Some of you never thought you’d see the day when vehicles from the 1980s would be shown on classic car websites, let alone a minivan. Every day that you wake up you’re a day older and so is the rest of the world and everything in it, including this rust-free 30-year old 1988 Plymouth Voyager. This 5-speed family hauler is on Craigslist in Portland, Oregon with an asking price of.. er.. um.. there is no asking price, the owner wants to trade for “something that’s also in great condition (a looker inside and out) weird, quirky, rare, turn key ready. Show me what you have.” Interesting!
Yes, this particular minivan is older than a lot of you are and it’s even older than some of our writers are. Thirty years is a drop in the bucket (as no 30-year old said, ever) to a lot of us who are old enough to be the parents of a 30-year old person. Speaking of parents, and families, that demographic is what Lee Iacocca and Hal Sperlich, both still at Ford at the time, had in mind when they came up with the idea for a modern, small van. Is it the “first” minivan? That’s like saying that anything is the first or the best or the oldest or the biggest or smallest. There will be a portion of humanity that will take it as a personal challenge to come up with differing facts whenever someone says that something is an absolute. I will just say that, to the best of my knowledge, your honor, the Chrysler minivans were the first modern American minivan. Just for the record, the VW Type 2 bus / van / Transporter / Kombi / etc. was not a modern American minivan.
This van was made for haulin’, but sadly there are no photos showing the rear area with the hatch open or really anything behind the front seats other than this cool, artsy shot. I had a white, 1987 Dodge Mini Ram van for a business that I owned in the 1980s and it was one of the best vehicles that I have ever owned – 100% trouble-free and very nice to drive compared to our full-sized Dodge Vans. It had no rear side windows and just two front seats and that van was really made for haulin’, but it was for hauling stuff, not families. We found out that a couple of lawn chairs did not make for a pleasant or safe ride for rear passengers.
Jeff Lavery recently showed us a nice first-year ChryCo minivan and, as expected, the comments section heated up like a non-AC-equipped minivan in Tucson. These are the classic love-it-or-hate-it vehicles, maybe the best one of all time. Some folks think that they ruined the auto industry forever and some think that they’re the best thing that ever happened to the auto industry. That isn’t surprising given the 50/50 split in how we think about politics and everything else these days. One thing this van has going for it, other than being rust-free and that it has reportedly “never sat, and was driven and maintained regularly”, is that it has a 5-speed manual transmission. There was a turbo model that also was offered with a 5-speed transmission but they came in 1989 and 1990 and that is the one to get if a person likes the ultimate in quirky minivans.
This whistle-clean puller is Chrysler’s 2.5L transverse-mounted inline-four which would have had 100 hp and 135 ft-lb of torque. I have put probably 400,000+ miles on 2.5L Chrysler engines and have never had any trouble what so ever, other than a fuel pump or alternator or things like that. Some of you may have not had similar luck as evidenced from Jeff’s article on the Dodge Caravan. The seller says that they drove this van “all the way to Phoenix AZ, Houston Texas, then back with no problems. She ran like a champ!” Ok, what are your thoughts on this van? 5-speed: yea or nay? Chrysler minivans: are they the first “modern American minivan”? – yea or nay? What would you offer up for trade on this 5-speed Voyager?
Needs some upgrades.
http://www.turbovan.net/van.html
http://www.turbovan.net/modifications.html
Had an ’89 turbo in Ice Blue Metallic. Garrett T3, Shelby intake, ’87-’88 3L throttle body, FFV injectors, DSM blow off, Volvo 740 intercooler, 3″ exhaust w/ resonator, Koni struts, KYB rear shocks, sway bar rear tube, ’91 front suspension & sway bar from a Grand Caravan, Shelby wheels…went 308+k miles and was a giggle fest
The 5 speed was truly unusual. In all my dealings with Chrysler mini-vans, I only saw one. It was not a common thing, as 99% of these were driven by women, and generally speaking, most women went with the automatic transmission. I gave up trying to teach my ex wife, just couldn’t get the coordination down. Too bad, as the 5 speed probably would have eliminated many of the transmission woes, the Achilles heel of these. Great to see one like this, and a 5 speed, most were killed, with hundreds of thousands of miles. I too, had the best luck with these, and after thinking it over, my Plymouth turbo was an ’89 and the Dodge, with O/D trans was a ’90. I don’t think these are “collectible”, not yet, anyway, but if you’re looking for a decent DD, tons of parts yet, easy to fix, 5 speed, probably great mileage, nice seats, you can’t go wrong here,,,as long as they don’t want some silly fortune for it. I’d go $2,500 for a nice van like this, but not a heck of a lot more.
Wow what a barn find 😜
Let me go get some fuel ⛽️ and a march to put the econo box out of its misssary 🙃
Okay enough sarcasm but this is not exciting and rather boring ..
Late model vans and wagons are more for familywagonsandslow.com (fictitious site)
Here we go again,,,,
lol!
Exciting or not a survivor is always interesting. Having watched all of this transpire at the time and having always been a car person I paid attention. These mini vans were definitely revolutionary and marked the death of the station wagon for sure. The Chrysler models were genius. They were simple and front wheel drive. Having worked on a few I would say they were bigger versions of a Horizon. All of the parts looked similar. At the time I didn’t care for them and I opted for a Chevy G-20 Conversion van for my family and then a Ford E-150 Conversion Van after putting about 160k on each of them. However they definitely revolutionized the family “Truckster” for sure and all of these current family mini vans which kind of morphed into smaller SUVs now can trace their lineage to these.
These were a lot smaller and more maneuverable than the whale-shaped “mini”vans of today. I wish they’d bring them back, with a four-cylinder and a five-speed.
Mazda 5’s have been available with 5 and 6 speed manuals since 2006. I think they were discontinued in the US in 2015 though.
Looks like it needs a date with a steamer for the fabric seats and carpets. Can’t tell perfectly, but seems to be missing the middle seat, which would be fine for my needs. I’d have to get it undercoated for Mipples weather, I’m told these rust as easily as any other 1980’s/1990’s car. But Chrysler was a leader on rust protection and had that excellent rust thru warranty, so big thumbs up from me!
I think this is a very interesting vehicle. The survival rate of old minivans is quite low, due to the fact that they were generally driven until they were used up. Since i am not ‘too cool for school’ like some commentators here, I would GLADLY drive this. Cruise-in, Cars and Coffee, Lowes, Grocery Store…wherever. This is great, especially with the five speed gearbox. I love cars, having owned 50+, that said I am actually bored with old Mustangs, Chevelles, Corvettes, Challengers, et cetera. Those are everywhere. Vans like this…I never see.
Yep me too when I put my mustang next to 800 🐎 shelbies in car shows I so often think of if only l had a box 📦 with wheels and blind spots to park in a show like this ..with that logic .. I could of then have looked past my pretty pre wife in college and sang jimmy souls song lyrics “if you wanna be happy for the rest of your life Never make a pretty woman your wife ..so get an ugly girl to marry you “
Substitute van and nice looking muscle car where appropriate
But I am not sure on wagons,vans or Yugo cars to be happy driving for the rest of my life 🙃😆😆😆
Premature oil burners. Great mosquito sprayers.
Normally, I would be the first to scoff at American cars of this vintage, especially on this site. To old guys like me, this is just a nice used car but this ugly box is a good example of a real game changer. Ron is right. These were, dare I say it, revolutionary. The museum where I volunteer (California Automobile Museum) has been looking for a nice example of the first generation Chrysler minivan for some time. Perhaps…
We had a similar vintage Dodge Caravan, 5-speed, 4-cylinder. It was a wonderfully practical vehicle. Rear seats are heavy but they remove for transporting 4×8 sheets with the gate closed, flat, between the wheel-well arches. We had few mechanical problems. The choke eventually corroded; I remember cleaning and greasing the shift linkage; I replaced the air-conditioner clutch. The minivan was noisy at highway speeds compared to most newer cars but it would cruise all day long with no problems.
The form-factor of this minivan is the best of the type. It is as small and easy to drive as it can be and still allows 4×8 sheets and even longer stuff if it fits between the front seats. All with the rear hatch closed. Put the seats in and it is off to soccer practice. You cannot do that with a Transit Connect (CV transmission, ugh) or similar.
Wellllllll,,,,,……..,,,,,,. Soccer wouldn’t be what it is today without ’em. Nor would the soccer moms. I never could figure out why Chizzler never gave a fleet of pre-production ‘Car-a-Vans’ to ladies like my late mother who had abused every Chrysler, Datsun wagon, and Nissan pickup model camping all over the States. Her two Caravans soldiered on without load levelers.
School teachers that drive in town two miles each way all week to work, then beat the snot out of the beast on weekends and all summer is far worse than the Chelsea Proving Grounds tests.
Better to have the Sport model with the 5 speed and 4 cylinder turbo.
The Corvan/Greenbrier was an American minivan that predated this by a long shot. It was available starting in 1960 for the 1961 model year.
The corvair wasn’t a mini van. In fact it wasn’t much of anything.
Same length as the first generation, non extended wheelbase, caravans. Sounds like a minivan to me.
This van wouldn’t have been built with a 2.5L, it would have come with a 2.2L. The Mitsubishi 2.6L was optional. When these were new I had a Chrysler exec friend who ordered a 5speed car as his company car. When it came time to order another one, he wasn’t allowed to order a stick. As for “Minivan”, Chrysler first used the term in 1957. You can research where and how it was used.
Actually, the 2.2 was last used on MY 1987, replaced in 88 with the 2.5. That was the only 4 cylinder available in 88, but with the 3.0L available with a 5 speed. Dad always wanted one of these when they first came out in 84. The one here for sale is almost exactly how he wanted to spec it out. Alas, we were poor and a new car made to order was most certainly not in the cards, so we just kept on with our land yacht sedans and wagons right on through the 80s.
Correct on the 2.2. 2.5 came out for 1987 on the Grands and 1988 for the std wheelbase. The 3.0 was never offered with a stick.
http://www.automobile-catalog.com/model/plymouth/voyager_1gen.html
I can’t find any reference.
Had an original Caravan and bought a new 1988 4 cylinder 5 speed
Almost bulletproof. Put over 205,000 miles on it with no issues other than changing brakes
Changed oil every 3,000 miles and never used even a quart of oil between changes.
Both my daughters learned to drive on it, smoked the clutch some but it was still working well when I sold it.
Best vehicle for the money I ever owned.
No Miata, but way more practical.
I had the Dodge version of this, an ’89 Caravan SE turbo. Bought it from my next door neighbor after her husband died. Was an incredibly useful and reliable vehicle. I wish I still had it.
I had the Dodge version of this, an ’89 Caravan SE turbo. Bought it from my next door neighbor after her husband died. Was an incredibly useful and reliable vehicle. I wish I still had it.
Have had one or another for years. Currently towing a uhaul from FL to OR with a 2012. It was always the automatic that died. Otherwise tremendous vehicle. Had them with more than 300k. Trans valve body usually would fix them.
When I lived in Oregon I was surprised to find that if a stick was available in a vehicle at any time, it was there, no matter how odd or weird it was.
I bought a few of these sticks to resell them.
They always sold well.
I had one of these. A 1990 maroon 5spd non turbo. Loved driving it and super gas mileage. I wish I still had it. Would love to have this one but don’t have anything to trade. Good luck.
I wouldn’t drive this at night, with headlite covers like that!! Good luck finding expensive new ones that will wind up like that too – none on ebay. Many don’t realize modern plastic headlite COVERS can get dirty on the INSIDE with all those cycles of fog/moisture & heat & cold. How you gonna fix/clean/polish that? They are not hermetically sealed like glass SEALED beam headlites. Not sure if 1 could retrofit glass headlites to this van. Or how it would look.
I think you can retrofit it because the lower models had the sealed beam headlights.
Like this one.
http://www.2040-cars.com/_content/cars/images/82/892982/008.jpg
I had an opportunity to buy a 1998 Nissan Quest van with super low mileage on the clock last year for $1800. It was a Nissan executive program car and was “as new.” Having driving previously a GMC Safari mini van and a Ford Aerostar mini van the Quest seemed downright HUGE. To me, a Plymouth mini van of this vintage with a stick sounds like less of a yawn than anything with an automatic. Not worried about those headlamps…RockAuto or Cardone has knockoffs that will stay clear (until they aren’t) then just replace ’em again. To bad this van is in Oregon…I’d trade one of my MG Midgets for it to haul plywood, ladders and parts to/from the swap meets.
We bought an ’84, special order, based on the advertising, never having seen a real one, 2.2, 5 speed stick, went 200,000 miles without much trouble, but at 200,000 it all went bad, AC shot, clutch slipping, lost 1st and 2nd gears, timing gears worn so could not be set well, front suspension shot, power steering groaning, rust in the fenders, and needed all the usual, brakes, tires, hoses, radiator leaked, so traded it in on a used ’90 with the V6. ’84 was towed off the dealer’s lot before I drove off in the replacement. That one was hit by a tree. Bought a used ’87, when it died, a new 2000, the best of the lot, when it died, a used 2006, the worst of the lot. So owned a total of 5 over 30 years. Perfect for a family with do it yourselfers, campers, baseball teams. Wife drove son to a college in the ’84, involving a lot of hills, after rowing through 5th, 4th, 3rd, to get up them, over and over, about the same powerlessness as a VW van, or diesel Rabbit of the time (turn off the AC going up hill), she vowed never to drive him there again, he had to find a college on flat land. Which he did. And the next 4 had the V6 with an automatic transmission.
I just bought a 1987 Plymouth Voyager from Cars and Bids. It is really beautiful, at least in the photos! These are really rare.