What should I be willing to give for this van?

Hey guys....I am new to this forum, and new to early vans...vans in general as far as that goes. I've been considering buying an old van as a novelty project for awhile. This past Saturday, I took a friend of mine to pick up a '93 Bronco, and on the way there I saw a '67 G-10 Chevy Van along side the road for sale. On the way back we stopped and looked at it, and the guy is asking 2,000 obo for it. The only thing I know about these vans is what I have been reading on the internet the last few days, so, I figured I'd enlist the help of some experts. I will describe it as best I can, and you can tell me what you'd be willing to pay for it.

As stated, its a '67 G-10, short wheel base, with no doors or windows. Essentially a cargo van. First off, it is in pretty rough condition as you can imagine. It hasnt been licensed since 1987, and the rust is starting to eat it. Rockers on both sides are nearly gone, both corners on the rear have holes in them, and the bottom of the driver's door is very bubbly. There are other assorted spots of surface rot, but nothing too severe. With that said, the floors and underside seem to be in pretty decent shape for the age. It looks like it was sprayed with industrial undercoating many years ago underneath, and seems to be holding up well. Drivetrain wise, its a I-6 (not sure if its a 230 or a 250) with a 3 speed Saginaw and 10 bolt rear. It may run, but will need some work to get there. It will need fuel lines and a major tune-up before its even gonna think about starting, and for some reason the throttle is stuck the whole way to the floor, so there is obviously some sort of linkage issue. Its just got alot of the average issues for a vehicle that's been presumeably sitting for 20+ years....windows wont crank down, e-brake cables seized up, latches broken in back doors, exhuast rotted off....but with that being said, it is pretty much all there. Not to mention it has a custom pink shag carpet interior, dead head sticker in the back window, CB, sunroof, etc. But, I LOVE old iron, especially uncommon things. My family and I have restored, bought, and sold countless old trucks and tractors over the years. I have always thought an old van would be a fun project, and I fell in love with this piece. I really wasnt aware that Chevy made a cab-forward design van, at first glance I thought it was an old Ford. Bodywork, new paint, new interior, a SBC/Turbo 350 swap, and a set of Cragar SS wheels and BFG Radials, and my friends and I can have a cool blast from the past head turner. I am not out to make a show stopper (although, like always, it will probably come to that).

So, what do you guys think? Im not sure of the rarity of the swb/no window or side doors setup, and I honestly dont care. Bottom line is, for me, its gonna take a considerable amount of money and a ton of elbow grease before this baby will ever see the road again, and even more to make it look good, which I am prepared for. I know the parts are getting harder to find, but I've found some resources online. In the condition its in, I think I could only really give $800 tops for it, but I wanted to see what you guys think. Its considerably less than what the seller is asking, but it has been for sale for awhile, and its does need a considerable amount of work, and with parts getting harder and harder to find, it could be a real task. I wanted to get some expert opinions before I contact the seller, so I figred I'd get some input from you guys first. Thanks in advance for any help or opinions you may have.

Oh, and almost forgot....is anyone still making new sheet metal for these, i.e. door skins, rockers, etc???

Cope by the way you describe the van it is in really bad shape along the bottom sides. We all know after we get it home there is more that gets discovered ...consider that when you make an offer....Parts can be found for these oldies and this site is the best resource...most items you will need will more than likely need to be shipped ...so another added cost....I just saved a 65 display that has one rot spot in the body and 2 doors are shot...overall solid sheet metal including the top and drip rails....only paid $ 200 for it.....engine and tranny non operable....
Hope this helps.

Cope Welcome to the site!!! Yes they do make some panels for these mostly rockers. I'm all for saving vans, but without pictures of the rust it hard to say. Being a no door makes it rare, but not so rare that you couldn't find another. It's easy to fall in love with the first one you see, but sometimes you have to step back for a minute. Ask yourself could I get one from out west away from the rust belt we live in that's in nicer shape that doesn't need a ton of body work??? Sometime you still can find one in the midwest thats nice.
The body is the key thing your looking for when you get one of these. Motors are a dime a dozen. And the rust is ALWAYS worst than it looks. There a member here selling as nice 67 90" panel
http://westky.craigslist.org/cto/1999446890.html

This looks like it would cost more money, but in the end this is a cheaper van than that no door. This van has a strong 292 motor and would take very little to make it a show stopper. Contact member here wideload if your interested.

Another thing to remember is these vans are not worth a ton of $$$ even finished. The real nice ones bring about 10-12 grand at the most. We have them because we love them and most of us won't get what we have into them.

Thanks Whopman, that's kinda what I was looking for. The only problem I can see is that the van is sitting in front of a shop with a bunch of other old chevys (corvairs, novas, Z28's, etc.) sitting around it unrestored, and I can only imagine whats in the building. I have this bad feeling that its owned by an old-head car "collector" who wants 500% more than what anything is worth no matter what he is selling...Im half afraid to even call the guy and make an offer. The fact that its been for sale for nearly a year doesn't build my confidence level any. I think tmrw I'm gonna call and offer them $500. Its gonna be hard to walk away though if they dont bite....

G-Man...you brought up the harsh reality, but its true. I want this little van so bad I can taste it, just because I know the coolness factor of what the finished product could be. As I stated, Im not out to build a show rig. I basically want something that me and 8 of my buddies can pile in and go to the bar and raise hell in, but look bad a$$ doing it haha. Im also interested in putting a SBC in it and roasting the tires off. Basically, I want to do what these vans were built to do back in the '60's and '70's......have fun! I know 2K is way to much for this piece, and if I can convince the owner of that I'll be set. Like I said, I"m gonna call tomorow and offer $500 and go from there.

Buy mine so I can afford a 1st Gen!! From one Cope to another!

http://kalispell.craigslist.org/cto/1996618980.html

Glad to have you on the forum, and keep your eyes and ears open. watch the fields you drive by and creep all the alleys you can! there's always another van right around the corner!

I wanted to say "Step back from the ledge son", but you said you have experience restoring old trucks and such. It sounds like you have an idea of what you're in for if you purchase it.

I doubt if anyone else would offer much more than scrap value for it unless they want it for parts. It sounds like $800 may be too strong an offer, but hey I think I overpaid for my project.

Cope (by the way, nice screen name haha), I actually searched for '67-'70 G-10's last night and looked at yours, If I lived in the west, I would be interested.

itruns, I feel ya haha. I gotta stay cool and keep my head, I tend to be somewhat of an impulse buyer. I do have alot of mechanical experience when it comes to old vehicles, I'm no body man by any means but I can get it done, and actually this would be a good project to learn more about the body end of it. The body doesnt have to be completely flawless when its done, thats not what Im after. But, I dont want it to look like a heap of mud with some paint on it. I did find a link to a website where I can get most of the repair panels that will be needed.

I don't wanna get in over my head, but these vans seem alot simpler than the trucks I am used to fixing up. I am a '73-'80 Chevy pickup fiend. I recently started working for myself, doing well head inspection and flowback in the gas fields on the Northern Tier of PA, which means I work 12 hours a day (with an hour each way of travel time), 7 days a week for weeks on end. I was working on restoring a 1976 Chevy K20 with a numbers matching 400 small block, but I sold it to a friend a few weeks ago. With the truck, I wanted to do a complete frame off restoration to original condition, and after I got into the project, realized I was in over my head. Not skill wise, but it would have taken alot of money and time to make that truck nice. At some point, that truck was sabotaged by a crack-head body man, there literally wasn't a single piece of sheetmetal on that truck worth saving (at least not to get it back to the show room condition I wanted it to be in), so basically I was starting with a frame and driveline. Not to mention, I really dont have the extra space for a frame off in the shop at this point. I'm looking for a more light-hearted project to work on on my weeks off and when I have an extra hour or two during the day, and I think a van would be a cool alternative to the trucks I'm used to working on. I'm not looking to put one back to original condition, I want it to be quirky and have some character when I'm done....foot print gas pedal, couch in the back, that kinda stuff. If the body doesn't turn out perfect....so be it. As long as it looks cool and nostalgic, turns some heads, roasts the tires, and is fun for me and my friends, that's what I want.

By the way, how hard is a V8 swap into a 6-cyl van? Its a '67 so it has the big doghouse in it. I'm thinking either a 355 or a 383 with a Turbo 350 behind it.

You guys are the pro's, and if you say its not worth more than a few hundred, that's all Ill offer. I'm gonna call and offer $500 for it, if they don't take it I'll keep looking.

I picked up my van for 500$ sounds like it may have been in similar condition or worse, lol,, took 2 years to get it on the road putting in the after work and weekend hobby hours. have since picked up several others, chevys for 300 and 150 and body wise they were in better shape, a dodge for 300 and a rusty truck for a trade of misery. lol , The no-doors are definately cool to look at but I don't know if I would want to do alot of engine work on one without the easy access of the side doors.

SBC will drop right in there, for most of us once you get one more will follow

Agreed....its just like anything else, you can't have just one. They are pretty hard to find in my neck of the woods, I think the PennDot minions and their sulphur chloride did most of them in. This is the first one of this vintage I've seen around in a long time. The only other one I remember seeing recently was a Corvair Greenbrier in a junkyard about 2 years ago, and the body was literally rusted away halfway up to the windows, no joke.

Does anyone ever put a big block in them? How about a Duramax?

Hahahaa! Cope, you do wellhead inspection and flowback? I'm in North Dakota doing frac for Halliburton! Yes this comment is off topic, but two copes with similar jobs? What a coincidence!

My first van in the 70's was a northeast PA bread delivery van. It was only 10 years old at the time but had so may holes from the road salt. I went around to construction sites and got scrap pieces of aluminum siding, pop riveted them right over the rust, used 3 gallons of bondo to cover that, rattle cans of matching paint and I was ready for my senior year. I was 17.

Cope80355, I'm a long cut guy originally from the Scranton area.

copenhagenfiend wrote:Hahahaa! Cope, you do wellhead inspection and flowback? I'm in North Dakota doing frac for Halliburton! Yes this comment is off topic, but two copes with similar jobs? What a coincidence!

Not O/T. You both dig Earlies too. Two coincidences - OK. Any more and I'm thinking something very peculiar is going on