Hey All!
Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Marty and I bought an old 1990 Ford E350 EB on Craigslist for $2250 with 121K miles to do a DIY buildout.
Out of all my researching over the months, sportsmobileforum.com has been one of my favorite resources. I just want to say a BIG THANKS to all the members who contribute such thorough information. It's been a big help.
My uncle's a mechanic and said the van seemed in really good shape for the year and ran pretty good- I'm not mechanically savvy, but learning. I believe it's a 7.5L V8 with the heavy duty rear axel. It's old, but it spent most of it's life in Florida as a church van and the underbody looks great without any major rust.
I was budgeting $10k with $5k for a van and $5k for buildout and appliances. It was hard for me to find a van for $5k with less than 130k miles, so this seemed like a good deal at $2250. It was originally a conversion van- and has the name "Sully" on it, so I'll keep that name for now. It has a fiberglass high top- not full standing height though. There's also a small U luggage rack on the back and a rear door ladder. Has a tow package. The passenger has a swivel seat base. And the last owner purchased new tires at $800. Saving a bit of money on all those options.
I do like the old grills of 1991 fords and earlier. After I focus my money and time building out the inside, take some trips, and decide it's worthwhile, I'm going to get a new paint job: a vintage duo tone look with white top half and a light blue or green bottom half.
I bought the van in Michigan where I am doing the build at my parent's with my dad's tools- and help.
My van objectives/needs for the build (in order of importance):
- Weekend Warrior for 2 people.
- Vehicle for day hikes. No more rental cars (I didn't own a vehicle previously, all bike and public transit in Seattle). Be able to leave in evening, camp in vehicle at night, start trailhead early in the morning.
- 4 Season Use. Be able to go snowboarding, snowshoeing, mountaineering, winter camp. Snowboard storage.
- Basecamp for overnight backpacking trips. Solar/Electric/water/gas for 3+ days idle.
- Occasional long road trip. West coast. National Parks. Trips to MI.
- Stealth-ish camper. Be able to camp sleep anywhere in cities. Although, high top, fan, windows, and storage rack will be a giveaway. Still, prefer hightop over poptop.
- Vehicle for film/photo work. Safe secure locking for some photo equipment.
- Desk for video editing and writing on the road.
- Vehicle and lodging for girlfriend's jewelry shows.
- Safe bicycle storage
- Perhaps, still possible for full-time dwelling.
I bought my van back in February, but flew to MI a couple weeks ago to start. I'm on Day 10 of my build. Still in the prep gutting phase (I'll post more pictures soon.)
The last owner was using it as a work van so the passenger seats were already gutted. The bummer about gutting an old conversion van is that it has a mess of electrical that I'm still trying to sort out- so many old lights, audio, tv, wiring... The longest part is unwrapping a gooey mess of electrical tape around so many cables before I can trace them back.
Here's the appliances I have already bought that arrived:
- Propane tank Manchester 6814 10"D x 32"L ($420 pplmotorhomes.com)
- Propex HS2000 Furnace ($745 dasmule.com)
- Smev/Dometic PI8022 2-burner flush glass cooktop ($346 Amazon/Boat and RV Accessories)
- ARB 50QT Fridge ($783 at REI.com w/ 20% coupon)
- Maxxair MaxxFan Deluxe ($269 Amazon)
My appliances cost more than my van. I hope the van works out. I see it as my first van build learning project. When my monies grow, I can upgrade to a newer van and bring the appliances with me.
Your advice has been so helpful to me on all the many threads. Any comments and advice on my progression is greatly appreciated!