Introducing the Van-That-Can- 2000 E350 V10 EB Passenger Van

[desertspeed]

I just read through the entire thread and really like what you have done. I do have one question that I must have missed the answer somewhere 15 pages ago. What was it about your van that made it so difficult to do the 4wd conversion?

I'm not sure exactly what you are referring to? What part of the conversion?

I just got back from 9 days in Baja and the van did great. I do have the transfer case installed now- the only thing left to do is the front driveshaft and re-gear the front and then the 4WD will be operational.

 

[Overthetop]

Mainly the issue with getting the correct spring configuration. It seems like the ujoint folks have this dialed in really well, so I was just wondering if your van had something different about it, or if it was simply the spring supplier sending the wrong springs? It seemed like it was the supplier, but I am a complete novice with these vans and didn't know if there was something unique that I missed seeing.

 

[desertspeed]

Mainly the issue with getting the correct spring configuration. It seems like the ujoint folks have this dialed in really well, so I was just wondering if your van had something different about it, or if it was simply the spring supplier sending the wrong springs? It seemed like it was the supplier, but I am a complete novice with these vans and didn't know if there was something unique that I missed seeing.

It was a combination of a couple of things. The main guy at Atlas that Chris deals with was on vacation or something for a while when he was ordering my springs, so they kept sending the wrong ones. It didn't really have anything to do with my van, except that I think they were used to making them for the diesels with heavy front winch bumpers, so they had too heavy of spring rates. I am still not really happy with the ones on there right now as they are still too stiff. Part of the problem is the type of off roading that I do- I know that Chris is starting to use a progressive spring and I think that would work much better for me- I need something that will handle smaller stuff like washboard but still be able to handle larger hits at speed. I am planning on waiting until I finish up the 4WD and then I will work on the front springs. I will probably go talk with Deaver as they are more used to building springs for prerunners.

The funny thing is, the rears springs are absolutely perfect, except in the rear I need to put on some better shocks with a lot more rebound valving. The compression is fine but with the light rear end it bounces back up like a pogo stick.

Don't let any of this scare you off from the vans, or UJoint at all. Other than the issues at first with getting the right springs sent, which wasn't Chris's fault, everything else is due to me and where I take it. Plus, I am used to the suspensions in off road race cars and prerunners, and while I don't expect the same level of performance in the van, I am pretty picky about how I want it to handle. I think that 99% of people driving my van or any other UJoint van would be amazed at how well they drive both on and off road.

 

[bknudtsen]

One thing to remember with the Deaver's is that their spring packs tend to be taller, which can cause some interference in the front with the steering linkage. Glad to hear the 4wd is coming along.


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[desertspeed]

One thing to remember with the Deaver's is that their spring packs tend to be taller, which can cause some interference in the front with the steering linkage. Glad to hear the 4wd is coming along.


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Yep, luckily someone else already found that out on a thread on here (I love it when someone else can do the R&D instead of me :sombrero.

I don't know what I will end up doing, but I'm sure a solution is out there.

 

[desertspeed]

***Door Talon is sold***

 

[bknudtsen]

Dusted off and ready for your updates... :sombrero: No excuses now Brother!

 

[ujoint]

We've been playing with the progressive rates on V5, trying to get the softest ride for the gas vans. It's a long process since my spring guy is 2500 miles away but we're getting there! Right now it has a set up front that rides great but may be a bit too soft. Hope to get back on that project as soon as we finish up a few builds @ the shop....

 

[desertspeed]

I guess this thread is due for an update.

I have the 4WD all operational now and it seems to be working great. I had an issue with my front pass side hub- when I was getting my front diff re-geared to match the rear, we noticed that the hub was full of what looked like sand. After looking at it further, it was actually bronze dust from a bushing inside of the Yukon hubs that had almost completely worn through. When we pulled the unit bearing off, the inner bearing had come apart- ultimately we found a bent outer axle shaft which had caused the issue. I guess that's the risk with junkyard axles- you never know what you will find.

So, that was a fun surprise 2 days before I was supposed to leave for Baja, but Yukon rushed the part to me in time. If there is a lesson here for anyone doing this conversion- I think I would have been better off just buying a complete axle from UJoint. By the time I went through the hassle of finding an axle at a junkyard, cleaning it all up, replacing all of the seals/ujoints/hubs etc., and then re-gearing it, it would have been cheaper to just buy one, and certainly a lot less work.

As far as my seat upgrade, that's a no-go for this weekend. I pulled my tube bender out and the hydraulic pump is not working. I need to get that fixed this week and will work on the seat install next weekend.

Let me know on the springs Chris- I would be happy to do some R&D on them :sombrero:

 

[ohpyramids]

awesome work man. im inspired

 

[desertspeed]

A small update. I got some progress made on my seats, but I couldnt finish because I ran out of gas for my welder on sat after the welding supply store had closed. My tools are rebelling against this project....

Anyways, I am doing this for a couple of reasons. First, the second row bench seat has almost no leg room. Most of the time there are 4 of us in the van. I have pulled out the second row and had the kids sit in the third row, but then they are so far back we have to yell to hear each other. So, I wanted to put the second row on sliders- most of the time they can be pushed back to improve leg room, but can be slid forward if needed.

Second, I wanted a good spot for my fridge. It used to fit perfectly between the front seats, but after I installed the shift lever it wouldnt fit there anymore. The only other good spot other than putting it in the very back was in between 2 seats in the second row.

I looked for seats for a while, but take out van fronts are very hard to find and expensive. I was able to find these PRP reclining seats for cheap on CL. I was going to throw them in the front, but I would have needed to make 2 sets of custom mounts, and I eventually want to run other seats in the front, so these are going in the second row.

I really wanted to keep the quick release function of the stock bench, but there just wasnt any way to. Here is what I came up with. I will finish it up in the next week or so, and get it powdercoated.

 

[dcguillory]

Very nice. Gives me some good ideas.

 

[desertspeed]

Finished up my seat mount and got it back from powdercoat- the 4 holes in between the seat mounts are Rivnuts for the fridge mount.

I just need to wire up the power wire for the fridge. Years ago I added a Weatherpack connector in the middle of the power cord that came with the fridge, so that I could either hard wire it or plug it in to a cig lighter.

I made the fridge mount a while ago for the rear of my prerunner, and decided to use that for this as well- it is just 1" angle iron with an aluminum plate covered with vinyl. I can easily swap it between vehicles as needed.

 

[ujoint]

Looks great!

 

[desertspeed]

All done. Pics of seats all the way forward and all the way back

Back-


Forward-


Forward with seat back up-




For the seat belts, I wanted them to be able to slide with the seat- I took the stock belts and shortened them, and bolted them to the seat frame so they moved with the seat.