Well, i finally got this thing home. It was a fiasco! And there are problems with the van. I did renegotiate a bit lower price. I guess i feel ok about it, but unfortunately i can't say i'm super excited about the whole thing. The van needs more work than i was hoping for (i suppose that's just about always the case when you're buying one this old). It seems to not be making much power, or shifting correctly, but so far consensus is that these are probably relatively inexpensive fixes, mostly related to sensors and other electrical gizmos, and that there is nothing majorly wrong with any hard parts... we'll see.
I was very dissapointed by the fuel mileage! On the freeway at 70-ish or just couple mph over, i was gettting about 9mpg. This is a virtually empty van. On the highway at about 62-65 it got 10-11 mpg. I was hoping for 12-16 depending on conditions, with a LOADED van. Maybe that was unrealistic? The top is very tall. It has the 351 V8 and it seems pretty gutless. It is slower on steep hills than my subaru-westy was. I'm hoping for gains in both power and economy when we get everything operating correctly.
Fuel tank is about 20 gallons, so i'm gassing up every 150 miles! That will have to change! I want a minimum 300 mile range without jerry cans. 450+ would be better.
Rust is a bit more of a problem than the previous owner indicated when asked. Also, the rear doors have been extended in height for a wheel chair lift clearance. This was not done very well and there are a lot of leaks and rust in that area.
Also, the roof was cut out from just above the windshield, all the way back to the rear doors. They even cut out the very rear part that the top of the doors latches too (for the increased height at rear doors). This means that the rear doors don't latch as securely and rattle / leak. Also, i'm concerned about rollover safety since there is not a single roof cross member left. I think i will weld in a couple pieces of square tube above the front seats, and 3 or 4 across the rear 1/3 of the van (build the upper bunk on top of those). I also am going to have to do something with the rear doors.
On the positive side, the permanent high top has already been great. When stopping for just a short time, it's already up and i can stand straight up ALL THE TIME. Also, it was snowing and raining like crazy almost the whole time, and i hate to put pop-tops up when they'll get wet. No worries there. SO the top is nice. But in all honesty, if i can't get at least 12 mpg out of this thing on the highway, i might not be able to afford to road trip in the damn thing!
Another positive. The Advanced 4x4 conversion seems to ride quite nice, even without a load in the van, and it turns very sharp. It's a very easy and casual '2-finger-steering' van even passing semis at freeway speeds. It doesn't seem to have too much sway in the corners, although it is helpful to practice your smooth 'limo-driver' technique.
Also, even with howling tires, i think it is a fair bit quieter inside than the westy was at 65, and it is much easier to hear the stereo.
So, where does that leave me right now? I'm going to take it right away to a shop that i like, and have them dial in the engine and tranny and get that operating correctly. Once that is done, we'll evaluate power levels and fuel economy and see if the van is something i'm comfortable dumping time, effort and money into. If it is, the build-up will commence. If it isn't, i guess i'll be shopping for a syncro vanagon, or a different ford, or i don't know what.
Can I ask some of you guys with the cruiser top what kind of mileage you get? (and with which engine)
**edited to correct some weird sentences... i think my brain gets ahead of my fingers and i start leaving words out**
too late now...
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