Chassis Conversion
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Chassis Conversion
I'm in the market for a conversion van however they are harder to find in E-250 or 350 form. I'm trying to figure out if its possible to transplant the body from a E-150 to a heavier chassis. Is the frame the same, wheelbase, steering, etc? Does anybody know about this. Of course if I found a conversion van that met my specs that was 2 or 350 then I'd be happy.
Thanks
Curley
Thanks
Curley
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From: Georgia
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Thanks for the link, their inventory is a bit out of my price range and several years newer than I'd like. More likely I'll be securing a van from the 80's or early 90's. I don't mind doing the conversion work myself, I'm just interested in knowing if it's possible or not.
Thanks
Curley
Thanks
Curley
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From: Oak Harbor, OH
What are you going to be doing that you want the 3/4 or 1 ton chassis? It would probably be cheaper to get a stripped out E350 window van and convert it yourself. The bodies are all the same, so yes an E150 body will fit on an E250 or an E350. I wouldn't recommend that though. It's a LOT of work to do. If it;s just you, a few buddies or the kids, some gear and a small travel trailer the E150 is more than capable.
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The main purpose of the heavier chassis is better rolling stock. The axle bearings are bigger, the tires are bigger, etc. Bigger tires and bearings yields lower engine RPM's and fewer revolutions per mile. Bigger brakes. In the end a longer lasting vehicle. I'm a high mileage driver. Additionally I'm not fond of semi-floating axles which I believe are in the E-150's.
Pfogle, I can imagine that the body swap would be tough, electronics, mechanicals, keeping the body straight. From a different perspective, what kind of tow rating is the E-150 good for? At times I am interested in pulling trailers, mostly for utility work, anything from cars to gravel to lumber. How much am I going to be able to safely lug around the road. I realize I can always put heavier springs on a vehicle to increase its load bearing but that isn't always a good measure of the safety.
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Curley
Pfogle, I can imagine that the body swap would be tough, electronics, mechanicals, keeping the body straight. From a different perspective, what kind of tow rating is the E-150 good for? At times I am interested in pulling trailers, mostly for utility work, anything from cars to gravel to lumber. How much am I going to be able to safely lug around the road. I realize I can always put heavier springs on a vehicle to increase its load bearing but that isn't always a good measure of the safety.
Thanks
Curley
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From: Oak Harbor, OH
I think it's rated at 3800lbs gross. I know for a fact it will do well over that with the proper accessories. Steve (clubwagon) on here tows his race car with his E150, we've towed everything from cars to an entire house full of stuff when my dad moved with an E150. The big thing to make sure you have are trailer brakes and a load leveling hitch. The trailer my dad pulled weighed in at just under 15k pounds alone. Then he loaded the van on top of that. His 302 pulled it, didn't like it, but it did pull it. To actually swap a conversion body onto a heavier chassis would be $$$ and take a LOT of time. You'd need a complete donor van in good shape (they sell for $1k even with a bad trans or motor) and it wouldn't be easy by any means. We've used our 1/2 ton vans for jobs that really needed a heavier truck a LOT of times. We've never broken one.
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From: Maryville
I know someone who put an ambulance suspension under his E-150, the I-beams, coil springs, and leaf springs raised the van, but all fit. He opted to keep his 1/2 ton I-beams to get it back down from being too high, swapped the outers to go with the 8 lug hubs. He removed a few leaves to bring the rear down, but that will cut back on carrying weight, you need the leaves intact.
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Thanks for all the info, yes, I realize that vehicles towing capacity is grossly underrated however, I also like knowing the approximate capability.
Thanks for the ambulance thing too, thats a good idea, I'm not too worried about my ride height going up, as long as its not really drastic, several inches is fine. The only problem with the ambulance idea is that the frame hasn't been upgraded with everything else. Is the frame capable of handling extra force. Are there known weak points in these vehicles, frames in particular. Everything else is easier to fix. In a stock E-150 what rear ends are under there? And if I went to a heavier duty axle (Dana 60) is there a direct bolt in or do I need to fabricate a bit? Can I jerk an axle from a F-250?
My first goal with this vehicle is not aesthetics but the utility from my perspective. The ability to be a long lasting vehicle capable of handling some pretty severe duty. I drive cross country year round. I do a little work in the back country, nothing to severe, any two wheel drive vehicle can get where I need to be. I need to be able to haul some gear, set up a mini office, camp out, and so on.
Thanks for all the suggestions
Curley
Thanks for the ambulance thing too, thats a good idea, I'm not too worried about my ride height going up, as long as its not really drastic, several inches is fine. The only problem with the ambulance idea is that the frame hasn't been upgraded with everything else. Is the frame capable of handling extra force. Are there known weak points in these vehicles, frames in particular. Everything else is easier to fix. In a stock E-150 what rear ends are under there? And if I went to a heavier duty axle (Dana 60) is there a direct bolt in or do I need to fabricate a bit? Can I jerk an axle from a F-250?
My first goal with this vehicle is not aesthetics but the utility from my perspective. The ability to be a long lasting vehicle capable of handling some pretty severe duty. I drive cross country year round. I do a little work in the back country, nothing to severe, any two wheel drive vehicle can get where I need to be. I need to be able to haul some gear, set up a mini office, camp out, and so on.
Thanks for all the suggestions
Curley
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From: Maryville
He direct fit everything from the 1 ton ambulance to his E-150, any heavy duty van will work, he just got the ambulance dirt cheap. The truck frame width is different than the vans, so no, a truck axle will not work, has to be a van. The 70's and early 80's had a 9" rear axle, but some where in the mid to late 80's, they went with an 8.8 axle.
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From: Oak Harbor, OH
Curley, and E150 will hold up to that. I'm the oldest of five kids, we had an '89 E150 conversion that we put 110k miles on in two years. The thing never let us down, and the only reason we don't still have it is that a farmer backed his tractor out in front of me one morning when it was icy. It wasn't the most powerful thing on the road, but it never let us down.