Vans, like station wagons, are shedding their negative images now that they’ve aged a bit. Instead of being the vehicle of choice for tradesmen, creepers, and all sorts of other weirdos, a well-done van that isn’t covered in forty-year-old faux fur or filled with a leaking waterbed is something kind of cool to find, and top of the list seems to be a good Dodge van. The B-series always did have a strong following, and while most people would rather have the older look of the mid-1970s grille compared to the newer face of this particular 1979 model, this B200 shorty has something that will be difficult to find in another van, period.

Small block, four-speed. That’s not an easy combination to find in a rolling breadbox, let alone one that looks to have survived pretty well over the years. The 318 isn’t going to knock your socks off, but a nice 360 with a lumpy cam will go a long ways, and being a 1979, a set of gears out back wouldn’t hurt, either. We’d leave the root-beer brown paint alone, along with the slot mags that are actual 5×4.5 bolt pattern units. Just do some cleaning here and there and see if the paint can be polished up, and you’d be good to go. You don’t even have to touch the interior if you don’t want to…look at it, it’s as mint as it gets! For $2,500, you will have plenty of cash left over to do whatever is needed. Just please…no shag carpeting, okay?

Craigslist Link: 1979 Dodge B-200 Sportsman SWB