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Re: Best Classic Van & Why?
TABrinn #748191 May 08th 2019 3:42 pm
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The mid Dodges definatley do not have much room on the passenger side but someone over 6 foot can still sit there without complaining much. Parts are pretty available for a Dodge and only one has been difficult to find or expensive really. I'm still having a hard time to find a flywheel for a slant six and 4 speed overdrive but I can't think of anything else that's been difficult to source. Really I think it comes down to preference, and circumstance depending on whats for sale nearby and that you like. I notice each brand seems to struggle with rust, all three have problems with rocker panels, roofs, drip rails. windshield frames, chassis parts. Cancer doesn't discriminate by the badge on the front.

As far as how they drive I'm pretty sure it depends more on if they have a fresh suspension and nice tires than anything else. I believe they all have double wishbone suspension in the front(RWD vans) and leaf springs in the rear but I could be wrong. Anyway lots of vans with tons of miles on them from all 3 makes so they must be running good if they can make it over 2 or 3 hundred thousand miles.

Sorry to hear about the roof on your Dodge, I'm surprised the roof has actually rusted through. Usually it just gets surface rust on the actual roof panels and the drip rails are what gets really nasty and rotted. Always thought it was a little odd how the ribs are downward and pool water when it rains. Cheap metal, and pools of rain water are not a good combo.

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Re: Best Classic Van & Why?
TABrinn #749250 June 04th 2019 8:16 pm
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The Dodge is in the shop again. This time it died on the way to work. The engine has developed a bad vibration at idle and low speed, especially when cold. Replaced the harmonic dampener due to the old one's rubber cracking and falling out. Still didn't fix the problem. It died on my way to work and I heard several relays clicking on and off during its death throws. I need a running van to get the family around in so... I'm holding my breath the shop finds an easy fix!

We've been hot on the trail for a new van since then. I am leaning towards a Chevy G-Van but the 4th gen Econolines are far more common. One of the guy's at church has an '02 15 Passenger Econoline at the dealership, where he is a manager. It's 3 rear rows are not anchored and he is awaiting the correct brackets which have been discontinued. One of the other dealers there quoted me $8500, but hopefully I can get an inside deal. It seems a little pricy for being over 17 years old, although it only has 80,000 miles on the odometer.

I came across a '94 Chevy conversion van online with 170K miles, under $2K. It's paint is sun-blistered and it's missing any rear seats. Most of the Chevy vans I come across in the JY are conversion vans and don't have adequate seating capacity. How tough is it to retrofit it with the proper 12 seater configuration? Would a conversion van have the proper mounting holes captive nuts, etc. or would they need drilled? Other than seats, what areas should I be on the look out for? It is about a 4 hour drive, so I want to do what I can to be sure the drive is worthwhile.

Last edited by TABrinn; June 04th 2019 8:17 pm.
Re: Best Classic Van & Why?
TABrinn #749265 June 04th 2019 10:15 pm
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Originally Posted by TABrinn
The Dodge is in the shop again. This time it died on the way to work. The engine has developed a bad vibration at idle and low speed, especially when cold. Replaced the harmonic dampener due to the old one's rubber cracking and falling out. Still didn't fix the problem. It died on my way to work and I heard several relays clicking on and off during its death throws. I need a running van to get the family around in so... I'm holding my breath the shop finds an easy fix!

We've been hot on the trail for a new van since then. I am leaning towards a Chevy G-Van but the 4th gen Econolines are far more common. One of the guy's at church has an '02 15 Passenger Econoline at the dealership, where he is a manager. It's 3 rear rows are not anchored and he is awaiting the correct brackets which have been discontinued. One of the other dealers there quoted me $8500, but hopefully I can get an inside deal. It seems a little pricy for being over 17 years old, although it only has 80,000 miles on the odometer.

I came across a '94 Chevy conversion van online with 170K miles, under $2K. It's paint is sun-blistered and it's missing any rear seats. Most of the Chevy vans I come across in the JY are conversion vans and don't have adequate seating capacity. How tough is it to retrofit it with the proper 12 seater configuration? Would a conversion van have the proper mounting holes captive nuts, etc. or would they need drilled? Other than seats, what areas should I be on the look out for? It is about a 4 hour drive, so I want to do what I can to be sure the drive is worthwhile.


If you are moving 12 people I would think a 1 ton van like an E350 or g30 would pretty much be required just for the load capacity of 12 people, seating, and any luggage at all. Seats with bolt in pedestals and saftey belts can be found all over for a pretty good price. If you could find a passenger van that would be the best bet. I've seen captains chairs go for about $50 each to $150 and bench seats are all over the place. Some could be had for cheap and some people want crazy money. All about being in the right spot at the right time. Regarding mounting, you would probably have the mounts for 2 captains and rear bench in a conversion van if it does have mounting holes, but van seats are usually mounted with 4 holes to the floor so install would be fairly easy.

Re: Best Classic Van & Why?
TABrinn #749361 June 08th 2019 8:53 pm
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Originally Posted by TABrinn
The Dodge is in the shop again. This time it died on the way to work. The engine has developed a bad vibration at idle and low speed, especially when cold. Replaced the harmonic dampener due to the old one's rubber cracking and falling out. Still didn't fix the problem. It died on my way to work and I heard several relays clicking on and off during its death throws. I need a running van to get the family around in so... I'm holding my breath the shop finds an easy fix!

We've been hot on the trail for a new van since then. I am leaning towards a Chevy G-Van but the 4th gen Econolines are far more common. One of the guy's at church has an '02 15 Passenger Econoline at the dealership, where he is a manager. It's 3 rear rows are not anchored and he is awaiting the correct brackets which have been discontinued. One of the other dealers there quoted me $8500, but hopefully I can get an inside deal. It seems a little pricy for being over 17 years old, although it only has 80,000 miles on the odometer.

I came across a '94 Chevy conversion van online with 170K miles, under $2K. It's paint is sun-blistered and it's missing any rear seats. Most of the Chevy vans I come across in the JY are conversion vans and don't have adequate seating capacity. How tough is it to retrofit it with the proper 12 seater configuration? Would a conversion van have the proper mounting holes captive nuts, etc. or would they need drilled? Other than seats, what areas should I be on the look out for? It is about a 4 hour drive, so I want to do what I can to be sure the drive is worthwhile.


Maybe I can shed a little light on some of your questions. In my opinion $8,500 seems kind of steep unless the van is in immaculate condition, and even then it's expensive. I'm sure you know that sometimes dealers tend to jack the price way up above blue book compared to a private party who wants to sell a vehicle at a fair price. In my opinion Ford vans don't look as good as Chevy vans, I can't speak for their reliability because I have never owned a Ford, but if you want simplicity, I would stick with an older van. I have always owned Chevy G-Series vans, and they have never let me down. They have rock solid reliability. They start up every time, and I have never had a break down even with my last van with 198,000 miles. Also they get relatively good gas mileage if it has an overdrive transmission. Just as good as a lot of the newer vans.

When I was in the market for a van, I looked at Dodge vans as well. I love their earlier vans, but the build quality and reliability on the newer ones don't compare to the Chevy G-Series. The last Dodge van I looked at Was a 1994 Dodge B350 wagon with a 360 engine with 100,000 mi. It came from the church and was not abused. The first thing I noticed was it had a ticking sound due to a cracked exhaust manifold. Some things were falling apart, and the build quality and the ergonomics were not as good as a Chevy either. This was the first year of Dodge that had barely started getting the same gas mileage that the Chevy vans had back in the 80's, It took dodge that long to catch up. Part of the reason may be due to the fact that Dodge spent the least amount of money on research out of the "Big Three" American companies when it came to converting their vehicles from carburetor over to fuel injection in the late 80's. The older Dodge vans are a different story. If I could own one, it would be a 1978 Dodge Tradesman. It's the first year of the re-designed dashboard, the side doors were moved up closer to the passenger seat, and it is the last year of that cool front end body style and grill before they were were completely re-designed.

When it comes to converting an older Chevy conversion van to a 12 passenger van, it might be more of a project than you're willing to do. I own a 1990 GMC G3500 passenger van, and the bracket on the floors that hold the bench seats in, look to be bolted to the floor where there have been have been holes cut out on the floor to accept the brackets. These do not come on a typical conversion van. This is a factory modification. Finding those old brackets to accept the stock bench seats might be difficult. If you have to drive 4 hours to see the Chevy van, you might end up being disappointed. Even if the owner says there's nothing wrong with it, you're always going to find stuff when you get there that "he didn't know about".. With a van that old that's been out in the weather, there might be rust, you might end up having to replace a lot of the rubber hoses and vacuum lines, and you might find that there are little annoying electrical issues. Also there are other things to consider with it's miles and age, such as having to rebuild the front end with new ball joints, bushings, tie rod ends etc.. That's not a cheap job. If you are able to drive a backup car around for the time being, I would do that, and then be patient until the right van comes along. Hope this helps.

Re: Best Classic Van & Why?
frscke1 #786866 January 01st 2022 4:49 pm
Joined: Nov 2013
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Originally Posted by frscke1
The Chevy/ GMC 3rd gen 71-95 G-series .... WINNER ! !

The 12 is a G30 ...the difference is the wheel base.

[Linked Image from live.staticflickr.com]

Nice sales brochure!! The G30 EXT 454 is a whole different animal. My B350 B MH is by far the most comfy, but My 88 5.2 B250 Safari Convo is my favorite. 🐕like it too! Dogvan!!


BBC Blue
1990 Chevy G30 L19 7.4 EXT
Church Van, maternity division

DogVan
1988 Dodge B250
LA series 318 Wedge 5.2 TBI A500

Cabin Cruiser
'94 Dodge B350 www.xplorermotorhome.com/
Xplorer MH model 230
230 hp LA series 360 Wedge MPI 5.9 A518 OD auto

Old vans are getting pricey!
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