New guy 66A100

Hi everyone, first post here...

I picked up a clean 66 A100 Sportsman: 34K miles, /6, 3 on the tree.

Since I purchased it I installed new 2.5" exhaust, new alt/reg, rear seat with 3pt belts, made a heatsink/heat shield for carb and insulated fuel lines, new fuel pump, tune up, lube, made a roof rack, F spring bushings, had the windows tinted.

Bought it with all new brakes, window seals, paint. For once I bought something decent to begin with so not much resto work required. I have plans for the interior, and have entertained the idea of a V8 swap. I sold some other stuff off so I could have a classic that is more family friendly. So far has been a lot of fun.
It runs good with the slant, and power is OK, it does the hills better then i thought it would (far better then a VW) I tow a small trailer with it, haul quite a bit of stuff in/on it. We use it for family outings, camping, ect. We already drove it to Maine coast, and many day trips all over NH and VT. I used it to commute the past couple of weeks while working on my DD, I have to say it got a bit old commuting 90 miles a day with it and it is nice to have my car fixed!
Eventually I would like to be able to haul a small boat with it (2K lb max) or perhaps a small car so a V8 and front disc brakes may be in the future. I like the slant though and may hop it up instead.


I have a few questions:

The A745 has a very tall first gear. After doing some research I see that there was a 2:55 (what i think i have) and also a 3.01 first gear for these transmissions. Anyone ever change ratio's? do all of these have this super tall first gear?

It has the ball and trunion front joint, do all years use this or did it change at some point?

Anyone know if I can get widened steelies that will accept the stock caps? Right now it has some very tall tires. Its nice to have some sidewall for the rough roads around here but I would not mind going a bit lower/wider.

I need to wait 7 days to post pics, but will do so ASAP

Have learned a lot from this site already, many thanks.

Welcome to VV!!!!

Welcome

Welcome!
I haven't swapped trans gears, I'd suggest checking with the guys on Moparts. I doubt there are many people that have swapped 3 speed gears except as a fix.
It seems most all had the front trunion, but some later ones may have had the slip joint. This has been discussed a couple times here and there is no definitive answer yet.
Wheels depend on money. There are no stock wide wheels with the early center. You could have your centers welded into wider hoops or buy new custom made wheels.

Welcome to VV.

Welcome! SOunds like you got a clean van. cant wait till the pics.

WELCOME CANT WAIT TO SEE IT TOO,,

Thanks everyone, I look forward to posting some pics.

Not sure why a 7 day waiting period is necessary, must be some anti spam measure. Spam sucks...

Glad I parked it in the poll shed a couple of days ago, had quite a storm yesterday and some stuff blew over to where the van is usually parked, would have left some dents/scratches for sure.

I never thought owning a van like this would get so much attention, out of all the classic stuff I have owned, nothing gets the looks and thumbs up's like this thing.


Thanks Rod, Yea all I could find was widened steelies that fit the smaller caps, for now i will probably just leave them as is since the tires are new, if the right set of slots or torque thrusts, etc come along I may pick some up instead.
The search for A745 ratio changes has brought little info, thanks for the tip on Moparts.

Been reading up on several builds here, nice stuff. E's, A's, G's all cool with me. I am somewhat of a VW guy, but prefer these early American vans for a number of reasons, much better value too.

Welcome aboard, can't wait to see some pics! And Congrats on scoring a vintage van!

Is seven days up yet? Dang. I am building a 66 as well and can't wait to see yours.

As purchased:







Some more recent pics, all I have right now.

For some reason the pics are getting cut off after I post them, maybe too big.
'EDIT' resized them and fit better now, but still off.

That is one SWEET looking Dodge! Nice purchase indeed! Love the pic with the waterfall in the background. I sometimes work up in Vermont. I've got to say, I think Vermont is one of the most beautiful New England states. The scenery is phenomenal with mountains everywhere you look.

By the way, if you don't want pictures to get cut off, when you go to paste them in, choose 640 pixels from the drop down list and that should take care of the cutting off issue.

looks really nice, have fun with it,,

Thanks!

Drove it to work today 40 miles, leave for home at 11PM, need some better headlights. I think relaying them will help alot. Daily driver is back in action but I missed driving the van already.

Thanks Vanny, I found it in Mass, sat in a barn for years. VT OK except for the 7 mo's of salt.

Wow, you found a van in that good a shape in Mass? The Force must have been with you that day! Congrats, you really Scored bigtime!

It's nice to see another A-van nearby... there aren't too many of us around these parts.  We should meet up sometime soon before it gets too late in the season.

Your van looks great bro and I LOVE your camping set up. Looks so fun

Thanks for the kind words guys, and sorry for the late reply, I was away for a few days.
Snarky, yea we should meet up some time. Nice fleet, I like similar stuff. Last week I saw a van like yours on Craigslist in NH, was it yours?

The fam and I will be taking the van up to Northern VT this weekend, should be a nice foliage tour. Bringing the boats up to lake Willoughby.

I'll post some more pics of the van soon, I'd like to get started on the interior soon but already have another project in progress in my one bay shop so it may have to wait until Spring.

Its running pretty well though, glad i was able to cruise this thing around this Summer with minimal work.

No, the ad on Craigslist wasn't one of mine.  A-vans are pretty rare around here, I've only ever seen one other on the road in NH.  I haven't seen any at car shows here, either.

I noticed your handle, are you the WVO guy up in Bethel?

Nice find for Massachusetts!!....and low miles to boot....What size tires are on it?, I like the stock look and those fill it out nicely....

Hey Snarky, yea that would be me. Not doing it much anymore, been greasing 12 yrs and finally retired the old MB wagon. I have an 03 Jetta Tdi wagon now but not on the grease, don't think I want to grease this one. Still greasing the tractor and generator though.

Hi Chev, I will get back to you on the tire size. They are about as big as will fit, very tall side walls and pretty big all around. They actually feel real good on the rough pavement around here running them 36 psi. I was thinking of changing wheels, but have changed my mind (for now anyway).

Took the van way up northern VT for a foliage tour. We did a big loop on small, middle of nowhere roads, ran alot of dirt roads too. Ended up at Lake Willoughby around 3PM, then did a long paddle. We got home around 11PM. It was a long, fun tour. Van ran great!

Next week we may head Southern VT for another tour, but have a lot going on right now so may have to stay home and get stuff done.

looks sharp wish my 66 was in that good of shape.

15x8 R, 15x7 front. Other option is regular widened steelies with the smaller 7" dog dish caps, but i do like these Rallye's alot.

255/60/15 Rear and 235/60/15 Front?

I like some sidewall since roads are pretty rough around here, and I want to keep the OD pretty close to what is on there now.

If I do change the wheels, I will then consider pulling a leaf out of all 4 packs if it looks like it sits too high, but i think it will be fine as is (and I like the load carrying capability and handling with the stock springs)



I often think about a v8 swap, but I keep coming back to hopping up the /6. I'm thinking around 9.5:1 (Something like .80 shave and some basic porting and hardened seats), maybe single webber, cam and header. I also have a big alum radiator I want to install.
However, if I happened to find all the V8 swap stuff i'd definitly consider going that route though.
For now it is running fine with the stock /6, and more then likely will just run it as is this season.