1965 Dodge A100 Camper Van

1965 Dodge A100 Sportsman

I bought this about 5 years ago and have been picking away at it since. It made it’s way to Oregon in 2018 from it’s long time home in Grass Valley Ca. A place with a dry climate and likely why it has very little rust. That being said, it has minor body damage in lots of places. Scrapes/dings/small dents/scratches etc. it’s certainly been used as an “outside” car.

I’ve been focusing on the functions mostly over the past few years when I have time. This is what has been done so far:

The 318 that was in it seemed sound and that’s where I began, It’s an ‘86 318 with “302” casting heads (closed chamber swirl port) I “un-rollered” it and replaced the cam with a mild hydraulic flat tappet 218/228 @.050 with .445 lift. Comparable to the early 340 4 spd cam. I kept the lift kind of low to be nice to the old valve springs. I used a new Comp Cams billet adjustable timing set, Mopar M1 dual plane intake manifold, Edelbrock 600 4 barrel, new water pump, HEI style distributor, ported 360 exhaust manifolds to 2 1/8 outlet and assembled with fresh gaskets in summer 2019. It has 2 ¼ dual exhaust with large mufflers to keep it fairly quiet. I also bought some Edelbrock valve covers and air cleaner and used the colorcast aerosol to give it an anodized look.

The trans.. A833 Overdrive 4 speed on the tree, yep on the tree! It was in there when I got it, the transmission itself seems to be in good shape, I’ve had a few of these over the years and this one shifts well, is pretty quiet and the fluid looks perfect. I’ve spent many evenings trying to sort out the linkage, and have gotten it to work pretty well, shifts reliably, doesn’t get hung up, and is reasonably smooth. Again though, it’s a “4” on the tree, so you know.. keep your your expectations reasonable. It has a separate reverse lever near the floor kind of like an old dragster, but the biggest take away I think is IT HAS OVERDRIVE!

The rear axle is the original 3:91 sure grip which seems to be in good condition. It still has the original style greasable bearings and adjusters, the fluid is full and clean and appears to have been maintained.

The brakes are still drums, but from a later model. The fronts have been converted to 11” the rears are still the OE 10” units. The dual reservoir master cylinder and proportioning valve are from a later 60’s era van. The brake pedal pivot shaft bushings, brake light switch, front wheel cylinders and shoes are new last spring – bled, adjusted and work as well as you might expect from 4 wheel drums.

Wheels are 15” cop car wheels painted Turf Green with early Dodge dog dish caps and new tires 275/60 rear and 215/70 front.

I got all the door latches, handles, window regulators, and door locks to function well with one key.

Same with the rest of the accessories – the lights, park/low beam/high beam/blinkers all work, the heater, wipers, all the gauges, indicators etc. except for the horn, function as they should.

When I got it, the front windshields and gasket had just been replaced and still look new. The glass has aftermarket manufacturer and DOT numbers on them. The rest of the windows are in pretty good shape, the weatherstrip, not so much. I tinted everything but the windshield in some 30% bronze film I had laying around for a while. I had the front seats upholstered in 2020 and finally found a rear bench/bed last year and had it upholstered to match the fronts. The rear seat belts are new aftermarket pieces, the front belts are 59 year old originals that work but are past their prime.

All of the original fiberglass window molding/trim panels are present and look good. It also has 2 tanks, the original that I cleaned, and installed with a new sender/pick up and filler hose and an addl. 21 gallon saddle tank. Both work fine, but the aux tank has no gauge.

I installed a low option Kenwood deck with some Infinity 6x9’s in the rear doors, and some 5 ¼ in the front, nothing special but it sounds alright. There’s also a class 3 hitch with a 4 pin wiring.

The pop top looks to be all there and functions, but certainly needs to be restored, the aluminum faced particle board from 1965 is swollen and crumbly on the edges. Other than the exterior hook ups, none of the camper accessories remain. The forward cargo door on the pass side has some rust in the bottom, I pulled some leafs out of it to lower it, but never had it aligned, it seems like it needs more castor, and the wheel isn’t straight. It wanders some, but still plenty drivable if you’re comfortable with older cars.

It’s burned out two HEI modules this year, I’m working on a solution, but carry a spare in the glove box, and if you drive it a while in the heat, the engine compartment gets quite hot and will evaporate the gas in the carburetor if it sits for a long time after, and you have to crank it until the pump gets gas back to the carb.

We can’t overlook the bitchin’ skim board console with 3 stainless cup holders or the hard to come by Rust-eze decals that for some reason could only come from England ? Go figure..

Well there you have it, an overly explained, kind of beat up looking old van to the best of my knowledge. Feel free to reach out for any unanswered questions you may have.

Please - no silliness, I really encourage you contact to me if it seems like this is the one for you. If you do make a commitment, get in touch with me right away so I know you're a real buyer.

Contact info is in pics

Thank you

Jeff

• Make: Dodge
• Model: A100
• Type: Van Camper
• Trim: Sportsman
• Doors: 6
• Year: 1965
• Mileage: 118645
• VIN: 2082051606
• Color: White
• Engine size: 318
• Number of cylinders: 8
• Fuel: Gasoline
• Transmission: Manual
• Drive type: RWD
• Interior color: Black
• Vehicle Title: Clean
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