ZF6 swap 2001 E350

[carnott54]

I'll start this off letting you know I am horrible at taking photos while doing projects.

I have only a few photos of the build, however felt like posting so that anyone with the same idea can see it is possible.

The Van is a 2001 e350 with a home build 4x4 conversion. the transmission and t-case was not the easiest to source as the 7.3 only came with the zf6 for a short amount of time.

I have a hydra tune that was re flashed for the manual by SDK performance.
Willwood pedal setup, with reverse swing clutch and remote reservoir.
the brakes are off the stock booster.
Home made trans mount
inner fender was cut and re shaped. along with a small trans tunnel.

I have been daily driving this setup for the past year with no problems.
for anyone with questions I hope I can answer them!

I can post more pictures of specific things if you need.

[marret]

Cool, thanks for posting.

[IanF]

That's really cool. I often ponder a manual transmission in my van(s). Except I really don't want the floor shifter in the way... so I day-dream about how to operate a ZF with a column shifter.

[Lilnuts2]

If you don't mind

Which rear axle do you have?

Did you have to change your Trans sensor wiring?

Did you have to change your rear driveshaft length?

Can you keep your engine cover cup holder in place?

Is your crossmember 100% fab or a modded one?

Any clearance issues with the drivers front tire?

How far does the trans hump protrude above the floor line?

How far into your engine cover did you have to cut?

Is the engine cover removal any more complex?

Was the brake booster a bear to work around?

Can you show us a little more on your Trans tunnel?

Thanks for sharing.
I have a parts truck with a 150,000 mile 7.3, ZF6 4x4 and am thinking about converting it all to the van.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by carnott54

I have been daily driving this setup for the past year with no problems.
for anyone with questions I hope I can answer them!

I only have two questions:

How much to do mine? You'd need to come here, lol.

What front seats are those?

[bisonthecruiser]

Damn, that's awesome. Well done. I'm in line behind Scotty, but his van is new to him, so he may not even appreciate the automatic yet. I'll give him time to get used to it and jump him in line.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by bisonthecruiser

Damn, that's awesome. Well done. I'm in line behind Scotty, but his van is new to him, so he may not even appreciate the automatic yet. I'll give him time to get used to it and jump him in line.

Lol, I'm joking. I think 10 years ago I might have liked a manual shift van. These days I don't really want a manual shift anything.

[carnott54]

Originally Posted by Lilnuts2

If you don't mind

Which rear axle do you have?

Did you have to change your Trans sensor wiring?

Did you have to change your rear driveshaft length?

Can you keep your engine cover cup holder in place?

Is your crossmember 100% fab or a modded one?

Any clearance issues with the drivers front tire?

How far does the trans hump protrude above the floor line?

How far into your engine cover did you have to cut?

Is the engine cover removal any more complex?

Was the brake booster a bear to work around?

Can you show us a little more on your Trans tunnel?

Thanks for sharing.
I have a parts truck with a 150,000 mile 7.3, ZF6 4x4 and am thinking about converting it all to the van.

rear axle is from a 2006 F350

Trans sensor wiring is un changed but do have to jump pins so the computer thinks its in park.

Front drive shaft from the manual is needed. Rear needs to be lengthened.

stock cup holder could work if you put a weird bend in the shifter. but i went for comfort shifting and no cup holder.

trans tunnel is very small only 1" of rise 6" wide 6" long angled.

the engine cover is not cut. but the shifter plate bolts to it so it does make removal a bit more of an task. the shifter does need to be removed to remove the cover.

bake booster was fine. the big issue is having the right geometry on the pedal mount to have the pedals line up nicely and right amount of throw.
( I had this made by a friend that is a very talented fabricator along with the tunnel, trans mount and the fender cut.)

the cross member is 100% fabbed

0 clearance issues with the fender.

[carnott54]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

I only have two questions:

How much to do mine? You'd need to come here, lol.

What front seats are those?

I cant take credit for the build I was merely a helper, My cousin and his friend are the brains.

The seats are 2005 GMC Denali power, heated leather. took some fabbing to make them fit. they are comfortable but not the best fit in the cab.

[86Scotty]

Ah, I was thinking they might be. Wow, I'm surprised you got those in there at all. I really dig the armrests that fold in to the seats. Seems like a no brainer for a van for more walk through space but no OEM does them in vans.