Serious A 100 question

Greetings, I have a 1966 Dodge A 100 panel van that (my first older vehicle) that I am starting to get annoyed at.
It has had some work done (engine, brakes, master cylinder, gear box, bushings, electrical, etcc) on the van these past few months (by mechanics, I am not a mechanic) but it still seems that there is always something else that "isn't" right.

I am feeling that these mechanics:

1. just do the minimum as to get me out the door since it took a long while to even find someone to actually want to work on the van.
or
2.  we have some pretty crappy mechanics in my town.

It starts, drives, brakes, all lights work, front doors/ side door locks, most of the tachometers work (except for the fuel gauge- probably just came unplugged cuz it was working recently).

I Know there isn't any pictures but it does have considerable rust: mainly under roof vent interior rear, at roof vent area, and under the front 2 cab doors

My question to you all is,
1.  has anyone been through this before? About the mechanics?
2.  Would you part it out?
3.  Sell it as a whole?
4.  and if sell as a whole, what price is reasonable?

Again, I really would like to keep it as a mainly, registered, insured, daily driver project, but as you know, A 100's are hard to come by and thus, leaving me with not many choices of mechanics who wan't to do the work, unfortunately.  

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

hard to put a price on something you can't see or touch. a
as far as a mechanic goes you need a older person, today's young bloods can only do what the computer
tells them to do.

Robert if you will put your actual location in that might help a bunch. So. Cal. is a big place, there might be another vanner close by that could help you out. Pic's would help a bunch for the members here to answer some of your questions. Go to the A-100 section of the forum and ask away. There's probably more knowledge here about the early vans than anywhere else.

Mechanics - yes, you need to find a shop that has some old-timers. Consider that the LAST carb'ed car sold in CA was in 1989. That means anyone under the age of 25 was born after this. Parts are harder to find, the skills that apply to newer cars are often different than older stuff and many owners of older vehicles are more cheap than a late model vehicle. Toss in the fact that a vehicle that has been on the road or in the field over 50 years is made up entirely of pretty old, tired parts, making diagnosis even harder (which old part in the chain is the 'bad' one?). Add it all up and the average guy in the shop sees trouble as you drive in the lot. The best way to combat this is to provide more time to work on it, understand that it may require the old guy in the shop to have time to diagnose and fix it, and that trying to get it done as cheap as possible is going to cause some 'best guess' work that may not fix it fully the first time.
For example, starting/charging. First, these didn't charge well at idle when new. Add in 50 years of wear and probably a cheaply rebuilt starter and alt., worn wiring, corroded connections and a weak battery and there isn't a single item that will 'fix' the issue. If you want it right, it's going to take more than a fresh battery.

selling - Parting out most older cars/trucks will net more cash, but you end up trading a bunch of labor and have a carcass laying around until the remainder is hauled off for scrap. This group's reason for gathering is an appreciation for these, so unless you are able to strip it so others can live, most would prefer it is sold whole to someone who can keep it going and enjoy it.

For value, take a look at the for sale listings here. Remember to compare similar vans AND locations. So. Cal. has more survivors in better shape but also a bit more demand. Without more info and pictures, it could range from 1500-4500. Don't expect it to sell overnight unless priced way under market value.

Hi Robert,

What Rod said above is good advice.

I would add one more thing: I am not a mechanic. I have built multiple small displacement motorbikes from the frame up, replacing everything in them, and I still do not consider myself a mechanic. I learned how to do that by working with others, by reading bike forums just like this one, etc. These old vehicles are gonna have little things that break as they go along. A lot of it is simple bolt on stuff. If you can screw and unscrew stuff and follow written directions, you can learn to D.I.Y. on a lot of your truck. Just be patient (with yourself and your van), go slow, and ask others who have more knowledge how to do it right the first time and take your time. I bought a 1974 Chevy van in 2000. I am not a mechanic, but pretty much anything that was bolt on, I replaced at one time on that van by myself. I was also lucky. I found a mechanic who wanted to get every part of that van mechanically sound and we just worked on it over a two year period.

Making one of these trucks a daily driver is a worthy goal. But this is not a vehicle you just buy and drive. This is a vehicle you live with. I would encourage you to reach out to other vanners in your area. I started vanning in the lean years ... It's a whole new world out there now. Tons of vanners out there. Reach out and you may make some new friends and have a completely different and unexpected experience.

I know it can seen intimidating. I still feel that way. I am completely new to Dodge's and the A vans (just bought one in September) ... But there is a wealth of information on this very forum and vanners are not like any other people. You can learn a lot just by reading up on this forum and have knowledge before you go into any mechanics so you are prepared.

Finally, there is not all that much to these trucks. You can learn how to D.I.Y. for a lot of it.

That's my two cents.

I have a question,

WHY DON'T CALIFORNIANS PUT THEIR LOCATION IN THEIR PROFILE?????

Cali. is a big place. If the rest of us knew where you are we might be able to steer you toward some help that is local to you. One of the best mechanics on this site is in Cali. but he doesn't know if your in his town or not.

a lot of Vanners in SoCal go to Rory Fontana at Fontana Motorsports in Simi Valley. they go there from all over ...

All good advice.. If you don't feel good about you mechanic move on.. There are lots of great wrenches out there of all ages. If your going to drive an older auto your going to have to learn your way around a toolbox or it can be expensive. For me I a
enjoy working on them as much as driving it.

Thanks for the philosophy lesson.

Really Samsvan, really??  Don't worry, I deleted my post so as not to offend those perfect antiques or individuals.

a lot of very good info posted above, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
take it for what it worth , I don't understand getting all worked up and deleting something ???
these guys are trying to help. there maybe someone 5 min away, BUT why waste time on some one
that might be 1,000 miles away ???????????