Hey guys,

I am looking for Van. Normally I wanted a GMC or Chevy around 2000 model year.

I am form germany and I plan to travel to my customers - as a photographer.

No i am in contact with a seller, who offers a 1985 Dodge B250 custom style in the long version.

My question now are..

+ Do you still get parts for that old cars?
+ Are they reliable?
+ Is it easy to find and swap the transmission?
+ Are they good and safe working on LPG/Autogas?

When I travel around i would love to go at least for 120 km/h = 75 mph - without squeezing the engine and transmission.
Therefore I was looking for a newer form 2000 or newer.
I test drove an old chevy express and it was so loud and stressing at about 55 mph / 100 km/h.

How fast are the 85 dodge lwb going for travel speed?

Can I siwtch the Gearbox or the differential to go faster with lower rpms?
And is thet "easy" to swap and to fit - and even to find for that ca?

Do you have experiences with the longwheelbase?
Any issues?
And can anybody tell me, how long that car is for real?

Looking forward to nice tipps and tricks!

Greeting

s from the north!
Vincent

 

Holy smokes, that's huge.

I have no experience with the LPG fuel systems, but, the gas versions are pretty stout, at least reasonably reliable, and parts are fairly easy to find..... here in the US. In Germany? On a 35 year old Van? I wouldn't even venture a guess on that one.

Does it have the Overdrive trans? Or just a three speed?

 

you need an OD tranny---that 85 did not have one

 

My first answer here in the forum!

So you think, that the car could run well for another few years wuth easy, when everything is in great shape?

The friend of the seller said, it has the 3-Speed-Gearbox.

So maybe I could get an OD-Tranny and put it in, like your follwoing comment said.

Do you know which kind of speed is possible with a 3-Speed in this car with ease?

Or does these old cars are normally shouldnt go faster than 50mph on a long distance?

 

Thanks for your answer too !

Did you ever changed the Tranny on a van like this?

Are they hard and expensive to get and how difficult is it to install / adapt them?

And what would be the difference in a riding experience?

 

You would want a 46RH, which they stopped making back in 95..... so, finding one might be fun. If you can find one though, there are a couple places that have instructions on how to get them to work reasonably well in a vehicle that didn't originally have one. Just s couple pressure switches, and some wiring. Not a big deal. However, the 46 is longer than what you have, so, driveshaft will need to be cut down as well. Around here, most any truck shop could do it for you, not sure what its like in Germany.

That said, I think you might be better off looking for something newer.... 96 and up would be my suggestion.

 

I have no idea what the parts situation is for American vehicles, especially older ones, in Europe. What gearing does the van have? If it has 3.21 or better yet, 2.77, it will run just fine at reasonable speeds. I wouldn't flat foot it on the Autobahn, nut I've run 70+ mph on a '84 pickup with the 3.21 gearing and it did just fine. Towing and acceleration will stink, but your top end will be good. I would think regearing might be easier than a new transmission. Mechanicals, especially if you order from the U.S. should be realtively available. Get body damage and it may be nearly impossible to get parts like fenders, doors and such. They are even scarce here in the U.S.

 

I owned a 1981 Plymouth PB150 Voyager Wagon for 18 years after buying it used in '90 with 70K miles. It had a 5.2 V8 mated to a 727 tranny but at ~120K miles I installed a 4 speed (granny gear) NP manual gearbox (I hate automatics) and had to weld up a 'Franken'-driveshaft since the tranny came from a SWB tow truck that didn't fit my LWB van. With both the 727 and then the NP 4-spd I toured North America and it would easily run all day at 80 mph and thanks to the Carter 2bbl 'Fuel Miser' carb would return 20mpg. I hesitatingly and regretfully sold the van in 2008 with +380K miles on the original motor (my wife at the time didn't like driving it) and it was still running strong... it was easily the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned and never let me down.