HELP- I have a 79' E250 Quadravan w/460 I can't afford to drive !
 

I always dreamed of owning a full size 4x4 van since I was a teenager and now that I have one I can't afford to drive it ! It's a 79' E250 Club Wagon 4x4 by Pathfinder with the extra extension on the back. It also came with a propane heater built in, table and bench's and a snow plow with power angel and only 65,000 original miles !! But it only gets 10 mpg. It's a really cool van sitting on 33" tires, blaze orange. Anyone know of anything I could do to greatly improve the gas mileage ? I wanted to do a diesel conversion, like a commins diesel with dodge overdrive tranny, but my wife say's she doesn't want to spend the money to convert it. I really don't know what to do and have even thought about selling it, but if I sold it what would I get then ?? Let me know your thoughts, thanks.

Sounds like an awesome looking van---should post some photos for us! :)

Your 10 MPG on that set up is probably great even though its killing your wallet. It wasn't intended to be a gas saver so it is what it is; big, heavy, power on demand and sooooooooo not fuel miserly! :(

Not sure what you paid for it or what you really, really want/need instead but anything you do now won't be cost effective fuel-wise. Maybe rethink what you want a van for, keeping in mind their utility does include being a bit fuel hungry. My stock '03 E250 extended body w/5.4 motor weighing in at 7560# as a daily driver gets about 13MPG which is okay because its a mobile tool crib and work center for my business.

Your wife is right in this case so its time to better define what a van needs to do for you. What would the '79 as outfitted sell for in your area? Would those proceeds be enough to get something else?

10mpg for a 460 propelling something that large is a BIT low, but you might gain, at best, 1mpg or so with a good tuning. Net result is that bad boy will suck down fuel. You have a c6 transmission, which has no overdrive and no locking torque converter. Its propelling a heavy vehicle, made even heavier by modifications. Unless you drive the hell out of that thing, you will not see much of a win on swapping engines (on a cost/fuel basis.)

I originally bought the van off Ebay for $5800.00 with the intention of taking the kids camping in it (I have a 10yr. old son and 9yr. old daughter).Plus I liked the idea of keeping all of my tools in it as a mobile garage. I didn't get to use it much cause soon after I got it home a fuel line rusted out and being it has duel tanks it was hard to know where the problem area was (I had gone out to start it one day and it didn't start). I really don't know what it is worth, it's hard to say- I guess it's worth what ever someone is willing to pay for it :) . The issue for me though is I don't want to trade it for something that only gets say 14-18mpg. as that's not muuch better, but once you get above 18 mpg. your talking a tiny 3 cylinder compact car which I don't want either. I really don't know what I will do but thanks for the advice and yes I have pictures I will try to post.

pictures
 

I have some pictures uploaded, I'm still contimplating buying a cummins diesel and Dodge overdrive tranny from a wrecked Dodge truck and slipping it into my van in place of the 460 gas guzzler. I have done motor swaps before, just never in a van. But the Cummins should be smaller than the 460 ? And I'm retired (early) so I have the time.

the engine swap could be a fun project since it sounds like you're willing to invest the time. ford vans in the same body style were offered with the 6.9 or 7.3 diesels, which do appear in the junkyards every now and then, which means a lot less custom fabrication of mounts and other such parts.
but at the end of the day, i guess you choose what engine you want, and go with it.
FWIW, my van has a 6.9 with a c6, weighs 8500 with all my tools, and gets 14MPG on average with my lead foot stomping on it. i've heard of guys getting into the low 20s with a diesel pickup, with the correct gear ratios and no extra weight, so the potential is there, just gotta choose what investments to make and what not to.
are you thinking a cummins because you have one in the back shed, or because you like them?

Where are your photos? I can't yet find them..................

JWA, i found his pics here Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - ruralcarrier4x4's Album: My 4x4 Quadravan

I think you should sell me your van:-X04

Thanks Josh----'ppreciate that, I do!

I thought this would look awesome---------and it does---WOW!

Make 'em an offer he can't refuse! :-X21

1979 E250 Quadravan
 

Welcome to FTE

Is there a nameplate or emblem that says Quadravan? As I recall, Quadravan was a different company that did Econoline 4WD conversions.

When you bought this, did you get the parts catalog that Pathfinder provided? If not, lotsa luck figuring out what the 4WD steering/suspension parts came from!

1985: Customer brought in a pile of greasy suspension parts, laid them on the parts counter, said "What the hell are these parts from?" I asked what vehicle he had: 1979 Econoline 460 Pathfinder 4WD conversion.

He didn't have the parts catalog, Pathfinder was out of business. It took me almost an hour comparing parts (Crenshaw Motors Ford, who at that time had the largest stock of Ford parts on the planet).

When all was said and done, no Ford draglink matched, so I sent him down the street to the Chevy dealer, he reported back that he got it there.

I wouldn't spend a cent swapping a diesel into a 34 year old "Frankenstein monster." The cost to make this swap (not to mention all the time and labor involved), will buy one heck of a lotta gasoline.

And if you think the MPG will improve w/a diesel, think again, these vans have the aerodynamics of a brick. City MPG will not improve a whit. You might get an extra 2-3 MPG on the highway, if you drive like Uncle Fudd (55 MPH).

The only reason I was thinking of Cummins was because I have been told it would get better mpg and it's durability. Although you bring up a good point that the 7.3 would require less custom work. But I wonder how it would do with mpg ? There is one thing that confuses me though, when I look up Cummins with Google it says it has around 150 hp. for the early models, but that seems really low ? I only bring up HP because I don't want to put a dog of a motor in cause it wouldn't do that well with mpg.
Also if I did the swap I'd like to swap out the tranny too for one that has overdrive, prefferably getting a package deal from a wrecked truck. Do you think I would need the wiring harness ? I thought I wouldn't need a wiring harness cause the only thing I'd have to wire up would be the glow plugs (and that only at starting).
Thanks for the input.

Pictures
 

The pictures are all in my album titled "my 4x4 Quadravan" -sorry I haven't figured out how to paste them here yet, but below is a link to the first picture in my album.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=119911

How is it NOT a Quadravan when it has a Quadravan plackard on it's side from new ?
I am the third owner, but I have every piece of paperwork from the time it was new.
As for not getting good gas mileage there is a guy on Youtube with a full size Chevy van 4x4 that he put a Cummins into and is getting 18-22 mpg. Here is a link;
As for it being a "Frankenstein Monster" That's your opinion, but I would rather drive my Frankenstein Monster than be caught behind the wheel of your cookie cutter car. That being said, if you don't like someones ride why comment at all ?
Also someone has bought out Pathfinder's company stuff and he is willing to share the information he has obtained.

:)Thanks ! I may have to sell it depending on what my wife wants me to do. I'm on the fence, I know if I did the diesel swap and was able to get around 18 mpg. than I'd never sell it-that would be so awesome !
But even right now it has dual exhaust which sounds awesome with that 460 !:D I get sooo many looks and compliments when driving it.
If I decide to sell it I'll let you know. Problem is though if I sell it what would I get ? I don't like "average" cars-too boring-I like something that stands out in the crowd.