Creepy White Van - E150 Build

[ChopStix]

Howdy, in browsing your topic it reminded me about my previous build. Maybe some of my pic's will help you -Astro Van Build
I have more pictures that I forgot to post, so I will get them moved over and thrown on my old topic soon.

[ECO-AKJ]

Check out Slowmover's post about front air dam, that will help a lot on the air flow

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

It does surprise me that such an outdated transmission was still soldiering on by '95, but the 300cu.in. straight-6 doesn't seem to be so bad at all. Even though it may not find so much of an aftermarket support as a V8, IIRC it was regarded as a quite efficient engine for its class.

[Merlyn2220]

The 300 I6 is pretty popular in dirt track racing due to it's huge torque curve and indestructible crank. It produces more torque below 1500rpm than a 351W, a basically flat 240ftlbs from 700-2000rpm! The biggest problem is that the cam and intake setup lose power drastically above about 2500rpm. Comp Cams makes a good option that runs up to nearly 5000rpm, but it does lose a lot of 1000-2000rpm torque. I'd like to get better efficiency at cruising highway speeds, where I'm usually running around 2500rpm. But with current gearing I couldn't make use of a 5000rpm redline. So at the moment I'm not planning to crack open the engine. I'll probably end up restoring a 1940s pickup truck before I do that...

The C6 is really tough, even in stock form. The downside is that it consumes a lot of power, and has no lockup converter. So even cruising at speed it's still sloshing around instead of engaging a clutch like the E40D. Unfortunately there's no way to add a lockup to the C6, but I could sacrifice some low end torque gain by putting in a "tighter" torque converter. This would probably raise my MPG by quite a bit, but reduce my low end towing capacity. I haven't looked into it too much yet, but it's an option!

[bhazard]

Are you 100% sure its a C6? I can't really find any documentation that says it was till used for that generation. Are you sure its not just an E4OD with a broken OD?

Either way, a 5 speed swap out of an F150 should do you a lot of good.

[Merlyn2220]

Well, the Ford shop manual for the 95 Econoline has 80 pages of diagnostics and build information on the C6, and I just went out to photograph the oil pan. It's definitely a C6, only 17 oil pan bolts. And the shifter is P-R-N-2-1, not P-R-N-OD-2-1. I know the vehicle's history since 2000, and it's never had any tranny work, so it's definitely the original transmission.

[Merlyn2220]

Unfortunately in 2001 one of the employees clipped a concrete post with the driver's side mirror, and when they replaced the door, they didn't transfer over the original sticker...or removed it and painted over where it should have been. Oddly enough, the VIN decodes as a 1994, even though the title and books say 1995.

[pete c]

You should have left the huge "FREE CANDY" sign. You should find a 5 speed out of a similar vintage F-150 as has been recocmmended. Not sure how much of a PITA it is to put in a van though.

[Merlyn2220]

I think I could fit a 5 speed in there. The only difficulty is probably figuring out how to do the shifter and still be able to remove the engine cover inside the vehicle. I have no problem cutting a hole in the floor for a shifter. I could probably do it if I had a (relatively) easy to remove shift lever. I hopefully won't need to pull that cover out too often, but it would need to be accessible without special tools like a MIG or a grinder... I'll add that to my list of potential upgrades!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

There are some vans from the same vintage which were retrofitted in my country with manual transmissions and Diesel engines from Brazilian Ford trucks, with the shifter usually fitted beside the doghouse.