Why the hell did Ford not use their F front end for the van?
It must have a cost cutting thing. Less metal is used for the fenders and hood on the vans. Plus they kept the 1970s dash until 1991. The trucks had TWO dash revisions in that same time. Dodge kept the 1978 van dash design until something like 1996. This would also help keep the purchase price down, particularly for the incomplete chassis for RVs, buses, box trucks, and ambulances, and by extension the completed vehicles. It could also be a fuel economy thing, less weight, more sloped.