Am I completely insane? Some of my friends think I am, but others get it. Just picked up a '00 E350 with a 7.3 PSD for peanuts and the swap begins. It didn't spend more than one hour on my property before being torn to pieces. I've got the body off of it (as you can see) and am going to lift the body off of my blue one tomorrow morning. I'm going to use the 7.3 extended frame but cut off the excess 2' and reweld the bumper mounts to fit my regular body. I've put 36k on my 5.4 and I'm tired of feeling like I'm in a Kia when pulling big loads. This PSD is going to get some go-fast parts once the swap is complete. My goal is to have it done in time to pull my trailer with it to a supermoto race in Dublin next weekend. So what do you guys think?

Pulling the body:


World's most unsafe & hillbilly way of getting a junk van body off of your lift. The trailer frame was bending back and forth like a rubber band while rolling over bumps. I thought for sure that the trailer would break or the van would fall off of the blocks before we got it parked. One of the scariest, yet hilarious rigs I've ever done... DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!! My buddy and I couldn't go 30 seconds between cracking up while we were doing this. I'm seriously considering hauling it to the scrapyard just like this, but with a couple of ratchet straps:





The good stuff:




My van on the chopping block. It's hard to believe that they're actually a clean, straight body under all of that mud. Should have washed it inside, outside, and underneath before starting this project, but I have a little bit of junkyard dog in me so I can deal with the dirt under there:



Afraid of wiring? Don't do diesel swaps:



The reason behind my sickness:


Now before you guys jump my *** about the oil & fuel residue on the 7.3, let me say that my friend who is a diesel tech at the one of the largest Ford truck dealerships in central FL will be coming over Sunday morning to go over this engine. Anything that looks suspicious will be changed before I drop the body on it because there is almost no room whatsoever to work on this engine with the body bolted to the frame.

So what do you think, am I insane??

 

Thats awesome!

I will decide if you are insane or not after you find out if it works.

So you are just swapping the entire wiring harness?

 

Yes, I'm taking the harness under the hood as well as the one behind the dash. Apparently everything is 100% different on these things.

 

The tranny from the 5.4 won't bolt to the 7.3 will it?

 

Change the turbo with one from a truck, the van has only 3 psi and require some plumbing from the truck, that's a go fast mod, it's a tight fit, could be why Ford did it. I'd love to take that 5.4 off of your hands to do a slight built for mine, what year is it?
Diesels leak, so the oil is no surprise, I've been around the commercial versions, just need to clean it up.

 

The E-series and F-series use a different turbo?

 

Yep, the trucks have 7 psi, van's are 3 psi, due to room constriction, there is no dump valve for over-boost, or so I've heard. A guy from vannin.com swapped the firewall/bulkhead, 7.3 PSD, dash and under carriage of a 99 ambulance into an 87 E-350 ext, said it all was like a direct fit, said just the outer body panels were different. The engine compartment was too small so it required the swap, and he wanted the newer dash/gauges from the ambulance.

 

Thats stupid.

How much lower is the HP/TQ out put?

 

It's room restriction, that's why they do it, also a heat issue, the 6 point uh oh is the same, of coarse that helps it to last longer being under driven, creates less pressure, still junk!

 

The reason is that the vans have no intercooler!Ya just cant fit in the van chassis.As you know boost increases temp and without a cooler.... boom!

Enter water-methanol inj,tuners etc...love diesel hotrods!

You are lucky having the whole vehicle.While it is a large undertaking you are going about it the best way.

Great project!

 

Here are the pictures of yesterday and today's progress.

Blue van's chassis removed:



My buddy RJ doing his best sexual predator impression:


Wiring is fun:




This is what your chassis looks like when you live on a dirt road:


My buddy Mike cutting the excess 20" off the 7.3 frame:




RJ pressure washed EVERYTHING and it was the smartest move we've made thus far:


Pulling the dash out of the 7.3 van last night:



Rear end freshened up with some spraybomb:


Frame modifications finished, frame spraybombed:





Pulling the dash out of the blue van last night:




My buddy Matt helping me with the dash last night. He's pretty much an inbred who happens to be a professional Toyota mechanic and one of the most talented fabricators & mechanics I know:



One of the interior harnesses removed:



Me putting the dash back in my van. 100% of interior wiring behind dash has been swapped:


Dash finished. I look like a filthy meth-head. For all the naysayers out there:


Junk left over:



Check out this piston my friend Mike brought me. It came out of a V-12 diesel generator, but I can't remember how many kW:

 

Boy could I use some parts from your pile. LoL

 

Awesome build man!

 

That thing'll look awesome with a couple motards in the back.

 

Great project. I have a 2002 E350 extended with the 7.3 .Its bulletproof. The best way of getting extra power is the Superchip. You can easy gain 80 hp. Im also trying to get a cold air intake kit. No luck yet. Good luck with your project.