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RUSTY OLD VAN

Rusty E-350 Ford Quadravan to Off-road Camping Rig
Search for:

 * The Drivetrain
 * Camper Conversion
 * Travel & Vanlife
 * Connect







Rusty Old Van will chronicle the build process of saving a 1985 4WD Ford E-350
cargo van and converting it into an off-road camping rig worthy of the most
remote locations in North America. There’s hundreds of websites out there that
detail conversions of more modern vans but very few that cover the process of
rescuing an older van and turning it into a reliable go-anywhere camping rig
that doesn’t require a trip to the stealership to change the blinker fluid. The
site is segregated into the primary interest areas for most people: the drive
train/mechanical build, body/camper conversion process and the eventual path to
part-time vanlife.

Much like the van, this website is a work in progress. As we get things done on
the van we’ll post updates here too.



DRIVETRAIN

At the moment the drivetrain consists of 1bbl carbureted 300 cubic inch (4.9
liter) inline six cylinder backed up by a C6 automatic trans. The plan is to
rebuild the engine, switch to aftermarket multiport EFI, and a Ford ZF S5-42 5
speed manual transmission.



CAMPER CONVERSION

There are many 100s of sites out there with camper conversion ideas. Almost none
of them cater to older vans. A favorite site of ours is FarOutRide.com, though
their vans are new platforms. They have really figured out most of the
conversion issues that are important to us. So you’ll see us referring to their
helpful blog posts from time to time as we work through our conversion. Follow
our cargo to camper van conversion progress.



VANLIFERY

The term “vanlife” conjures up visions of milennial, non-binary douchebags
anxious about where they they will take their next dump. The stress of shitting
for for one’s Instagram following is more than any human should have to endure!
(Did I consume enough avocado to pull this off? Why did I let that chick talk me
into being a vegan? This would be a lot easier if I had some tacos al pastor.)
We’ll use the term frequently here because that’s what people search for but
it’s done so reluctantly.



WHO, WHY, WHEN & HOW?

Mark, a middle-aged guy living in the woods of Maine, decided he needed more
interior space than the current camping rig: a 1980 BJ45 Land Cruiser Troop
Carrier. Mark is a DIY kinda guy with slightly better than adequate mechanical
and fabrication skills. After camping off-and-on for 10 years in the Troopy it’s
time for incresed functionality and creature comforts in the next camping rig.

Why start with an old van instead of something cool and trendy? Because Mark is
old and he likes old vehicles that are easy to maintain and can be equipped to
go anywhere we have the courage to go. $20k wisely spent on an old 4WD van will
result in the vehicle he wants. He will do most of the work ourselves. (Mark
hates paying people to do things he’s capable of doing himself. It’s a tragic
flaw of sorts.) $80k or more spent building out a new 4WD Sprinter or Transit
wouldn’t get us the vehicle we want. It would certainly be a nice vehicle, but
not something trustworthy driving on a beach in Baja California 100 miles from
the nearest village.

Things are still in the planning stage due to life changes and lack of funds.
Hopefully work will begin soon.


MOST RECENT UPDATES

 * 
   Not-so-rusty Old Van
   There’s been some recent progress on the van project after roughly a year’s
   hiatus. We bought another van. I saw this purple monster 91 E350 pop up on
   the 3rd Gen Ford Econoline Van marketplace for $600. It had a 351w/C6 combo
   in it that I wasn’t...
   Read more →
   
 * 
   Custom Pop-Top Design Ideas – 3rd Gen Ford Econline
   Since there are no commercial sources for new camper pop-tops for the
   1975-1991 Ford E-series vans we’ll need to design and fabricate our own.
   There are fiberglass tops available that can be modified to work but the cost
   to get one to me in the woods of...
   Read more →
   
 * 
   S5-42 Five Speed is Here
   A boring post about car parts. I’ve been accused of talking about car parts
   too frequently. Part of the puzzle of reworking a rusty old van is knowing
   which parts and tools will get the job done most efficiently and for the
   least amount of $$. So...
   Read more →
   

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1985 Ford Quadravan Off-road Camper Build Mark April 15, 2020



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