'94 Ford E350, 70K, $900.00

[fdcg27]

We drove to Columbus today for a state vehicle auction.
I've been looking for a utility vehicle for some time and had my eye on the old Ford van in the thread title.
It is twenty years old and has an actual 70K miles.
It has a 351W and an OD autobox and also has good maintenance history going back to day one.
It even had enough fuel in it to drive it the hundred or so miles home on, no small consideration for such a thirsty vehicle.
It's decent overall and runs and drives well, although it does have some rust, although not too terrible.
I had decided that I would go fifteen hundred max.
I was very pleased to get it for $900.00, particularly since some newer Ford vans with well over 200K went for a few times that.
On the hundred or so mile drive to Columbus, my wife and I drove through some actual falling frozen precipitation on I-70, which seems a little extreme for October 4th in central Ohio.
Glad we went to the auction, although the thing does take up a lot of driveway space and I'm not sure that it will fit through the garage door.
Might be too tall.

 

[Ramblejam]

Congrats on the purchase! What do you plan on doing with it?

 

[fdcg27]

That's it!
I'll take the four rows of seats out and use it like a truck.
It will be very handy for hauling for me and my grown sons.

 

[3800Series]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
That's it!
I'll take the four rows of seats out and use it like a truck.
It will be very handy for hauling for me and my grown sons.


Going to find it and write free candy on the side.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam

Congrats on the purchase! What do you plan on doing with it?
He can spray paint "Free Candy" on the side LOL.

Looks like a cool van to use as a truck! Throw a hitch on it and a roof rack and you can haul anything!

 

[fdcg27]

Maybe I should buy a Smart or a Spark and keep it in the back as a spare?
There might actually be enough room and there is enough weight capacity.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Serious question: was it originally a prisoner transport van?

 

[fdcg27]

Yes, it's caged and has padlock hasps on the side and rear doors because it was bought and modified to transport incarcerated felony offenders.
There's also a solid, welded in divider behind the front seats with a caged plexiglass window.

 

[bullwinkle]

If you tow or haul heavy with it, be sure to lock out overdrive, the '93-'94 351 Econolines we used to run would burn the ATF due to insufficient fluid flow & cooling, and they were hard on transmissions in general. If it doesn't have an external cooler, get one on it ASAP.

 

[fdcg27]

Thanks for the tip.
There is a button on the end of the selector that allows OD to be turned off, just like our old Aerostar and just like with our old Aerostar, the engine revs soar when you turn the OD off.
I tried it just to see whether the switch still worked.
There is a cooler located over the upper right quadrant of the radiator.
Whether it's for engine oil, ATF or PSF I don't know.
Guess I should have a look?
If there is no external cooler, I'll take your advice, since it would be a cheap way of potentially extending the life of this old dear.
The tranny does seem to be fine ATM, although I realize that this is subject to change without notice.

 

[skyactiv]

That is a good deal. You bought it at roughly 2/3rds of scrap value.

 

[fdcg27]

You just never know when you might get lucky on something.
I'm not sure that scrap value would be that high, but I have thought of flipping it.
I've also thought that I've long wanted a large and useful hauler, and this is certainly that.
For nine bills, I'm certainly pleased.

 

[KD0AXS]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Maybe I should buy a Smart or a Spark and keep it in the back as a spare?
There might actually be enough room and there is enough weight capacity.


I think you could get 2 Smarts in there!

 

[fdcg27]

Well, at least one Smart and a Can Am.
OTOH, I've always wanted a Formula Ford.

 

[eljefino]

That's awesome!

How's your insurance rate?

"They" started hating (certain) 15 passenger vans with the 1.5 rows of seats behind the rear axle for stability problems.

 

[bama7x57]

Good deal!!!
I love picking up older vehicles for dirt cheap. Drive it for a while and flip it if you don't like it.

 

[01rangerxl]

That's a steal for $900. Nice find.

The E4OD wasn't perfect, but it was based off the C6 and isn't bad if maintained. Many were not maintained. I'd probably do a pan drop and filter change soon, see how it does, then look into a full fluid change.

Those are tough vans. I still see a lot of the '91 and older square bodies around here.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
That's awesome!

How's your insurance rate?

"They" started hating (certain) 15 passenger vans with the 1.5 rows of seats behind the rear axle for stability problems.


We'll find out tomorrow just how badly our insurer hates this thing.
Stability is not its strong point and I can see how putting four or five hundred pounds in the rearmost seat would do nothing to improve it.
I drove it home in pretty windy condtions, and sixty five seemed plenty fast. It's also rather large, but like most vehicles, as you adjust to its bulk, it shrinks around you.
In fairness, I recently drove a new GMC van of similar size and it didn't drive a whole lot better.

 

[gman2304]

I bought a 97 E350 last year for $900 and flipped it for $2000. It had over 200,000 miles on it. It ran great and had new tires as well. They're a gold mine, and very desirable for small contractors.