While it was never intended that my trips to America would see me with a number of Dodge vehicles in my possession, things being what they are it's what has happened...

The idea was always to take the trip, use a vehicle, ship it to Australia and sell it off. So far I've sold only one, I still own four. The only one I have sold was this 1973 extra-cab D100 Adventurer:



The colour you can see, it was in fair condition and pretty much rust-free. A 318 engine with 727 transmission, 9¼" rear end, it was fitted with Ford Ranger wheels which tried to kill me as not all of them had been bored out to fit over the wheel register of the rear axles. The long bed was well-laden for its trip across the water...



...as was the cab, I brought a lot of bits to Australia in this truck. I sold it to a Finnish man who had a business providing vehicles to movie makers producing US movies on the Gold Coast. Unfortunately he died just days after buying it and its present whereabouts are unknown.

The first truck I bought I still have, a very ordinary 1975 D100 with slant six and automatic transmission, again a 9¼" rear end, single cab and long bed. I drove it 9,600 miles around the USA then about 600 miles in Australia and this was the beginning of my 'Ride Along With Me' thread. Again, it carried a handsome load of rear axles and transmissions when it floated across the pacific back in 2013.



Several people have told me they want to buy it but so far nobody has come up with the money.

Then we come to my 1987 B350 van. A Conversion Van by 'Family Van', I fell in love with this van very quickly and decided it wouldn't be sold. I did a total of about 22,000 miles around the USA in two trips in it, then I've done over 10,000 miles in Australia. Currently not running as I'm taking way to long to fit an NV4500 5-speed gearbox, I'd converted it to a manual when I first got it using an A833 overdrive transmission.



I soon removed the fender extensions, which were unnecessary. The 360 engine has a Quadrajet and performs well, I found it good with the A833 but it was marginal and needed a lower first gear. The rear end is again a 9¼', but I do have a Dana 60 on hand to replace that when I get around to it - probably as soon as I fit up that NV4500.

The conversion has given it four captain's chairs, there's an ice chest and little sink, a well and truly defunct old TV and video and the full-width rear seat lays down to make a bed. It gives about 17mpg at cruising speeds, the 16" wheels are fitted with 235/78 tyres. Very comfortable to drive and I still intend keeping it.

I didn't go back to the US again until late 2024 and I bought a 1990 B350 Campervan with the build by Richwood Vans::



There were things in it which didn't work, but it was essentially a promising vehicle for my purposes, it had a 360 with 4-speed auto and a Dana 60 rear. But while I was worried about whether or not I'd have to take the air conditioner off the roof to get it into a container, it was explained to me that the GVM of this van was too high for me to be able to import it into Australia under the concessional rules I'd been using. It was a 1-ton van, the GVM was way above the 7500lb limit for despatch to Australia. I did, however, cover about 6,000 miles in it and later I sold it in Arkansas.

So I went out looking for another van, finding a nice 1999 Conversion van by Regency. This was a low-mileage van and a good looking one, it fulfilled the need that I had to take a van back which would appeal to buyers.



Fitted with a Magnum 5.9 and a 4-speed automatic, it has a 9¼" rear end and is well-finished inside. No captains chairs, but four comfortable (and reclining) separate seats and a powered rear seat/bed. Blinds, radio in the rear, it's nice and I'm currently working on it to get it complied for use in Australia. After that I'll use it for a little while and then sell it. The mileage is now on 72,500 miles, of which I ran up about 7,500 miles, I drove it from sea to sea (Rhode Island to San Diego being the extremities) and apart from a thirst for oil it was all good.

I'm expecting to fix the oil usage by doing some work on the 'kegger' manifold, but that will come after all the work I have to do to make it comply with Australian regulations. At the moment I'm working on fitting Ford Courier (ex-Mazda Bravo pickup) headlights.

Also an oil-user is the latest addition to the 'fleet'. I spent two months in the US this year and used yet another Conversion Van. This one is based on a 1991 B250 and I've again covered about 7,300 miles in it. A throttle-body injected 318 with a 4-speed auto (which I've yet to see select fourth...), it has alloy wheels, a 9¼" rear end and 5.5" lug circle.



The oil consumption on this one is a massive front main seal leak, but other than that and some fine-tuning of the auto it will be a good thing, though I may fit a carburettor to it if I feel it will be better than the throttle body injection. I believe this van is currently in a container awaiting shipping.

These vans were never sold in Australia, the '87 and '91 models are not unknown here, though very rare. I'd estimate that there might be as many as 20 living here. I've not seen any indication anywhere that any of the '93 or later vans have come here, which would make my '99 model the only one in the country.

 

As my struggle to make the RAM1500 van comply with local conditions - the headlights being the big issue, while the ignition barrel is also troubling - continues, word has come through that the last van...



...is now getting close to being here and shipping costs have to be paid.

I'm actually thinking I might have this one ready to sell first as the list of things to do to make it roadworthy and compliant to our standards are fewer. The headlights are dead easy, I've got them on hand, I bought sufficient new safety belts for this one when I got the ones needed for the RAM1500 and I've previously done the wiring/light changes so that's a known path. Fixing the front main seal, which I'm sure is the oil leak (look at the drips on the concrete in the pic!) shouldn't be too hard.

It's now almost time for me to start looking for my next one, I'm planning to return to the US about September and this time I'm reckoning on another one like the RAM1500. I don't mind if it's the '94 to '97 (with the less pronounced rounding of the front) or the '98 to '03 though I'd prefer '02 as the latest. All the same, remembering the headlight issue, I might well be better off getting a late '80s model so It's a more 'conventional' engine with carburettor. As there are no V6s here, it would have to be a V8.

All of these things are like the juggler's '***** in the air' questions. The main things I look for are sound mechanicals, reasonable exterior and interior and it has to be free of rust. Unfortunately the vans do have a potentially fatal rust issue in the front section of the chassis, so that's definitely to be avoided.

 

Just be careful where you buy from. Avoid the 'rust belt' as much as possible. Don't wanna wander too far south though either, as then they tend to be 'sunburned'.