Not that I posted much here in the past. New username and e-mail address though, I think I was last here in 2000. Too long.

Long story short, I drove Ford E150 and E250 vans from 1979 until 2012 when I rolled my 1982 Ford Club Wagon. Since then I've been driving a 1986 Dodge Caravan LE with 2.6L Mitsubishi engine and Weber carburetor. But that's now why I'm back.

I'm back because I bought a 1985 converted Ford Econoline Incomplete vehicle last Wednesday and it's awesome.

The van was converted in Denver and was made wheelchair accessible in 1989.

Right now the van's on jack stands because it sat in the last owner's back yard for almost four years and the front brakes are seized up. i have new pistons and pads coming on Tuesday, my local auto parts store never has what I need.

The van needs to be painted and there are a few dings in the body but nothing major. Everything looks straight except for a small crease in the right front fender at the bumper due to someone tagging something with it.

The custom interior is in fair condition, though many of the ceiling lights don't work. Everything else works great though, including the AC, the wheelchair lift and the powered door openers.

I have a few questions for folks if they can answer them for me. I wasn't successful looking this up for myself and the only manual I found in the van was the one it shipped to the customizer with stating lots of Federal laws concerning building up an incomplete vehicle.

My engine code on the VIN is H, is that a 351 h.o. with 4bbl carb? I found a few sites that say yes but other sites don't even show an H code for engine in the VIN (Position 8).

The transmission code on the door tag is G, I found conflicting information on that, is that for C4 transmission?
Any ideas on the towing capacity? I couldn't find that.

The van has custom windows, roof rack, outside door mounted spare carrier, ladder, running boards, a very nice aftermarket stereo, power windows, power locks, the A/C I already mentioned, and tilt wheel. It came with upscale steel rims but someone had covered them with plastic wheel covers which are in very good shape as well.

There's curtains for the custom windows, Captain's chairs up front, and a sofa (perhaps fold down) in the back. The engine sounds fantastic, no knocks or pings, it's just nice and smooth. There are no exhaust leaks.

The guy I bought the van from appears to have just let it sit in his backyard for about four years and did not maintain it, other than putting a new battery in it so it would start when I bought it. The owner before him seems to have taken good care of it, the hoses, and belts look good.

I hope to have the van ready for me to drive by the end of the month, I need to mod a few things so I can transfer in to the driver's seat to drive it. there's an EZ Lock tie down system for driving from a wheelchair (The driver's seat is removable for this) but Wheelchairs don't do well in crashes so I don't do that.

 

Welcome back!! Sounds like you've got a lot of good "projects" ahead of you, but with "good bones" you should end up with a pretty nice van!

 

Thank you.

I'm looking forward to making this van road worthy again. It sat too long in the previous owner's back yard.

I'll need new tires once the front brakes are fixed, the tires appear to have been made in 2007. That's a bit long in the tooth. They don't even have much tread wear.

 

Luckily, tires are some of the easiest things to replace … and yes, 11 year old tires definitely need replacing … only good for very slow speed, local driving.

 

I agree. I'll have new tires on the van in a couple of months depending on other related van costs.

In the meantime it will spend much of it's time parked in my driveway.

At least the tires got it home.