The Candy Van - 1982 Econoline E100

In reply to dclafleur :

Thanks!

I took a couple measurements and even though they were bolted to what appeared to be the factory holes in the 88 junkyard van, it seems I may need to drill a new hole or 4.  That project will have to wait until after the Champcar race in a couple weeks to tackle.

To better explain the sway bar mounting bracket I tried to find a picture.  Unfortunately all I could find was a truck which has a similar piece but its mounted on the wrong side of the arm.   As you can see it goes under the spring and around the arm.

I looked for an OEM part number and it isnt in any of the pictures I could find.   Apparently part 11 bolts to air!

Hah, I tried to find the same thing after you mentioned it to see if it looked like a piece on the truck and came to the same conclusion. It's one of those magic free floating sway bars.

I don't see the I beam in that picture either. They may update the picture to delete NLA parts

I have my brackets.  I was in California last week and stopped by a yard and pulled them.  It was so nice taking apart a 35 year old suspension with hand tools.  I got the brackets and an intermittent wiper setup.

While in California I picked up this little guy at the 99 cent store for the dash.  His dancing action is inoperative,  just like mine!

logdog said:

One of the perks of visiting my in-laws during the holidays is a trip to the greatest store in Maine, Mardens.  They sell closeout/salvage merchandise although they seem to be getting upscale as there is less smoke damaged stuff these days .

During the Thanksgiving trip I picked up 2 boxes of flooring for 10 bucks.  It should be more than enough for the Candy Van. We were thinking of getting vinyl planks but the price on this was too good to pass up.  

Well, it only took a month or seven but we finally got the flooring installed.  Its getting closer to being the fanciest van down by the river!

Over the weekend I took a piece of the original tan front seat vinyl and part of the dark brown plastic trim in to get colormatched for the interior.  

We used our new colors on the panels we made for the back doors and the platform bed.  

We need to pick up some more paint to finish the bed.  I also need to install the hinges and some other hardware.  We need to make a dedicated mattress pad type thing for the top.  It will likely be orange with yellow throw pillows.  When its finished it will have an extension that will flip out to hold the full size mattress we have been using for racetrack camping.  It may be a bit before I get to the walls and ceiling because there are some other things on the to-do list I want to knock out first. 

This thing is awesome!

Son of a....

I just realized this was your thread.  I would have talked about econoline vans for an hour when you were here, if I had realized.

wvumtnbkr said:

This thing is awesome!

Of the 70+cars Ive owned, this thing has been in the top 5 of fun.  

RedGT said:

Son of a....

I just realized this was your thread.  I would have talked about econoline vans for an hour when you were here, if I had realized.

Unfortunately I had to quit wearing my "Ask me about my windowless van" Tshirt.  Because reasons....

If I’m ever kidnapped and shoved in the back of a van... I hope it’s this one.

BlueInGreen - Jon said:

If I’m ever kidnapped and shoved in the back of a van... I hope it’s this one.

Careful what you wish for, It wil be at Watkins next year.  We can make dreams come true! 

Its official. We signed up. We are idiots. 

Are you driving all the way to Texas in the van?  Either way awesome! 

dclafleur said:

Are you driving all the way to Texas in the van?  Either way awesome! 

We wouldn't be true suckers for punishment unless we did!

We are taking the route through Ohio.  One of my Chumpcar drivers from Michigan is meeting us in Akron.   

Not a whole lot done to the van this weekend but we did get the hardware installed on the platform bed.  We now have a truck in the back (or as they will say when we drive this to London, a boot in the back).  There is another in the front accessible from the interior.  I need to get the top foam ordered and pick out the material for a cover.  

Its hard to believe but we are coming up on a year of ownership so the renewal for the tags recently came.  Since we only drive it a few days a month and it meets the age requirements we decided to switch to antique status.  The title came today so the plates should be coming soon.   She now has the Fonzie brand, "AAAAYYYYYY". 

Now i'm thinking about that rally.. hmm.. 

Van progress looks awesome!!

Vigo said:

Now i'm thinking about that rally.. hmm.. 

Van progress looks awesome!!

You should definitely do the rally.  All the cool kids will be there!  

Last weekend we took a large functioning thing and made many smaller non-functioning things.

The clutch had a little chatter and I wanted to address it before the rally.  I wasn't sure if I would find a 10 inch or 11 inch clutch so we dropped the 3 speed of glory out before ordering a kit.  Like Nigel Tufnel, this clutch went to 11.  

Im glad I dug into it when I did.  One of the clips on the clutch linkage is working itself out.

I also found a dead bushing and a chewed rod.  I need to find the appropriate sized bushings and figure out how I want to fix the rod.  

We also decided to redo some of the gaskets.  The cork on the oil pan, valve cover, and side cover were all dry and brittle.  

A little crustier than I would have expected for something that supposedly had fleet maintenance.

Valve cover and side cover cleaned up ok.  The oil pan is still off due to some confusion on the gasket. I should get that back on next weekend.

Can I really be so much brown when this van has an extra brown?  How much brown is enough for 1 van.  Deep thoughts, man.....

I think it's slightly silly to tout the 6 cylinder as a selling point against the v8 when it's not any smaller than the small chevy v8, and using 'proven' in a statement comparing to a v8 design that had already been in production for almost 30 years is also a dubious choice. Just funny ad copy from the 80s. 

That swiveling seat setup, if found intact, would be SOOO GOOD.

I think you need more brown