Re: Old ride...new ride

roddie Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:17 pm

ahhh... this has been some great reading!!! I had the pleasure of owning 2 Dodge 1-ton (16" 8-lug wheels) Tradesman 300 vans! Both had 318's. My 1st was a 1975 cargo van (great for moving band equipment...) It had an aftermarket Holley (Contender?) alum. intake/Holley 600 carb./vac. secondaries, and headers w/dual turbo mufflers and steep rear-end gears...

My 2nd was a 1974 self-contained full camper conversion w/50K mi. given to my (now ex-wife) and I, from my Grandparents... back in 1985 as a wedding gift. It had a fiberglass roof-extension, otherwise it was stock "Tradesman" body/length. It had factory (cab) air-conditioning, an under-body mounted LP gas tank, dual batteries w/isolator, hot water heater, stove-top, fridge, aux. heater, chem. toilet, 20 ft. pigtail for a.c. mains... everything but a shower. It slept 2 comfortably.

I wish I still had them... They were both "wholesaled side-by-side" on her family's used car lot, about 2 years prior to our divorce in 1995. Sad

SuperDave Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:41 pm

Ron/Roddie:

Although I had no such automotive training in high school I did have metal,electrical and metal shop in junior high. All three were very valueable in my later life and are foundations for my abilities today. One lesson in electrical shop taught be how to replace a wall-mounted electrical light switch. Today Junior High students aren't taught mechanical arts. None zero, "feelings" are more "important.

We're reasing generations of "mechanical morons" and more's the pity but this is a "goldmine" for the repair or replacement industries. Very Happy

SD