Vans: which hurt least to work on?

Right here! [EDIT: "Right here" made more sense if it showed directly below Toyman's "Where are the pictures?"...]

About to go in for front tires and an alignment. Next week windshield. Really hoping that I haven't really blown it with my failure to refresh myself on the proper technique for checking ATF level while shopping (d'oh). Hopefully the leak's not that bad...

How has this been allowed to go this long without this:

Everyone knows this is how you do a van!That with an LQ4 swap, 15x10's with 295/50/15's. Done.

In reply to Bobzilla:

Murdoch was always my favorite, but I don't think he paid much attention to tire load ranges...

Yesterday was a day of discovery for me and my new van, including my first-ever over-$100 fill-up. Actually, while it shows F on the gauge and is probably pretty close, the gas station has a default $105 cutoff before they run your card for a second transaction, and that's where I stopped

Why when I see cargo vans I instantly flash to a pedobear holding a sign saying free candy or free puppies....

ransom wrote: Yesterday was a day of discovery for me and my new van, including my first-ever over-$100 fill-up. Actually, while it shows F on the gauge and is probably pretty close, the gas station has a default $105 cutoff before they run your card for a second transaction, and that's where I stopped

I do those at least twice a week in my work van. Trust me is sucks. It's not so bad in something that sits in the yard most of the time.

The beast looks good. You'll love having one. Congratulations again.

$105? Lucky you. My local stations cut off at $75.

I can fill up the wife's Avalanche from empty to full for $105, 26 gallons worth @ $3.999/gal.

So, tallying how this has all worked out so far: The guy was asking $3k for this van. I offered $2200, which was perhaps low, but I had to do that to talk myself out of picking up the '93 Chevy which probably could have been had for $1500. He countered with $2500 and I figured it was worth saving myself the potential agony of a trans in the Chevy...

Since acquisition, I've spent:
$295.98 on a pair of tires
$052.99 on an O2 sensor
$027.99 on a serpentine belt
$032.99 on oil and filter
$123.13 on ball joints, tie rod ends, and blower motor resistor
$171.68 on shocks (KYB gas-a-just)

So now we're at $3204.76...

Still need to do a windshield, which will be about $200, and an alignment once I do the ball joints and tie rod ends (and repack/adj wheel bearings).

So, my $2500 van is pushing $3500, but it's going to be quite solid and ready to go for a while. As long as that trans fluid leak doesn't turn out to be too bad... I could have put a lot of this off, as it actually drives quite well. But I'm kinda digging how good it is and how close it is to really nice, and how neat it will be to for once have a truck that isn't a rolling to-do list...

Be careful. You might actually start to like your van.

Figure out how to lower that thing for cheap (no airbags, please) and I'll buy you a case of your favorite beer.

In reply to alex:

Hrmmmmm... Wonder how much spare travel it has. The lower the load-in, the less likelihood of me doing something painful and embarrassing while loading my tiny motorcycle...

What's wrong with the windshield? Looks OK in the pic.

I'm pondering lowering my 1500. Was thinking about stepping up the spring rate a little too.

I would like to put the earlier ('92-96) front bumper on mine to loose the under bite. I would really like to backdate the nose and tail to a '76-ish Tradesman. That would take some fab time I don't have right now.

In reply to Rob_Mopar:

I don't mind the newer front end, though it would be pretty spiff to have such a nice example of an earlier one... They were pretty cool looking.

It's funny, but the giant crack straight across the middle of the driver's side and down to the bottom as it heads past the middle doesn't show up in those pics. That windshield is beyond a bit annoying and probably a very real safety concern. Half wish I didn't have this bothersome earnest streak preventing me from letting insurance take care of it...

Here's a wacky B-series aside: One of my favorite bands (The Phenomenauts) had a wacky, apparently factory (how else could it happen?) extra-wide B-series. It was as though they had taken two B-series vans, cut each of them down the middle but offset left 6" on one and right 6" on the other, and then made a van out of the two wider "halves". Check it out.

I have seen a few of them before, so someone, factory or aftermarket conversion, was producing them. All the ones I have see have had the raised roof like that.

You have made me curious so I found a few discussions on the topic....sounds like at first they were aftermarket conversions but the later ones like that may have been factory.

I saw the title, and read it as "Vans, which hurt least to work in"

I'm loving my E350 powerstroke. Its not easy to work on (in fact it kinda sucks) but fortunately there isn't much to do. Common things like GPR and fuel filter are right on top.