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I want to get a complete refurb done on an old Ford van? Where do I begin?
I have an old, beat-up Ford Econoline van with lots of dings, dents, cracked windows, scuzzy carpet, messed up interior and some mechanical problems. I want to take it some place that will give it a top to bottom refurb--not to make it "pimp my ride" flashy, but just to restore it (as much as possible) to its original appearance. I have no skills or interest in doing the work myself. I'm willing to spend a few thousand dollars. What kinds of shops should I take it to, to have the rebfurb job done right? If more than one type of shop, which type should I take it to first?
Any general advice on how to proceed would be appreciated.
Any general advice on how to proceed would be appreciated.
voted interesting: michelleldevon M$0.05
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I had a Ford Econoline-100, with a beat up shell, a big dent in the right front from a collision with a concrete column, a huge dent on the side from some other collision, minor rust spots on its white shell... I got it second hand... and with a few modification it became the best darn workhorse of a vehicle any could ever have. I still miss it.
I presume you've check out the chassis and made sure it not rusted. And I presume you've made sure the motor is in order - not burning oil - and that the transmission is in order (more on that in a bit).
Given that, the first thing to know is that every vehicle has an Achilles heel, and with Econoline it is the water pump, so check that, and be prepared to replace it with a good one.
The second semi-Achilles heel of the Econolines is the tranmision. Their transmissions are very strong, but they're still a bit under-rated for the load they are expected to transmute, so if you work it hard, the transmission will get arthritic, and you'll have to fix it or replace it, which isn't cheep, so if the transmissions getting old, best thing to do is replace it with a transmission more balanced for the strength of the machine.
After that, do some standard checks on the most important part - the breaks - and make sure the pads are good. Otherwise, one nice thing is that Econolines have really good breaks, but just make sure anyway, like you always should with any vehicle when it comes to the breaks.
Of course do a normal, ordinary and expected cleaning up and upgrade of the wires, the air filter, and of course an oil change with new oil filter, and fresh oil for the transmission.
And get it some good tires. Strong tires worthy of a strong machine.
Finally... check the latch on the front hood, because they have a very curious angle of attachment and a hook that's a bit prone to not latching if you're not aware, which can cause the hood to open up while driving, and hit the windshield at exactly the right angle to smash your windshield, which is annoying when on the highway.
Take care of all that, and keep it maintained with water and oil and air in the tires, and your main problem will be the way you're suddenly the most popular guys at the end of the month when people are moving.
If you take care of the beast... they just keep going and going. Technically van's are a type of truck, and Ford's always known how to build a truck.
Now... there's one more thing to consider that used to be considered to be a luxury, but given the price of fuel, is almost necessary these days, and that's that if you can, get it set up with dual gas/propane carburetion so you can use propane when propane is around, and you'll save a lot on fuel, because that's a big engine, and it can burn a lot of gas if you're carrying heavy loads. I would be able to use that van to haul idiotically heavy loads up and over steep mountain passes with no strain to the engine, but yeah... it would use fuel.
With mine, I painted the call letters of the USS Enterprise shuttle on the side, and the look was perfect. I didn't bother smoothing out the dents, and the only thing I did with the rust spots was spray rust supresent, because I didn't really care how it looked as long as it worked, plus the look seemed to discourage vandals.
Have fun.
I presume you've check out the chassis and made sure it not rusted. And I presume you've made sure the motor is in order - not burning oil - and that the transmission is in order (more on that in a bit).
Given that, the first thing to know is that every vehicle has an Achilles heel, and with Econoline it is the water pump, so check that, and be prepared to replace it with a good one.
The second semi-Achilles heel of the Econolines is the tranmision. Their transmissions are very strong, but they're still a bit under-rated for the load they are expected to transmute, so if you work it hard, the transmission will get arthritic, and you'll have to fix it or replace it, which isn't cheep, so if the transmissions getting old, best thing to do is replace it with a transmission more balanced for the strength of the machine.
After that, do some standard checks on the most important part - the breaks - and make sure the pads are good. Otherwise, one nice thing is that Econolines have really good breaks, but just make sure anyway, like you always should with any vehicle when it comes to the breaks.
Of course do a normal, ordinary and expected cleaning up and upgrade of the wires, the air filter, and of course an oil change with new oil filter, and fresh oil for the transmission.
And get it some good tires. Strong tires worthy of a strong machine.
Finally... check the latch on the front hood, because they have a very curious angle of attachment and a hook that's a bit prone to not latching if you're not aware, which can cause the hood to open up while driving, and hit the windshield at exactly the right angle to smash your windshield, which is annoying when on the highway.
Take care of all that, and keep it maintained with water and oil and air in the tires, and your main problem will be the way you're suddenly the most popular guys at the end of the month when people are moving.
If you take care of the beast... they just keep going and going. Technically van's are a type of truck, and Ford's always known how to build a truck.
Now... there's one more thing to consider that used to be considered to be a luxury, but given the price of fuel, is almost necessary these days, and that's that if you can, get it set up with dual gas/propane carburetion so you can use propane when propane is around, and you'll save a lot on fuel, because that's a big engine, and it can burn a lot of gas if you're carrying heavy loads. I would be able to use that van to haul idiotically heavy loads up and over steep mountain passes with no strain to the engine, but yeah... it would use fuel.
With mine, I painted the call letters of the USS Enterprise shuttle on the side, and the look was perfect. I didn't bother smoothing out the dents, and the only thing I did with the rust spots was spray rust supresent, because I didn't really care how it looked as long as it worked, plus the look seemed to discourage vandals.
Have fun.
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Thanks so much for taking the time to give such a thoughtful answer. I learned a lot. You've given me lots to consider, but I feel like I know how to proceed.
Where you live might make a difference to answering the question, but...
I'd say to go and look for classic car and truck clubs, people who do the work like that because they enjoy it and really know where to find the old parts and restore it to classic. Well, that is, if you want to have it restored to the classic original condition.
Some restorationists are very particular that you use only original parts and they will search high and low calling junkyards around the country looking for original part and having them shipped to them. My stepfather runs a restoration service (down here in Texas), and he makes a great living at that.
If you're not as particular about restoring it to 'original' condition using 'original' parts, then you could probably get the work done at just about any auto and body shop that works on your van's make and model and they should be able to fix you right up.
I'd say to go and look for classic car and truck clubs, people who do the work like that because they enjoy it and really know where to find the old parts and restore it to classic. Well, that is, if you want to have it restored to the classic original condition.
Some restorationists are very particular that you use only original parts and they will search high and low calling junkyards around the country looking for original part and having them shipped to them. My stepfather runs a restoration service (down here in Texas), and he makes a great living at that.
If you're not as particular about restoring it to 'original' condition using 'original' parts, then you could probably get the work done at just about any auto and body shop that works on your van's make and model and they should be able to fix you right up.
Hi, if you would like your old ford overhauled it would be sensible for you to contact the Ford Company and see if they can do it for you here is the link to the contact information
http://www.ford.com/owner-services/customer-support/contact-ford
But before you do that you can check out magazines and go to events that would feature customize cars. By doing this you can find out which companies would customize your car for you and also gain valuable information about customizing a car. Also you can can get ideas as to what you can do to the car and how you would like your car to look.
You can try this also MTV's "Pimp My Ride"
http://www.motortrend.com/index.html
You can also try http://www.dubmag.net/
this is one of the hottest customize car magazines on the planet and it also feature upcoming events.
This site have a lot of customize cars you can go to the Ford section and see if you can find one exactly like yours.
http://www.cardomain.com/Make/Ford
Companies would be
http://www.decorides.com/
http://www.jefflilly.com/
www.divine1customs.com
http://www.ford.com/owner-services/customer-support/contact-ford
But before you do that you can check out magazines and go to events that would feature customize cars. By doing this you can find out which companies would customize your car for you and also gain valuable information about customizing a car. Also you can can get ideas as to what you can do to the car and how you would like your car to look.
You can try this also MTV's "Pimp My Ride"
http://www.motortrend.com/index.html
You can also try http://www.dubmag.net/
this is one of the hottest customize car magazines on the planet and it also feature upcoming events.
This site have a lot of customize cars you can go to the Ford section and see if you can find one exactly like yours.
http://www.cardomain.com/Make/Ford
Companies would be
http://www.decorides.com/
http://www.jefflilly.com/
www.divine1customs.com
OK, my first thought is this is not where you should be posting this question :)
no really.....get hold of your local Ford car club either via the web site or blog and ask someone who has had it done to their Ford. Use the forum, see what pics people post of the work done and where....follow it through with a few posts or questions there....in these times its worth going to reliable local businesses....
Where and how much will depend on how many places you want to travel but the really good places do it all. They'll do the bodywork, they'll organize the refit inside and refurbishing, they install the latest stereo etc etc. Ask on the forum for recommendations not far from where you live. You need to tell them the quality ( how much to spend at each point ) what style, colors, tires etc but then they do it all....
OK, you might not want to do the work yourself but its good to check in now and then to supervise the work.
We used to do this in my family to make extra money, buy a car, take it to a place, have it done up, sell at a small but worthy profit.
no really.....get hold of your local Ford car club either via the web site or blog and ask someone who has had it done to their Ford. Use the forum, see what pics people post of the work done and where....follow it through with a few posts or questions there....in these times its worth going to reliable local businesses....
Where and how much will depend on how many places you want to travel but the really good places do it all. They'll do the bodywork, they'll organize the refit inside and refurbishing, they install the latest stereo etc etc. Ask on the forum for recommendations not far from where you live. You need to tell them the quality ( how much to spend at each point ) what style, colors, tires etc but then they do it all....
OK, you might not want to do the work yourself but its good to check in now and then to supervise the work.
We used to do this in my family to make extra money, buy a car, take it to a place, have it done up, sell at a small but worthy profit.
source(s):
personal experience with utes !
personal experience with utes !
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