27k Miles! 1983 Dodge B-Series Ram Van

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In recent years, we’ve seen custom vans begin to make a comeback. While not nearly as popular as they once were, vans like this 1983 Dodge Ram, which is for sale here on craigslist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for $4,200, are becoming more sought-after than anyone would have thought 5 years ago.

Just a month ago, I presented to you this other ’83 Dodge van, with its standard transmission, short wheelbase, and plenty of original shag carpeting. If you’re still reading this, you’re probably a fan, so I won’t re-hash the Vanning craze explanations. Media outlets like our friends at Top Speed, Bangshift, Speed Hunters, and Hot Rod have written pieces, and apparently, people are starting to take notice.

The B-Series Dodges, Plymouths, and Fargos were produced from 1971 to 2003, the styling remaining largely unchanged except for a few facelifts and drivetrain options. They replaced the A100s and A108s from the ’60s and were replaced by the now-ubiquitous Sprinters and downsized Rams. For 1983, buyers had choices of trim levels, configurations, payload capacities, three engines and two transmissions, and at least two wheelbases. If you would like to learn more details, Allpar.com has a great article here, which goes through a lot more than I can fit in this article.

This particular one appears to be a heavier-duty version, possibly the B250, and has one of two possible V8 engines, with automatic transmission. The seller doesn’t give us a whole lot of detail to work with, other than a claim of 27,000 original miles, so we have to look at the handful of pictures in order to glean information about it. We can see that the body looks rather nice in its beige-with-brown-stripes coloration, and the length of the interior is lined with wood paneling on the sides and a low-shag carpet on the floor. We also see what looks like small speakers and a rear fan box along the side. I don’t see much, if any, body rust and the dash looks decent. If I were a betting man, I’d wager that there was more to the paint scheme at one time, but it’s been toned down since.

While a B-Series van is not everyone’s first choice of a classic vehicle, those who do want them want ones that aren’t rustbucket basket-cases. From the looks of it, this one could make a great platform for a restoration, either period-correct or modern interpretation. What do you think of it?

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Comments

  1. TimS

    My family had an ’85 and that thing ran incredibly with the 318. This one looks like with a wheel upgrade, it could be driven as-is for a while with a good cleaning.

    Like 2
  2. grant

    Most of these were set up with a camper conversion or some kind of living space. This appears to be a work van with some paneling and carpet installed.

    Like 0
  3. Jay

    127 k

    Like 1
  4. James Martin

    Like the 70s paneling cant even get that now.

    Like 2
    • grant

      Yes you can.

      Like 0
  5. Rosco

    The 27k miles could be correct, but hard to determine without more photos or some kind of documentation. Looks pretty decent, but being a 3/4 tone not nearly as desirable as the 1/2 ton.

    Like 0
  6. gaijinshogun

    What is trash in one culture becomes a treasure in another. Love what the Japanese have done with them. “Dajiban”

    https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a23110414/japanese-dodge-van-racing-dajiban/

    Like 0

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