I have several questions that I would appreciate an answer to, or at least steer me in the right direcion. I own two books, Chilton"s Ford Full size vans 1961-88 repair manual and Tom Monroe's How to rebuild Ford V8 Engines.

I own an 1984 E350 RV cut (Class III ambulance), 460 engine w/air, C6 tranny (no overdrive), 2WD with dual rear wheels.

1. I am looking for a book for interchangability of parts (not only engine and drivetrain but interior stuff like seats, dash, steering wheel, speedometer/tach/etc), are there any books or resources? Calling the Ford garage is to annoying and time consuming.

2. I am planning on an engine rebuild (I'm familiar with Summit and P.A.W.), do you know of any quality complete rebuild kits that would increase my torque/HP at the lower end about 20-25%? Does anyone know of a text version of a list of engine components (by brand and model number) to rebuild a little better than stock engine (RV plus engine)?

3. Does anyone know factory torque and HP numbers for this engine?

4.If I decide to rebuild my C6 (no problems now 65,000 miles) how difficult or expensive is it to add an overdrive? I want to keep my C6, it just seems to want to go to another gear at highway speeds.

5. I'm thinking about headers and dual exhaust (possibly smokestacks in front of the ambulance body shell, there is about 4" between the doors and ambulance body shell). Any suggestions or ideas?

6. What kind of smog stuff is on the 1984 E350?

7. Are there wiring harnesses available today (new) for this van?

Any suggestions or ideas are appreciated.

Thanks

Rick Heis

 

>1. I am looking for a book for interchangability of parts (not only engine and drivetrain but interior stuff like seats, dash, steering wheel, speedometer/tach/etc), are there any books or resources? Calling the Ford garage is to annoying and time consuming.<

I'm not sure of the books available for your van, but generally anything from '80-'86 is interchangeable.

>2. I am planning on an engine rebuild (I'm familiar with Summit and P.A.W.), do you know of any quality complete rebuild kits that would increase my torque/HP at the lower end about 20-25%? Does anyone know of a text version of a list of engine components (by brand and model number) to rebuild a little better than stock engine (RV plus engine)?<

The biggest gain in HP and torque will be through the rebuilding of your heads. You need to get someone who deals in machining and rebuilding heads to really get the most out them. Also, you can put in an Edelbrock Performer RPM dual plane intake (I assume you are still carburated), with a matching Edelbrock cam and carburator. If you go with new pistons, you can choose some domed pistons for higher compression, etc.; but you need to watch the combination and decide what grade of gas you want to run. The higher the compression the higher the octane you will need to run. You can also add an MSD ignition and distributor; some good headers are a must (the Doug Thorley Tri-Y headers will give you some great torque adds), hi-flow cats and dual exhaust also help. If you can get the engine to breathe more air in and dump that used air faster out the exhaust, you will gain a lot in HP and torque.

>3. Does anyone know factory torque and HP numbers for this engine?<

Can't help on that one, but your manuals that you have should give you a good indication.

>4.If I decide to rebuild my C6 (no problems now 65,000 miles) how difficult or expensive is it to add an overdrive? I want to keep my C6, it just seems to want to go to another gear at highway speeds.<

You would probably be better off buying an AOD for your truck. The add on overdrives are real expensive. But....the C6 is nearly a bullet proof tranny for hauling big loads and longevity.

>5. I'm thinking about headers and dual exhaust (possibly smokestacks in front of the ambulance body shell, there is about 4" between the doors and ambulance body shell). Any suggestions or ideas?<

Sounds like a neat idea; it may be a bit noisy though.

>6. What kind of smog stuff is on the 1984 E350?<

Once again, look at your manual. I know you have a cat converter, some of the larger vehicles did not have to run a smog pump (I got rid of mine on my '82 F150), you have an EGR system, you have a carbon cannistor for filtering gas tank fumes, and a PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) system.

>7. Are there wiring harnesses available today (new) for this van?<

Your best bet would be to talk to Painless Wiring or get ahold of a catalog from them. They may not have your specific wiring harness, but they will at least have a generic harness that meets all of your needs.

Good luck!

'82 F150 2WD w/351W (orig 300 I6)
Slik

 

Get rid of all the emissions if you're allowed to, as it probrably isn't working anyways. When I did this to my eighty 350 it was like I had installed a new motor.