When I was 18 I had a 57 BelAir with no reverse. You'd be surprised how you can figure out ways to live without reverse. I usually had friends who wanted to go somewhere bad enough that they would push if needed. a rebuilt transmission should be cheap for that van.
That's a great deal. No reverse is an indication the transmission is dying, but I had a Dodge truck with no reverse and it worked fine for many years, you get used to it. I like the look of those year vans.
When I was a kid back in the 60's my dad had a station wagon with no reverse. When we needed to back-up he would open the door stick out his left leg and pushed. After a couple years of doing this he looked real funny wearing shorts, his right leg was skinny and his left leg looked like a bodybuilders on steroids.