Long-running model generations are one of the more entertaining aspects of our hobby. You see the same design over and over again and eventually realize you’re not looking at a vehicle that hails from the late 1970s but is actually far newer. The Dodge Ram Van is a great example of a design that was kept on the rinse and repeat cycle for decades, and for the most part, the general public had no issue with it. The Ram Van was built with a solitary purpose, which was to provide reliable service for an audience that mostly used it for commercial purposes. This Ram Van is a late production 1992 model with the desirable short wheelbase and a V8 engine. Find it here on eBay for $2,250.
The Ram Van first found favor with the enthusiast community as a creative showcase for building a home on wheels in the 1970s. As the vanning lifestyle died out (though, it really hasn’t – there are still fervent pockets of this community in almost every state), van models offered by the Big 3 all became trusted workhorses, primarily sold with stripped-out interiors for the purpose of installing storage racks, or simply tossing in ladders and paint cans. This van was actually being used for storage by the seller, who bought it off a local shop that had it sitting on the lot. Since it has no title, he felt it would be best used for throwing parts in while still having a vehicle that ran and drove.
The lack of title may stop some of you in your tracks, but if you can make it work without a paper trail, this short wheelbase van deserves better than just being used as a mobile storage unit. It offers a unique combination of the old bodystyle van with a Magnum V8 under the hood, which produced a healthy 230 horsepower and 280 lb.-ft. of torque. Impressively, the seller claims this van – which more or less hasn’t been used like a daily driver in months – still goes down the road just fine, with the 4-speed automatic transmission shifting as it should. He also notes the brakes stop well and the A/C even briefly kicked on.
The interior is as spartan as you’d expect out of a work van, but most van enthusiasts would look at that like a blank slate. The van, if you can figure out the title issues, could be put to work immediately as a parts hauler and dump run vehicle. The usefulness of a project like this is endless, and I say that as someone who bought a Mercedes Metris van for the purpose of kid hauling but use it for any other number of tasks on a routine basis. Combining the short wheelbase with a Magnum V8 and the old-school design gives this Dodge lots of potential avenues for upgrades and customization – which direction would you take it?
Heavy chasis, shorty vans 👍
Got to stir up some ghosts for Scotty G, who if memory serves, had a cleaning biz with a couple of these. A box on wheels was just the thing for any repair or municipal duty, and once used up, became the vehicle of choice for “shaggin’ wagons”. Many that started with the A series, “moved up” to these, and an expression of colors and interiors, I doubt we’ll ever see the likes of again. Not many like this, as after the burnouts were done with them, there wasn’t much left. Great find.
You have a stainless steel memory, Howard! We had three B-series 1970s Dodge vans and an ’87 Mini Ram Van that I drove around to check on the cleaning team. Sadly, my dad’s light blue ’76 Dodge shorty van is still parked in my mom’s yard and is being used as a storage container, probably filled with old cleaning equipment. He passed away in 1985, and the van hasn’t been used in a good 35+ years now and is probably rusted away. What a waste.
That sounds like some Bittersweet memories Scotty. Howard hit the nail on the head. How many of us remember the phone company having these, along with Fords and Chevys too. You reminded me of an old friend many years ago who had a janitorial company. He worked as a school janitor ( great benefits) and had the sideline company for extra $$$. He had a mid 70’s Dodge van for the company. Seems like these were EVERYWHERE. I always liked the short wheelbase ones. A guy I worked for had a short wheelbase Dodge with a Slant 6 and a 4 speed manual with overdrive. Loved driving that it was a great size. Nice write up Jeff. Thanks for the memories.
Somebody has to bring this up, but shorty vans and especially those with no back windows, were not only homes on wheels but, ahem, shag wagons..the “don’t come a-knockin’ if this van’s a-rockin’ ” type. And often they were decked out with painted murals on the outside and yards of shag (there’s that word again) carpeting on the inside. Ah, good times. Now you’ll only occasionally find those old vans at Karz and Kodeine or Barn Finds.
When a vehicle has gone through more than one set of hand where they gave up trying to get it registered that should not be minimized. This seller clearly spells out the problem and makes a point of saying it’s a parts van. If it can be done it won’t likely be easy otherwise it would have already been done.
Good luck to anyone who buys this with the intention of putting it back on the road, I hope they talk to their DMV before sinking money into it.
Steve R
If you were into CB radios in the ’70s, you dreaded seeing one of these show up at your house 🏠
as the FCC stuffed them full of radio equipment to catch unlicensed operators that flouted
the law with outlandish antics on the air and more power than some legit radio stations back then. I recall a time that I was home from a road trip that fell on
my 21st birthday. Well, I really
whooped it up on my B-day by downing 21 or more boiler makers that night 🌉. I got so smashed that my cousin Lyle and his date poured me into his car and had to put me to bed. I was
pretty hung over most of the day
when I got a call from a friend of mine who asked me if I wanted to
hang out awhile. Sure enough, my
buddy showed up in one of these things along with his kid brother
who was in a body cast after a
morning motorcycle accident. We took his brother to see his friends at Kip”s Drive In that Sunday night drinking beer 🍺
and talking on the CB while Kent
visited with his friends. Well, this
A-hole named Windy Jim came on the air and wiped out reception on at least 7 channels
with his overpowered radio 📻.
So Kevin and I decided to pay this
guy a visit as the FCC to scare the the living daylights out of him
And it certainly worked. Kevin had one of those direction finder
things to help us find him. And find him we did. We pulled up in front of his house and started the
gag. All we heard from him was
“Oh sh”t! Uncle Charlie’s at my front door!” and then nothing. Seems as though our gag worked too well as one of Jim’s friends broke in on all 23 channels telling
everyone that his friend just got
arrested by the feds. And all Kevin did was park his van in front of his house while I sat there spinning the loop on the roof and drinking a beer! That would be the last time I would see Kevin as he was later killed in
a traffic accident while I was on the road in 1976. Long story short, we had a damned good time scaring the crap out of an
arrogant kid with an over powered radio and we did it with a box van and a wire loop. Didn’t
stay out too late though. I had a show to play in Ottumwa, Iowa the next day. What a night that was too.
I was a TPT at plant 6 in Windsor, ON., where those were made. I could have built that one!
Bought a 1980 model with the slant 6 for 500 canadian dollars in 1996 in Montreal. That thing had so many rust holes that the hole box was moving from side to side at every road bump. The lower pieces of the sides where fixed with cardboard and tape.
Drove it trough the whole continent down to San Diego and up the coast to San Fran where I sold it to some german guys who where traveling the US for 200 USD.
While on the road I could’nt figure out if it needed oil or not, I later realized that I drove a while without any oil at all, but that engine seemed to not care, it just kept on going.
I have a late 1991 shorty like it with the 3.9 V6 engine, runs, drives and is a pretty solid van, had it tagged a year or so ago.
Funny…..looks just like my 1979 Dodge van with those stacked square headlites…..little priciey for storage but you can move it around the yard. The same reason I bought my 1979, 1974 and high top 1972….all runners and will be letting my 1979 go as soon as I unload it !
Tradesman vans were a big deal for Chrysler. Not only did they have a big slice of the contractor/utility segment they were a favorite of the conversation crowd. These drove well and were comfortable on the road. A B250 was equivalent GVW to a heavy half pickup. Finding a 5.9 litre (assuming the 230 hp reference is correct) in a 106″ wb is rather uncommon.