Welcome to the CRVL Forum
I've been around them and worked on them a good chunk of my life. Starting with an old 61 cargo my Dad had.
Early ones had 144 ci engines and optional 170 ci's with 3 spd standards or automatics. Most had 400:1 rear axle ratios but some had 350:1's. By 65 you could get a 240 ci which was an all together different motor and a good one. Much more torque and a "cross member" was placed under the engine that the earlier models didn't have.
All of the ones I've been around had electric wipers. Heat in the earlier ones was in a box at the front of the floor just ahead of the engine box. On the heat control knob there was an allen screw that had to be removed BEFORE attempting to remove the lid with the fan motor which was bolted directly to that lid. Otherwise you could damage the heat control valve that throttled the flow of hot coolant through the heater core. I've fixed those that were damaged for people by securing these "wide open" and then going inside the engine box and placing a brass valve in the supply hose so the knob extended out into the passengers compartment where it could be manually adjusted. (less convenient to reach but a welcome fix just the same as opposed to driving with the heat on and the windows down)
Another major issue was owning one of these with the gas tank breather plugged up. These were located at the left rear in a small box under the left tail light. Unfortunately they would get plugged and you couldn't get
gas to flow into the tank at the pump for more than a few seconds before the pump handle would kick off. It could take as much as 20 minutes to fill the tank on one that was plugged like that. This required a tank removal. (if you didn't have a receiver hitch installed) Then pull the vent hose and "goose neck" which was always getting plugged with spider webs or fine sand and dirt.
I'd dare say I knew every nut and bolt in the things by first name.
IF.....you decide to buy one of these vintage boxes......and intend to drive it home instead of bring it home on a wrecker.......examine the brake lines closely. The front "metal" brake line is routed around the front parameter of the engine box (or shroud) and over the years moisture and condensate drips down on it and there can be extensive rust where one good hard braking event could blow that line.....and those models are single circuit master cylinders. Your emergency brake is at the right side of your drivers seat and is pulled straight up. So you want to keep the emergency brake adjusted well. At the bottom of the emergency brake rod there is a thin metal wheel you need to keep lubed and inspect to see that your emergency brake
rod doesn't hit and dent the pulley wheel. Sometimes the rod "stop" breaks off and the rod will hit that wheel
enough that the emergency brake cable will slip over the side and render it useless. (and it's your only hope
if you have a hydraulic failure)
I could write articles on this series of Van as Econolines are all my Dad and I have ever had.
Feel free to PM me if you have other questions cause I've just scratched the surface for you. I can see you buying a nice clean looking one and wanting to drive it home with these ticking bombs onboard with you.
But the most dangerous feature is that in front of you and your passenger and any hazard on the road is the
windshield glass an panel of .040 sheet metal, some insulation and card board. These didn't come with seat belts in the day and if you've ever seen one these that hit a tree or a flat bed truck in front of it you'll understand.
My first hand me down looked about like this one except it was red and it is where I based my first website below.
