Just acquired a decent '88 econoline with the 6cyl. Decent shape. Will be using for hauling flea market goodies. Kinda new at this. Van runs well but is basic in its features. No intermittent wipers, am radio that doesn't work, no clock, I'm dying here. I need my goodies. Not even a cup holder. How did they drive these things without a place for your joe. Any suggestions on a replacement fm radio with a clock? No need for stereo just listen to talk radio. Can you add intermittent wipers to this or is that a major headache? Got to work on the heater blower. It fails and you have to slam the passenger door to get it to work. Sounds like a failed connection. Not sure where to start looking but will figure it out.
Anything I should look for or do on this old gal to keep her going besides oil changes?

 

Well so much for the help.

 

Depending on previous use, check u-joints, radius arm rubber bushings, The brake pads have no squealer so check closely or you will need rotors too. Brake caliper slides get cruddy and can hold caliper and pad against rotors and speed up pad wear. By this time parking brake cables could be frozen and may need replacement. The 6's were great and durable. The twin pipes on the exhaust just below the manifold were expensive and hard to find. They were a tough old truck and gave good service.

 

Welcome, and apologies fredandfred, didn't see your post..

You can add delayed wipes pretty easy,, there are kits available that come with a delay timer. I added intermittent, cruise, and power windows to my old 93 F150..

I also just acquired a really clean 77 Dodge 1 ton panel van from a friend for a town runner and to use on my property. The OE radio was dead, and like you wanted something to listen to. Radio reception here is pretty bad and and I have a ton of recorded digital music. I found a vendor on eBay that sold an AM/FM with SD card reader and even a USB slot for MP3 digital playing .. Maybe more then what your looking for, but the thing was like 27.00ish 'delivered' Light weight, for sure, but actually plays nice and filled the bill..

My van didn't have a holder to carry any mandatory joe either, and the PO built a wood unit that would allow for a couple cups, and a small storage area..

Post up some pics of your van...

 

Thanks for all the info.
I now have to replace my blower motor. Pain in the butt with the AC lines in the way. Might have to have someone do it for me, my back just can't take it anymore. My speedometer cable is making a racket too. The needle isn't jumping around but I can hear the cable. Not sure if you can lube it with graphite or just replace the inner cable or the whole speedometer cable.

 

If you can manage to reach under the dash , there is a retainer clip that you depress and the cable end will pull out of the head. If not remove a few screws and the instrument section should allow you to pull the section back and release the cable from the head. They do make noise when dry and you can lube them with oil and reinsert the cable into the casing and it should work OK for a few more years.

 

I guess I'm just not as good at tearing things apart as I once was. I got the dash loose to gain access to the cable but can't get it pulled out far enough to get behind it to unhook the cable. Not enough slack in the outer cable to gain access. I'm just frustrated.

 

Go under the hood and you should see the speedo cable . Just move it around and push it up toward the dash and that usually provides enough slack to get your hand behind the speedo assy to release the spring retainer that holds the cable to the speedo head. When ready to install just push it right back in and the retainer clip holds it there.

 

Got it unhooked by removing the center piece where the heater and radio are. A bit tight but got it unhooked and soaked it with lubricant. Took a while to figure out how to reroute the cable but it popped right back in. It help a lot, not all the way gone but I can live with it. Next project is getting the blower motor out.

 

Because the blower motor pulled some high current ,normally, the contacts on the blower switch got overheated and melted the plastic plug and oxidized the connections. Before pulling the blower motor check the blower switch. If that was the problem , Ford had a replacement plug available that you just spliced in and that solved the problem.