It's an 84 Ford van custom built for off road exploration. Think; "Original HMMV"... it came before the HMMV and it is still MUCH easier to drive and maneuver... gets MUCH better gas milage... and has MUCH more room... and is MUCH more comfortable and more "campable". As for the "4x4" thing, it trades the 4x4 for lightness and turning radius, ride, and handling. The key to making it "go"; MOMENTUM... hey, it's only got "one wheel drive"... not even a limited slip... so it's "hammer down on the gas"... and "momentum is your friend". It's got an AOD automatic overdrive tranny, 9" rear, 31x12.50x15 Procomp XTerrain tires, Deutche Tech nitrogen gas shocks, limiting straps, polyurethane all the way around, and the brakes SUCK.
It started with a meezzelly 302 with a 2bbl, and now it's got what was supposed to be a built and balanced 351W with Carter 4bbl (Edelbrock), Edelbrock manifold, (at least the rip-off that built it got the carb and manifold combo right) and it's got a custom Total Performance tranny pull down cable setup... which is kind of a important aspect, as the AOD has to be set up right or it will fry... and right now it's set up right... so i need to maintain that... so, the idea is to keep the carb/manifold/cable configuration and bolt it on top of as much raw power as possible... and still have enough room that i can get in and change the spark plugs... i need to have a little bit of room to work. So, the idea, so far, is to pull the "rip-off" 351 (the guy that built the engine ripped me off..."Mike" who bought Doug's Racing Stables years ago... who i hear is back in Tacoma...hehehe...) tear it apart, photograph the whole thing, and send the usable parts in to be properly machined, returned, and then built here to become a 408 Stroker. Torque is much more important that hp, really, but both we are trying to build to be as close to 500/500 as possible. The guy begging to help me build it (actually, i'll be helping him...hahaha...) really knows his stuff and right now works building/repairing sick Porsche racing engines. The problem is that taking the total piece by piece build is a LOT more involved and attention needing and is much more drawn out time wise to get done... and i have very little room left in my shop to spread out a 351/408. I first suggested a 429, but my buddy engine builder Aaron said a 408 would actually be better... and what he said actually made sense. But, the less time The Van has to sit with no engine in it, the better... and usually that means "engine swap". Heck, i've already swapped engines in a weekend ALONE... as in "me by myself"... several different times. But, The Van has been SO GOOD that it really deserves to have a seriously BAD *** MONSTER of a motor, as well as being totally gone through and custom restored... and DRIVEN. Bottom line; it's GOT to be dependable and have enough power that i DON'T have to back down that stupid hill... backing down is death... and it HAS to get me OUT of the freaking boonies and back home, alone.