I'm considering buying an '83 B150 van for $600. It's a Florida vehicle up in Wisconsin. Rust free, clean looking, repainted, 318 V8, auto, short wheelbase, widow van, A/C, Cruise, short wheelbase, 116,000 miles. I'd be using it as a work truck to carry carpentry tools. It seems like the 318 is generally a good motor, but I don't know anything about the auto tranny or the rear axle. The axle has a 10 bolt cover. Could it be a 8.25" differential? Could the automatic be a 727 Torqueflight? If I need a new tranny at some point is there an overdrive type that I could replace it with? I'm a little nervous because I've never owned a Dodge or anthing where the engine is under the dash and a doghouse. It looks hard to work on, yet it's a pretty simple set-up by modern standards. At $600 I really can't lose too much and if I get a year or two out of it I'm ahead of the game. What do you think? -- Matt
RAWPWR
07-29-2005, 12:22 PM
I had a 1991 RAM150 and got 187,000 out of that 318. It was auto with the overdrive. The transmission need rebuilding at 90K or so and at 165K I replaced the upper ball joint. Other than that I loved it. She had just started to smoke when we traded it in. Hate to say it but the drive train in the van was way better that the drive train in my 1999 Dakota.
Dodgevanman
07-29-2005, 12:37 PM
I'm considering buying an '83 B150 van for $600. It's a Florida vehicle up in Wisconsin. Rust free, clean looking, repainted, 318 V8, auto, short wheelbase, widow van, A/C, Cruise, short wheelbase, 116,000 miles. I'd be using it as a work truck to carry carpentry tools. It seems like the 318 is generally a good motor, but I don't know anything about the auto tranny or the rear axle. The axle has a 10 bolt cover. Could it be a 8.25" differential? Could the automatic be a 727 Torqueflight? If I need a new tranny at some point is there an overdrive type that I could replace it with? I'm a little nervous because I've never owned a Dodge or anthing where the engine is under the dash and a doghouse. It looks hard to work on, yet it's a pretty simple set-up by modern standards. At $600 I really can't lose too much and if I get a year or two out of it I'm ahead of the game. What do you think? -- Matt
Yep..if it's in good shap in it runs good, go for it. You have the 8.25" rear, but the transmission could be the A727, A904, or A999. There should be a sticker on the underside of the hood that specifies this. The engine is very easy to work on once the engine box is removed..who else can work on the engine in the rain? :D You could swap an early version of the A518 OD if you needed to. Dodge vans are good vehicles.
wrenchtech
07-29-2005, 04:23 PM
Yep..if it's in good shap in it runs good, go for it. You have the 8.25" rear, but the transmission could be the A727, A904, or A999. There should be a sticker on the underside of the hood that specifies this. The engine is very easy to work on once the engine box is removed..who else can work on the engine in the rain? :D You could swap an early version of the A518 OD if you needed to. Dodge vans are good vehicles.
Who better for me to be introduced to than a person named "Dodgevanman":thumbs:. If everything else is good I am thinking about putting a Trac-Loc limited slip differential in to the rear axle. I'm used to 4x4 traction in these Wisconsin winters and I've enjoyed the extra traction that limited slip gives in other vehicles. I was thinking ahead on the transmission. If I need to replace the current trans I'd want to see if I could swap in a later overdrive type without too much trouble. Are the early versions of the A518 dependent on computer controls? My local wrecker told me to forget about it; too complicated he said. And what about hooking up the column shifter for the OD tranny? Thanks for you input. -- Matt
wrenchtech
07-29-2005, 04:52 PM
Shortly after my last post I found website ( transmissioncenter.net/alto_3.htm ) that describes a swap over from the 727 tranny to the 518 OD. Sounds relatively easy! Now I just need to know where to source a 518 from, or exactly which vehicles I would find them in. -- Matt
