Well, I managed to find a 400M on Craigslist for $275!!!

It is in a 1980 3/4 ton Econoline that was in Hardin, Montana until 11am today when I went and picked it up.

I drove the van the 100+ miles back here to Sheridan with no windows except the cracked windshield,(redneck air conditioning) no working tail lights, (burned wiring) and barely functioning brakes.

Mechanically, it ran great and drove great. (aside from the brakes)

The only iffy part was when I hit a big bump and a piece of the windshield went zipping past my ear, leaving a 3" x 3" hole in the center of the windshield!

Got it out to my friends place, where my trucks are being stored and looked the engine over to see if it had leaked any oil.

I was surprised to find that it had not even so much as dampened the thin layer of dust that was on the engine!

No seepage from the valve covers, the oil pan, or the front and rear mains!

Keep in mind that this particular engine is supposed to have under 1,000 miles on it.

With as great as it ran on the way home, the lack of leaks, and the appearance of the engine itself, I think I got an awesome deal!

I'll post some pics of the van and the engine in a few days, as my free time is slim to none right now.

I can't wait to get the engine in my truck!

I can't wait to see the Van! Sounds like you got a great deal...275 bucks and it came with a free van...awesome...

You rock dude... We need pics!! How's the oil on the dipstick look? You keeping the tranny with it or using your present one?

You'll get $275 from the crusher....nice

Sweet man! send some pics when you get a chance

Sounds like a good deal. I'd also like to see the van.

TexasRho83 said:

You rock dude... We need pics!! How's the oil on the dipstick look? You keeping the tranny with it or using your present one?

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The oil looked decent. Not too dirty, not too clean.

As for the tranny, I have no use for it. It is a 2wd C6 and my truck is 4wd.

That and I like my 4spd manual tranny a lot better.

I've never been a fan of automatics in a truck.

The van is a 3/4 ton, and I am going to strip it of all good parts before it gets cut up for scrap.

I'll get some pics when I get a chance, hopefully later this week.

1973 F-100 4x4 said:

As for the tranny, I have no use for it. It is a 2wd C6 and my truck is 4wd.

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Curious about it, and I know it's probably already been answered, but to use a 2WD tranny in a 4WD setup, would you just swap tailhousings or gotta do a guts swap as well?

Youve got to swap the output shaft as well. Its not a huge chore on a C6 but not a 15min job either. Id just assume use the correct tranny unless I was doing a rebuild.

Being a 3/4 ton van its probably got a D60FF rear and unless its got a goof ball wms to wms its worth about $100-150 alone.

yeah I wouldn't go through all that sh*t lol

You could always use a divorced 205 behind it if you didnt want to change that stuff out but that means new d-shafts and mounts. Best bet is the correct tranny to begin with.

Would be an option if 4WD C6s were rare...

STGFordCrazy04 said:

Being a 3/4 ton van its probably got a D60FF rear and unless its got a goof ball wms to wms its worth about $100-150 alone.

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I'm not sure what axle it is. The only thing that I noticed about it, is that the hubs stick out further on it than they do on the rear axle on my '77 3/4 ton pickup.

Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

Finally got a chance to get some pics of the van and my new engine.




Fire damage



Smoke damaged dash and cracked windshield

Van rear axle

My new engine!

View of the engine from inside van with the doghouse removed


The van is in a lot worse shape than it looks in the pics.

Whatcha think?

I think the van looks pretty reggedy in the pics.....lol and it's WORSE?! ouch...clean engine..how come it's not out yet?lol

I'd still keep the tranny around..it's getting harder n harder to find BB C6 round here...don't even ask for a SB C6!

flareside_thunder said:

I think the van looks pretty reggedy in the pics.....lol and it's WORSE?! ouch...clean engine..how come it's not out yet?lol

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It's not out yet because I don't have much free time.
Between work, taking care of my landlord's 18 rental houses, and working for my landlord every Sunday, it doesn't leave me much time to work on my trucks.

However, I did manage to get the old engine that is in my '77 completely ready to pull today.
It only took me 5 hours to get everything unbolted and all the wires unhooked.
This is after I worked from 7am to 3pm today, so I think that I did darn good!

Hoping to get the new engine out of the van, and into my truck before next weekend.

Only problem, is that will mean working on the truck before I go to work at noon every day.

Oh well, it'll be worth it!

flareside_thunder said:

I'd still keep the tranny around..it's getting harder n harder to find BB C6 round here...don't even ask for a SB C6!

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I'm thinking about changing out the tailshaft and tailshaft housing with the blown 4wd C6 that is in my green '77 F-250 parts truck, and turning that truck into a trail toy project.

flareside_thunder said:

I'd still keep the tranny around..it's getting harder n harder to find BB C6 round here...don't even ask for a SB C6!

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and i have 2 hahaha

sb c6 that is

Talk about a rape wagon... I like it..I wonder if I could get latex sheets for the windows...