Some must die so others may live.

[92exp4x4]

Spent the majority of the weekend doing the final teardown of a parts vehicle I acquired a while back. For those interested to see a van in it's basic components, this thread is for you.

 

[92exp4x4]

More pics of my mess..

 

[92exp4x4]

Hopefully I'll have the fuel system and rear axle/suspension removed tonight. Then its just a matter of cutting out the sections of the body I need to fix the rust in my red van. I'll post more pics as I go.

 

[92exp4x4]

It's apart. Some good pics of parts of the vehicle you don't normally see. This may or may not help anyone, but if it does then great!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Save the track for the sliding door. It's one part that's impossible to find. I had to replace mine, and had a difficult time finding one. It broke twice shortly after I replaced it, so I had to improvise. It works but it's not great. The side glass is another hard to find part. Mine broke, and I couldn't get a replacement. I had to use sheet metal to block it off. What kind of crane do you have? Is it a rental or do you own it?

 

[92exp4x4]

Thanks for the input. I'm trying to save as many odd ball parts that I can. I planned on keeping the track and every other bit of hardware that I can. I've wondered how hard glass would be to find for these. I've not had to look for any yet. Which piece do you need? This van has clear glass all around. My red van is extended, and Ive wondered about quarter window availability.

The crane is a Stellar 6621, T1 service body mounted to a 2007 F550 chassis. All hydraulic activation and remote radio control I bought it from the company I work for last year. It makes things like this soooooo much easier. Mostly the truck is used on the farm and doing the odd job here and there. I used to work for my company in a local steel mill. We went to F750 cranes and sold off the 550s as they were too light in GVW and the we needed the 10,000 lb cranes. Attached is a current pic, just put the alloys and tires on yesterday.

 

[BrooklynBay]

The glass that broke on mine is on the rear driver's side. I have a metal plate blocking off that side. Don't forget to save the metal/rubber door contacts. Mine broke recently, and I bypassed the wiring so that the door ajar light doesn't stay on. I guess you could only get so much use out of these vehicles until parts aren't available anymore. The van is already 24 years old. My van collection is older than any other neighbor's vehicle on my block (or maybe in the whole neighborhood). People like to lease new foreign cars, vans or SUVs, then get rid of them every couple of years. That's not for me.

 

[Josh P]

If the bushing is good on the rear upper arm for the rear axle, save it. It's no longer available new.

 

[BrooklynBay]

How is the project coming along? Do you have an update?

 

[BKennedy]

I pulled nearly every part that bolted on to my donor Explorer I purchased after my dash melted, because I figured someday that exact part on mine would fail. I have the 105000 mile complete engine on a stand in the back yard.....waiting.

I like the thread title, apt. My donor Explorer was already dead from body rot, it just thought it was alive. Its transplanted parts have kept more than one vehicle alive.