2003 4x4 7.3 112k miles van in CA

[Ocsmb]

Ford : F-350 SPORTSMOBILE 4X4 DIESEL VAN

http://bit.ly/QVMJpM

No relation.

[Pschitt]

Seems to be a Quadvan conversion with coil springs...

[Ford_6L_E350]

While it is listed as a Sportsmobile, but I can't see anything Sportsmobile about it. Not an SMB 4x4, no penthouse, no interior.

Mike

[Tapatio]

Originally Posted by Ford_6L_E350

While it is listed as a Sportsmobile, but I can't see anything Sportsmobile about it. Not an SMB 4x4, no penthouse, no interior.

Mike

LOL, I asked the seller the same questions...

[BMWBILO]

Looking at the pictures I can tell you that the front drive
train is out of a Ford pickup that uses the coil spring setup.
I think Ford started the coil spring front end in 2005? As
far as I know there are 2 shops that do this type of conversion.
Quad van, and Whitefeather. Whitefeather seems to do more
Sprinters these days and they were started by Craig Jackson
who used to work for Salem Kroger. Salem Kroger was using
the coil spring setup before they closed shop. I know there
are some members here that have vans converted there.
My bet would be that this van was done by this guy in California
named Javier. I see his stuff on Ebay now and then and he even
has some You tube videos of his vans. Not sure about the quality
of his work. I also believe Colorado camper van is doing a conversion
with coil springs.

[copescobra]

i second the thought that it is a creation of Javier in California. He has a few 7.3 conversions for sale at the moment on Ebay, craigslist and Utube.

[Kelso]

Anyone know how Javier's work is? I read one person saying they had some issues with theirs, but as someone looking for a 7.3l 4x4, I am intrigued by some of his vans.

[Abitibi]

I've asked the same question to someone who actually bought one of Javier's van. This was his response and might not reflect what goes on with his vans in general but it was enough for me to look elsewhere. It'd be great if someone could chip in with a positive response but for now that's all I can offer:

"I had lots of trouble with Javier and a van not as described. he wanted me to fly and drive but i got it shipped for $450 so i did that. hind site 20/20 i probably would have walked had i flown in. had 3 major fuel leaks, check engine light was on for faulty glow plug relay, computer needed to be reflashed, engine wiring was melted and all needed replacing. i spent $3000 on it the first week i owned it. had major exhaust leaks, had to pull turbo out twice to address those. i got him to give me $1000 back, but took a year of payments to get it all and had every excuse int he book--even that he was dying. I've rebuilt almost all of his work underneath. even the brake rotors were warped and had 1/8" deep hammer marks in them. he stated they were fine. his transmission he built lasted 2500 miles and needed a full rebuild."

Take it or leave it

Cheers
Mr. D

[MadScience]

My van (which is an ex-ENG vehicle) was converted by his folks.

I did identify some issues during my (DIY) PPI and was able to negotiate price with them in consideration. I managed to get everything sorted out for roughly what I expected. Other than two tires (which he pointed out as marginal), the stuff I sorted would have been livable for someone less OCD about small leaks. So considering that these are not new vehicles, that seems reasonable.

I get the impression that he is trying to provide bargain vehicles to an educated owner that can sort out the last couple details on their own. In a little under two years I have done a bit over 10k miles and consider it as reliable as any, including new vehicles (my experience is mostly limited to European brands).

The actual 4x4 conversion is a reverse trailing arm setup with coil springs in front. Mine has quite a bit of lift and travel. Walking out of costco one evening, I found Ultrasport12 half way under my van. He was either being polite or genuinely liked the approach.

It's my first real experience with a full sized solid axle 4x4, but so far it seems more capable than I have the nerves for. Perspective: I seem to be able to handle "4x4 high clearance roads", but don't have the resolve for stuff marked as "4x4 trails". I had an unexpected encounter with a cattle grate at highish speed, the suspension went through a lot of travel, didn't bottom out and kept the van tracking straight.

There appear to be a number of these conversions on the road. I've spotted a couple on here as well as on expeditionportal and even one in the wild. At least one seems to have had issues with the shortened fuel tank seeping, which seems like it would be frustrating. I've kept an eye on mine and it seems fine.

Edit: "It's been another two years, and I'm still finding new things that were done with haste. Sigh. I still don't feel like I've been ripped off or anything, but I'm starting to wish I had spent more on a different approach. I'll remain ahead in terms of money, but I'm sinking more than a little bit of time into learning enough to debug what's going on. OTOH I am learning more about these sorts of vehicles, which I am enjoining. But it is turning out to be a bit of a hobby in and by itself."

[MadScience]

Since this may pop up in searches, I'll add that I just went through smog with this van myself (it's apparently been two years), and everything was nicely in order.