Wow, there is a 27 page long thread elsewhere that started out JUST like this one.
SMH
"GREAT ENGINE" posts do not provide context, folks. That van, unless YOU can fix it, is one to run away from. Too many miles.
Can you swap the distributor?
How about the transmission? Even if it's a C6, it's in the red zone of failure.
What about the starter/solenoid/radiator/ball joints???
Unless you can wrench on it yourself, it is in the mileage range where everything is a ticking time bomb.
Recently, many have learned that a cheap van is rarely a bargain.
$2500 can VERY quickly turn into $5,000 on the side of the road...and it will not be worth a penny more just because you were relived of 3 extra grand to keep it functional.
Pop an engine and you will discover how rare used 300's have become, since they were discontinued in 1996 in the vans. On the East Coast, they no longer exist. Check out the cost on a rebuilt. Double it for the install costs and you will begin to understand the very likely future of your finances.
If that is a C6/4.9 drive line, it is one of the very best ever made...but its very worn at that mileage/age.
100,000 miles, after a full van colonoscopy, would be different...200+??? Not unless you can fix it yourself.
Letting go of more cash will be better in the long run...and if you find van life is not for you...will leave you something to sell and recover your investment. 200,000 mile van is a one way trip.
This has been proven in a big fat hairy way by the experiences of multiple nomads. Multiple. Recently.
Ask Kaylee how her old van is working out for her.
Ask Hobotech how much his trans cost...that more expensive GMC unit would have been a much wiser buy...without a doubt.
Or the three more people who specifically asked me not to identify them...because they are ashamed of their situations...who walked away from their vans, because they cost more to repair than they were worth.
300 cube sixes ARE among the best gas engines ever made for reliability...and that one is nearing its end @ that mileage.
(Is it one owner, with receipts for 3,000 mile oil changes and trans flushes every 50K? RECEIPTS, not verbal assurances.)
Good engines...even Cummins diesels...wear out.
Every joint and moving part in that van is past its designed life cycle.
Heater fan, (Does it work on all the settings? Bet it only works on high.)
Front end checked (you know what ball joints and steering arms cost to replace?)
Brake rotors/calipers/drums/wheel seals (can you fix them yourself?) $1200 for those in a shop. Easy.
If you do decide on one of this age and miles, (BAD decision) pay for a full oil analysis, compression check, and I meant "colonoscopy" with a mechanic YOU pick. Test EVERYTHING. Have the wrenches crawl up the brakes/front end with a microscope...remove the wheels, check the wheel bearings...rear end lube metal content...(those were not overly blessed. WAY past failure mileage. Check on how much they cost to replace on the side of the highway.)
The $250 or so on the inspection will be money well spent. 2 lift hours at a minimum. Have them show/explain each components condition. This cannot be done in one hour, let alone 30 minutes.
No one privately sells a old 200,000 mile vehicle because it is rock solid. Ever.
Something like this may be a better risk (mileage/price)
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/782969072082361/?ref=netego_ssfy_www
You would be better off financing a 50,000 mile van for five years. Because...you are going to pay either way if you cannot fix it yourself, with your own tools.
Either that, or buy an ugly duckling Caravan @ auction for 1500 or less and let that be your starter van. At least you would know that most likely, you would have 60K of pretty trouble free use out of it.
PS...make sure you understand how "easy" it is to work on that motor with the huge plennum blocking EVERYTHING. When they had a carb, they were tits-easy. FI changed all that...and the sensors fail. Often. Idle motor controllers, TPS, Distributor modules...MAF's. Tinkerers delight right there.
I cannot make you drink...but you have been shown the water trough.
Message me if you want a few suggestions.
