Thinking of buying a older van, any suggestions?

roamingaz

Explorer
I was at the lake last week end and there was a guy there with a older 70's GMC van with a pathfinder conversion, pretty neat set up. So since I am running out of room in my underpowered overgeared Toyota I have been thinking of selling it and buying a van ( I watched way too much A-team as a kid). I found several here local for sale on craiglist and ebay.
I like this one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170358634463&viewitem=&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching&salenotsupported

So anything I should know about these older pathfinder conversions?
Those of you that have older vans how is the reliability and maintence?
Are these things ok offroad? I seen several of the newer sportsmobile's at overland expo and they did pretty well on the offroad course.
I would love to see some pic's of older vans and ideas for interior.
Anyone put a roof top tent on a van?
I am at a crossroads with my little truck, it works very well and I have put a lot of money into it but no matter what I do it will only fit 2 people, I have 6 kids (3 mine and 3 step kids think brady bunch).

here are a couple more I found.

This one already has a cool paint job!
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/cto/1228424054.html

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/1232260547.html

http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/cto/1228909029.html

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/1259995970.html
 

motomech

Adventurer
I can not believe you selling the Toyota so soon?..The only thing i don't like about the vans.... They are so hard to work on the engine.Other than that they are just as reliable as any old Chevy/Ford truck.

I think it's time for another Suburban:victory:
 

roamingaz

Explorer
I can not believe you selling the Toyota so soon?..The only thing i don't like about the vans.... They are so hard to work on the engine.Other than that they are just as reliable as any old Chevy/Ford truck.

I think it's time for another Suburban:victory:

I have been kinda regretting selling my suburban but I got a great deal in the long run. I was just checking out suburbans on craigslist nothing super nice, but I know my brother has a '77 sub, bone stock he has owned since new that he cant drive anymore and has been trying to get me to buy it.

I haven't decided to sell off the Toyota yet just looking at other options and so far a Van or Suburban are my first choice.

Nice job on the bumper :victory:
 

Icebox

Observer
I have been kinda regretting selling my suburban but I got a great deal in the long run. I was just checking out suburbans on craigslist nothing super nice, but I know my brother has a '77 sub, bone stock he has owned since new that he cant drive anymore and has been trying to get me to buy it.

Suburbans are cool. Diesels are cool too. I'm selling one for a friend who lives in Seattle area and used it when she came down to SoCal. It's got Ambulance Doors too. Come to think of it it kinda looks like a fire truck. It's currently at my house in San Clemente. Here's a link:

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/1239315518.html

I have a Diesel Sportsmobile (which is a PITA to work on) I like it but my girlfriend LOVES it!!

Be careful of the old Pathfinders as they had a funky double trac-bar that wasn't very flexible. I had a '79 E250 and an 83 E250. I swapped the Trac-bars and steering out and used modified F150 parts. When you do this you must not only build it strong but get the geometry perfect between everything or it will be scary as well as deadly. Anyway vans are cool for camping, Suburbans are Much easier to work on. There was a guy in Colorado that did a Westy/Sporto top on a Sub in the early eightys. I believe it was in Off Road Magazine. Might be worth looking up.

Best of luck in your search.
 

ujoint

Supporting Sponsor
Some of the older GM vans are uni body, so stay away from them if you plan on doing any wheeling. Parts are also a little harder to find for the GM pathfinders since there weren't that many around. I had a Ford Pathfinder, and I've been under quite a few. The build quality was hit & miss.... Some look like they were welded up by kids with stick welders, and some look really nice. The Pathfinder suspension is what it is. Very little suspension travel, Dana 44. Most had a Dana 61 rear axle, which is nearly impossible to get a locker for. I wound up putting a 14 bolt in mine. Suspension & steering parts are available from Gordon @ Pathfinder Vans, he's the most knowledgeable guy for the old Pathfinder stuff. Hope this helps ya!!!!
 

DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
Ah Memories!

I had a '77 Cheverolet Van, Patherfinder conversion on order back in the day. Sadly, the demand for Chevrolet vans was such that they couldn't deliver.

I would defer to UJoint, but, if memory servers:

-- The Patherfinders copied the GM 4x4 suspension of the day; Dana 44 front axle and leaf springs. Because of the unibody construction, the front springs were mounted to a welded in sub-frame. Rear axle was stock with riser blocks. (The Fords were a nasty twin I-Beam mess that I would avoid like the plague.)

-- The front leaves were positive arch, so the net effect was similar to the Rough Country and Rancho suspension kits of the day. Big issue - this is a great set up if the front springs are soft and progressive. If not, get ready to buy new springs. (You want about nine leaves and VERY progressive.)

-- Go for part time 4x4 and free hubs. The front drive angle will be brutal and you will have to replace the u-joints at least once a year if you have full time 4x4.

-- From '77 on GM shortened the front wheel bearing service interval to 12,000 miles. Believe it! See my avatar for what happens if you let the inner third bearing which carries the drive shaft to the wheel dry out! You have been warned! :)

-- Engine is probably a 350 or 400 V-8. Both are the GM small block "mouse motor" not the large block "rat motor." Equipped with 4 BBL Quadrajet carb - complex, but very reliable. Depending on smog equipment, the mileage may not exceed 10 mpg with a tail wind.

-- Transmission is THC 350 (400 if lucky). Depending on age, candidate for a rebuild, but generally bulletproof. Change the fluid and filter and forget about it.

-- Transfer cases were odd. GM used Chrysler New Process cases (205 part time, 203(?) full time.) Pathfinder used something else that had two levers - thus the danger of pulling split ranges. Not a big deal. The original specs called for gear oil - over the years people realized that they could improve mileage by running motor oil or ATF. (Do this at your own risk.)

-- Check the gear ratio. GM loved to use a 3.07 which is terrible with big tires and a 3 speed transmission. Go for 4.10 or similar.

My biggest worry would be body rust. I had a '77 Blazer for 14 years and rust was a problem. (Granted much of that was in Panama and Liberia [to say nothing of salt in the U.S.] but I was glad that it ended up in Botswana where it never rained!)

If you have the time and money (and the skills, or more money for mechanics, etc.) it sounds like a great project.
 

jkam

nomadic man
I had an '86 Chevy Pathfinder for a few years. I spent a bunch of money and time fixing it up and enjoyed it while I had it. There just wasn't enough room or headroom inside for me to live in for any length of time.

I did a build page here that shows the work I did on it.

It was easy to work on, even the engine since removing the doghouse gave me access to most of the hard to reach stuff. Mine had a 350 with a carb and a turbo 400 backed up by a Borg Warner Transfer case and a GM corporate rear end.

I took it to Mexico and Baja a few times and it performed well off road. It did have a bouncy front end due to the leaf springs and being right under you but nothing too bad.

in_the_desert_2.jpg


in_the_desert.jpg
 

roamingaz

Explorer
Thanks for the info!
That is a really nice van, do you still have it?
So far what I am learning about the older gm vans is htey are hit and miss on quality. I really like the look of the van and I think it would serve my purpose better but if I sell my truck I would have to sell it "turn key" with everything to be able to build up a nice van.
Any other pictures of your vans?
 

Saline

Adventurer
Turn key but not all that old. New to us, love it! 2004 SMB 4x4 EB50 6.0L diesel.
 

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DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
FantasyVan!

jkam's story would be my fantasy. (Beloved Spouse would require at least a small pop top.)

There is certainly an element of chance here, but if you buy for under $5k and have another $20k in reserve you could end up with an incredible vehicle. There are several threads of this type on the Forum - see, for example, the "Doitall Dodge." Costs are a big variable and obviously, the more you can do, the lower the cost.

The bouncy front end that jkam mentioned could probably be quickly cured with a double shock set up.

I am afraid that I have reached the age where I can only cheer you on and drool!
 

jkam

nomadic man
Thanks for the info!
That is a really nice van, do you still have it?
So far what I am learning about the older gm vans is htey are hit and miss on quality. I really like the look of the van and I think it would serve my purpose better but if I sell my truck I would have to sell it "turn key" with everything to be able to build up a nice van.
Any other pictures of your vans?

Thanks.

No, I sold it a few years ago to get a small class C RV which works out much better for me for living full time in the rig.

The Pathfinder conversion on mine was really well done, the new subframe was welded nicely, the steering was done well, it would pull U turns using only 1 1/2 lanes and drove down the road straight, I could take my hands off the wheel and it would hold it's lane fine.

When I sold it, I tried to sell it turn key, but I had way too much into it and nobody would give me anywhere near what I wanted for it all fixed up. I ended up taking off a lot of the goodies and selling them separately from the van.

On the build page I linked to it shows some pictures of the interior work done, including the platform and storage solution I came up with.

One of the issues I had was it came with only a 25 gallon fuel tank. Trying to find a a larger replacement tank was hard and they were either too expensive or didn't give me much more fuel, at 8 mpg I couldn't go far. Having the Wedco 5 gallon helped but still not near enough for extended trips in the boonies.

A nice thing about the old Chevy vans is that they didn't change them for a long time so finding parts was easy and cheap, the wrecking yards are full of them.

Good luck on your search.
 

xped

Adventurer
I have a 78 Dodge Transvan w/ Pathfinder 4x4 conversion I have been rebuilding for about 3 years now. I will tell you if I had to do it over I would have bought a 75 or earlier to avoild smog restrictions or bought a Ford with a diesel.

The Pathfinder suspension is very rough with very little travel, I put in suspension seats from a gen1 Montero which makes it tolerable. Mine also is fulltime 4x4 which is pretty lame as it will spin 1 front tire if not shifted into 4x4loc, so it really has no advantage over parttime 4x4 other than decreasing mpg.

With completely gutting the camper part and rebuilding from scratch it would of been less work to buy a nice 2 wheel drive camper van and converting it to 4x4. Last is these vans are tanks you might not like it as a daily driver, you will be stoked though when your camping and it starts pouring rain and your warm and dry. Good luck.
 

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