I was wondering if Sportsmobile did their 4x4 conversion on the Ford
vans with the 7.3 diesel or was the 7.3 gone by the time Sportsmobile
started doing their own 4x4?
Ahhh, you refer to the "Holy Grail" - a Sportsmobile 4WD conversion on a 7.3 diesel. Based on past posts by others on the forum, there was a very short period of overlap between the end of the 7.3 diesel and the beginning of the SMB 4WD conversion. Very rare, but apparently available.
I have a 1999 E350 EB 7.3 that I purchased new. I had it converted to 4x4
a year after I bought it. It has been my work van. I have just under 90000
miles on it so it isn't even broke in. Had the torque convertor replaced a
couple years ago and while the tranny was out I had it beefed up, even
though there wasn't anything wrong with the tranny. Just a noisey torque
convertor. Don't know if Sportsmobile would convert a van that old but if
I ever had the money I sure would like it converted.
I think SMB normally only does used vans if they are equivalent to their current models. I.E. 6.0 or V10 with TorqueShift transmission.
But you could do something really similar to a 7.3L using a U-Joint conversion kit. Although.... I'm not totally sold on the DynaTrack axle vs. stock Dana 60. But.... A Dynatrack Dana 80 rear axle would be sweet!
The Atlas II and prorock 60 are what make an SMB4x4 in my opinion. The former more than the latter.
BMWBILO are you talking about getting a top and interior? It would be nearly pointless to convert a 4x4 to SMB4x4... for the cost among other things, but if you're talking about getting a top and or interior I think they're doing more of that with the economy these days. Be sure to ask all 3 locations.
I would only be interested in the top and interior and the 46
gallon tank. I know the mechanical history of my van and the
4x4 works fine so there would be no need to get the SMB 4x4.
I wonder what percentage of SMB 4x4 owners have been in a
posistion that a regular 4x4 conversion wouldn't handle? I think
if I wanted and had the money I could add an Atlas transfer
case to my van. Right now all these thoughts are just dreams,
first I need the economy to pick up so I can get a job and get
back on my feet.
Might be, but in that last pic, from the angle it was taken, I think you should be able to see the Atlas t/c shifters. Hard to tell for sure however, and it looks like a skidplate up front making it hard to tell if it's a DynaTrac front axle.
Herb
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SMB-less as of 02/04/2012. Our savings account is richer, but our adventures are poorer.