I have owned this 1990 Ford Econoline for 10 years. My wife and I bought it in Los Angeles and road-tripped part of Route 66, then down to Galveston and shipped it to the UK. We've had a lot of fun with it over the years but it's really quite cramped inside.
We've been considering a change for something larger with a permanent bed, and look what popped-up on eBay in December. I sent the link to my good lady just for fun but I caught her looking at it a few days later. We decided to have a bid - a few drinks in at a Christmas party - and bid strongly in the dying seconds, and won the auction. It's a 1979 Dodge B300 Sportsman with a 440 cu in (7.2 litre) petrol V8 and a 3 speed Chrysler Touqueflite gearbox.
This was the seller's Rolls, not mine! I was so surprised by the condition inside, outside and underneath so paid the money and drive it home. By the time it was on the motorway, the engine didn't sound so good. Anyway, it made it the 100 miles home, albeit on 7 cylinders
The inside is amazing. It's like a tiki bar, with full size fridge, walnut veneer-lined cupboards, illuminated stained glass ceiling, oven, quad hob, booth seating, TV, a wine rack which looks like a massive spice rack, huge bed above the cab, toilet, shower, lots of storage.
Investigating the problem with the engine revealed a rocker not moving. One of the hydraulic lifters had worn right through and was no longer doing its thing.
Also the camshaft was knackered. I replaced them all and the engine ran quite nicely on 8 cylinders but there was a knock once it warmed up. The sump is easy to remove so I investigated and discovered all the big end bearings were down to the copper. The crank journals didn't look too bad so I polished it in-situ with some wet or dry and Autosol before fitting new bearings. I checked a couple of main bearings and they looked fine.
Success! After a period of annoyance and disappointment, the engine is running sweetly and sounds lovely. 7.2 litres of lazy muscle. Only today have we had the opportunity to take it out on its first test drive and it drives pretty nicely. Here are some photos of the outside.
I'll be taking it to RRW so if you fancy a look, come and say hello
We've been considering a change for something larger with a permanent bed, and look what popped-up on eBay in December. I sent the link to my good lady just for fun but I caught her looking at it a few days later. We decided to have a bid - a few drinks in at a Christmas party - and bid strongly in the dying seconds, and won the auction. It's a 1979 Dodge B300 Sportsman with a 440 cu in (7.2 litre) petrol V8 and a 3 speed Chrysler Touqueflite gearbox.
This was the seller's Rolls, not mine! I was so surprised by the condition inside, outside and underneath so paid the money and drive it home. By the time it was on the motorway, the engine didn't sound so good. Anyway, it made it the 100 miles home, albeit on 7 cylinders
The inside is amazing. It's like a tiki bar, with full size fridge, walnut veneer-lined cupboards, illuminated stained glass ceiling, oven, quad hob, booth seating, TV, a wine rack which looks like a massive spice rack, huge bed above the cab, toilet, shower, lots of storage.
Investigating the problem with the engine revealed a rocker not moving. One of the hydraulic lifters had worn right through and was no longer doing its thing.
Also the camshaft was knackered. I replaced them all and the engine ran quite nicely on 8 cylinders but there was a knock once it warmed up. The sump is easy to remove so I investigated and discovered all the big end bearings were down to the copper. The crank journals didn't look too bad so I polished it in-situ with some wet or dry and Autosol before fitting new bearings. I checked a couple of main bearings and they looked fine.
Success! After a period of annoyance and disappointment, the engine is running sweetly and sounds lovely. 7.2 litres of lazy muscle. Only today have we had the opportunity to take it out on its first test drive and it drives pretty nicely. Here are some photos of the outside.
I'll be taking it to RRW so if you fancy a look, come and say hello
