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  1. D

    Holley Red are garbage, what else quickly?

    Well, with my luck, holley made a bad batch that got delivered to just my area. I really don't want to buy another one. One of my other vans has used the factory mechanical pump for 250k miles. great reliability but priming the system with it sucks.
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    Holley Red are garbage, what else quickly?

    Holley red electric fuel pump died after 7 months. Van started fine then psi dropped to zero and engine died. I tried a restart but failed. Got under the vehicle and touched the pump and almost melted off my fingerprints. Went to Oreillys, bought another one, just before installing I hooked...
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    Quick, someone buy this truck

    Yeah, I should have been clearer. It's not so much the paint, but the lack of body rot. I see lots of guys on here dealing with massive rust problems, which this truck doesn't have. Most of the issues I see here are cosmetic. My friends back east complain that they have had to sell their 6-8...
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    Quick, someone buy this truck

    Normally, in these auctions, this truck might get a $1000 minimum bid, if not, it gets scrapped. I don't need another IDI, maybe you know someone that can save it. You'll need a BIG vacuum cleaner and some mechanical skills, but look at the one photo that shows the underside of the bed and...
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    Half-azzed paint job advice?

    If it is the original paint and there is not a clear coat that is pealing, just fading color, you could try polishing the paint to remove the oxidation. That would require a cheap electric buffer, some pads, and polishing compounds. Some paints will polish up great and some won't. As a test...
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    Half-azzed paint job advice?

    They aren't, but anyone can still buy these products fairly easily, even though the manufacturers say they are for commercial paint shops only. The aircraft polyurethanes I've worked with are really plastic coatings, designed to withstand extreme temperature swings from -60f to +140f as well as...
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    What are IDIs REALLY selling for?

    Thanks, These van really only need the fuel system refreshed to go back into daily driving. The were used to carry 5-man fire teams eskorting nuclear weapons and had the best possible maintenance before I bought them from Uncle Sammy. I've put over 300K on one vehicle and it has only ever...
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    Half-azzed paint job advice?

    Yeah, Imron was really eye-opening for the first users. Catalyst that didn't fully harden for 18 hours. Paint an airplane at noon, 5pm it still looks great, come back the next morning to find the entire paint job on the vertical surfaces has sagged and wrinkled like a 90 year old woman's...
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    What are IDIs REALLY selling for?

    I have an IDI addiction I need to break. If I conservatively estimate the miles remaining on my small fleet, it comes to 1.2 million miles. I'm retired and put about 2k a year on the daily driver and the rest just sit. Maybe time to sell but I'm not going to give them away for a few grand...
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    Half-azzed paint job advice?

    I have painted a fair number of aircraft, including 25 million dollar bizjets, where the owners inspect the finish as if they were going to eat off it. So I didn't hesitate to repaint the small hood on my van. I went to the NAPA paint/body store and bought the most expensive matching color and...
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    Wally the Walrus (1992 E350 High Roof/Ext. Body)

    I noticed the difference after driving two identical IDI vans the same day. One was very quiet, and the other was as noisy as a motorcycle.
  12. D

    RUG and 100LL

    Regular Unleaded Gasoline 100LL is standard aviation gasoline. While LL stands for Low lead, it actually has more lead in it than automotive gasoline. The govt is making noises right now about substantially removing the lead from 100LL, which will remove some older aircraft engines from...
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    Wally the Walrus (1992 E350 High Roof/Ext. Body)

    Pardon my lateness. Having played with six IDI vans, I can tell you that substantially quieting down the cockpit noise is fairly easy. I am assuming your van still has the factory heat shield inside the engine cover. The rubber seal around the cover is the key. They often get twisted when...
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    1987 E-350 Steering Help

    I don't have any experience with a 1987, but my 1994 E350 extended length van with a raised roof is rock steady. I can take my hands off the steering wheel at 65mph and it tracks straight as a arrow.
  15. D

    Anyone in NW TX who can weld?

    I can weld, but you'd have to travel a bit further west... to Albuquerque.
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    Wally the Walrus (1992 E350 High Roof/Ext. Body)

    I’m just guessing that black device is either a GPS unit or a transponder that sends out an identifier signal when it receives an interrogation signal. Mine only had a power plug. I bought a cheap case of factory fuel filters on ebay but they are almost gone. Other guys here are looking at...
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    Wally the Walrus (1992 E350 High Roof/Ext. Body)

    forgot to add... Look under the front bumper for a long black rectangular device. Unplug it and pitch it in a dumpster or throw it in a lake.
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    Wally the Walrus (1992 E350 High Roof/Ext. Body)

    Sounds like you got a peach from your description. The eskort vehicles had all the comm stuff, weapons stuff, etc. They had great maintenance. However, they also had a bed in back and all the rear and mid-rear windows were blacked out. Since yours had a bench seat, it may have spent time as a...
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    Fuel filter mod to run taller filter that's less expensive.

    what filters did you have in mind. Sounds like a simple but effective modification.
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    Wally the Walrus (1992 E350 High Roof/Ext. Body)

    I like to think they were smart enough to remove the GPS trackers, but one van at auction (not mine) still had the National Defense Area flags and the magnetic door signs with a huge badge and "Federal Officer" printed on it. I believe the black boxes were transponders to electronically...
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    Vibration and play

    Had similar vibration on two different IDIs. Turned out to be the tires. Two Cooper radials that had more than 50 % tread left and an almost new Hankook tire. Big-O dealer that sold them to me refused to make it right. The outer tread was separating from the inner tread but wasn't really...
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    Wally the Walrus (1992 E350 High Roof/Ext. Body)

    Is it black and gray? I bought several identical vans 12 years ago. You may have bought a real peach, or a real lemon. I have 380k on one and it is still going strong with only routine maintenance. The DOE got rid of most of the IDIs 10+ years ago, and have sold off the 95-96 models as...
  23. D

    Rear Fuel Tank Cleaning - Dear God

    Close. They don't carry anything labeled for E350 vans. Really don't want to pay $200 for a part that cost $5 to make.
  24. D

    Yeh, Sad Day. Rare IDI E Gone.

    Sorry to her about your van. I went thu a similar insurance fiasco with USAA, and got nothing out of them, despite not being at fault. I may be cutting loose an IDI van in a few months. In great shape, and a lot of extras. I'll be dead and gone long before I can use up the ones I have.
  25. D

    Rear Fuel Tank Cleaning - Dear God

    Does anyone have a lead on fuel quantity senders for these old vehicles?

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