New guy question...looking at a 66 tomorrow.

Hi guys,
Going to look at a 66 G10 tomorrow. I am new to vintage vans but not cars as a hobby. I just wanted to run a couple things by you guys. Here is the ad:

http://augusta.craigslist.org/cto/4675463399.html

I'm curious as to how bad the rockers are. I talked to the guy today. He said he does not have the gas tank. He said it is set up so I can drive it around the block. I did some searching around and it doesn't look like you can get replacement tanks? Is there a tank from another car/truck that will work without a lot of modifications? What do you guys think about the price? Any info would be appreciated.

Thomas

Welcome to Vintage Vans,Thomas !
Gas tanks are not an off the shelf reproduced item.That's another good reason to have this board.We usually have to depend on others for salvaged parts.The van you are lookin at have the smaller tank,using a 30 Ohm sender.Later vans use the larger 24 gal tank. Quite often one will come up though.A few guys have adapted other tanks with rear stiffeners modified.Do a search from main forum page.
There's a company on Ebay that sells some of our sheet metal,rockers too.Priced fair,especially if you dont have a spare van to cut on.
My opinion:Thats really not a bad lookin van.But I'd crawl in,under,and over the top of it.That drivers door has had leaking issues at on time or another too.Either from the whisker strips,felt or somewhere.Possibly even a roof.Check it out.Look for soft spots around windshield,too.Another typical bad spot is under gas filler.But i will say,dash area looks good.Looks like factory radio,can't tell,lot of times that area is hacked to pieces.Looks neat underneath it as well,plus theres not 100 holes drilled in dash.
You wrote that you hobby with cars,so you kinda know ahead of time what your getting into with a 48 year old,typically,work vehicle at some point.
I've seen the prices ease up the last few years.Its still hard to swallow something that was a $1500 vehicle a few years ago,is $4-5k now.
Thats my two cents worth,others may vary.Hope it helped.Enjoy the forum.

Until you actually put hands and eyes on it very hard to justify $3500 (no gas tank) they ALL look good in the pics. After you crawl around it yourself, you will have a better understanding of it's value. JM2C

Check out the inner rockers. If that is good then reworking a rocker panel is a lot easier. Gas tanks like they say are not a repop item. I'm sure a good one can be found somewhere. Check the lower A pillar areas for rust. The doors can more than likely be patched or dealt with. On lower body rust just check everything on the high side of things for water entering the sheet metal. From the pics it looks like a nice van!

cant hurt to offer him less the worst he can say is no

Thanks for all the info. I did some searching and it seems like this http://www.brotherstrucks.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GTPDS66
may be the easiest to make work.
Fingers crossed that the rust is not bad. The guy said he has had it for 15 years. I may be able to use the no gas tank situation to haggle the price.

Good luck Thomas and welcome to the Best site for early van information. Looks pretty good in the pics, especially the interior cab. Get a close up hands on view and you will be the best judge of it's worthiness. If it's missing the gas tank that should work to your advantage in making a lower offer for it. Let us know how it turns out for you.

I just found out he does not have the title, just a bill of sale. Not sure what to do... No experience with this.

States have different rules. I would check out South Carolina's rules before making a commitment. Some states don't require them on vehicles past a certain age. Best to know ahead of time what you'll be looking at.

Welcome To VV..!!!..Seeing anything "For Sale" in person is the best way to go although the Van looks decent... You will find most anything you need on this site for a Early it just may take a little time for some one to come up with what you need we just had a few parts Vans recently that have been stripped on this site 1st & 2nd Gen's.. .

Hi and welcome.  Unless you have a shop and can do body work yourself, I'd pass on that van.  getting a tank will be a headache and that doesn't include the sending unit, another issue all by itself...  There are plenty of nice vans out there in the south and southeast with working tanks and gauges, even if you pay a little more or have to pay shipping to get it.  Start by monitoring this site for ads, new ones come up everyday.  Look for a van that needs little to no body work or it has already been done...don't jump at the first one you see, That one would be OK at $2000-2500 if you want a project....JMHO

Decided to not look at it. Getting it titled in South Carolina once I bought it is a hassle and not a sure thing. I will keep looking.