anyone ever convert a van from automatic to manual trans?

wiguy said:

wow, that guy doesn't f*** around!

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Yep. Phil is a cool cat...He did a lot of work on my Bronco project.

that 4x4 van looks cool , but I bet it doesn't do much offroad, those windows would pop as soon as you twist the chassis up. sure liek the straight body lines and lack or rust in it..................

a pic I snapped of my 76 with the 3spd on the column, (it even has manual steering, only one i have ever seen in a post 74 Eseries) after it was loaded on my trailer ready for the trip home. it is so rotten the door hinges flex in the door posts when they open.

I feel like lifted vans would be extremely top heavy and want to roll around every corner, I have seen some neat ones roll around town occasionally though! Even a 90's gmc safari that was on like 35 inch tires and camo top to bottom! And on the other end of the spectrum I rode in a 5 speed turbod Honda oddesey van before, was a crazy ride fasted van I've been in

pelky350 said:

I feel like lifted vans would be extremely top heavy and want to roll around every corner, I have seen some neat ones roll around town occasionally though! Even a 90's gmc safari that was on like 35 inch tires and camo top to bottom! And on the other end of the spectrum I rode in a 5 speed turbod Honda oddesey van before, was a crazy ride fasted van I've been in

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ok this is gettign off topic, but was that Honda van a rear wheel drive conversion with a 5.0 Ford V8 and a T5?

That 81 you found will be manual clutch. All diesels have hydro clutch.

Would something like this set up work?
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speed...)&utm_term=1100309955413&utm_content=Speedway

Then instead of the slave cylinder that comes with the set just use the stock slave cylinder for the T19 or ZF5?

compressionignitionrules said:

ok this is gettign off topic, but was that Honda van a rear wheel drive conversion with a 5.0 Ford V8 and a T5?

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No it was a 4 banger Honda motor with some modifications it was a strange ride, quiet exhaust only sound s it made was blow off valve you'd never know till pulled away from you that it was built up Lol

IDIDieselJohn said:

Rare find, but nothing useful for you on it unless you want to put an IDI in a half ton van, witch is totally fine as well, but that's got the old RUG 4spd OD tranny, looks exactly the same as the old top loader mustang 4spd, but this one, 4th, is OD, and a very light duty transmission. Clutching system will be linkages on that 81 as well.

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John I'm pretty sure the pedals out the 81 would work with a Hydraulic slave set up. He would just need to modify the first piece of clutch linkage that goes thru the floor. Convert that linkage into a push rod.

The hydraulic clutch master mounts to the floor where that linkage goes thru.



WIGUY I'm doing the swap in my 89 E350 gasser. The pedal set up is the hardest part of the swap. I lucked out and found and bought a complete 88 E150 5spd van from a salvage yard. I bought the whole van to get the pedals and steering column. I'm swapping a highly modified 300 inline 6 with a NP435/NP205 combo into my van.

Here's some pics of my donor:






The clutch master cylinder uses a remote reservoir. You can see it just to the left of the brake master in this pic.



It will make life a whole lot easier if you can find some stock pedals. The aftermarket pedal is an option but it makes mounting the clutch master a whole lot more difficult. Not a whole lot of room in the engine compartment in front of the clutch pedal.

I'm a big fan of the 75-91 Econolines, but I hate automatics. So I have become a little obsessed with manual transmission swaps in the Econolines.

thanks for all the info Ted! I'm like you, automatics just bug me, I guess I'm a control freak. Although my cousin does have a 2000 E350 extended van with the 5.4l gasser and over 250k on it I drive sometimes and the tranny still shifts smooth as silk.

I was also thinking if I could find an 80's school bus somewhere...

wiguy said:

thanks for all the info Ted! I'm like you, automatics just bug me, I guess I'm a control freak. Although my cousin does have a 2000 E350 extended van with the 5.4l gasser and over 250k on it I drive sometimes and the tranny still shifts smooth as silk.

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I own two vans. The 89 E350 extended clubwagon 351W/C6 (soon to be 300/NP435/NP205 ) that I'm building. My other van is a 96 E250 extended cargo van with the 351W/E4OD around 250,000 miles. The 96 is my current daily driver/work truck/van. It has served me well for the last 5 or 6 years. It's been pretty dependable. The biggest repair I've done on it is replacing the axle bearings and seals and replacing all the brakes.

But I still hate the automatic transmissions. The E4OD in my 96 is bi-polar. One day it works fine, shifts smooth. The next day it shifts hard, won't stay in OD, etc.

I'm just trying to keep the 96 on the road long enough for me to get the 89 built and back on the road. I expect the E4OD to just crap out one of these days. When it does the van is getting scrapped.

I like the NP435 4spd's. They aren't perfect but they are dependable, tough and best of all cheap! I can pick up a used replacement for $50-$100. If that E4OD I've got craps out it's a whole more expensive to to fix or replace. It would be nice if the 435 had OD. But I still like it more then even the ZF 5spd's. I've got a ZF in my 91 F-Superduty behind the 7.3L

wiguy said:

I was also thinking if I could find an 80's school bus somewhere...

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The school bus isn't going to help you with the pedals. If you find one with an IDI you could grab all the transmission related parts. A full size bus clutch pedal set up won't work in the Econoline. And I don't think I've ever seen the Econoline based mini bus with a manual transmission. I might be wrong but I've never seen one.

Fordman75 said:

I like the NP435 4spd's. They aren't perfect but they are dependable, tough and best of all cheap! I can pick up a used replacement for $50-$100. If that E4OD I've got craps out it's a whole more expensive to to fix or replace. It would be nice if the 435 had OD. But I still like it more then even the ZF 5spd's. I've got a ZF in my 91 F-Superduty behind the 7.3L

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Interesting, are the NP435's directly interchangeable with T19's? I've had zero problems with my '86 and i've driven it on several 1,000+ mile trips towing trailers with vehicles.

wiguy said:

Interesting, are the NP435's directly interchangeable with T19's? I've had zero problems with my '86 and i've driven it on several 1,000+ mile trips towing trailers with vehicles.

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There's nothing to be gained by going to a NP435 from a T-19. The T-19's were used in the big block gassers and diesels. All my gassers are either 351W's or 300 inline 6's.

10-4, I like my '87 but my '86 is actually my dd as it gets better gas mileage and I just prefer manual trans, if my '87 was manual it would be a different story!

There's currently a 1990 4x4 van on CL (State College, PA) 460 engine with 30,000 miles for $1200.00.