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Some Q's about the Econoline, including the life of Cutaways...


pffan1990

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The Econoline is unfortunately going away soon. It is set to be phased out as of next summer with the replacement, the Transit, to start going on sell. I got some questions regarding the Econoline as well as the Cutaway, that Ford has announced to keep in production through the end of this decade.


1. Why is the Econoline's 6.8L V10 engine still the 2v head layout? The F-450 and F-550 chassis cab, F-53 motorhome frame, and the F-650 Medium Duty trucks are using the updated 3v layout V10 so I'm wondering why this isn't included on the Econoline van and cutaway? Potential overheating issues, perhaps?

 

2. Could the upcoming Transit's 3.2L Power Stroke diesel I5/6-speed automatic transmission be swapped into the Econoline van for lighter diesel performance? Something as an enthusiast/custom camper van type of thing?

 

3. Speaking of diesel engine, what about the recently-announced Cummins V8 diesel motor being offered in Nissan Titan? I know Cummins plans to sell the commercial application of the engine for those that use V8 and V10, such as well, the Econoline. Would it be possible to swap in the 5.0L Cummins diesel V8 into the Econoline, also as a fun project?

4. We do know the Econoline's final year will be 2014, if not extended for 2015. Does Ford have any plans for the Econoline Cutaway after 2020? Will it get redesigned or substantially updated at some point since it has higher GVWR rating than the Transit Cutaway/Chassis? I would like to think that at some point the Econoline Cutaway frame could be based on the next F-Series Super Duty to help with ruggedness. The cab portion wouldn't need to be aluminized like the next pickup trucks due to the Cutaway geared for commercial purposes.

5. Why is the Econoline still using the old 5.4L engine in the Wagon form when they could have used the 5.0L V8? I know they wanna keep costs down since it's going away soon, but the changes could have been done in 2011 when the new engine updates were done to the F-Series. Would the new engines be added to the Cutaway at some point after the demise of regular van and wagon? Such as 5.0L V8 being offered to the Cutaway as standard engine and keeping the V10 as option?

 

 

That's all I can think of now regarding my long-wondering questions. I couldn't find the answers anywhere here on this forum as well as online so I figured I'd ask here. Thanks and have a good day, everyone!

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

Sadly, the Econoline van and wagon is no longer here with us. The final one rolled off the assembly line June 28, 2014. The Econoline Cutaway lives on through close to the end of the decade. The article here is pretty much the only article that discussed the final van as well as included pictures. I still can't find any pictures or of any video content of the final van produced. Apparently, the Econoline didn't get much of a farewell party from Ford as the Crown Victoria and Ranger did in 2011.

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2014/06/28/econoline-ends-53-year-run/

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