New Member, looking at an Econoline this weekend!

Hello!

I'm a new member on here and a future van owner. This weekend I'm going to look at a 63' Display Van that is for sale. What should I look for? Any tips?

Thanks in advanced!
-Jose

Depends on what you're planning...Do you want one that's original or are you doing a custom project?

I wanted mine original as possible. So besides the obvious... was there rust how much dents etc, I looked for original items, mirrors, engine, transmission. I was told my van's doghouse is in a pretty rare state in that the hinges were still factory. A lot of times they break loose from the base and people run bolts through them or re-weld them.

I'd also check out the door hinges closely. I had one bad door that the hinge seems to have a elongated hole and you have to shut it a certain way or the other door hits it. If you have any bad hinges, be sure and fix it before painting. I didn't and now I'm just going to live with it until sometime later.

Well,,,,,,,April 16th is kind of a Ford holiday out here,,,,,,,,,they should be holding EconoWest 2016 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena,,,,,,,,probably see 50 of them there Fords there,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and a red Chevy

Welcome to Vintage Vans and Good luck with your hunt! Take your time because you're out where there are plenty of earlies to choose from...

Display vans are cool in my opinion but just make sure the body is not rusted out unless you have some metal skills and are looking for a bargain.

Please post some pics when you do find something you're interested in and I'm sure you can get some feedback from these folks if that's what you're looking for.

Thanks for all the welcoming guys. I guess Im doing a custom--and by that I mean making sure it runs good and it mechanically sound and leaving the patina!

Donivan65, thanks for the heads up!

@donivan is it a fersure event??

I surely been going to it every April for the last 9 years,,,,,,hopefully El Nino wont rain it out,,,,,,,I am sure the Ford guys will make some kind of official notice soon,,,,,,,,,

Didn't know such event existed. Thanks for the heads up!

Los Angeles is Ford van Heaven,,,,,,,,,,they even got Old Skool Vic,,,,,,,,,,

The van I'm looking at has had the generator replaced by an alternator and the it has a radiator for an international truck. How bad is this? In terms of getting them replaced by correct parts?

I owned mopars my entire life , but if it were me the alternator is a good thing,
and 2nd if the rad works i'd  leave it alone at least for now and direct my attention
toward safety  and A tune up ,  shocks ect. i never entered a show that was into the all numbers matching ,  my opinion and upgrades are more valued then stock such as  disc brakes ,alternators and king pins ,ect,  such, look at the frame rails , leaf spring mounting perch roof gutter rust  
good luck

the changes are better for the van,,,,but maybe you would enjoy hunting the parts to put it back to stock,,,,,its all good,,,,,,,

Unfortunately I think it will be a no go for me. It has too much corrosive, deep rust, throughout the body. The back roof gutter is really bad, and the bottom back corner of the truck is also bad. Every corner in the gutter has a hole. It would require too much metal fabrication for which I do not have the tools nor the money (I'm about to graduate college ). I wanted something that would drive and I didn't care about the aesthetics, but in this case the rust seems to be affecting the entire body. I didn't mind surface rust but I think its too much, and its not a cheap asking price either. I'll post some picture:

These are all the pictures there was another spot with deep corrosion but I cannnot find the picture. On top of the deep rust, the truck had some dents too (which I didnt mind, its just the deep rust that killed it for me). I guess I'll still be in the look out!

That's a 'parts' van only.....(If that?). You've got some stuff out there that we Eastern/ Northern savages dream about. Keep lookin'....Buena suerte Amigo.

,,,I think you need to come to the Rose Bowl next month,,,,,,there will be For Sale signs on some vans over there,,,,

you made the right move , if you go north washington there are rust free vans up there.

Yea...I'd say you made the right move on that one. Stick a fork in it....It's done.

Sadly, but yes, it's done for. Sad to see someone just keep this vans/cars out in the elements.

These vans were just work trucks,,,,,,,its amazing that some survived,,,,,,about the only ones that were kept in a garage were the glorified station wagons like these SportVans and its Ford and Dodge cousins,,,,,