First time poster, long time lurker!

I recently acquired a 77 e250 club wagon window van which as best I can tell was a custom conversion setup from the factory. (Hoping someone can shed some light on this!)

She's got 74k original miles, 351w w/ new top end, E4OD, 2WD, Dana 60 rear w/ limited slip.

Currently has 9.50R16.5 slotted mag wheels with Firestone Transforce tires and as winter is coming, I am planning to throw on a set of Blizzak W965 and new wheels. Short of taking the current mags off and measuring, I was hoping someone may know the backspacing required for a 77 e250 w/ front discs and rear drums, 8 lug on 6.5 inch spacing in case that wasn't obvious.

I've checked the forums extensively and haven't been able to find much info on the late 70s specs.

I am looking at 16x7 MT Classic IIIs and found a smokin' deal for a set that has 3.625inch backspacing and -8mm offset. I'm not too worried about the offset (should I be?) but curious if these will fit without issue.

Appreciate the help and thanks to all who have contributed to the wealth of information in these forums!

Link to pics from several years ago below, she pretty much still looks the same!

1977 Ford Conversion Van for Sale

 

Hi there, Freetorun and welcome to the posting world. The conversion on that van is definitely aftermarket. The only "conversion" vans I recall Ford making were the very mild "street van" circa 1977-79(?) which was mostly a paint job and I think some portholes in the rear side. EDIT--it was called the "Cruising Van" and there was also a Pinto wagon with the same paint job. Looks like it was **** carpeted inside, little portholes, and special paint scheme. You can google it.

All other conversion vans have traditionally been aftermarket items and the ad for your van says it was done by a "Ford authorized conversion company" Every van I have owned (5 since 1986) has been an aftermarket conversion and they range from awful to pretty darn good. Conversions start with an empty cargo box van and the converter does everything else. A few of my conversions had factory window glass (including my current van) but this one has aftermarket windows.

Parts to fix conversion pieces that fail are not gonna be easy to find--you are more in an RV/travel trailer situation in terms of parts.

As for wheels, I found a listing that says offsets from -12mm to 10mm will be OK. Offset is more important than backspacing because it determines where the center of the wheel is. A 7" wheel and an 8" wheel with the same offset would show the 8" wheel as having 1/2" more backspacing.

The only time backspacing is a concern is if a wide wheel is gonna hit suspension parts on the inner edge. In the old days, ultra wide rims had similar backspacing to narrower wheels, which pushed the tires out beyond the body. More potential to hit tires on bodywork.

By the way, running an old vehicle like that thru salty winters is a BAD idea. If it is completely rust-free you may get a couple winters out of it before you get holes. But after that, the rust WILL come. IMO an old van like this is a fair weather toy/hobby vehicle especially if you are paying good money for it. Note that the prior owner put 5k miles on it since 2005.

The interiors on these conversion vans don't age well either....they were built to the standards of the cheapest travel trailers and you can expect a lot of rattles and deteriorated material like seat foam breaking down, fabrics and glues decomposing, etc. It may smell like a musty old cabin as well. My first 2 conversions were Turtle Top campers and although they were kind of cool, they were ridiculously shabby in construction. Conversion companies did not use automotive-quality materials.

Good luck with the new toy,
George

 

Thanks for the info George. Sounds like I should be ok with the wheels I sourced.

The van has a minimal rust currently and your point regarding salt corrosion is well taken. The van is in Montana and while salt is used here, it is used sparingly. I plan to wash the underbelly regularly this winter in hopes of fully addressing the current rust (from its days in MN) the following spring. The interior is in great shape, not without its fair share of rattles but overall works for my needs. I'll post more pictures as I get things all worked out and will surely have more questions along the way.

 

Best of luck with it; it is a piece of history for sure. My first Turtle Top van (a '73 Ford flatnose that I bought in '86) had the standard Turtle Top fiberglass roof that popped up like a tent, but these would eventually sag and crack, and water would soak the jute padding in the headliner and turn the van into a humid mold pit. And the interior trim used a lot of woodgrain contact paper, horrible color combinations. Man did THAT van smell bad.

I think the ad also said you have a 2nd battery to run a fridge? Make sure you put an electric isolator or hard switch between the 2 batteries if you add a 2nd one because they will otherwise discharge one another. And I assume you are gonna get 11-13 mpg which was the standard van mileage back then....

Keep us posted and don't be a stranger. I have a soft spot in my head for conversion vans. My current E150, an '02, is a d'Elegant GT conversion and has factory windows and the interior is a lot like a Club Wagon but proportioned with way more legroom. I am finally preparing to let it go in favor of a minivan (wife's legroom comfort is the main issue). But even if I sell it I will prolly still hang out here because we have so many good people.

George

 

The van does have a second battery under the hood which seems to be isolated, although I have not yet verified. It also has a battery bank, 2 6V golf cart batteries in parallel with a 1500W inverter. Best guess is hat the fridge is currently wired to the bank, but again I haven't quite gotten that far. There is a 110V power hookup which presumably works.. should make for a fun winter checking all the wiring!

Also plan to install a propex heater w/ LNG tank if I can find room to mount under the chassis. With the dual fuel tanks, there is not tons of room to play with but we'll figure out something that works.

It is currently raining and I just noticed a few leaky window gaskets, so fixing those just became a priority.

.. and yes, sitting at 11-13 mpg; however much improved over the '74 f100 w/390 that i traded for the van.

Cheers!

 

My 2nd Turtle Top was an '86 GMC 2500 and it had a propane tank under the rocker panel behind the driver's door with a rough metal protective cabinet built around it. It ran a little 2-burner stove and a heater. The heater was great in the winter because I could go stoke it up a half hour before we had to go somewhere and it would melt all the ice off the van windows. And when our son was an infant, we would take Grandma and Grandpa to a manufacturer's outlet mall in the middle of winter and someone could stay with the kid in the warm van while the rest of us did retail therapy.

Pilot light was a PITA to keep lit, though.

Any non-factory windows, holes in the top like for my Turtle Tops, etc, are gonna give you problems with leaks, etc. Also watch for rust around any openings cut into the body by the converter; even the best converters like Starcraft would sometimes fail to paint their cuts and the body sides would get massive surface rust creeping from under the windows.

Try to do a classy job fixing water leaks, like finding original style gasket material and doing full perimeter gaskets instead of just globbing silicone caulk on stuff and making a mess. There is a good reason why I like factory glass in my conversion vans.

Your van's prior owner says he kept it in a garage and you can see why. Like an old English sports car (I had a few of those in my early years of driving), your van will deteriorate badly if you keep it outdoors. Leaks will make stuff rotten and moldy. All the fabrics will fade, seat cushions will get crumbly etc. Even in the heyday of the 80's, a conversion van could get really trashy in about 5 years (seat foam collapse, pieces would fall off, rattles would happen, and cutesy add-on junks would stop working or fall off). We actually did a full interior redo on our '86 GMC Turtle Top to make it suit our needs.

Good luck,
George

 

I thought I'd share a couple photos after the tire and wheel installation. I just installed a set of 235/85R16 BFG All Terrain K/O 2's on Mickey Thompson Classic IIIs and it looks great!

I thought I may have clearance issues up front, but they fit nicely. I purchased a set of Airlift 1000 bags for the front coils to give it an inch or so boost, but have not installed yet - and may not need to.

 

Looks good. I have always liked the tough look of BFG T/A AT's but they cost a lot and cut gas mileage due to their weight and heavy tire tread. Definitely a great looking van.

Is the engine a 351? It will definitely feel more sluggish with the heavy, large diameter tires but should get you through some pretty rough terrain and weather.

George

 

Thanks George. The van does indeed have a 351W, with performer intake, an RV cam, and a few other mild performance mods. The previous owner swapped in an E4OD tranny which combined with the 3.73s gives me plenty to work with.

 

Those are nice looking wheels and tires, look great installed too!

Looking at your front wheel wells the Airlift bags up front might not be needed. If you're not bottoming out during turns or bumps the existing clearance seems just about right.