I present to you my gateway into Vannin'. I found this shorty 1984 Ford Econoline on Craigslist and just had to have it.
She was a bit neglected by the previous owner but nothing too bad. Good thing I like to work on cars and learn new things [cough] carbs [cough].

I don't have a ton of pictures yet but the weather is getting nicer and I'll be getting it out more often pretty soon.


Here she is in the condition that I got her. Just under 100k on the clock.


One of the things that bugged me the most was the ratty and butchered door panels.
Here is what they looked like when I got the van.






And this is what I just finished today. This was my first time making a door panel from scratch so I definitely learned a few things and think I can make a few improvements with the next one. But, overall I'm very happy with the improvement.
While I was in there I Dynamatted the door panels and installed new 3 way speakers which are fed by a 250 watt Pioneer amp.

Sweet looking van! I love the 75-91 Econolines. Please post more pictures! I strongly recommend you get a factory service manual for our van.

Without a doubt. It's been awhile since I've bought a Hayne's or Chilton manual but I will be picking one up for this since everything about it is pretty new to me.

Here's another shot from the start of a local car meet and BBQ. People loved this thing!

Here's a few of my other toys. I am never short of projects and always short of money. haha

Great looking van, and nice job on the door panel.

How did the bottom of that panel get so wet and decayed?

Sweet van

I'm guessing it is because ALL of the weather stripping and seals in this thing is shot. I'm ordering new everything from Rock Auto and I put new moisture barrier on the panels too.

No no, skip the Haynes and Chiltons, go straight for the good stuff- a true FACTORY service manual published by Ford:

HERE'S a set

$100 may seem pricey, but it is worth it, believe me.

No no, skip the Haynes and Chiltons, go straight for the good stuff- a true FACTORY service manual published by Ford:
HERE'S a set
$100 may seem pricey, but it is worth it, believe me.[/quote]

Agreed... 100%

Nice van, and the new door panel looks great.

Thanks guys! Original it is!

I spent a few hours this Sunday removing wiring that was no longer being used. There was parts of an alarm system still in the car plus all kinds of useless speaker wire. Still a bunch to sort through under the hood too.

Hey look! A fellow Toyota guy! Glad to have you. I'm loving the MRS and the twin! Just don't post too many pictures of them around here or doc will complain and you'll you'll get your hand slapped.

The Econoline looks great too and I like what you did with the door panels. Whats the rest of the interior look like?

The rear is carpeted on the floors, walls, and ceiling but in a few different carpets so it looks a bit unmatched. Not bad for now though.
There is also a blood red booth seat from a restaurant or bar in the back. I was originally going to pull it but it has grown on me. I'll have to toss up a few pictures of the rear interior.

The MRS is my never ending project. Built 2ZZ, 6spd swap with a Rotrex supercharger and AEM Infiniti standalone. I use it mostly for back roads and AutoX these days.

(I did see the mini drama in your thread over non van content. LOL)

I wish you guys were closer, I've got an '85 MR-2 I need to unload.

Huh? What? I didn't say that! LOL

I have a soft spot for the AW11. The clean ones are going for more and more money all the time.

On a van note...I found a NOS dash panel on Ebay for a pretty good price to replace the cracked and beat up panel in my rig. Slowly but surely bringing this thing up to snuff.

I wish I had taken more pictures of my interior before I gutted it but on a whim back in October I decided to pull the interior apart for some rust repair and to make this old girl water tight.

For years the previous owner(s) neglected the seals and weatherstrips. She was taking in a lot of water at the rear doors in the rain.

I installed new rear marker light gaskets, new rear door seals, and had the windshield resealed. Doesn't look like I'm taking on any water now but there is plenty of rust due the previous owner's neglect.

I'm super happy to have scored a side door extender on Instagram too! No more door rubbing the flares!

It's gotten too cold in the NE to make any real progress though so I haven't gotten much done in the last 2 months. I'm trying to finish up another project so I can get the van into the garage to patch in the new metal, repair and reseal the drip rail, start on the new interior, and do some maintenance.
Come on spring!

More pictures of the deconstruction.







The sheer amount of holes someone made by putting about 200 self tappers through this floor is maddening.