----- Original Message -----

From: swordini

To: 4x4van@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, July 09, 2009 10:44 AM

Subject: [4x4van] Sell my Quigley drivetrain as parts or buy donor body and convert?

I have a 2000 E250 Quigley with 95k miles with a salvage title that was rolled that I bought off of ebay about 4 years ago. It supposedly just needed the bumper horns straightened plus extensive body work or a body swap but when I got into it I found out that the frame was buckled (past when I had any recourse with the seller). I had the frame replaced professionally (including cutting and welding where the gas tank wouldn't fit) not realizing I should have bought a donor body to replace the damaged one when I had this work done.

I've stored this baby for years and need to do something with it soon. I could sell it as parts for someone to do a conversion but guess I'd only get $2-3k at best this way (my only data here is that I remember someone selling just the 4x4 parts for $1800 on ebay a few years ago, and recently I saw someone asking $6k for a very new model year that had gone thru a fire but I think that's probably priced high).

Or, I can buy anything from an E250 cargo van with a blown engine but a clean title for <$1000, to a nice low mileage 2000-2003 (someone at Quigley told me awhile back that any body up to '03 should work as a replacement; said for some reason '04 was 'iffy' and '05-'07 Ford added traction control that my drivetrain couldn't handle) for $3-4k and then spend $2k with a local body shop to do the body swap (I've found one that says they do these).

I have way more $$ sunk into this than I ever imagined and would punt and sell as parts and take a big loss if that's the thing to do, but from looking around it seems like if I spent the $4-6k to get it to a nice 4x4 2003 with a clean title then it might be worth $10k+ (maybe as much as $15k) and I'd be a lot better off.

Does anyone out there have any recent info/informed opinions on what this would be worth as parts and what it would be worth if I went the distance and did the body swap and other work needed to get it to a nice ~2003 4x4 E250? And re the latter, are ~2003 4x4 cargo vans going for a decent amount or are ones with windows (chateau, etc) and nice interiors a la a poor man's Sportsmobile the smarter way to go?

Thanks,
Mike