Home | E-150 | F-150 | F-350 | Sonoma | X-Tra
My 1978 Ford E-150 four wheel drive project
Who needs a 4x4 van?!
First off I'd like to say I live right near Orlando Florida and have lived here all my 23 years, all 23 years of this too damn hot weather! Other than that I attend the University of Central Florida and am trying to get a BS in Engineering Technology. I work on various projects all the time at my parent's place, and others' shops. Ok so what made me want a 4wd van? Well back in 10th grade I got the 4x4 bug from my cousins who were into Jeeps, Samurais and of course trucks of all kinds. My dad has always wanted a crew cab truck of some kind for a family/recreation vehicle that could actually tow something other than a 4'x8' trailer. So in late '98 he finally found the truck of his dreams- a white '97 crew cab diesel F-350 that just happened to be 4x4. Obviously this was not a mud truck, but a street truck that still had that "look" to it. Ok so trying no to ramble on, I liked the toughness of the 1-ton axles and sound of the diesel, but really loved my van a lot the way it was (351W and 4 speed). I have seen many 4wd vans in the 4x4 truck magazines and thought they were neat, but they were all brand new Quigleys that will never get muddy and have 32" tires. Of course they were all out west on rocks and sand doing their van jamboree. So I thought about it some more and liked how nobody around my area has a 4wd van and that I "might" be the first. A few months later my dad told me about a green '78 E-250 that was sitting besides some guys house for a long time. Well we went and spoke with the dude and he basically said he would rather sell his leg than sell his van. It was a Pathfinder which had a 460 C-6 NP-205 D44 D60 in it sitting on bald BFG A/T's. It sat high and needed a load of work- lots of rust, bad rotten interior, etc. Seeing that van is what set the gears turning in my head (March '99). So I started the parts search right away, but mostly paced myself to let the parts find me. This was a good idea since I didn't have much money anyways. I knew this project was going to involve a lot of work and since I still drove the van to school and didn't have a spare vehicle, this was definitely going to take some time. As described throughout this website I waited until I got a good deal. Fast forward to January '05, ok so I'm driving my van to the machine shop to have our 460 bored out and passed a crummy car lot. Irony would have laughed cause that same Pathfinder van was for sale in non-running, even more rusted out crappy condition. The same van the guy said he'd never sell. Made me kinda sad since that van was the one that I wanted first and which started what I have now.
Ok so I did ramble on, but it was worth it. Now I probably bored you and you wont want to read anything else. Hey that's ok since I have some cool pics.
The Story Behind My Site
I too did a lot of research on the internet and looked at as many 4wd van pages as I could, mainly to see what components other people used to make their van into a 4x4. Steve Best's web page has a lot of useful information. He advises to stick away from divorced transfer cases, but I think they are better. Especially if you have an odd-ball tranny like I do, or because you have the ability to place it wherever you need and can even make it so that your front and rear drive shafts are the same length i.e.; in case you break one on the trail, you can easily swap it out for the other and get back to civilization. For parts collecting I was on my own, but again the internet is wonderful since people like to trade and sell such rare items. I'm sure there are a lot of other people with stumbling questions/thoughts of how they would like to convert their van. I would like to share my progress so that I too may be able to help someone do the same as I have. Instead of a hefty photo album to show my work I prefer the digital hi-res kind that everyone can see at anytime.
Supply and Demand
One bad thing about living in Florida is that there aren't as many 4wd trucks to take parts from. That makes what little parts that are available very expensive. But to buy from someone up north, chances are for an axle (or something else large and heavy) you are going to pay a hefty shipping fee. It will still out-weigh the cost and time of driving there yourself, but just be warned and check shipping terminal locations accordingly. Just because Florida is flat, doesn't mean there isn't mud here. In fact trucking and four wheeling is even more popular in South Florida along the Everglades and various swamps with every kind of mud you can think of.
Ok so this is how the van looks right now (Jan '06) and will for a little bit longer until I get the F-150 finished. The truck will be my daily driver so I can work on the van. Right now the van has a warmed over 351w and the factory Toploader 3spd + OD. With headers and dual Flowmaster 40 series mufflers, it somewhat sounds like a Mustang on the go! It has some rust as you can see in the photos, but it is in mostly areas easy to fix and shouldn't be too much of a pain. Ok I bet you're anxious to see how the van buildup has come along. Follow the links below to see more information.
Info Pages:
Click Here to see the spending/price sheet
Click Here to see an axle/spring comparison chart
Buildup Pages:
Transmission and Transfer case
