The Vehicle

The Yellow Submarine.

Let’s dive deeper, get to know it on a more personal level. FYI, these posts were supposed to be authored by Jake but he declined in order to focus on the build so you get my lovely commentary.

A 2005 Ford E-250 Econoline commercial van with 170xxx miles, 4.6L V8 engine RWD that takes gas, not diesel…did I get that right Jake? Yes, I did.

For those of us who aren’t fluent in car. It’s a mature van without rear windows and decent mileage. Gas is cheaper than diesel and the engine would require cheaper, easier repairs. However, it won’t last forever as a diesel would and we won’t be able to utilize the diesel idling feature for the electrical needs. Rear wheel drive is not ideal in wet conditions but we could convert to four wheel drive in the future if we desired to and were willing to pay the price.

So it should be easy-ish to maintain and repair, reliable and still have some shelf life to it yet.

And it’s in Cyclone Yellow.

Let’s take a closer look inside. We have the driver and passenger seats with the basic dashboard. Someone installed a rearview camera that works when in reverse. Manual windows and mirrors.

A metal divider separates the front from the back and it is basically bare inside the cargo hold. The cab is standard length and height instead of the extended cab or elevated roof. This directly translates to less room for the build and we can’t stand up in the back.

Up top, we have commercial roof bars. Underneath, a hitch has already been installed that is good up to ~500lbs. The vehicle itself has decent clearance underneath and absolutely no rust.