Here's the deal I've got an 81 W250 318 4sp 4wd.
I can get a van with a slant 6 and the OD 833 for nothing.
Ain't going to use the 833 just the 6 maybe.
The 318 runs ok and will work fine for me this summer. Just need it to move a camper a few times this summer maybe 100 miles at the most. The rest of the time it'll haul junk to the dump and the junk I buy home.
It's doing a bit over 11mpg now and a tune up should get that up a bit. The last truck I drove with the 6 was a worn out 69 D200 4sp it was doing around 17mpg.
So Im thinking I'll rebuild the 6 over the summer and drop it in next winter.
Am I right in thinking the vans got the same motor mounts and oilpan as my W250?
And I know pulling a camper I aint goint to win any races.

 

i put a 318 from a 87 b250 in my 91 and the oil pan was fine. don't know if it is the same but if you look at it from underneath you be able to see if the pick-up is at the front or at the back of the cross member . the slant six should just bolt in i think. my 81 at some point in its life had a slant 6 but now it has a 318 and it does not look like they did any modifications to make it fit.

 

I looked the van over the other day. But I was to lazy to shovel snow to get under it.
What's an 833 od trans going for these days?

 

i don't know what they go for but it would be a great transmission to have if you do a lot of highway traveling with the price of gas.