1989 Dodge B250 318

[Neal]

It looks like I have a van. One owner an elderly couple who got it from their mom with the paper work from when they bought it. It was a 12 seater I think. There's one row of seats left behind the front drivers and passenger seats. The seats are almost like new. The only rust is on one door. It has been garage kept. There's no rust anywhere else and no leaks. I noticed there was brake fluid on one of the rear tires and they said their grandson would come over and fix it tonight. So if all goes according to plan I will be in the beginning stages of becoming a vandweller tomorrow.
https://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/d/clean-ram-van/6327080209.html
It will be known as The John Lee Hooker

 

[highdesertranger]

well I see rust on 2 doors on the passenger side and the front door appears to have been touched up to hide the rust. the driver side you can't tell anything because of the glare. on Dodges the most important thing is the front frame horns, they are notorious for rusting out. highdesertranger

 

[BinDerSmokDat]

With any vehicle that old, soft parts will likely need replacing.
Belts, tires, hoses, bushings, coil spring pads. These things deteriorate with age regardless of miles.
Wouldn't be surprised if that's what is wrong with the brake leak.
Also find out what the grandson did to "fix" it.
Not only to know the repair was done properly but to give you an idea of what to expect on the other 3 wheels.

Also seals and valve cover gaskets may start to leak once it's driven regularly, get under, on, around all areas and pull the doghouse now to inspect these areas now and again when you've driven it a while to have a comparison.

Drain and replace all fluids. With that few miles in that many years, I doubt the owners kept up with radiator, trans and Steering fluid changes for a van that was rarely driven.
Low mileage can be good, but it can also be bad. 

The B vans used a unibody construction, with a subframe for engine/front suspension.
Check for rust and general condition as HDR said.
Also get underneath and familiarize yourself with where the body rails are so you'll have a mental picture for drilling/bolting/plumbing anything through floor.

Neighbors had a late 70's B van when I was a kid with 4 rows of bench seats that could all fold flat. I remember the mom picking us up at school if it rained and literally 20 kids piled in like cord wood. Basically every kid on our end of town. This was before seat belt laws.

Not sure what seats are on the later years but could be useful.

 

[mert6706]

It looks like I have a van.

Congratulatons and happy trails to you!

 

[mr_elijah_gardner]

Congratulations. Hopefully it will be a good solid van. I like the old Dodge vans myself.

 

[Weight]

I like the older dodges. i have a '87. The steel brake lines rust. Take it as is and contract the repairs yourself. Anything that old will need lots of work.

 

[steamjam1]

As long as the frame is ok... yer set..

 

[Neal]

I like the older dodges. i have a '87. The steel brake lines rust. Take it as is and contract the repairs yourself. Anything that old will need lots of work.

Yes I'm going to take it to my mechanic and see what it needs. The tire look great, but I'm going to replace them. I'm going to fix the rust on the doors myself. I crawled underneath the van and saw 0 rust. I expect to throw some money into the mechanical. Thanks for the well wishes!

 

[Weight]

Those B vans are uni-body. The frame is just a bent sheet metal u welded to the floor. Rust is a bad thing if in the wrong places.

 

[Neal]

It's official I own it. It's an 88 not a 89. I drove it on the interstate and streets no engine or tranny issues and the temp gauge was good. I'm going to have to replace the exhaust most likely and get some front end work done. I'm going to take it to my mechanic and let him take a look and hook it to his diagnostic machine. I'm going to drain all the fluids, replace all the hoses and belts, The AC doesn't work, but I'm going to wait until next spring to get that fixed. The elderly lady who owned it took it to Sears for everything. I have some receipts and I have the original Dodge B250 handbook that came with the van. If I'm missing anything advice is greatly appreciated. No rust on any part of the frame. I can't get everything done at once, but I'm going to slowly do the inside build.

 

[highdesertranger]

congrats, got anymore pics? highdesertranger

 

[Neal]

congrats,  got anymore pics?  highdesertranger

I will. My camera app disappeared from my phone! I'll post some more tomorrow after it gets repaired.

 

[Neal]

 

[Ballenxj]

It's official I own it. It's an 88 not a 89. I drove it on the interstate and streets no engine or tranny issues and the temp gauge was good. 

Congrats Neal! I actually like Dodge vans. Mine is a bit newer, and also has a 318. Don't be afraid to run it. IMO the 318's don't mind being pushed a bit.
Filters an oil changes in both engine and transmission, as well as fresh tires if it needs them. I prefer E rated tires since it's a 3/4 ton van like mine.

 

[Neal]

Congrats Neal! I actually like Dodge vans. Mine is a bit newer, and also has a 318. Don't be afraid to run it. IMO the 318's don't mind being pushed a bit.
Filters an oil changes in both engine and transmission, as well as fresh tires if it needs them. I prefer E rated tires since it's a 3/4 ton van like mine.

 I'm going to get new tires, but I didn't know about the E tires, thanks for that. I would post pictures but I can't seem to figure that part out. My friend did a tune up today on it today. It needs some exhaust work and the steering is lose but my friend said it wasn't too much of big deal to fix. I'm going to go with a simple build to start off and a 100 watt Renogy solar system. I wanted to make it to the RTR really bad but probably won't be ready. I guess I'm going to learn wiring!

 

[steamjam1]

1988. Its a good year for Dodge vans, especially for the 5.2L equipped ones. The first of the TBI engines fro vans. If you have 15" wheels your going to have a hard time finding load range-E tires. Load range-C are common. Besides, E range tires are serious overkill for a standard Dodge 1/2-3/4 ton van unless your going to seriously overload the van, in which case you'll be upgrading the suspension first before you get tires.

I have load range-C tires for my class-B van/RV. And it's gotta weigh 7500lbs loaded. I have had zero problems.. At most if your just going minimalist you'll need load range c... A good XL (extra-load) rated tire will prolly work out alot better...

Again, this is unless your planning on adding serious extra weight to your van.. (1800lbs+)

 

[Ballenxj]

1988. Its a good year for Dodge vans, especially for the 5.2L equipped ones. The first of the TBI engines fro vans. If you have 15" wheels your going to have a hard time finding load range-E tires. Load range-C are common. Besides, E range tires are serious overkill for a standard Dodge 1/2-3/4 ton van unless your going to seriously overload the van, in which case you'll be upgrading the suspension first before you get tires.

I have load range-C tires for my class-B van/RV. And it's gotta weigh 7500lbs loaded. I have had zero problems.. At most if your just going minimalist you'll need load range c... A good XL (extra-load) rated tire will prolly work out alot better...

Again, this is unless your planning on adding serious extra weight to your van.. (1800lbs+)

The reason I like the E rated tires, (aside from that's what came on my 3/4 ton van) is they are ten ply. If I'm far away from civilization, I figure having ten ply tires is good insurance against blow outs and sidewall ruptures. Can you run lighter duty tires? Of course you can, and many do without any troubles.
The lighter duty tires are also less expensive, but I went the extra mile in that department as I feel that is one less thing to worry about. 
Right now I have a fairly large landscape trailer that is packed full of both junk and twenty bales of straw waiting to go to the dump on the hitch.
 I'm reasonably comfortable that the tires will handle the load. I like to plan for worse case scenarios.

 

[Ballenxj]

The reason I like the E rated tires, (aside from that's what came on my 3/4 ton van) is they are ten ply.
<-------->
Right now I have a fairly large landscape trailer that is packed full of both junk and twenty bales of straw waiting to go to the dump on the hitch.
 I'm reasonably comfortable that the tires will handle the load. I like to plan for worse case scenarios.

Here's the van and trailer to give the idea of what I'm talking about.

 

[John61CT]

Wow at first I thought you meant tgat slightly heavier one in the background