1978 Dodge Ram Van

van

360 HP

Automatic

Clear

Gasoline

1978 Dodge Tradesman 200 Van Mopar Muscle Magazine Promotional/Project Van Straight from the 70s This ’78 Dodge Tradesman 200 is an original rust-free California van showing 91,500 miles. The first owner customized the interior and exterior in 70’s style with shag carpet, wood paneling, a wet bar, and a rear bench seat that folds down into a bed. The front seats are captain’s chairs that swivel 360 degrees. On the outside pin-striping was added along with a roof vent, rear roof spoiler, and front windshield visor. The van came to Florida several years ago still wearing the California tags and I purchased it as a fun cruiser and project vehicle for Mopar Muscle Magazine. As the Technical Editor for Mopar Muscle I have serviced and upgraded the van with many new parts to make it 100 percent roadworthy and reliable, and the Magazine has used it for several local and national promotional events including the Hot Rod Power Tour and this year’s Mopar Nationals. The van has been featured in magazine and website technical articles, but no longer fits the needs of the magazine or my family so it will be sold to the highest bidder. Overall: Overall the van is a cool cruiser and turns heads wherever we take it. Factory options include orange paint, 360 HP four-barrel engine, manual windows, power steering, power brakes, cruise control, delay wipers, and air conditioning. The van rides and drives great and everything works including the factory oil pressure, water temp, fuel level, and amp gauges. Cruise doesn’t work because we removed the cable from the trans to cruise unit to find a replacement, otherwise everything works. We just drove the van from Florida to Ohio for the Mopar Nationals and it made the trip with no problems, tracks straight, no noises or vibrations, and cold air conditioning. Buy it in Florida and drive it home to anywhere in the country, or Canada, or Mexico, etc. Paint, Body, and Exterior: The body of this van is original and rust-free from California. The paint is in good condition and is all or mostly the original finish so far as I can tell. The color is the original “Hemi” orange. There are a couple of minor scratches, dings, and chips, but overall the paint is in good presentable condition and cleans up well for its age. There is no rust-through anywhere and the floors, door jams, and roof are just as clean as the rest of the body. The original owner added white pin-striping from hood along the side body line which looks nice, as well as a custom fiberglass rear spoiler and front vent visor and roof vent. I replaced the roof vent with a new one and there are no leaks and it operates properly. All glass is in good shape with no scratches or chips. Front and rear chrome bumpers are straight and shiny. All side trim is in good shape but driver side front fender trim piece is missing. Grill is original and has one small crack but looks nice. Taillight and side lenses are nice. All light bulbs and headlights are new and work properly. All doors work properly and door handles and locks are shiny and work correctly with the same key. Windshield wiper arm bushings are new and new wiper blades are installed. Fuel tank has been flushed and new pickup and sending unit installed. Wheels are Cragar SST 15 x 10 rear and 15 x 7 front. Tires are new this year and have less than 1000 miles. Engine, Transmission, Differential: The engine is the original high-performance 360 four-barrel and it’s clean and runs great with no leaks, noise, or smoke. All of the belts and hoses have been replaced, and the carburetor is a new Edelbrock 650 cfm four-barrel with Air Aid high-flow air filter. All rubber fuel lines and fuel filters have been replaced. New ignition components include new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, distributor pickup, and electronic ignition box. New alternator and voltage regulator. New high-volume water pump and new valve cover gaskets and pcv valve. California emissions stuff and catalytic converter have all been deleted. The a/c compressor is rebuilt and the dryer is new. The air-conditioner works great and blows cold. Overall the engine is powerful, smooth, and runs great. The transmission is the original 727 TorqueFlite and has been overhauled with new clutches, bands, seals, bushings, and gaskets. Shifts are firm and the transmission operates flawlessly with no leaks or noises. TCI transmission oil cooler was added in front of radiator. Driveshaft has been replaced with new universal joints. Rear differential was serviced with new axle seals, cover gasket, and fresh gear oil. Gears are factory and I’m guessing 2.76 ratio. All fluids are AMSOIL synthetic. Suspension and Brakes: The front suspension and steering bushings have all been replaced with new parts and the front end was aligned at that time. The shocks were replaced less than two years ago. The van drives and tracks straight and tire wear is even all the way around. Front brake pads and calipers have been replaced and all rubber brake lines are new. Rear brake shoes and wheel cylinders are new. Master cylinder is new, brake booster works properly. The van stops nicely and doesn’t pull during braking. Front tires are new Goodyear Tracker 225/70-15 radials, rear tires are new Avenger G/T 275/60-15 radials. All four tires have less than 1,000 miles. Interior: The interior of this van was customized by the first owner and is just like it was in the seventies. There is green shag carpeting on the floor and parts of the walls and ceiling. Where there’s not shag there is wood paneling, and all is in decent shape for its age. There is lots of insulation under the wood paneling which makes it cozy and quiet. The front seats are swiveling captain’s chairs covered in brown upholstery and vinyl. The rear bench seat folds down into a bed and is covered in brown cloth. All the seats have small tears and imperfections and really need to be recovered. The front door panels are in nice original condition. Engine cover is nice and covered with vinyl diamond-tucked cover. There is a wet-bar/sink in the rear with a cabinet. The dash is in nice original condition and looks very good for its age. The gauge faces and lenses are clean and all the dash and dome lights work properly. The glove box and liner are nice. The stereo is a Kenwood in-dash high-power AM/FM/CD unit with aux (ipod) input. Front speakers are new Sony X-plod three-way, rear speakers are new Polk Audio small home-style box speakers. Stereo works great and sounds good. Overhead lighting in front and rear all works on individual switches and headlight dome/door switches. Cool features are barefoot gas pedal and classic custom Dodge van floor mats featuring a similar van. Summary: This is a cool, custom, 70s van and is a great, reliable driver. We took this van over 1600 miles during last year’s Hot Rod Power Tour and more than 2,000 miles to this year’s Mopar Nationals and it made both trips trouble free. It’s surprising the reaction this van gets at events, or just driving in everyday traffic. Everyone seems to like it whether it’s the kids who think it’s the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine or adults who remember when these vans were first popular in the seventies. Have a family? This is WAY cooler than a mini-van! Reserve is set well below the cost it took to buy and re-furbish this van. With some new seat covers and a little cosmetic work this van is great for trips, daily driving, car shows, or even hauling the construction/landscaping crew to the jobsite. I encourage you to look at the van in person and take a test drive prior to bidding, or just bid, fly in, and drive it home in air-conditioned comfort. Bid with confidence, if you have any questions feel free to call Dave at 863/990-2486 This van is for sale locally so I reserve the right to cancel the auction at any time. Obviously, this vehicle is nearly 25 years old so there are no written or verbal warranties. On Oct-10-12 at 04:38:13 PDT, seller added the following information: *I just saw that somehow power windows got checked off on this listing. I just want to be clear the van does not have power window. Windows are manual crank windows and work perfectly. Sorry for any confusion I must have checked that inadvertantly. Windows are manual windows. Thanks