# 1962 Ford Econoline Pickup conversion prospect



## Jonathan86 (Dec 2, 2012)

Hello,

I have been thinking of an electric vehicle for a number of years now. I just purchased a 1962 Ford Econoline Pickup for not much, and I believe it is a great conversion candidate. My reasoning:

+Original curb weight of ~2400lbs is quite light, but it has a 1500lb payload capacity!
++That curb weight included a 165lb steel plate located rear of the rear axle to improve weight distribution. Easily removed and weight replaced with batteries.
+Large bed, as well as space behind the seats, for batteries.
+No power steering or anything else to contend with.
+Easily accessible drive train

-Aerodynamics are nothing special

About me:
-Limited automotive experience, but above average mechanically.
- I can run (and have access to) a mill and a lathe, as well as limited experience welding.
-Not great with electronics. Loathe programming, but will learn what I need to in order to proceed.

What I would like from the vehicle:
A fun and unique commuter and weekend errand runner. Fantastic furniture mover.
~60 mile range
~50 mph top speed
Budget: This is a bit of a long term project, but I would like to keep component purchases under $6,000.

Sometime during the life of this Econoline Pickup, the original straight 6 engine and three speed manual transmission were removed and replaced with a 289ci V8 and automatic transmission. And then converted to run on propane So I will need to source a light weight manual transmission.
Or consider direct drive? That is intriguing because it would be nice to eliminate even that small amount of weight and gear train efficiency losses.

Anyways, I have a bunch of research to do. The controller, battery choice and charging method is the most intimidating to me.
I have read of people using forklift motors. Do y'all think that would be a worthwhile choice to consider and meet my goals?

Thanks!

Jonathan


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## Zappo (Sep 1, 2011)

Hey Jonathan,
I think that would make for a great conversion project. Not sure you can get the speed and miles you are looking for at that price but maybe. Certainly going with the right forklift motor could help keep the costs down.

Although I like the idea of direct drive, I wouldn't recommend it with that. It would be very sluggish at takeoff and suck some pretty high amps. You would probably want to change the differential ratio at the very least if you went that way.

Good luck with the project and don't forget to post some pictures.


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## Jonathan86 (Dec 2, 2012)

Thanks, Zappo. I think you are correct, direct drive would not be ideal. I will be pulling the engine and transmission this afternoon, and will get some pictures of what I have to work with.

Whomever did the V-8 conversion did a bit of a hack job on the project. The wider engine required cutting some material from the floor, and the 'doghouse' engine cover was split in half and had some metal flashing attached with sheet metal screws between the two halves to make the doghouse wider. Neither of these jobs were done very well.

If I convert to electric, I can eliminate the dog house altogether and replace the two seats (of which I only have one, in very poor shape) with a nice bench seat. I can also seal up much of the open floor area and fab a nice housing with cooling ducts for the motor.


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## mizlplix (May 1, 2011)

That sounds like a great project. I would locate another three speed and stock linkage. I would keep a flywheel and clutch for easier shifting. I would also cut one or more access panels in the floor for battery racks and keep them out of the way. 

A 9" DC motor with a Soliton Jr. Controller would make a good match.

The lithium battery pack to do your needed mileage will be around $9,000. If my guess is right. 

Do not get discouraged....it will turn out nice.

Miz


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## Electroddy (Dec 29, 2009)

One note of CAUTION!!! Be CERTAIN to replace that PLATE and the GAS TANK with at least the same amount of weight. My father worked for Ford in the early '60's and stood one of these ON IT"S NOSE.  He was driving it into the shop to install that counter weight as the recall fix. He tapped the brakes a little hard and it went on its nose. They had to pull it back down by the rear bumper.


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## evmetro (Apr 9, 2012)

Sounds like you are thinking right. Keep reading these forums for even more knowledge. This sounds like a cool ev project!


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## Jonathan86 (Dec 2, 2012)

Thank you for the tips and encouragement everybody. 
A Warp 9 with Soliton Jr sounds like the surefire way to go, paired with an original three speed transmission. It will be at least a year until I need to nail down and order a battery pack, so hopefully cost for a good LiFePo4 pack come down considerably between now and then.

Electroddy: good point! I understand that back in the 60s Chevy featured a nose standing Econoline in their Corvair pickup adds. Ground clearance is a bit of a problem for placing batteries under the bed. I will look at the weight and balance results of putting the battery bank directly behind the cab, where it would be centered between the wheels. Doing that, along with a reduction in engine weight near the front axle, might result in a well balanced vehicle.

I did not get the engine pulled as planned, though I did get the engine hoist borrowed from my neighbor. 

Thanks again


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## sunworksco (Sep 8, 2008)

I owned one of these for a number of years. They are very good transport.
Eliminating the engine "Dog House" will be great. This will create a cavernous interior. You may consider hinging the entire body and cab on the frame and use a hydraulic or air lift to access the battery pack between the rear frame rails.


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## Jonathan86 (Dec 2, 2012)

Hello,
You are correct the interior without doghouse shall be spacious. Enough room for a bench seat and a small shelf for my dog behind the seat I think.
This year model at least of the Econoline is a unibody design, so without some serious rework I dont see how I could hinge the cab and bed up. I think I would gain a considerable amount of weight. The bed is wide, I think I could have a 5'x2' rectangle for batteries directly behind the cab.


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## sunworksco (Sep 8, 2008)

You may consider keeping the weight or center of gravity low and In between the frame for better handling. You can build a battery sled that can be lowered from the frame and moved on built in rollers. The idea is to get your CG perfect because you can.


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## Economike (Dec 5, 2012)

Hey Jonathan86, I'm having a case of deja vu. I have the identical truck, and have been having thoughts of doing the exact same thing to my truck. I still have the original in-line 6 and tranny, and everything works well, so I don't plan to dive in right away, but I really look forward to your progress. Please keep us posted with your conversion.


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

Very cool project. I had a 1961 Econoline window van that I bought for $40 in 1974 which had a high compression 200 CID Fairlane engine, and I got about 20 MPG. It was a nice ride but the frame and engine mounts were rotting out. In 1976 I bought a 1966 Econoline "Super van" with a longer wheelbase, but a few weeks after I bought it, the engine went bad. A friend and I muscled the engine out of my old van and installed it in the newer one, and I drove it until about 1987, when I got a 1982 Toyota pickup.

I liked the "doghouse" engine compartment. I could work on the engine from inside the truck if it was raining or whatever. It was rather light in the back and traction was not good on ice and snow, but when I loaded it with heavy stuff and put chains on it, she would go where 4x4s feared to tread. 

It was so simple to work on that model vehicle. By myself, I replaced the rear axle assembly and the clutch, and the hydraulic lifters, and rebuilt the carburetor. The steering was rather sloppy, and I bought new kingpins, but I was unable to remove the old ones. I probably would have had to remove the entire front axle and use a hydraulic press - and it probably would not have been all that hard to do. 

Good luck with your conversion! I'd go with AC, but that's because I'm more of an electronics guy. If you'd like to give it a try, I think you could get a 50-60 HP motor for under $1000 and a controller for about the same. You'd need 300-650V of batteries, though!


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## 26979 (May 19, 2012)

Hi
Just wondering how this project finished up. I have a 1966 Econoline that I am planning to convert. Got the van and I'm now looking at systems. I would prefer to have a larger motor and no gears or clutch, how did yours work out?


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