FORD Econoline Pickup Project

[MarkG]

Here is an old Gm promotional video exploiting the Econolines short comings to the far superior Corvair

Econoline stoppee from video

No problem, mon! Just put some wheelie bars in the front!

 

[jd_1138]

That thing with the nosedive is probably sort of like when CR tested the Suzuki Samurai.

I mean, come on, it's an economy pickup truck that was used, back then, by your average appliance repairman who used it to drive a mile to Mrs. Smith's house to fix her fridge and then over to Mrs. Davis' house to fix her stove and then back home.

 

[mv213]

That thing with the nosedive is probably sort of like when CR tested the Suzuki Samurai.

I mean, come on, it's an economy pickup truck that was used, back then, by your average appliance repairman who used it to drive a mile to Mrs. Smith's house to fix her fridge and then over to Mrs. Davis' house to fix her stove and then back home.

I read somewhere a while back that GM removed the rear ballast weight for this "demo". I believe it, that's the kind of stuff they all used to do when dramatizing how much better their products were. Of course they forgot to mention with the Corvair, you better carry 3 or 4 spare fanbelts!

 

[racer8432955]

Hi folks who were previously following this my build. It is not dead, I just got side tracked with another drag car project... Now I am going to be back on this on and off until completion, though its not going to be fast I will try to keep updating. I have both sides - lwr metal all replaced. And since the goal is to drag race this thing reasonably fast, with the front end up off the line, I thought I would redo the existing oem frt frame structure. It was a little soft in spots anyway.

Existing oem frame. I didn't like how the previous owner only ran the frame up to the rear of the front leaf mounts. So I'm removing the oem and making it tube chassis all the way:

 

[Kevin54]

Glad to see this thread taking shape again.

 

[Ohmthis]

Is the tube frame only for the front (clip)? I'm digging this truck, my uncle had one when I was a kid. So ugly it's awesome!

 

[racer8432955]

Is the tube frame only for the front (clip)? I'm digging this truck, my uncle had one when I was a kid. So ugly it's awesome!

no its full frame (or will be). in post #2 you can see the full length.

 

[don long]

Welcome back.
I know all about other projects that get in the way.
I have several projects in various stages of repair and I started my 62 corvette in 1996 (almost 20 years under construction) and have lost several of the orig.parts lol

 

[racer8432955]

took me almost a year to finish the front frame rails as my drag car got in the way. but here it is.
(standing on all four feet again)

 

[bulletpruf]

Very nice!

 

[BigMike782]

Keep us posted.
VERY cool project!

 

[madoc1]

very neat project. we used to have an eco van that was used to deliver furniture. kinda fun sitting out front.

jim

 

[racer8432955]

thought I would update my thread. even though it seemed like it, project is not dead. though it got side tracked (several times).
Had to make a new lower part to the nose, and lower valance. Had rust issues...

Bed frame work:

.

I'll keep posting as I keep going. Trying to update all the photos on various sites since photobuckt went dead...

 

[racer8432955]

I hate when projects die on the internet. So, 5yrs after my last post i'll update this thread.
so heres where i am today. this might be the longest project ever on here, 8+ yrs?



yuck...



off to paint

 

[racer8432955]

 

[bulletpruf]

Looks great! Tell us more about the drivetrain, please.

 

[shoot summ]

I've always thought the Eco trucks were cool! Yours is looking great, I think an ECO4 swap into one would be interesting, but a big v8 in the bed is always cool.

 

[rattle_snake]

Super cool glad you are back at it. final stretch.

 

[hasco]

Nice E- 100 ! Here is my '68 Dodge A- 100.

 

[racer8432955]

Looks great! Tell us more about the drivetrain, please.

347 / c4 trans / 8.8 rear axle.
in some of the early pics it had a 9inch w/ full floaters and 5x5 hubs. too hard to get wheels for those, and a little overkill for a street vehicle.

 

[bulletpruf]

347 / c4 trans / 8.8 rear axle.
in some of the early pics it had a 9inch w/ full floaters and 5x5 hubs. too hard to get wheels for those, and a little overkill for a street vehicle.

Nice. I have a 347 kit for the 302 in my '69 Bronco, but I have a bunch of other projects ahead of that in line.

 

[racer8432955]

seats fitted.

 

[rattle_snake]

Nice, keep up the pics and updates. Such a cool vehicle.

 

[m6z]

Wow.

This thing is cool.

 

[driftpin]

It's coming along! Who cares about the time, if you have the space for a dormant project?

About the pig iron ballast above the axle for the Econoline: I had a '61 Econoline pick-up, and they didn't use that at first. After reports came in, about the handling instability, they decided to fit it. Mine has it. I bought it used, in about 1976, and it was in there then.

Sometime after that, I was in Detroit, visiting friends. I went to the Detroit Public Library and I asked for whatever they had on the Econoline first generation. I was provided a brochure that was distributed to the GM/Chevy sales force, and it had stills from that same group in the video shown lifting the rear of the Econoline pickup. I commented elsewhere those burly, winter-coat wearing fellows look like they were borrowed from the Detroit Lions defensive line. I still have a photocopy I made of it at the Detroit Public Library.

FYI of the readers, yes, mine had a OEM 9" rear end in it. Barely-enough to withstand the abuse the 170 cu. in inline-6 could hand-out.

One of my friends from fire-rescue liked mine so-much, he searched around Miami FL until he discovered a '65 Econoline pickup and he re-did that, nicely. I helped him with the mechanicals when he hit something he couldn't resolve, and started throwing tools.

I never owned something that got as-much attention as that so plain and minimally-powered cab-over pickup. My Smokey & the Bandit '77 Trans-Am with a 400 Pontiac might be a close second.

Here's a partial pic of it from probably late 1980's. My friend came to FL and rode that R100RT back to MI at the end of November after I sold it to him.

 

[racer8432955]

For those who like pictures....
Bed Frame:


Cab Floor:

Brake System Mounting:


Cage Work:

radiator lines:

under carriage paint:

 

[rattle_snake]

Wow that is more involved fab work than I had expected. Impressed! Like it even more now. Wish I could build one myself...

 

[jollygreengiant]

Very cool project! I love that new colour. Why are you adding a cage to it?

 

[racer8432955]

Very cool project! I love that new colour. Why are you adding a cage to it?

Drag racing. plus there is only one layer of sheet metal between you and the oncoming car without the cage. I don't like to be the first one at the party....

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Beautiful job!

 

[Darby9]

I love these trucks--great work. Two years ago I was ready to jump in the car w/ a deposit for one here in CA--former Air Force truck w/ the government contract plate still on it--and the guy got a deposit on a Thursday, and it was off to the southeast somewhere by Tuesday. I was sad.

 

[racer8432955]

After 8.5 yrs I feel I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. yesterday i fabbed up the trans cooler fan. This got me thinking there really isn't a part on this vehicle that i haven't had to manipulate in some way. Some is just paint, but a lot is fabbed from scratch as it is not available at summit or jegs, etc. All i can say is- never again lol....

 

[m6z]

Fantastic work.

 

[Badhabit]

Beautiful. Never again------at least until next time !!!!!!!!!!!

H

 

[rattle_snake]

..... This got me thinking there really isn't a part on this vehicle that i haven't had to manipulate in some way. Some is just paint, but a lot is fabbed from scratch as it is not available at summit or jegs, etc. All i can say is- never again lol....

This is why the vehicle is special, one-of-a-kind. You should be proud of you excellent work on it.

 

[ng8264723]

I think that is adorable. I am pretty sure that is not what you were going for but it is adorable!

 

[driftpin]

I've watched this since I first saw it. Your progress matches some of my stuff, I'm glad to see things getting done. Now if I could only see some progress on my delayed projects!

I had a first-year Econoline pickup and it was powered by a 170 cu .in. inline-6 w/the log intake cast w/the cyl head. It was 3 on the tree, three windows, and had a heater delete. I suspect it had never been out of Florida. I bought it from a friend on fire-rescue in the late 1970's and used it for close to 20 years. It was durable and cheap to run.

Here's a pic I have of it, the only one I could easily locate off this laptop. The bike is a '83 R100RT BMW I bought in '92, about a month before an event named Andrew changed Florida, and especially south Florida, forever.

I often was asked if I wanted to sell the Econoline pickup when I was picking up supplies at Home Depot or hauling one motorcycle or another.



Yeah, I saw I posted the pic earlier, so that's a 'double-post' of sorts, but I added a bit more content.

One of my FL friends, his buddy back in the early 1970's had a Dodge A-100 van/pickup. He put a 351 Cleveland in the bed by the rear of the cab. The driveshaft was about a foot long. It would pick-up the front wheels, easily if you stomped on it.

 

[plain2car]

racer, nice job! I am not really a "ford guy", But I like to see any automotive projects. here is one that you might find interesting and maybe even a little motivational... LOL!!
LINK: https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-hybrids/1638928-my-1963-ford-econoline-4-8-6l80e-build.html
keep up the good work! I like the color combo too!

 

[racer8432955]

pretty much done sans a couple loose ends. need to correct some handling issues as well. though i doubt a suspension system that dates back to the covered wagon days will ever handle like a f1 race car.

 

[BigMike782]

That's bad to the bone!
Congrats on an awesome build.