Vannin' Home Forums General Discussion Readers Rides My FREE '87 Econo I drove 350 miles home (57 Pics)

Reed, I appreciate your kind words and sound advice. This 300 in this van just gets up and boogies. I am amazed when I drop it down in 2nd and punch it with how much oomph its got! I know all the un-boltable pieces are easy to replace. The things I have been looking for are the step wells and rust. I hate when vans rust in those area's! I *think* I am going to seek and find a round headlight setup for this beast. I like how the hood has the F O R D lettering, and the chrome outline of the grill, lights, etc..

I have welded before on an old El Camino I used to own, although the beads looked like a dyslexic monkey attempted to do it. After I have been extensively reading, I have determined the welder I used to weld my bucket seat mounts was too hot. There was too much splatter, and I welded through the floor pan a few times. I also learned that you have to tack weld one area, then go to another, then fill in after it cools down, etc until it is all filled (this I didnt do, I just recently learned, oops). All in all, the mounts were very solid.

This time around, I plan on cutting the floor pan out, then cutting it into pieces, and practicing stitching the old garbage together until it looks appropriate. I read that 70 amps is about all I need for the thinness of the sheet metal. I also know I need a weld through primer, so that way my welds won't rot out. It appears there is 8 total body mounts. After I have inspected them, I have determined there are four that are needing attention. The rest of the underside looks solid. If I cannot for some reason get a decent weld, I will have chalked it up to learning, and then I will seek out a new body. That way, I can get the experience of cutting, measuring, and welding for future reference (GD that welding class I took 16 years ago seems so vague .)

I am very handy it seems. I have used the net extensively to learn all sorts of things. Some of them include pex tubing for an old 5th wheel trailer I used to own, how to solder, etc.. Youtube is a great source as well as doing searches! I will charge my video camera today, and I will do an extensive video of the body both inside and underside and post it tonight or tomorrow. It might be tomorrow since I dont work then.

There is alot for this van, and alot against it. I would jerry rig the body a bit to make it safer, then run the wheels off it. When the rust gets too bad, save the driveline. Factor what you will spend in time any body panels against the cost of getting a non runner with a solid body.

The big Lebowski is an awesome movie

Good score on the van.

in cny we call that rust free too lol

Well, I did some work on the van today. Well, I did try that is. My air compressor shut down and wouldnt restart midway through grinding. I did a walk around and have determined this is what it needs -

Front and rear bumper(s)
Both rear doors
Drivers door, passenger *might* be savable
Grill is broken
Valance panel above the front bumper
Hood (might be savable, unknown until I can grind the rust off)
Drivers Fender
Passenger Fender
Slider
A rear axle seal on the drivers side, whole drum is coated horribly

As far as rust repair -

Front floor pans all the way under both seats
Quarter patch drivers rear
Windshield pillar pass side
Drip rail in various locations
Quarter behind the slider and in front of between the doors
Rear body mounts
Misc spots in the rear interior

Now, if I factor cost in parts alone, including patch panels, I am looking at well over $500 in parts alone. This doesn't include quite a few tools that I need to buy as well to do all these repairs. I think for my sanity's sake, and times sake, I am going to keep seeking out a body. It is far easier to do a drive train swap than all of what I listed above. Not bad for free since it runs like a raped ape! Here is the link to the rust repair post if anyone is interested - https://www.vanning.com/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/480917.html .

Looks just like my 89 haha

I remembered tonight I met a guy a few months back that I bought some Ford Escort parts from. Well, this guy has lots of others cars on his property. I recalled today he has a mid 80's Econo. I gave him a call and he said that it has a title issue, but we could swap doors, etc.. Soooo, long story short here, I can prolly get most of my parts cheap for this thing. I am going over tomorrow to see what we got, wish me luck!

Good Luck

i'd honestly probably fix it, i find bodywork way easier than mechanics. No grease and no heavy lifting.

Well, if this van I have a handle on has good metal, I might be able to talk him into letting me cut a few pieces out of it. I like the idea of repairing mine. I am always anxious to learn new things, that is, at the risk of sounding like a major nerd.. lol I have always wanted to learn paint and body work. My strong side is mechanics. That and at the end, I can stand back and say "holy shit I did that." Kinda like that feeling I get when I first put an engine in, crank it up, and it fires... oooohhhhhhh ya