Stabbin Cabin build-log

Hello ladies and gents. Let me introduce you to the stabin cabin (for lack of a better name). I bought this over the weekend and i am going to build her up into a good heavy work truck. Here's what im starting with

91 Econoline E350 body and frame
92 7.3L IDI Engine
92 Dana 90 Dualie rear axle (i think) with 3.73 gears.
01 ZF6 trans with transfer case.

Now the problems on the list to be fixed.

1 - when the engine was spliced into this frame, the harness was butchered. And i mean so badly my past car experience is telling me new harness. The only instrument on the cluster that works is the fuel gauge. So, the plan is pull the dash out and build a new dash and instrument cluster from scratch. Part of the reason for this is the engine housing had to be cut to fit the tranny in. Previous owner filled the gaps with spray foam. so building a new engine housing is part of the dash build

2 - Electronics package. Stereo, backup cam, etc.

3 - The tranny. To hook the engine and trans, the previous owner used some clutch from a tractor. When in neutral and you release the clutch, there is a horrible grinding noise. I suspect the pressure plate is too short and the throwout bearing is skipping across the fingers. which would mean its also skipping when in drive, but not so loud. also, there are some pretty loud gear noises coming from the tranny. i want to crack it and look at the cluster real quick to make sure its ok. That and there is a good chance its got the wrong fluid in it.

4 - Fuel system. prev owner said the forward tank bloomed on him. big algae growth cuz of the low sulfur fuel sitting in it too long. i want to pull that tank, power wash it out, get it back in order, and rebuild the fuel system to have both tanks at the ready when needed. Im also thinking of a bypass valve that i have put on many boats in the pass that allows me to use the in tank fuel pump to move the fuel from the secondary tank to the primary so i can avoid fuel sitting in it for years. should just be a diverter valve and a toggle switch is all i need.

I will post a lot of my questions here. First and foremost, what clutch should i use? Something tells me a stock 2001 clutch won't work. Also, with the goofy angles that need to happen to get this thing into a van, i want to use a hydraulic clutch. i didn't go crawling around in the snow to see whats under it right now, but if it is manual, any suggestions on where to get a hydro clutch that will work on this thing?

The ZF6 won't be a bolt on upgrade. Some bellhousing differences to deal with I think. Im confused...is that tranny in the van already or is that your plan?

Cool looking cabin though

Its already on. Got X-thousand miles on it already, i did about 50 myself. Prev owner said its a zf6 off a wrecked 2001 f350 4X4. it was far too cold to do much investigation, i plan on getting the numbers off everything and run them when it warms up a few degrees.

Not sure what you mean by "if it's manual"; um, didn't you already say it's a ZF6? Anyway, all the manuals of that era had hydraulic clutches. Whatever's in there is obviously fabbed, since the vans never had a place to mount a clutch master cylinder. Is there something wrong with the hydraulics that are in it now?

Given the degree to which this vehicle is "off the res", anything's possible, but in-tank fuel pumps are extremely unlikely. If the mechanical lift pump is no longer commissioned, pretty-much every e-fuel mod you see out there involves a single pump downstream of the selector valve.

Was the van originally a diesel? For the dash / electricals, a '91 van EVTM would be in order. If the donor engine came from a truck, a '92 truck EVTM would be helpful too. Is there an underhood fuse box?

Tranny fluid - not sure about the ZF6, but with the ZF5, ZF REQUIRES SYNTHETIC ATF when the ZF5 is commissioned behind a diesel engine. Pretty sure the same applies to the ZF6.

What is it about custom vans and Great Stuff? Must be some sort of universal law......

Oh, and more pics are mandatory, esp. showing where the shifter winds up in that interior.

Interesting!!! You, have a rare machine there friend!

pics of the shifter, or its nothing more than another automatic van!

shop manuals and wire diagrams will be here monday. Not my first rodeo on that front. By manual i ment linkage clutch. i wasn't aware that everything was hydraulic in that era. Its parked at my dads cuz he has the room and tools to do the required work on it. I will get down there next weekend and pull it apart a bit and get some more pics. Im curious as to how he got the tranny to bolt up myself. Ive read several places that this mod isn't easy to the brink of don't bother. probably why he had to use a tractor clutch instead of the real deal. but where he found a freaking tractor clutch with the same spline pattern as the tranny is a good question in my mind.

The shift lever pivot point at the floor sits about equal to your shoulder, maybe a little forward. you have to reach back a bit to work the pattern. Its an odd feel to drive, thats for sure. I may throw the lever in the blacksmith forge for a bit and bend it forward some to make it a little more comfortable, but thats a minor detail in the grand scheme of things.

good to know about the pump. As i said, the shop manuals havn't gotten here yet so i don't know anything about the system. I probably will still do a diverter valve and pump to drain the secondary tank as that has saved my bacon in the boat world many times.

I do believe it was originally diesel. I think the old engine was just shot and this one fell in his lap with low miles.

My first diesel. this is going to be interesting.

Pretty cool van.

I do have one recommendation, change the name.... sounds like a ****/**** van. Lol

Sent from my SM-T537R4 using Tapatalk

^^^^^ *******' Wagon?

It's fine as long as he doesn't paint it up like an ice cream truck. [emoji106]

Haha! Keep the name. I am good with it! Just don't paint it on the side?

When I read the first post, my first thought was this:



Seriously, sounds like you have your work cut out for you...but, should be an awesome rig when you're finished

Look what I found when I pulled the tool racks out

oof thats goignt o be a bit of resto work@! nice thing is at least its all mostly flat. If you want new fender arches the way alot of race cars/drift cars get custom tubs is just get trailer fenders, cut and splice as needed.
is that spray foam in the shifter pic?

what sit got for a front axle? love the dually look!

Right now it's got the straight axel, but eventually I plan on putting a DAna 60 in it and connect it to the transfer case.

Yea, to fit the tranny in he had to cut the engine housing. Then he filled the holes with foam. I'm ripping the dash out this weekend. I'm going to build a new dash from scratch and a new engine housing, all in fiberglass. Make it look like it's supposed to be there