Here’s a vehicle that was highly sought after for a spell and has seemingly been forgotten about all over again. The famous Turbo Minivan, and not only that, but one with a stick shift. Chrysler was dropping turbos into seemingly anything with wheels and doors in the 1980s, so it should come as no surprise that this included their bread-and-butter people carrier. While they are out there, it is far harder to find one with three pedals. Check out with turbocharger Voyager here on craigslist in Kingston, NY for $5,500.
Years ago, there was a thread on a message board called The Car Lounge that featured a prolific member who extolled the virtues of the turbocharger minivan. He regularly posted updates of his trials and tribulations trying to find one and ultimately, keep it on the road. This followed a picture that floated around the internet for a few years showing a turbo Dodge Caravan roasting the front tires off at a sanctioned drag race event. To say its legendary status seemingly exploded overnight is an understatement.
First, just finding a manual transmission minivan is a feat in and of itself. But to find one not only with a turbocharged powerplant but one that responds incredibly well to modifications? Well, that’s just the stuff of legends. In addition to bolt-ons under the hood, all sorts of OEM parts catalog upgrades are accessible to owners of these brick-shaped drag racers, including the wheels off a Shelby Daytona and the seats from a turbocharged Omni. But the real ticket is to leave it completely stock on the outside, with only the subtle “Turbo” badge on the fenders giving away what resides under the hood.
The seller has already made some of the must-do upgrades on one of these 2.5L engines. This includes a Garrett turbocharger, 2.5″-3″ exhaust elbow, and balance shaft delete. And in the event you grenade this one, the seller is including a spare motor and transmission from a 1990 turbo van with the coveted A568 manual transmission. Conveniently, it’s sitting in the rear cargo bay, which basically proves why minivans are so awesome – with or without a turbocharger. This project van is all kinds of awesome and I hope it gets restored like it should. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Rocco B. for the find.
For those readers that have never enjoyed the mentioned video.
https://youtu.be/xpwmN3d0x_s
Lol thank you Primo
And I’ll also leave a video, of a Dodge turbo minivan running 11’s lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e7qVlrHbYE&t=2s
I’m very much into oddball stuff and this would be right up my alley. Having said that my preference is to pay a bit more for unmolested survivors. Good thing it’s a long way from me.
Those front seats have seen a lot of rear ends…
Hot Rod Garage on Motortrend is doing a build on this exact type of van. I really didn’t ever think that this van was that popular
Do you mean manual turbo vans , or just Mopar minivans ?
We had few manual transmission Minivans at the Plymouth dealership I worked for ; Minivans were the new station wagon, and like most wagons, were equipped with automatics. I remember we had one base van that had a manual trans and they couldn’t get rid of it. I’m sure they took a loss on that one ! This one has a trailer hitch so its possible the turbo stick was special ordered by someone for towing power
Why would you delete the balance shaft? That was the best part of the 2.5.
Here is a thread on the virtues of removing the balance shafts
https://www.turbododge.com/threads/actual-gains-from-balance-shaft-removal-on-2-5s.39542/
This van is too close to where I live – of course my wife will make sure that I don’t do anything stupid
Here we go again, what story now, you’re thinking. Well, I had an ’89 Plymouth turbo van , only an automatic. I used it for a package delivery job. At the time, I needed a van, the turbo was an unexpected option. Turns out, the turbo supposedly added 50 hp, and quite frankly, mine must have been stuck, because I didn’t notice any performance difference, and the fact it used a lot of oil, it still did the 250 mile route everyday. It was just a beater, and oil was cheap, and they had the best seats in the business, I thought. I had a couple of these, ( bought 2 for $200 bucks in the 90s once, and made one good one). This vehicle, whether you want to accept it or not, was, I feel, the most important innovation in family travel, that will never be topped. You had a family, you had a minivan, that simple. I suppose something like this could upend the bleak car market again, but would take another genius like Iacocca to make it happen. I saw’r a video of him talking to a reporter, after Chrysler was going down the 2nd time, he asked Iacocca if he’d consider a return, and his answer was priceless. He said, “we didn’t take a dime out of Chrysler until the K car was well established, these overpaid crybaby CEOs and their 5 vacation homes are our biggest problem today”. I swear, that guy should have been president of the US. Great find, however, and I found this out with the squarebody, in affluent parts of the country, like where I live, driving anything less than a new Subie, you are immediately looked down upon. Low lives and drug addicts drive older vehicles like this, and sleep in them, and they are partially right. Even though, people are sleeping in new Subarus, btw.
With all my babbling, I forgot to mention Kingston. I spent the summer of 2016 in nearby Ashokan, NY. not far from Woodstock( the city, not the festival) Cool place, and in case that name doesn’t ring a bell, it is located on the Ashokan Reservoir, about an hour north of the city. It, and 4 other reservoirs, provide all the fresh water for NYC through a vast network of underground canals, that are in disrepair, btw. As told , the reservoir was largely an unguarded manmade lake with 1 building and 2 homeland security agents and an old Chevy Cavalier. After 911, they put up a huge facility with air boats,( can’t have outboards), new SUVs and like 40 new agents. Why? NY thought after 911, the water supply could be endangered, that never happened, but “what if” is the cry today and went nuts. And you wonder why everything is so expensive?
I’ll never forget the look on my friends face, when he pulled up to our other buddies bachelor party in a new Dodge Minivan. He had just had kid #2 and traded in his ’86 Mustang GT on this thing. Forlorn doesn’t describe the look. I guess he didn’t know about the Turbo version.
R.I.P. Gus Mahon. Look up “Mean Mini” on youtube, dude was legend back in the day. Still one of my bucket list vehicles I’d love to own.
i think any ‘k-series’ platform is fugly… most of the ones ive seen in the last few years thankfully have passed on… they are always rotten, rusty, blowin blu smoke, and missing a hubcap or two, and they always pull in to a run down trailer park…
and most are pushing 40 years old…you expect them to last forever ?
I bought an ’89 Dodge Caravan SE turbo/automatic(manual locks, crank windows, no window tint) in 1994 from the widow next door after her husband died. It was very reliable and peppy too. Three-speed auto was bulletproof, in stark contrast to the 4-speed Ultradrive automatics that typically came on the V6 vans. Sold her in 2003 to a buddy who drove her into the ground within a year. :-(
If I recall, the reason they put the turbo motors in the minivans was because demand for the vans, especially the extended length “Grand” versions, was so high that they were running out of the V6 engines that typically went in the “Grand” vans, and so they offered the turbo motor from the slow selling Daytona.
I have had two Chrysler mini vans. I got my second 8 years ago from the original owner on C L. He wanted $2,100. At the time, it had 50,000 miles and a stack of service records, receipts and window sticker. I offered $1,900. He said yes. I use it for my mobile detailing business. As of today, it has 129,000 miles. Of the three vehicles I own, it is by far my favorite. Comfortable, good gas mileage and goes through snow. You will never sell me a stupid SUV. An 8 foot sheet of plywood won’t fit.
As SteVen alluded to, the turbo van was built out of necessity due to a shortage of 3.0L Mitsubishi motors (or perhaps due to warranty claims?) and the 3.3 ohv engine wasn’t ready yet. Stick shifts were necessary for European sales. The fleet sales rep at our local Dodge dealer drove one of these with automatic. If he floored it from a stop the front tires would light up. On the other side of the intersection.
Bought one back in the day from my uncle for $200. dollars as it was just taking up space in his yard, (he purchased it new). It was in excellent shape in and out except for whatever reason the motor was shot. 2.5 without the turbo, automatic transmission. Ordered a brand crate engine, that van thereafter was the most economical vehicle I ever owned to this very day with no problems. Gasoline, phtt, I could drive forever on a cup of gas, Lol. In this day and age of gasoline prices through the roof I’d own one these van’s in a heartbeat if it was in good shape and looked after.
One of the vehicles that led to the current boring ugly SUV/crossover ug era.
People went from somewhat stylish Station Wagons, to these horrid
Box’s on wheels.
Calling David Tracy :-)
What!! What?? I never knew. They had a stick shift with a turbo in a minivan? This is why I read bf every day. Always something new and interesting. Great write up Jeff. Thanks for sharing something out of the norm. When I saw the pic I thought, “oh great, a minivan. Who wants to read about a minivan, but then I read the title…
I laughed so hard I got tears in my eyes. Great comment.