New Dodge Tradesman owner | Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 10 stranger | OP stranger Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 10 | Hello, my name is Josh and I recently picked up a 73 Dodge B100 off Craigslist in Georgia. I live in Cleveland, so finding something that wasn't rotten wasn't easy. This van has soon really cool patina, but I have never worked on anything where I haven't had to cut the bottom 6" off and weld new panels on to get rid of the rot. The under side of this van is beautiful, and I hope to preserve it as long as I can. The van has been sitting outside in a parking lot for the last 20+ years, presumably because the motor was whooped and needed replaced. The odometer shows 52000, which I am sure there should be a 1 in front of that. She boasts a 318 with a 3 on the tree manual transmission. The interior was all shag carpeting, and what I believe to be a Hop Cap type conversion. Unfortunately, the interior was in terrible shape from sitting in the Georgia heat, and it had to go. I was able to keep the interior roof light, and recently sold it to a Vanner from Akron who was going to mount it in his 77'.
I am huge VW guy, so this is my first venture down the water-cooled American van road.. but I am already having a great time with this van. My plans are to completely go through the mechanical systems, and make this a reliable 3 season driver. Salt in Cleveland would eat this up in no time, so I have a Jeep for the winter months. I am going to leave the rear empty for cargo, motorcycle/dirt bike transporting, and camping.
So far, I have taken the motor out (the side door), rebuilt it, and put it back in. Brakes have all been replaced from Master cylinder to the pads/shoes. New gas tank, all hoses and lines were replaced, I removed the A/C components (let me know if anyone needs any related parts) and new radiator. I went with a new Edelbrock performer intake, carb, fuel pump, cam and chain set. Stock rebuilt heads, with new stock valves, springs and I will run stock exhaust manifolds with dual side pipes.
I have sandblasted all the metal parts I could fit in the cabinet, and painted everything black. I went with a new harmonic balancer, and timing cover. I also love the look of aggressive A/T tires, so I went with stock black rims and 215/75R/15 Kumho Road Venture AT51's and they look tough.
I went with a new clutch/pp/TO bearing and had the flywheel resurfaced. Hopefully the trans is tight, but if not, it should be fairly straightforward to rebuild. All the gears shift and the linkage moves freely. I am almost ready to fire the motor up for the first time, and can't wait to get some miles on this thing this year.
Body wise, the only rust is on the top and bottom of the A pillars (both sides). Must be fairly common with these, but it should be alright to roll like this for a while. I will buff the chalky paint and roll it as is.
I will keep you updated as I make more progress!
| | | Re: New Dodge Tradesman owner | Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 10 stranger | OP stranger Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 10 | | | | Re: New Dodge Tradesman owner | Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 10 stranger | OP stranger Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 10 | | | | Re: New Dodge Tradesman owner | Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 10 stranger | OP stranger Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 10 | | | | Re: New Dodge Tradesman owner | Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 18,552 Likes: 137 Supreme Master | Supreme Master Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 18,552 Likes: 137 | Very nice. Congrats on your new van. Looks like you had some cool VW too. Arianrhod:2003 Chevy Astro Black Magic: 1985 Dodge B-250 Serenity:1985 Chevy G-20 The Outcast:1983 Ford club wagon Luna 1974 VW bay window transporter Freedom:1990 Ford E-150(parts van) Outcast Vanners van club Support your local 2% | | | Re: New Dodge Tradesman owner | Joined: Apr 2017 Posts: 191 member | member Joined: Apr 2017 Posts: 191 | Great work on the engine. It went from crusty to looking brand new.
"Sin Bin" 1984 Ford Econoline E150 Shorty
| | | Re: New Dodge Tradesman owner | Joined: Jan 2018 Posts: 72 journeyman | journeyman Joined: Jan 2018 Posts: 72 | Nice van there, Josh. Nothing clean around here, for sure!! My paint was about the same from Oregon. Took a LOT of buffing,(actually I wet sanded the whole thing first,had a re-paint) You should be able to get by with just a buff job! Took scuff pads to the underneath, painted and under-coated it all. Not sure if I posted any pictures from the underside.. Ditto on the salt crap!!! ,don't know what they used this year on the roads, but its REALLY nasty!!! Have had mine for a couple years now. I'm trying to keep her out of the rain as well!!, not an easy task in Northern Ohio. Make sure to check out the I-X, lots of great vanners there. | | | Re: New Dodge Tradesman owner | Joined: Jan 2018 Posts: 25 newbie | newbie Joined: Jan 2018 Posts: 25 | Very nice, I love the old grille. Wish I had a garage at all... Gotta do my repairs in the weather, and can't do rebuilds at all. | | | Re: New Dodge Tradesman owner | Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 10 stranger | OP stranger Joined: Dec 2017 Posts: 10 | I am getting ready to refill the manual transmission with oil, and I am not sure what to use. It is a 3 speed A230, and the manual states Dexron ATF, but I am fairly certain what I drained out of there was 80W/90 gear oil. What is anyone else using with success? | | |
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