When looking for a likely van to purchase you must be aware, as many here have said, that anything shiny could easily be a cunningly disguised rust heap. Tarting up a van is relatively straightforward but won't fool a knowledgeable person who knows what to look for. Do the doors fit properly ? If they don't that could well indicate crash damage. Look UNDER the dashboard for rust. Many vans have serious issues developing there after 40 or 50 years of standing outside in the British weather. As has been stated elsewhere, get underneath. This won't necessarily show any serious faults but it may well be a clue as to the structural integrity of the van, after all that is more important than the shine on the paintwork. As the owner of a van for 29 years that has been admired many times by professional mechanics, particularly while up on ramps, I can only hope that anyone looking to buy a van isn't mislead into a bad buy and have the nightmare of having to spend, spend, spend to make it halfway reliable and sound so that they can have the pleasure of owning an iconic vehicle.
