Talk me into a ramp truck(van)

I like that 7.3L purple thing..  I prepared a mural for you..

Stampie (FS) said:

APEowner said:

I'm a big fan of Econlines and have spent many a content hour sitting a captain's chair while piloting one down the highway.  By modern standards the stock 351 is pretty anemic but there's plenty of hot rod parts available for them and as others have said a 460 will bolt in.

The 460 would needs it's trans also.  It won't bolt to the same trans of the 351w.

True.  I should have specified that.  It's still a bolt in though in the sense that there's factory parts to do it and no fabrication is required.

In reply to nocones :

I race you, you race me, then we crash Unnecessarily.........

In reply to MotorsportsGordon :

If he took the money he spent on those ugly azz hoopty getto rims/tires, and spent it on fabrication, he'd have a much better ramp truck.

In reply to nocones :

I have an old COE painted "bright Aqua" that really needs to be redone, but it is very shiny. A suprisingly large number of people - usually young and in the wrong part of town - would tell me "OH, yo gotta paint that purple!"... uh, no, I'd rather stick a rusty nail in my eye...

Now, some old school ghost flames on that ramp truck might work.

One of our work Vans has the 351, it's......not impressive really. We also have the same Club Wagon only with a 300. Butt Dyno says they are the same.

I'm not a huge fan of the 351, it doesn't really do anything spectacularly but it's not a bad engine at all.

In reply to nocones :

This thread has delivered SO MUCH MORE than the cost of entry....

If the purple ramp-van has an 7.3 non-turbo stay away.

Not that those engines have problems, but no turbo means no power.

Wait a second...

You went and looked at it, and even LOADED YOUR MIATA ONTO IT, but didn't buy it?

What part of this enabling aren't you understanding? Go back there and buy it! We can't enable any harder!

Slap a rooftop tent on there for your sleeping needs. Keeps you away from the lions at the race track and gives you more space. Win/win. 

Edit: 

In reply to noddaz :

Some other things that are popping up on the radar are n/a 7.3 + 5 speed. Are we talking slow and steady but gets up to speed? Or never gets up to speed? 

In reply to Tom Suddard :

Hahaha, I can't tell you how high the want for it was when I was test driving it with the windows down while 80s music blasted on the radio.....

GUYS. So I've almost convinced myself getting this van and swapping it is a great idea, but what can I do in the braking department for that era e350? Any straight forward swaps?

The rear axle is most likely a full floating Dana 60 or Dana 70 with drum brakes. Disk brake kits are available for around $300. I'm not sure what the hot ticket for the front axle is. If I remember right the brake boosters are also fairly weak and probably undersized due to the space constraints under the hood. There's no bolt in upgrade that I know of, the booster is not the same as the F-series trucks. Maybe a hydroboost swap ?

Okay followed the other link. I LOVE how this one is showing its dominance over inferior flatbed trucks

"come with me if you want to live"

In reply to accordionfolder :

Me 1990 E250 has pretty massive calipers on the front. All up van, car & trailer it's 9632lbs. My single axle trailer doesn't have brakes, the van stops reasonably well. 

accordionfolder said:

In reply to noddaz :

Some other things that are popping up on the radar are n/a 7.3 + 5 speed. Are we talking slow and steady but gets up to speed? Or never gets up to speed? 

In these 1000 hp bragging rights days, I will be disagreed with. But the truth is, a 7.3 IDI non turbo will get up to speed without being unsafe. No rocket ship, but will do the job. There are some tricks to getting one running better, and a few more to bump up the power some.

BTW, a friends shop in Linden TN would love to put a 12V 5.9 in that van for ya. Wouldn't be cheap (but less than anyone else I've ever heard of) but it sure would be cool!

Or buy my 8' bed Frieghtliner medium duty truck (like the red one, but with a raised roof sleeper insted of for door), and he'll build you a ramp bed.

I have some thoughts you might like on making more room in the sleeper on that ford, if you get it and are interested. I traveled for short term contracts for 20 years, so I have tons of ideas I've thought of for modifying traveling rigs... some of 'em are even pretty good.

In reply to 03Panther :

I have would LOVE to hear your thoughts - I'll send you a PM (if that's ok) before I make any other bad decisions. I've been down about a million rabbit holes and they're all foreign to me. 

I'm in m'boro, used to live in Bell Buckle - so I've been over that way a few times just out driving.

In reply to Tom1200 :

It may have been "under boosted" - it was fine stopping, but even empty it didn't want to stop fast. Being an '82 e350 vs the `90 might make a difference? I'm trying to figure out what parts swap in. 

noddaz said:

If the purple ramp-van has an 7.3 non-turbo stay away.

Not that those engines have problems, but no turbo means no power.

The door handles date it to Powerstroke years. Yes.  Should be turbo.  But no intercooler as they won't fit unless you upgrade to the newer style nose...which I've read is a piece of cake.

In reply to 03Panther :

I feel like I have seen a thread on this truck, I searched and couldn't find it. 

accordionfolder said:

In reply to noddaz :

Some other things that are popping up on the radar are n/a 7.3 + 5 speed. Are we talking slow and steady but gets up to speed? Or never gets up to speed? 

I have a F250 n/a 7.3 and can say it just does not have the power to tow things.  Especially in a hilly area.    Banks used to make a turbo kit for these and there is a reason that Ford turboed (?) the later models.  Just not enough power in non turbo form.  The only thing heavy at all I have towed was a two axle car trailer with a mid size Toyota on it.  Pulled it from northern Va to the Eastern Shore of Maryland and never really made it faster than 65 mph on flat ground.  

New York Nick said:

In reply to 03Panther :

I feel like I have seen a thread on this truck, I searched and couldn't find it. 

The FL 50 is so way to far on the back burner for it to deserve its own thread; or maybe I'm just too triflin'!   It has shown up on a few other folks threads, just in case someone might be interested in doing something with it, since I have no clue when I might. I need to fix it back up and sell it, or streach it a bit into a motor coach to keep, but could make a GRM'er a good deal on it as is. A "good deal" on a conversion MD truck, is just more than us cheap GRM types likes to spend.