New project:

I'm going to start with the question, so that I don't lose anyone with the details to follow; will a '97 E350 body swap over to a '99 E350 chassis (without any major modification, that is)?

Here's the deal. If any of you have been following my issues on the V10 forum, this will make more sense. But the long and short of it is this. My V10 is a goner. It is in a '97 E350 with only 49k. The van sat for an extended period and bringing it back to life was troublesome. I am pretty sure that it either blew a head gasket, or cracked the block or head. I've got coolant in cylinder #1, and I think it hydrolocked and bend a rod.

So, I was looking for a donor vehicle for a V10 and stumbled across a engine that is in a '99 E350. I'm pretty sure that should be an easy swap. However, it just so happens that the '99 is a Quigley 4x4. So, it makes more sense to me to put my nearly perfect 15 passenger body on the '99 Quigley chassis than to swap engines, if it will swap without much problem.

So, what questions do I need to ask/answer to figure out if I can put my '97 body on the '99 chassis? I think my biggest concern is the electrical stuff. Anyone?

 

Some additional data;

Both vans are 138" wheelbase.
The '97 is a XLT Super Duty Club Wagon (extended 15 passenger)
The '99 is a Super Duty Extended Cargo
Both have a 6.8L V10 SOHC 20V engine

 

If both engines are the same ... the electrical should be the same as well ...except for what Quigley added to the factory wiring

 

Both have the same engine. As far as I know, the only electrical that quigley adds in the cab is a small 4x4 indicator lamp below the dash. That is minor.

My concern is with the big power connector blocks. Will they match up and are they wired the same? What about the computers? Are they the same or do I need to worry about swapping them?

Has anyone here ever lifted off a cab on one of these? If so, any ideas on where I could find a step by step to follow?

Does anyone have an idea of the cab weight? I need to figure out a way to lift them safely.

Thanks for the help!

 

Chris at UJoint Off Road lifts bodies off vans all the time. He seems to be very helpful.

 

A bit of follow up. I haven't found too much information available as far as a step-by-step for lifting a van body off the chassis. I have found some information for doing it on trucks and EX. Using what I've found on other applications, I've made myself a checklist of what to do. I've been working down the checklist yesterday and today, refining it as I go. The first major task is to remove the junk body off of the '99 Quigley. If I screw something up on it, it is not that big a deal. I've got almost everything disconnected that I have on my list, so I'm pretty close to lifting the body. If anyone following this project needs any parts, let me know. I'll have an extended cargo body that has lots of good parts. Eventually I'll have the chassis out from under the passenger body as well.

Updates to follow, with pictures (there's not much to take photos of just yet).

 

Well, I'm making progress on the body swap. Here are some images of the body coming off of the Quigley chassis. I've created a step-by-step that I'm still refining. By the time I lift the donor body off of its chassis, I hope to have it perfected and will share it here. So far, I've lifted the body about 4.5" using 2x4 blocks between the chassis and body. Because this body is going to the recyclers when I'm done, I don't care if I damage it, so I've just lifted one corner at a time enough to add a block using a high lift jack. I'll be much more precise when I lift the good body. Lifting it this much has allowed me to see if I missed any disconnects...so far, so good. I think everything is disconnected and clear and I should be good to lift it the rest of the way. More to come...







The body donor can be seen in the photo above and below

 

Hope to see your progress HAJ----interesting for sure!

When your step-by-step is completed it might be a good addition to the Tech Folder here, assuming it would be its own separate post?

Good luck with this---persistence will be your friend!

 

Nice progress! looking forward to the writeup and finished product. Check your DMs

 

The latest status: Gettin' high...lol. Underhoists and long ram jacks courtesy of Harbor Freight.



And as a reminder, this body is going to the recycler, so body damage is irrelevant, thus the underhoists on the fenders. They are mainly there for stability as the whole thing gets a bit wobbly on those long ram jacks. I found (the hard way) that if you don't keep equal lifting pressure on all four, it will tip over...which it did. The back is pretty light, so if you jack on corner more than the other, you end up with pressure on only one jack. That is why the back end is offset. It shifted and the back end tipped to the driver's side and fell. Fortunately, I had the sawhorses along the sides to catch it (my wife's suggestion, BTW), so no harm done. Thanks Honey!

 

The wife is correct and with no offense your front jack stands don't seem to be supporting the body at its mounting points. Its probably a bit difficult to get them under those spots but ASAP please relocate them. Of course if you've already moved the chassis away disregard this!

I mention this only because the body as a unit is strongest at its frame mounting points. Any other part might not be designed to carry the weight and crumple when/if supported improperly.

Be careful under there dammit!

 

JWA, you are correct. As I said, they are just there for stability. The long ram jacks are holding the weight. The underhoist stands are just there (angled inward slightly) to provide lateral stability so that the body can't shift the way the rear did earlier. I realize that where they are isn't the best. But, because of their height, I can't get them under the body just yet...I'm not quite high enough. I am almost there. Just a few inches to go. What I need is an underhoist stand that is about 12" shorter than these, but I couldn't find such an animal...at least not an affordable one. The problem is that the maximum height on the long ram jacks is about 43" and the minimum height on the underhoist stands is about 48"...

This would be MUCH easier with a four point hoist, but unfortunately, that's not an option right now.

Bruce

P.S. UNDER there??!! HELL no. I stay to the sides with a clear exit route planned in advance...lol.

 

The body is now up and supported with a 10' steel bar on the underhoists in the front and underhoists directly under the back end. I rolled the chassis out and now it is time to lower the body onto a flatbed for "disposal".

Here are the photos;

 

Nice job!

Going from what you've learned so far, how difficult would you say it is to do a 2-3 inch body lift on these things?

 

What maintenance should be done on the bare chassis before it's rebodied?

Sixto
93 E150 Chateau 5.8 185K miles