute II: E350 RB 7.3 ZF6

[ujoint]

Such an awesome van! Thanks for documenting this. Any idea if a transfercase used on a quigley conversion can be used with the zf6? I have a 1995 quigley 7.3 and would LOVE to swap in a stick. Not much of a fabricator though, never welded anything.

Not sure off the top of my head but I'd guess no. Different input spline.

 

[naterry]

Cool build man, just read the entire thread.

How do you find the power with 3.73's and 35" tires? IIRC, the NC271/3 is a 2.72 ratio and you have a granny first, so crawling should be half decent, but that seems to be a big tire for that gear in a loaded van.

cheers

Thanks, the van's been fine power/torque-wise. It was almost too easy crawling through Canyonlands for a week, mostly idling with little to no go-pedal input, and no fuss up and down slopes with approach/departure angles that scraped my bumpers. The weight of the van makes for great traction, and low-end torque was fine.

As far as highway pulling/passing power goes it's more than I can ask for in a van. Nothing to write home about but it gets out of it's own way just fine. On the flats it'll do 90+ (won't admit what max mph my gps says) without a fuss. I watch the EGT's climbing over the Rockies and Sierras and usually end up climbing long grades ~70-75mph. It could easily do 80+ over Donner if asked.

For reference it has TW's 6 POS chip, 4" Exhaust, 4" Intake, NAPA TYMAR filter, and electric fuel.

Hope this helps,

N

 

[DzlToy]

:beer: for you sir

 

[Pinnacle Campers]

Wow, so it's not the only one,
http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/5157961404.html

 

[thedjjack]

OK I only got to page 7.... Nice build.

I gots a 1983 GMC G3500 with 6.2L turbo400 so no over drive in a B+ RV

I gots a NV4500 from a 1997 1 ton 6.5L (got everything for the swap)...

How are you finding the pedal? how did you figure out ratio etc... I have the option to go factory pedal (unicorn if I can find one) with the truck hydraulic cylinder... but you setup is cheap and both take fab work..

exactly which pedal is it and ratio? cheers

(oh and I got the NV4500, bellhousing, clutch, flywheel, shifters, clutch pedal, master, transfercase so either 4x4 or low range 2 wheel)

 

[Keyne]

Awesome van. Very cool you didn't leave it white; love the grey color. Would love to see more exterior pics from the front, etc. can't wait to see the pop top. Also what interior layout are you going with? From your cad drawing it looked like an SMB RB50?

 

[naterry]

Cheers guys, been a while since my last post.

Awesome van. Very cool you didn't leave it white; love the grey color. Would love to see more exterior pics from the front, etc. can't wait to see the pop top. Also what interior layout are you going with? From your cad drawing it looked like an SMB RB50?

The interior layout is TBD but the initial design is roughly modelled after a VW Westy layout. It will be a work in progress for sure!

OK I only got to page 7....

How are you finding the pedal? how did you figure out ratio etc... I have the option to go factory pedal (unicorn if I can find one) with the truck hydraulic cylinder... but you setup is cheap and both take fab work..

exactly which pedal is it and ratio? cheers

Thanks jack. I discuss the pedal earlier in this thread and the dimensions are available on their website (see the link above).


In other news I just returned from a Nevada & Idaho trip. It got a little gnarly with the recent rain, followed by a blowout that left me with no spare, and being a few hours out in the black rock desert. Good times minus the bug bites! Watch out for Soldier Meadows Hotsprings, the spiders are aggressive!

Few Pics:

 

[screwball48]

There is no denying the fact that these vans are massive, but seeing this one with derelict mining equipment seems to put it into perspective for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SHAFT]

so THATS why you should carry a spare tire

 

[Arctic Travelller]

How did you manage to rip out the side wall?

 

[ujoint]

Cool pics!

 

[mk216v]

Awesome trip pics!
So you didn't have a spare for your spare?

 

[naterry]

How did you manage to rip out the side wall?

Honestly the root cause is probably me driving too fast down a very rocky road (WhiteHorse Ranch Rd in SE Oregon). The tire was punctured and then I think the sidewall was also pinched by a rock in the deflation process because it started with this normal seeming flat that I plugged and refilled:

Then I stopped for a safety check a few miles down the road and found the death sentence/separated sidewall:

So I flipped a coin and opted to try and limp to my destination and deal with it there, but lost the bet a few miles later:

 

[mk216v]

I'm still not understanding why you didn't just pull over into a Les Schwab's for them to change it out. :snorkel:
Nice traffic-free road you got there.

 

[Railvan]

Love this photo. It says so much to me about exploring the back roads and the history of an area.