1972 Dodge Van Tradesman 100 from North America - Comments

With this many miles, lots of the typical things. It's had an engine rebuild (cost $15, because it only needed 1 ring), many brake jobs, a second paint job, rust repair, windshield replacement from a rock hit, and a replaced drive shaft from the one of the previous owners' recklessness. Now, for some repairs unique to the vehicle:

Steering. Mine has manual steering, and the upper bearing wears our quickly because it doesn't get oil easily. I replaced the bearings the second year I owned the vehicle, and now it needs it again. 100,000 plus miles is respectable, though.

Windshield wiper motor/linkages: I've gone through 3 wiper motors, all "rebuilt." maybe they're just poor quality rebuilds, but I seem to use them up rather quickly. the bushings on the linkages tend to crack with age and need replacement.

Leaks: the weatherstripping around the cargo doors is dried out and leaks with a passion whenever it rains.

Bizarre repairs: my father bought the van in 1978, and the original motor broke in half on the drive home (unheard of with slant 6's, which are practically indestructible.) the previous owners were not exactly the most prestigious individuals, as he also had to patch a number of bullet holes in the back.

I drive this van everywhere, and though everything. It was my first car, and even with all these miles, still purrs beautifully.

Even with the 1 barrel carburetor and slant 6, it's still amazingly quick. I've outrun a Camaro and Mustangs, But lost to an Explorer (?!) when I had 6 passengers. Definitely has plenty of power and torque, even with the smallest engine option. I just bought a 77 with a 318, and have yet to see how the increase in power will feel. should be interesting.

The mileage with the slant 6 and 3 speed manual transmission is astoundingly good. I range between 20-26 mpg, depending on what kind of driving I'm doing. I have never gotten below 20.

It's lime-green paint is very eye-catching, I get a lot of bizarre looks as I drive around. You'll never lose it in a parking lot.

This is a pretty cool vehicle, and good for you for continuing to drive it. However, I've got to point out that replacing a piston ring does not constitute an "engine rebuild". As much as I like the slant 6/3-on-the-tree setup, I've also got to say that if you think you are "outrunning Mustangs and Camaros" then you are really deluding yourself. I went through the same thing. I thought my slant six with a 3-speed manual was pretty fast, and when I drove a 318 2-barrel for the first time I thought maybe it was a 440 because it felt so fast. In reality, the slant 6 is just that slow. Don't get me wrong, it's a great, durable, long lasting engine, but it's silly to talk about beating Camaros and Mustangs in a slant six Tradesman.

I own a slant/6 dodge 1980 van with an automatic 727. The engine was rebuilt 10 yrs. ago, but before the rebuild thier was well over 100,000 miles., as it was a Pac Bell van before I owned it, so there is no telling how many miles. before. It gets 28 hi-way & 20 in the city& runs like a bat out of hell. There are some stock tricks added to get this kind of performance. One I can tell you of is to eliminate the thermostat to cut the temperature,& save water hoses& over heating depending where you live. The other secrets are simple, but can't disclose. The rear end is a 355, it gets off the line great with no wheel spin& cruises to 100mph easyly. I leave it needing a paint job to get more respect. And I do, living in Ca., with are the new foreign junk they see me coming and get out of the way. I did have the transmission rebuilt with teflon bands, steel plates,& a shift kit 2 yrs ago. Still running strong, but recommend putting a new harmonic balancer on with rebuild, for now have a leaking main seal. Fix the front, but the rear cost is not worth the labor with going all the way. So I now have 2 complete rebuilt marine truck engines. One for replacement,& the other to make into a diesel. 6 in a row to make them go. No foreign expensive repairs for me.

I bought my van in 1974. It has the slant 6 and 3 speed. I have had the engine rebuilt twice, it just now turned over 500,000 miles. I put snow tires on it and drive it all over the Lake Tahoe area. It is a great vehicle and I will always love my "first" car.

Oh please can you tell me where you found the wiper linkage bushings? I have a 1979 B200 318 2v.