to convert or not to convert

[katoom400]

Hi,

New to Vans, I always had 4x4 pick trucks to support my dirtbike habbit. Now a growing family demaned more space than a pickup could offer so I picked up an 03 e350 v10 extended passenger van, removed all but the second row of seats and installed bed rug for sleeping when camping at the races. I love the van but now that winter is here I'm really missing my 4wd.

I don't do any off roading anymore and don't think I'de really ever use low range 4wd but you never know....besides that the area I live in is too tight to take a van off road, better have a jeep or better yet a Samuri!

I've thought about converting her to 4wd, but that looks to be like 9k? almost what I paid for the Van. I guess I could get by with a set of studded snows for the winter, but I really miss the freedom that 4wd/awd gives you. If it is really 9k to do a conversion then I guess I can't swing that right now and that would leave my options to one of the following:

1. sell the 2wd van and wait for a decent quigley to come along (I'll have to kick in ~5k to make that happen.

2. buy a set of studded snows and just deal without 4wd/awd ~$600-800
Does anyone know if they are really that much better in the snow?

3. sell the van and purchase a used Chevy or GMC awd van which seems like a good option since I don't do any real off-roading any more. But I would still want to lift it just a little bit for clearance purposes (does anyone offer a small lift kit for these vans? I've always had heavy duty trucks (250/350's) in the past but very rarely used them to their capacity since I'm usually just hauling bikes. Chevy/GMC awd vans seem to be very popular/available in the 1500 series, and very rare to find a 2500.

any suggestions are appreciated

If money where no object I would definitely have a SMB!

 

[ujoint]

You can do a 4x4 conversion cheaper if you do it yourself and spend some time hunting for good deals on the major components. Some members here have & are doing this right now, they can chime in on their individual experiences. As far as the AWD GM's, I've never been under one, and I'm pretty sure a lift is out of the question. Not saying it's impossible, it's just yet to be seen. You have to look at it as an investment. I can tell you that I'll never be without a 4x4 van in my garage!

 

[katoom400]

Thanks for the info,

what would you estimate the cost of a conversion using your kit? How involved is the conversion, I'm pretty mechanical but don't have access to torches or welders. Time is the other problem these days.

I hear you on the investment end, problem is that cash is tight these days, I used to spend 8k on a new dirtbike every year, now I'm going to have to make them last 2, maybe 3 years.

I've got my current Van worth ~10k and a commuter car worth ~4k and minimal cash to work with, so I have to figure something out. I've seen 1500 series chevy awd vans, but would rather have a 2500 but they are hard to come by. Unfortunately I let a 2000 quigley ford in great shape slip by.

 

[grahamfitter]

FWIW I used to have a stock '99 2wd E350 passenger van and with unstudded snow tires (Cooper Discoverer I think) it was pretty much unstoppable in the ice and snow in the Northeast. With regular tires it was plain scary.

Cheers,
Graham

 

[katoom400]

WOW! I cant get out of my driveway with 1" of snow! (uphill driveway)

 

[ujoint]

Thanks for the info,

what would you estimate the cost of a conversion using your kit? How involved is the conversion, I'm pretty mechanical but don't have access to torches or welders. Time is the other problem these days.

It's hard to put a price tag on a do-it-yourself conversion, but I would expect to spend at least 6K doing it right. Dan, who is a member here, did it in his driveway (on an incline!) and he had minimal wrenching experience when he started. The conversion isn't that complicated, the front hangers can be installed why the van is still 2wd, and then you could have the axle installed in a day. Check out my FAQ's on the website.----Chris

 

[FROADER]

I am just about finished gathering all of my parts to do my own (ujoint) conversion. Be patient and you can find (like I have, so far) smokin' deals on the parts you need.

[large croud yelling]convert... convert... convert...[/large croud yelling]

 

[katoom400]

Well, as some may have seen I stumbled upon this quigley at a great price.

I was able to sell my 03 E350 and only had to kick in 1k to get her!

 

[Loco-Nomad]

Damn!! What a deal. Great lookin rig. Now you have to keep us posted with lots of pics on your mods!!:safari-rig:

 

[katoom400]

Damn!! What a deal. Great lookin rig. Now you have to keep us posted with lots of pics on your mods!!:safari-rig:

I had to jump on it for $8500

It has a bad case of death wobble, so I'm guessing the previous owner got spooked and just wanted it gone and gave it to the dealer for dirt.

so far I just need to get the death wobble worked out and throw rear brakes on and it's a killer deal!

 

[katoom400]

for anyone looking to do their own conversion I came accross this today!

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/pts/1036941606.html

it's everything you need!

 

[T.Low]

I know its been less than a month, but how are you liking your new van so far? I'm still liking the picture, thats for sure.

 

[katoom400]

so far I love it, although it's a very stiff ride compared to my RWD e350. I got the death wobble straigtened out with $100 skyjacker stabilizer and bracket from quigley and put new rear brakes on it. sounds like there is an exhaust leak at the manifold I have to address but I love the truck! only thing I've done so far is take the running boards off as I'm going with Carr Super hoop steps. Going to go with 265/75r16 tires soon and hoepfully alloy wheels.

The previous owner started finishing the interior with 1/4" luan covered in cheap indoor/outdoor carpet on the side doors and behind the driver's seat under the window. I may continue that and add either a rubber floor mat, or bedrug. There is only 1 flexsteel captains chair in the 2nd row, so I either need to find a matching one, or pull it and put in one of the benches from my old van.