Ok I asked a ton of questions and appreciated all the feedback.

I went ahead and bid on a van unseen and unexamined, The seller
reassured me that he had no problems running @ 70-75 MPH on level
hwy, and the van wasn't leaking. He also offered to have it driven to
me for a fee, so he at least thinks it's running ok.

My intention is on Driving it back to new york city, to replace our
daily driver Volvo wagon.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1987-Volkswagen-
Vanagon_W0QQitemZ300145926623QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item300145926623

Just thought I'd share it with the list.

Also... I can't afford any major repair expenses, so if this thing
turns out to be not great, is it almost worth $800 for someone who
want to part it out?

Kai, who's $1000 ebay volvo has run amazing with only a fuel relay
(typical) and oil and tranny fluid (both leak) for about 16 months.
Too bad it would cost way more than $1k to do the rear main seal.. :(