My “New” ‘87 E250

[McMichem]

I was driving home the other day and saw this gem parked on the side of the road and had to stop and take a look. It’s a 3 owner 1987 E250 4wd conversion with 302(71k miles)NP205, sitting on 36’s with D60 rear/D44 front. And the best part is I only paid $400 for all of it.

The body is really rough and im
Not sure what route I’m gonna take with this yet but am Open to suggestions! I’ve always been a Toyota guy with my T100 and 4runners but decided I’d give This Ford a shot since I’ve wanted a solid axle rig for a while. The main goal is something to take out for the weekends somewhat locally in western NY for camping, trails, snow wheeling/commuting to work in the winter.

The plans so far include:

rear ARB air locker
Runners/roof rack with a small light bar
Dual battery
Random odds and ends with the interior

 

[VroomSIX]

Oh man, what a find! All the bones are there but that is a lot of rust. Might be worth it to just pull the old van body off and find a cleaner one to put in it's place. With the body off you can really give the chassis and powertrain a once-over. That is a sweet project, especially for 400 bucks!

Congrats on the find

 

[jacobconroy]

Yeah. That's a heck of a deal for a running 4WD van! Congrats!

 

[mp_tx]

Sweet find for $400. Front end needs moved forward an inch to center in wheel well. Super easy to do with leafs up front.


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[McMichem]

Sweet find for $400. Front end needs moved forward an inch to center in wheel well. Super easy to do with leafs up front.


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I actually didn’t even notice that, yeah looks pretty simple with the front suspension setup.

 

[McMichem]

Oh man, what a find! All the bones are there but that is a lot of rust. Might be worth it to just pull the old van body off and find a cleaner one to put in it's place. With the body off you can really give the chassis and powertrain a once-over. That is a sweet project, especially for 400 bucks!

Congrats on the find

Thanks man, very excited about it. I think I’m gonna go that route and try to find a new body. I’d like to really clean up the frame and make it last.

With what I have into it I think ill
Have a decent investment and can have a pretty nice project with my $2500 budget.

 

[Sock Puppet]

I'd spend the cash on mechanicals and outfitting. Slap something over the rust to make it look passable and coat with bedliner. Spend the leftovers on gas and beer. That's a great find!

 

[VroomSIX]

Thanks man, very excited about it. I think I’m gonna go that route and try to find a new body. I’d like to really clean up the frame and make it last.

With what I have into it I think ill
Have a decent investment and can have a pretty nice project with my $2500 budget.

With a $2500 budget you can be there all day. Start scouting out junk yards now! Also, agreed that moving the axel to the correct location is a must and it will be much easier with the body out of the way and just a rolling chassis. I recommend POR-15 for the chassis and driveline axles. That stuff is incredible, just don’t get it on your skin as it’ll stain it for weeks!

 

[pappawheely]

Find a nice van with a blown engine or something for cheap, and create one nice truck.

 

[McMichem]

Little bit of an update and some
Good news. I was told it was a 302 and took it at that, turns out it’s a 351W.

I’m gonna drive it as is for now, fix the body the best I can and call it good. One issue I’m having with this thing is the 16.5” rims, tire selection is limited and EXPENSIVE. So I guess the next item on the list is a set of 16’s.

 

[VroomSIX]

Little bit of an update and some
Good news. I was told it was a 302 and took it at that, turns out it’s a 351W.

I’m gonna drive it as is for now, fix the body the best I can and call it good. One issue I’m having with this thing is the 16.5” rims, tire selection is limited and EXPENSIVE. So I guess the next item on the list is a set of 16’s.

Awesome news on the 351! Wheels for those vans are a dime a dozen. Any junkyard will have plenty of those in stock in 16''. Ford made millions of these vans and they didn't change much for years.