It was built at the Pillette Road Assembly plant in Canada in Windsor Ontario . It exclusively built Dodge vans, the plant opened in 1974 and closed in 2003. I love researching auto assembly plants and their history, I find it fascinating.

@weegeemike

4 ай бұрын

Wow! So that plant was basically built just to build vans, huh? That year range you gave is almost the entire production run of our beloved B series Dodge Van/ Dodge Ram VAN.

I love the fact that you care about the history

@ObsoleteAutomotive

4 ай бұрын

The history is just as important as the car itself. Every car has a story… unfortunately most are lost to time.

@CoastalAutoReactionCAR

3 ай бұрын

@@ObsoleteAutomotive could not have said it better myself

This is why I subscribed to Obsolete Automotive-not endless repetitions of "Cudas/Challengers and other Mopar muscle,but that Chrysler Corp. produced bread/butter cars and trucks that were as interesting and diverse as Ford and GM. I'm glad to see a site where these often forgotten vehicles are appreciated.

@ObsoleteAutomotive

4 ай бұрын

I love to showcase the cars that most people had. The people movers! The working class! Thanks for commenting and following along!

@jeffreyrigged

4 ай бұрын

Same with me. Im not a big mopar guy but I do love the odd ball normal cars. I get burnt out on chargers and cudas etc..

@weegeemike

4 ай бұрын

Agreed! Too many KZreadrs making vids of Ferraris, Lambos, and $100k+ fully restored or all original Challenger/Charger/Superbird etc, I get more excited seeing vids about k cars, 70s/80s Dodge trucks, and the other quirky and cool products ChryCo and even GM has made over the years. Glad to see I'm not the only malaise era Mopar weirdo 😅😂

@jeffreyrigged

4 ай бұрын

@@weegeemike the cars on my channel are normal type cars too. I'm not as established as Austin yet.

Good to see a younger guy saving these old Mopar pieces of history. Fun fact I grew up in my parents 1987 short wheelbase ram 150 Royal van, two-tone, silver and gray. As a factory royal it should have carpet but they could’ve chosen a rubber floor from the factory very similar Interior to the one I grew up in with the exception of ours had that 80s Dodge cloth style seat covering You should two tone this one white in the middle red on the top and bottom.. also technical fact freeze plugs are not freeze plugs, nor are they technically called freeze plugs lol that is something that people have just come up with over the years they are casting plugs never designed to be a failure point for the cooling system, or to pop out when your block freezes they are there from the casting process during engine manufacturing and machining. They are known commonly as freeze plugs but that is not their intended purpose. Cheers

So much room and versatility in a package only a bit longer than a new Civic. I love the running boards.

They had a van plant in Canada. Also had a pickup plant in Canada until the end of the 78 model year. Thats where my 78 Lil Red Express was made.

I didn’t think I’d hang in for a. 45 minute van walk around but I enjoyed every minute! Great video. Visually soothing. Something about that van…probably the red interior…that makes me want to jump in and take a ride.

Being shorty with 2 rows at the back and kinda well equipped I bet it was a rental at first. That would explain the short 8 months 20 000 miles first owner.

Yep I would say that whoever ordered it specified rubber floor and vinyl seats. The Royal is almost the top-of-the-line trim level. The only one above it is the Royal LE beautiful Van glad it got saved by the right person loving your videos, I think you would enjoy the 2 Wheel Dr. to four-wheel-drive swapped 68 big block D 200 Power Wagon we’re just finishing right now it’s a survivor re built with all Dodge parts using from a couple of different generations of heavy duty, dodge pick ups, one of which is a a 78 BB W 200 snowfighter package parts truck. check out our other channel junkyard resurrection I think you’d enjoy it. Cheers.

I've owned two shorty B150 Ram Wagons; a 1994 and a 2001. I loved them. Both were 8 passenger and had the 318 V8. I used to tow my autocross car with the '94.

Beautiful van. Definitely a keeper.

Videos are getting better and better

I just looked at his obituary. Someone on the tribute wall talked about him painting for Coca Cola and so does his obituary.

That’s one clean beautiful Dodge van

If that had been a Canadian Van, the Speedometer would have been in Kilometers at that time, and the owners manual would have had capacities for oil and gas in liters....So, built for the U.S. Market. Cheers

I had a Plymouth in college that was built in Canada, was made for US market, quite a few cars have been made in Canada for the US

In regards to the bullet hole: one time i walked up to this chevy truck, i noticed that someone went crazy with the old bullet hole stickers that were sold at autozone back in the day. When i walked up and touched it i was SHOCKED, every "sticker" was a REAL bullet hole. Had to have been 20 at least. Dude got away lucky that day 😅

Fun trivia...lol... the song that came on the radio was by the late great Keith Whitley.. "I'm over you". Yea.. I'm old and love country music.. REAL country music. Great van!

You mentioned assembly at the Windsor plant--if it were built for the Canadian market, the two speedometer scales would be switched (i.e., km/h as the primary).

Assembled in Windsor, Ontario for export. to U.S.

He bought the van exactly 10 years to the day when i was born. He bought the van 12/12/85 and i was worn 12/12/95. Neat stuff

Probably built in Canada for US and Canadian markets. I bet you that it was originally a Rent-A-Car. That would explain the high mileage in a short amount of time. My Mother and some of her cousins rented a van like that, in Louisiana, for a vacation trip to Acapulco and back.

Very nice. Perhaps Mr Chastain chose it because of the Coke colour. Great to know some history on it, particularly since its been so very well looked after.

Love your vids man! Love your new van here. My uncle had a '77 B100 shorty cargo van. Had over 300k mi on the original 318 before he sold it and now lives its second life as a KISS tribute van. If you're in Cali and see a copper/metallic brown B100 cargo shorty with a KISS mural on the side, chances are its my uncle's old van. This video brought back a lot of memories of riding around in that ol '77 as a kid.

That's a neat ol' van, Austin, in super condition. Liked hearing the story of the previous owner.

Over in Japan they love those bands they call them dodgy Vans and they race them

That intro was amazing haha Pizza & dodge

@danam0228

4 ай бұрын

A lot of red

Ausin in the early 80s myself and a buddy travel Texas to race in the Yexas Cross Country Racing Association 50 mile indurance dirt bike races . we fixed my van for camping i found a mattress that i could roll up and put under the back seat behind the captain chairs , so i could put the small 4 wheeler pit bike in the van . In the van i had a 3 prong cigarette plug addapter and mounted a removable fan on the wood console on the dog house , and had a 9in B and w tv for down time . I had a small gas grill that we cooked our meals on and a fold up table we carried along with camp chairs . We had a camp shower that we would stand in the back of the van doors and a astro turf carpet we would put down both for the wash and when we would put up our Tarp awning on the side of the van to stay out of the heat while working on the bikes for the next race ( have you ever dropped nuts or bolts in the grass and try to find then ?) We pulled a. 3 bike trailer that we had layed ply wood between the rungs and put hold down bolt in so we could carry the tool boxs , fuel , and ice chest on between the bikes . We had a great time camping and that van worked out great for us .

Say, Austin I dig those older dodge vans looks like this one is unrestored but that's ok buff that paint job man you git a original gem

Sweet van

It's a nice Van

I'm jealous. I had a 84 just like it. Mine was a Prospector , fully chrome pack. I've been looking for a none rotten one for a long time.

That's a good looking van. that are getting super hard to find.

Betcha the rubber floor was special order, or carpet delete. Manual shift was also available. I've driven these.

@jeffreyrigged

4 ай бұрын

Idk they sold the rubber floor ones for shuttle buses and church vans. Idr on dodges, but I've seen plenty of ford and chevys w that set up.

I think if you could get some deoxet behind those controls on that radio you could make it work

When I lived up in Long Island NY, (in the early 80s), I bought a 73 Sedan deVille Caddy that had 4 bullet holes in the front fender driver side. Owner really wanted to unload it. Lol … Mark Levine Raleigh NC. Great videos !!!!

@ObsoleteAutomotive

4 ай бұрын

Did the owner say what it was from??? 😂

Nice 😊

Could put a 90s radio in it with a tape deck I think you can actually go all the way up to 07 lol. Then you can have CD and Tape

I love this van, it would be so cool to drive my kids around in. Great channel, Austin. Is that a bullet hole in the hood? 😂 EDIT: you just answered my question while i was watching the video. Hilarious.

Nice Van Dude!

Hold my beer. I got one now.

@randyhoepker5528

4 ай бұрын

Wrong. All vehicles produced in Canada had the maple leaf sticker on them. All the 1978 Lil Red Trucks were made in Canada. EVERY one of them. My truck sold new in Illinois. So your theory is incorrect.

@michaelatkins9780

4 ай бұрын

@@randyhoepker5528 I was referring to the bullet hole.

It looks like the rubber is over a substrate.

I have a 29 Ford with several bullet holes that were left untouched. Probably when it was sitting in a field.

@ObsoleteAutomotive

4 ай бұрын

Luckily the bullets holes weren’t from when we were owners driving them. Ha

Lots with rust holes, no bullet holes.

Someone replaced the radiator, original would have been brass 26" wide (a/c) 3 core.

I'm thinking 357 Magnum... What do you think? I don't know anything else that would be big enough to make a hole like that. Lol

I don't know if you know but whatever you do don't use Spray 9 to clean the dash. I have a 1992 Dodge van with the single big square head lights and my dash board looks t GG e same as yours. I sprayed some Spray 9 on the dash it ran and took the red paint off and now it looks bad. Just so you know.

Kinda surprised the dimmer switch is on the floor

I live in eastern ky so seen my far share of bullet holes in cars lol.

old glass fuses???

Dajiban racers will enter the chat in 3,2,1...

That man was originally destined for Canada. The Canadian transport deco means that it’s original destination. Was Canada also built in Canada but it would not have that transport decal If it’s intended original destination was the United States so it probably sold in Canada and then came right down the dollar was probably strong at the time

@randyhoepker5528

4 ай бұрын

It was just built in Canada. They sent their finished products to the U.S. and Canada. The maple leaf sticker just signifies it was made in Canada, not where it was shipping to when finished. My 78 Dodge pickup was also made in Canada, but sold new in Illinois.

@dwebs262

4 ай бұрын

@@randyhoepker5528I have a similar sticker on my 78 Mercury Zephyr that was made in Canada and sold here, pretty cool info thanks

@CoastalAutoReactionCAR

4 ай бұрын

@@randyhoepker552810-4👍

@FantaLaStrada

4 ай бұрын

I'm assuming its speedometer would have the main numbers be in kilometers if it was sold in Canada unless they changed it out when it came to the US. I have a 93 Toyota pickup from Canada and it is Kilometers since that is what they use there and no AC since that is not what they use there.

My brother had a 02 neon with a shotgun slug hole right above the gas fill door, the previous owner went too far into crackhead country

@ObsoleteAutomotive

4 ай бұрын

Oh boy..

The van really came out looking nice but I don't know if you know this you really shouldn't be waxing a vehicle in the sun's not good for it next time you wax something you should put it under your carport much better to do it in the shade.

@randyhoepker5528

4 ай бұрын

Good advice.