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You either had a problem with the smog pump , were running too rich or had a real bad exhaust leak
dunno --- the guy across the street drove it the whole time I was growing up & he always took off real loud late at night - when you let off the accelerator it backfires a lot all the way down the block -- on the highway , it's a huge fireball & loud as a shotgun
My other van, a 99 15 passenger came with factory limo glass, I had a tint shop put another layer of limo on them, it's dark, you can't see in, and at night can barely see out, if I were looking to make a passenger blackout, and can't remove the glass, I'd just paint it. One day I would love to have my glass in my 99 replaced with diamond plate aluminum, done right would look pretty awesome.
A 4x4 isn't necessary, a good tire choice along with a limited slip unit, or traclok will give you the ability to go where you want to go.
paint the windows I would have never thought of that - thats brilliant --
my 1 ton 460 pickup would get stuck on the flat ground if there was any dew at all on the grass -- it was totally worthless --- did a little better with a couple of ricks of wood - I could at least drive in snow --- I had A little front wheel drive honda civic that put it to shame - it went through mud & snow up & down hills in the woods with no problem at all & got about 50 mpg --- & a little shot out chevy spirit front wheel drive no problems in the hilly mud snow & even off roading through the woods to collect firewood
I think the best mpg I ever got with the 460 was about 6
& spins tires on dew - totally stuck
dunno --- the guy across the street drove it the whole time I was growing up & he always took off real loud late at night - when you let off the accelerator it backfires a lot all the way down the block -- on the highway , it's a huge fireball & loud as a shotgun
I've seen this before.
First thing I'd check is the smog pump and it's vacuum connections
YMMV I also owned a van that did this and liked it.
I swapped around the vacuum lines on the smog pump and had "Beware of Blast" stickers. The fireballs made lane changes a breeze at times.....LOL
paint the windows I would have never thought of that - thats brilliant --
my 1 ton 460 pickup would get stuck on the flat ground if there was any dew at all on the grass -- it was totally worthless --- did a little better with a couple of ricks of wood - I could at least drive in snow --- I had A little front wheel drive honda civic that put it to shame - it went through mud & snow up & down hills in the woods with no problem at all & got about 50 mpg --- & a little shot out chevy spirit front wheel drive no problems in the hilly mud snow & even off roading through the woods to collect firewood
I think the best mpg I ever got with the 460 was about 6
& spins tires on dew - totally stuck
Oh I can roast the tires on my E350, but don't, they are expensive, vans are nothing like trucks, they have weight on the rear, mine weighs 8000 pounds, when we got caught out in a bad snow, I had to turn around, road was blocked, dad feared I'd get stuck, it pulled like it was on dry pavement, while watching a guy who copied me with his 4x4 truck get hung in a ditch, when you build the bed, it'll be over the rear wheels, obviously you'll store stuff under it, that aids in getting a grip.
I have never driven mine - I just bought it & have not insured it yet -- please tell me it gets better than 10
I had a dodge with a 318 & I must admit it was terrible on fuel consumption
nice photo - I really did want a 4x4 without windows & a 6 cylinder if not a 4 cylinder
10 mpg was about average for that van. I had a 69 E330 Chateau Club Wagon for 10 years and that was about average for it. 11-12 maybe on a good day running downhill.
1972 E300 camper, made by Vons Rv in Seattle, also has Boise Cascade placard. Looking for any info in it. Also -Looking for more power, can you drop in a 351? 360? 390? Etc?? If so what will I need? It has a tired 302 and automatic. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!
Originally Posted by Wildman25
If you switch from a 302 to a 300, you'll need to change the transmission also, and drive shaft. If your thinking of the 240, don't it's a total dog engine, my first '70 van had that.
I had 300's and 302's and 351's in vans, I got better mileage with the 302 over the 300, didn't work as hard on the open road. It was fine for city driving, once you got over 50 mph, it rev'ed up like crazy to keep up the speed.
The 351 is my favorite, I got more miles out of thou's engines.
Don't forget, this is the years before OD transmissions, back then you had C4's and C6's in the vans.
300's would last about 140K, 302's would last 160K. The 351's I had lasted much longer after the AOD and E4od trannys were added. I parked a '94 with 327K on the clock, and it was still going.
Forget about the 4x4 in that era of van, the front end had a real funky setup for the steering, no room for front drive axle the way the steering linkage was set up, in fact the power steering box (if you had) was mounted on the arms back then. 4x4 didn't get drafted on vans until the 3 generation, '75+.
02-04-2017, 07:25 PM
I would have never thought of that - thats brilliant --
