Hi there. At a small swapmeet I was recently clued in to the fact that my van (1990 E150 Custom) was part of the last generation / bodystyle to be offered with a manual transmission. 78-91 I believe? The guy I met had a 1986 E150, exact same bodystyle as mine but carbureted rather than fuel injected, with a factory equipped four speed on the floor and a 300 I6.

Long ago I'd thought about gathering parts for a future manual swap (I currently have an AOD, all mechanical) but gave up when I "discovered" that there were supposedly no factory pedal sets that would fit, so a clutch pedal would have to be fabbed along with a way of actuating it.

Now I find that there are actually pedal sets that were made for this body style of van, because a few of them were factory equipped as manuals. Supposedly three speed column shifters and four-on-the-floor were offered until 1991 with the inline six engine option.

Considering that this van is something I've had for a while and will probably keep for the future, I'd like to accumulate parts for a manual swap if/when the old AOD needs major work. If it is more or less a factory bolt in swap plus one hole in the firewall for the clutch pedal, a jumper for the neutral switch, etc, I might start looking for parts again.

The trouble is, where on Earth can I find a set of pedals? They apparently exist but they are rarer than hen's teeth in a literal sense. No vintage car scrapyards near me have a manual Econoline in that year span, FB marketplace is all automatics, and the one manual I found on Craigslist was a running, driving van rather than parts- and also three thousand miles away.

Does anyone here have a set for this generation of van? Or maybe some leads as to who might?

Everything else involved in such a swap seems like it'd be pretty pedestrian. Trans would be the same as in a truck presumably, custom driveshaft length would be pretty routine to get made if needed, flywheels easy to get for my 302 if needed. Cutting a hole in the doghouse for the shifter not too hard, I have a spare doghouse available to use if needed.

But the pedals.... to get a custom set made I'd have to start cutting up things and that is not my goal. I want something I can set aside to bolt in later when the time comes for the project to start.

Might be an odd question, but help me out here!

Thanks

 

Having had a 4 speed OD in an '85 I would urge you to simply upgrade the automatic.

Either do a beefed AOD or move up to a 4R70 and get a controller for it.

The 2nd to 3rd gap in the 4 speed is huge. Shifting can be loose/sloppy. Fixes for the stock shifter are a question.

The last of the manuals used either the Mazda M5OD or the ZF. The shifter came out of the doghouse near the bottom center.

The shifter for the 4 speed came out of the floor behind the doghouse to the left of center.

AFAIK the vans used the iron case with the external linkage and shifter.

Iron case is a plus, external shifter meh.

 

This thread - https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...onversion.html - alludes to fitting a 68-74 Econoline pedal set to a later van.

Here’s a pedal set - https://www.ebay.com/itm/125829074991

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 198K miles

 

I want a 5 speed in my van too but there is not a good way to shift or clutch them in a van
Once I go 4x4 with mine and have room, I will take some of the wheel well and make more floor to fabricate up and get a decent newer truck pedal setup in there
Then a decent hydraulic clutch would possibly work
Shifting the 5 speed will be like a picture of the "Rat Fink"

 

Why would you use the old set when there were manual transmission setups up to '91?

It's a juice clutch, but those can be easier than mechanical.

 

What year is your van? IIRC after the '92 (?) change the left side of the footwell was tighter.

My '85 had a flat floor all the way across.

 

As I noted in the first post mine is a 1990. Same bodystyle as the '86 I saw at the swapmeet for sure, identical interiors, body panels, etc.

 

I do know the RUG isn't the best manual trans, but once the thing was set up as a stick, all it would take to swap to another one (the Mazda one, an NP435, T18, T5, whatever) would be some relatively simple work like a new driveshaft.

I don't hate the AOD, but I just dislike driving automatics in general. I don't mind having an ugly gear ratio even if it is a pain.

 

Thanks, I will read that thread over again. But from what I saw there, it involved that extra bit of fab work I can't do- welding, tweaking, and rewelding to try and get a pedal box and some way to actuate the clutch to work.

The reason I want to find the pedals that came with manual vans up until 1991 is that they are essentially bolt in or at least designed for the van. I think you have to drill some pre-dimpled holes in the firewall to bolt the clutch master to or something, but you don't have to cut up and weld stuff.

 

Clutch linkage links around to near vertical and plunges into the clutch master through the floor near the accelerator pedal. The flexible floor I might add. I made a reinforcing plate for mine as it was flexing, causing a loss of clutch travel and binding of the master.

 

Not ideal but it’s available now vs when will a 75-91 pedal set come available? OP said no fab so even that’s out. DSG swap?

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 198K miles

 

I'm back....

I do fab parts but can't weld. Which to some folks means I don't fab, lol.

If there is a way to make a custom unit or modify the older three-pedal set without cutting into the van it could be worth it. I don't want to cut up anything on the van though when there was a bolt-in factory set of pedals available, even if they can't be found anymore.

I may just bump this thread now and again because I really would like to grab a set of 75-91 pedals. For a juice clutch ideally. It seems like that's the only thing that isn't fairly simple to find for a manual swap on this generation.

-Pedal set
-Trans (RUG being the factory option)
-Flywheel/clutch kit
-Clutch master, slave, line
-Driveshaft (possibly)
-Spare doghouse to modify/cut for shifter
-Custom shift lever (possibly)

 

In case this helps anyone, here is a set of pictures of what a 75-91 Econoline manual transmission pedal assembly looks like.... this was from an eBay auction that I missed a couple of months ago.

75-91 Econoline Clutch and Brake Pedal Assembly 1

75-91 Econoline Clutch and Brake Pedal Assembly 2

75-91 Econoline Clutch and Brake Pedal Assembly 3

75-91 Econoline Clutch and Brake Pedal Assembly 4