Did I get a good deal?

[Vandog989]

Hey everyone I finally bought my first van!! its a 1984 Chevrolet with a 305 fuel injected V8 73,XXX original miles to my knowledge. Paid $1,400 for her let me know what ya think. Looking forward to building this bad lad and heading south for the winter!

 

[ZoNiE]

If the mileage is correct, then yes, but that is only 2,300 miles per year. How do the brake and gas pedal pads look? Probably more like 173K.

 

[Bdog1]

Tuff to beat the parts availability and a basic set-up.

 

[cyndi]

That's a real pretty van! If it's been maintained and hasn't been just sitting, I'd say you got a great deal. Time will tell.

 

[Vandog989]

Pedals look brand new interior shows little wear but definitely livable. Apparently it was owned by an older man who drove it to Arizona for winters.

 

[ttpadilla]

It's a beauty!! Even if you have to replace some small things, I'd say you got a great deal! I haven't even been able to find an ugly stripped down commercial van for that good a price.

 

[SoulRaven]

Great deal, and great choice. Much better choice and stealthier than a cargo van.

Welcome to the club!

 

[flailer]

Wow! Sounds like a SCREAMING DEAL to me.

 

[Vandog989]

Hey everyone thanks for the positive feedback! I was worried that I had bought a pile of you know what.

I plan on turning this this beast into a off grid mobile office. Looking for a solid place to camp in the South East. I would like to check out some cool places in GA and SC. If anyone knows of some good cheap spots close to the ocean please let me know!

 

[sisterearth]

wow nice looking ride and a great price! Looking forward to hearing about your adventures!! Peaceful day!

 

[cdiggy]

I think a scrap yard would give a grand for it so you have gotten a very very good deal. Didn't know that Chevy fuel injected in 84. Even better!

 

[highdesertranger]

that's a good point cdiggy. first year of throttle body injection was 1987. but the van does look clean. are you sure it's fuel injected? highdesertranger

 

[cdiggy]

that's a good point cdiggy. first year of throttle body injection was 1987. but the van does look clean. are you sure it's fuel injected? highdesertranger

The only reason I am up on Chevy FI is my 83 is not and the recommended upgrade to FI is a 89. 87 and 88 will work but hear heads recommend 89. Maybe the computer is better. Wiring harness is plug and play.

 

[Simran]

That's a crackin good buy on that old Chevy. The 305 has a little less power but makes up for it in mpg. No hurry anyway right?!?

 

[Milk Hauler]

Nice and stealthy! Will never have an issue finding parts.

 

[cdiggy]

Many of those Chevy trucks and vans from the 80's had 305 engines with 2.73 gear rears because of the gas crunch back then. Good for gas mileage until you carried any kind of weight with it. Then it couldn't get out of its own way. Hopefully it does not have the 2.73 in it. My 85 blazer had the 305/2.73 combo and it could not get out of its own way

 

[Vandog989]

Yeah turns out you guys are right about the engine . I should have looked for myself but I was excited to be getting a van for so little $ and took the guys word for it. I have had terrible luck with carbureted vehicles so fingers crossed on this one. I am not too concerned with weight I plan to travel light and not towing anything. The engine does have a slight miss when driving along I was thinking it could be plugs / wires what do you guys think?

 

[cdiggy]

If the van is clean and you like it with nothing else wrong with it you can do a swap like I am going to do. I have purchased an 89 suburban as a dinar vehicle I will use the motor and wiring harness as a direct replacement. Once that setup is in it becomes bullet proof. Very little ever goes wrong with those setups and are very easy to work on. It is a no brainer especially if you are going to do mountain travel. Altitude is when a carb becomes a problem. Or for 1400 you can just run it into the ground and when it craps sell it to a scrap yard. They would likely give you a grand for it as scrap and you are only out the 400 from the original purchase price. When an older motor misses like that my first guess is spark plug wires. They have a tendency to rest on the exhaust manifold and the heat kills the insulation and the arc out on the metal exhaust. Sometimes it is a cracked distributor cap or rotor but I always look at the wires first. After that start pulling spark plugs one at a time and look for the one(or two) plugs that are not a cookie brown color. Black or oily will be the culprit. Then go from there. Those hei ignitions seldom go bad but they do sometimes

 

[Vandog989]

Hey Cdiggy Thanks for the tips I will tear the doghouse off and check those plugs out.

 

[highdesertranger]

is it a computer controlled carb? in other words are there wires running to the carb? if there is and you ever need to replace it, go for a standard carb or better yet fuel injection. at the same time get rid of the computer controlled distributor. this is all assuming who don't have to have it smog tested. highdesertranger