e-350 1993 for conversion? (advice please)

[teajay]

i do apologize for approaching total strangers about this
but

i want to get educated opinions on this vehicle

we are looking for a diesel to convert

we went to look at a 1993 e-350 that has 300,000 miles on it
the guy who's selling it seems to have done A LOT to it
including rebuilding the engine 100,000 miles ago
really nice tires
he installed keyless entry
nice radio
flawed but decent body

he's asking 2000 dollars
and says he cannot take any less
i am all excited about the van
for it's camping and travel capabilities

but am a little scared about the miles on it
my hubby drove it and says it drives really well, very easily

it has a bunch of small things wrong with it like side mirror broken, door handle not working, you know, the kind of crap i could fix myself,which might contribute to a nice low asking price

what do you guys think?
what more should i learn about it before going forward?
if anyone is interested in giving us some guidance, i can get more info to share with you from my husband who was probably paying far more attention to the details of our conversation with the seller


thanks so much for your time!!!

teajay

[Spencnaz]

Are you planning on using biodiesel in this vehicle? Does it have a diesel engine?

It's the engine that takes the most wear on a vehicle, rarely the frame or suspension unless it's been beat on.

If it's a diesel engine, then 100k miles is nothing for a diesel. Biodiesel will allow you to just pour it in the tank and go. Just have an extra fuel filter handy as the biodiesel will clean out any and all junk from the fuel tanks.

[teajay]

yes
it has a diesel engine
the advice i have gotten from both my mechanic friend, and my friends who is already running her own greasecar, is that the mileage scares them, but, for 2000 dollars it sounds like a reasonable price
we cannot afford to spend more than that
so it may be the one for us

[Spencnaz]

Your mechanic friend is mistaken concerning the engine mileage. 100k for a well maintained diesel engine is nothing.

A greasecar conversion and biodiesel are two different animals. Greasecar units are allowing the engine to use filtered waste veggie oil directly by means of heated tanks to heat the oil prior to combustion.

Biodiesel is veggie oil reacted in the presence of an alcohol to produce biodiesel. It's far less viscous and can be safely mixed with any proportion of regular petroleum diesel fuel.

2000 dollars for a van and a diesel van at that is a good price considering the increasing prices of petroleum these days.

[teajay]

he has good things to say about diesels
i don't think it's the engine he's worried about
it's rest of the van he's worried about
he lives in maine (the land of body rot due to the road salts)
so i think that he's assuming that this van has the type of aging he's used to seeing
this one has been living in florida it's whole life, it's in great shape

the more i think about this particular van, the more i think it's the one for us

we intend to buy a greasecar conversion kit some time soon
but to drive it on diesel till then
we may be able to find a vendor for biodiesel in our area,
but i don't see us mixing our own at this time
we have a fire obsessed 5 year old son
so, the idea of having flammables on the property, makes me nuts

thanks for your responses

i love your dancin bear icon!!

[Spencnaz]

Safety of course should you be your primary concern. I agree with your friend about the corrosion issue. Here in Washington State the issue of rust isn't as bad as they don't use those types of de-icers here. It rarely snows in great quantity here during the winter, it just rains everyday.

I'm not a strong proponent of running WVO in diesel due to various effects of polymerization and gumming up of engine oil and injectors. Also, having a pyro son like that would make me nuts too, but safety begins with instruction and little chidren and animals shouldn't be any where around while biodiesel is being made. I'm a very strict person when it comes to this issue.

[teajay]

well, i just called the seller and agreed to buy the E-350
we are very excited!!!

i believe that we will use bio diesel until we know for sure that the van is worth investing in the greasecar kit

[Spencnaz]

Biodiesel is much cheaper in the long run. I know that there will be those who will argue this with me until their blue in the face, but biodiesel can be purchased from local suppliers instead of you having to make it.

[teajay]

just in case you were wondering what our new beast looks like


i put it next to our other van to show just how enormous it is
it's going to take some getting used to driving
but it drives pretty smoothly for such a big vehicle

my husband has been diving right into the research we need to do to make good decisions about our conversion

so far he is really not diggin the process of biodiesel
it seems like he is more interested in the conversion
photo of the beast