not an a body but still an old mopar. need advise on possible purchase

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rigrunner

rigrunner

rigrunner
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ararat nc
ive found a 1970 A100. body looks solid. seats reupholstered and its a v8. im assuming a 318. said runs and drives great. anone have any experience with these and what to look for when buying. asking price is 1750obo. would like to make it a daily driver. thanks
 
The dog legs around the foot wells, the entire drip rail around the roof. Around the battery box behind the drivers seat. Those were trouble spots on my '64. Cool little vans, horrid frontal crash worthyness though. Good luck!
 
rigrunner said:
any particular areas prone to rust other than the obvious?
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rear corners,doglegs by the door and the seam where the side panel was welded on were rusty on mine. it was an easy fix and I had it for 15 years. sorry I got rid of it now.
 
yes its a van. the pics ive seen looks like its solid and paint is original. going to try to get a look at it soon. its the only one ive seen for sale in my area in a very long time. i got rid of my valiant and am wanting another mopar. not wanting to jump into it too fast. thanks
 
Touch base with 2 members here "cosgig" has a van and there is another member that has the "truck" I cant remember his signon but his real name is Martin. They should be able to help
 
I love the A100 vans! Just looking at the pictures it has some serious rust behind the front tires. Also the front floor looks really rusty too.
 
im planning on going to see it just wanting to get an idea of what and where to look for problems. just rolling around the idea at the moment. thanks
 
that is an A108, longer wheelbase. also make sure it has the belly pan, this forces air into the radiator and it is a bear to keep cool without this piece. also depending on wheather if the dog house isnt sealed it gets HOT AS HELL inside. i am in the desert so summers were brutal for me. mine was a panell van. i miss it. i ruptured my rotator cuff and couldnt steer it anymore.
 
I had an A100 pickup. If anything, I would look for signs that it may have been overheated (as much as you possibly can). The cooling systems were the sore spot on those (especially V8's) and when you see how shrouded the front of the radiator is, you'll understand. One more thing, those have a straight axle front end with king pins and a manual steering box. So get ready for some white-knuckle driving in bad weather or at higher speeds. I just got used to it on mine. They are 99.999% manual steering box.

Oh yeah......don't have any fuel leaks around the carb. I've seen a lot of torched A100s in the boneyard for that. One really cool thing though and that is......almost all headers will fit because there's absolutely nothing in the way down there. I just installed some for an A-body I think. Had 'em bolted up in an hour or two, if I remember right. Oh yeah #2.....the wiring looms get pretty brittle in that engine box too, from all the heat. The sides of the engine box are meant to unbolt easily to work on the motor. That is, after you pull the pins from the seats to remove them. Very cool ride!
 
im going to try to get someone closer to it i know to take a look at the condition and go from there. going to be a while before im free enuff to take the drive. sounds like it may not be what im looking for in a dd.
 
I had one of the pickups back in the early 70's with a 273 and a 904 in it, you could roast chicken in it in the summer time and freeze your package off in the winter time. It was a cool ride for a 20 year old at the time.
 
door bottoms tend to rot too. keep an eye out for that. buddy had an A100. was a 318 3 speed. as said, make sure the belly pan is there
 
70DartMike said:
Very cool van. Hope someone saves it and doesn't part it. Sad thing is people always cut out the front axle and crush the rest.
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even in my neck of the woods, they do this. i saw a campertop one in the junkyard last month with the front axle long gone
 
had a friend look at it and he said its really ruff..needs tires and alot of body work. thanks for the info but i think im going to pass.
 
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