UPDATE: This unique Star Wars Van has resurfaced yet again. It’s been over two years since it came to market last, but it’s now residing in Lewis Center, Ohio with an $11,500 asking price. There’s still no proof provided that the van was built as a promo vehicle for the movies, but it’s definitely an interesting find. You can take another look at it here on craigslist. Special thanks to Scott A for the tip!
FROM 9/13/2019 – This 1979 Dodge B200 Van features Star Wars graphics and will undoubtedly get attention wherever it goes. It can be found here on eBay with a current bid of just over $1,300. Currently located in San Antonio, Texas, we featured this van here on Barn Finds in January of 2017. Back then it was being offered for sale on Craigslist in Largo Vista, TX with an asking price of $6,000. I don’t know if it sold back then, but based on the current ad, I think it has changed owners in the past few years. An internet search yields articles about this specific van going back several years. It apparently was for sale on eBay back in 2012 for $10,000! Check it out!
I’m not a big Star Wars fan (gasp!, I know…), so if you’re looking for clever quips from the movies or punny jokes, you’ll have to refer to Scotty G.’s great article from 2017. I do know that vans are super hot and the Star Wars continues to be very popular. This van features some cool touches including a shaped visor, wide rear tires, fender flares, and the rear wing.
Unfortunately, the current eBay ad doesn’t have large detailed photos. The picture above shows what the engine looked like in 2012. The current photos of the engine show chrome valve covers and the ad states it has a new crate 318 V8. The seller says it has sat for a while and needs servicing.
This is a photo from 2012 and the graphics are quite striking. The current seller does say the hood graphic is cracking a bit from the sun, but overall, it still looks decent. It even features Chewbacca riding shotgun! So what do you think of this van? Do you think it will sell?
OMG I need this van! I would be the coolest dad in the neighborhood!
Man I miss the days when I’d see custom vans rolling down the street… Good memories.
Forget vans! i miss the days
1. seeing 2 door cars!
2. seeing only VW bug imports
3. seeing cars painted 1 of 15-20 colors to choose from, including several shades of blue, etc. – & colorful interiors
4. being able to tell what make, model, & YEAR the car was – even from a distance
5. seeing people washing & waxing their cars on the weekends
I asked the motor rebuilder in town why is he rebuilding so many modern motors & he said that they are all from leased cars
& the oil was NEVER changed. & the new owners got screwed.
Sounds like you could use Mr. Peabody’s Way Back Machine. lol.
My personal pet peeve is that all cars today seem to have a black interior. I won’t be an enabler and buy one. I will only buy a new car if it has something other than a black interior. (And no I am not racist, lol).
A mother’s worst nightmare/ A daughters best dream.
Is that a quadrajet on a 318? Nah, can’t be.
Could easily be a 4 BBL. I bought a similar ’79 back in 1983….just sold it last month. The original owner was General Electric (appliance service van). It came with “strong arm” steering and a four BBL. Rather strange selections for running around Toronto, I thought. Fixed both of those problems right away. Put on 300K KM trouble free with a Carter BBD.
If this vans a rocking please start knocking..
Its luke and leia who are bro and sister for goodness sale ..
Careful luke your dads got light saber and something could get lasered off😂
Nice retro van !👍👀
Disney hasn’t bought it yet?
Looking over the photos, pretty easy to call BS on the seller’s claim that this was built 2 years after the movie. Much more recent build for sure.
When it comes to Star Wars themed vehicles the delphi auto design 1977 Celica GT that was built for a Star Wars sweepstakes is the one I would like to have.
this isn’t a barn find, the listing is a pile of BS.
this van was in a scrapyard in 2009, and was only “designed and built” in the past 10 years… it hasn’t been sitting “for years”
Never was, never will be a promo van for the movie…is now, will always be a comicon fanboys wet dream of getting princess leia into but only ending up w the female jabba the hut…see it again in 2 years…
Ok, where in the description that it says it’s a actual vintage Star Wars custom van from 42 years ago? It’s says “Built as a Star Wars tribute.” The seller took a ’79 Dodge and made a tribute van. The “promo” part could have been that it was parked in front of a local theater during a premier of a SW movie in the last 10 years. I don’t see the BS here.
You need to go back to the Craigslist ads from a number of years ago not the current one. Seller or seller’s at that time said it wasn’t a tribute but that it was an original van built during the FIRST Star Wars movie era. So regarding the many previous owners trying to pass it off as something it wasn’t, that’s where the BS comes from. Total BS.
Kind of sad, when we see these “updates” from several years ago, many of the commentors are no longer here. I don’t recall this one, but anything Star Wars is HUGE today. It’s the most universal sci-fi ever, kind of like Springsteen, everybody likes it. For people that lived before and after Star Wars came out, it was nothing like we had ever seen before, Lucas is a genius. Whether you want to convey that to the world, plastered on the side of your van, is strictly optional. It’s a cool van, for sure.
Back in the fall of 1978 I was looking to buy my second ever new car – a 79 Mustang Cobra. Because he had a lot more experience than I, my older brother was enlisted to assist me. What does this have to do with a 79 Dodge Van you ask? He had been married for 7 years (he was 20 when hitched) and he had this dream of buying a van and turning it into a “shagging wagon”, but could not due to his wife and 2 kids. Anyway while we were out “shopping” he made me stop in our local Dodge dealership and take a test drive in a new 79 van. The maroon red van, IIRC had the 360 automatic and only 2 front seats, so it would have been an ideal candidate for a conversion (bawdy not body), but alas it was not my dream. I ultimately did buy the 302 Automatic Mustang, but I regretted that I did not buy the white 79 (?) Firebird Formula we also had a look at on that same shopping trip (350 ? Automatic).
Motor Trend article from 2017 about this van:
https://www.motortrend.com/news/just-listed-1979-dodge-ram-star-wars-tribute-van/
Thanks for the article Mikefromthehammer. Sure is unique, I had a 1982 maroon dodge van w/ 318 4bbl auto built in Windsor, Ontario Canada.
Which Hammer ?
Is there more than one, lol. All I’ll say is I love me some Ticats. 😉
Wow, small world, I live in Hamilton also,
Hi neighbour !
Could easily be a 4 BBL. I bought a similar ’79 back in 1983….just sold it last month. The original owner was General Electric (appliance service van). It came with “strong arm” steering and a four BBL. Rather strange selections for running around Toronto, I thought. Fixed both of those problems right away. Put on 300K KM trouble free with a Carter BBD.
Another FLIPPER making stories about how much money the Buyer is going to make on the deal..
This van needs to be purchased by a comic / card / game shop owner as their daily driver, and park it every day in front of the shop!
Either that, or someone buys it and makes it into their own MOBILE comic / card / game shop! Y’know, like a food cart but with games and action figures and stuff! Take it around to various events in yours and neighboring States, swing open the doors and sell cool swag, with Chewbacca as your co-pilot :-)
Also, it needs one of those Millenium Falcon cockpit sun shades in the windshield.
Window vans are not cool. Sorry just my opinion.
I remember when this van was originally built, by a member of Vanning.com, and it was NOT a promo vehicle, but one mans love of Star Wars, that drove the build. After he sold it, it was owned by a comic store, and a few private owners.
I’m surprised the trekkies have not mentioned that a trek van looks a lot better.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=star+trek+van