Financially, I can't imagine a restoration would be cheaper than finding a used equivalent van. So I agree with you, though I'm not super knowledgeable about restorations.
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When it comes down to money, it’s always better to spend it on work someone else put in and can’t get out.
For instance, here’s a pickup van the guy who’s selling it and has a body shop put $30k in parts in. He wants $23k for it, maybe you get it for near 20. You’d be way better off with that then spending $12k for a half assed reno. But not everyone has the money upfront, thus we buy junkers, and rue the day.
Assuming it’s legit, that paint job will cost $10k or more. So much work. You could save a boatload on that, doing the majority of prep and leaving the final shaping and spraying for the shop.
Or this Volkswagen, way more expensive at $43k, because it’s a 70’s VW.
Driving any old vehicle like that long distance is another matter, and a trip back in time that given how spoiled we are with modern cars, is pretty brutal. Just going straight is work.
Unless it’s super rare, or you want a project, junkers almost never make financial sense.
Even cars in general, timing is everything. Muscle cars were hot late ‘80’s, then maybe due to wall street crash, they went down. I don’t see that happening now due to it’s really the end of the world for them. More and more they’re purely collector cars, so it doesn’t matter how they drive. The obscure ones may decrease, and the popular go up till it’s too ridiculous, as electric comes in.
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