I want to run some under the hood engine mount accessories and thought this would be a good way. Let me know if you've seen this done, if you know the how difference between the two where they mount to the cab, or if you have any advice. I realize the bumper and frame rails would have to be extended. Thanks.

 

So its never been done before......comeon someone's surely done it. It doesn't look too hard.

 

Are you talking about the TRUCK or VAN SD front end? The two bodies are completely different so to make it work you would have to do some serious fab work. Either extending the front end, or cutting the front off and marrying the truck front end. I've only seen one or two SD vans, and they were just heavy cab and chassis trucks. They are identical to the standard E series except for badges, and suspension.

 

Many, Many, Many years ago...There used to be a van called Lead Butterfly. It was a Monster van with a F500 front clip on it.

Patrick

 

Looks can be deceiving... while the drivetrains of vans and trucks are similar, the chassis' have surprisingly few parts in common.

 

All I want to do is unbolt the front fenders and hood/grille from the cab of the van and take the F-250 fenders and hood/grille and put in their place. I would probably weld all three pieces together and make the whole assembly tilt forward like on a semi. I would extend the frame rails of the van out enough to hold up the front of the hood. This would give me the extra room I needed for a generator, pressure washer, hydraulic pump and aircompressor mounted in front of the engine. The two hoods are the same width, I think the contour of the fenders is real close, except for the body line that runs down them(oh well) and I think the door opening contour line is the same. The only part that would need work is up where the fender meets the windshield and mirror area. What do you guys think? I couldn't find any info on the "Lead Butterfly" any idea who made it or any other names for it?

 

My memory must be going.....But then again, the last time I saw it was over 20 years ago.

It was a 76 Quadravan, with a 85 LTL 9000 front clip on it.
My spelling was off...It's Led Butterfly
Here's the link: http://monsterphoto.iwarp.com/irnbut.htm

Patrick

 

Your problem will also be the suspension on the van. It was not designed for all that weight in front of the engine.

 

the chassis on the van is narrower, i think, and the weight would be substantial out in front. would really wear tires fast?

 

Wow... that would be a sight... there is the minor problem of the wheel-wells not even being close...

 

Oh yeah, I left that part out. I'd have to scoot the axle forward a little bit. While i was doing it i'd use bigger springs. The body is the same width, not sure about the frame. I think i'd look good, especially when i put it up on 44's

 

...and to think you almost had us taking you seriously...

 

Just a thought, I think that it might be a little easier to mount a PTO to the transmission, this would of course require a transmission with a PTO output, but then you could mount the hyd. pump to the PTO and use hydraulic motors it to power the rest of the auxillary items like the generator, pressure washer, compressor, etc. Use hydraulic quick disconnect couplings and plug in the lines to run the hydraulic motors on the other items when you need to use them rather than having them mounted all the time. You can plum lines to the front and rear bumpers.

 

Hey its okay I know u've never been outside the states. So of course you haven't seen a van on 44's. I prob won't go about it this way but i was just throwing the idea around. I like the PTO setup that the unimogs have, but which would be similar to the setup you were describing. I'd like to have everything always hooked up, its just less hassle. I could still do this the way your talking about. The route I think i would take is just using a f350+ truck platform and when I put my cummins in it(don't shoot) then i'll set it back further into the firewall to give me some more room up front.

Theres a van on 44's down at the bottom of this page:

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/411203/2

But heres a better one:
http://www.optimizeyourweb.com/lux/english/default2.asp?active_page_id=154