A minivan on Barn Finds?! For the love of, I thought the nightmare of 2020 was over with… Wait, I know that this is a bit of a stretch but this 1995 Plymouth Voyager AWD Sport has a couple of interesting things going for it, even as far as minivans go. This one is listed here on craigslist in Vancouver, Washington, to be exact, and the seller is asking $3,950.
The Pacific Northwest is the best place to buy vehicles from, in my opinion. Overall, the soft materials (dash, seats, rubber seals, etc.) don’t get fried as they do in the desert southwest and they typically don’t use road salt in areas that do get snow, opting instead for studded tires. That’s where a vehicle like this AWD Voyager would come in handy. Studded tires on this van with what appears to be a bit more road clearance would take this one almost anywhere.
Ideally, this would have been a first-generation turbo with a 5-speed, now that would without question be worthy of being shown here. Or, ideally, it would have a layer of barn dust on it and would have been stored for 20 years. We all know that this site has grown past just showing dusty, dirty cars that have been stored are in need of a full restoration. Just as another site has grown way past their vehicles all needing to be hauled home on a trailer. With 68,500 miles this Caravan is barely broken in yet.
This second-generation was made for the model years 1991 through 1995 and it’s the first time that AWD showed up as an option. This example appears to be in absolutely outstanding condition and the fact that it also has the Sport Wagon package with five-spoke wheels, a luggage rack, and black window trim makes it a little more interesting. It has a column-mounted automatic transmission, however, no 5-speed, which was dropped beginning in 1995. For having both the Sport package and AWD, it’s unusual to see such a base model minivan with manual windows and locks.
And, this may be a first for Barn Finds: integrated child booster seats! Thank you, thank you very much. These integrated child seats were a big deal when they were introduced, believe it or not. The seller didn’t provide any engine photos in keeping with a long-standing craigslist tradition that apparently isn’t going to change in 2021. This one has Chrysler’s 3.3L V6 with 162 horsepower and the seller says that it “runs and drives amazing” and it even has new tires. This would be a great winter vehicle for anyone who lives in snow country and wanted something inexpensive but still needs to haul people or “stuff”. Have any of you owned a second-gen Caravan/Voyager?
I had to have an auto transmission rebuilt at about 30k miles on our 1984 Caravan as did others I heard about. Hopefully it’s been improved on the later models.
Had a ’93 FWD 5 pass. with 3.0 V6, auto/air and it was a great car. Plenty of power, easy to drive and ice cold a/c while battling never-ending Phoenix summers. My Dad and I sat idling outside a store with several of my kids in the van for 45 mins in 110 degree heat with the air on and the temp never got above normal. I was pleasantly surprised, Dad was shocked!
I was gifted a 1991 Caravan base model adorned in Plum Pearl (glittery purple), with the Mitsubishi 3.0 in it when I was 17. I drove the wheels nearly off of that thing, big ignorant stereo, side exit exhaust, outside lighting upgrades, R/T badges(why not?) pulled the rear seats out and replaced them with bean bag chairs and pillows, and escaped ownership of it without any crashes, speeding tickets, or even illegitimate children as a result of my afore mentioned modifications, although that just may have been my overall intelligence and knack for preparedness shining through, and I wasn’t even a boy scout!
Anywho, it was a great vehicle overall, and aside from a fuel pump replacement, the only problem I had was one that was common among the Mitsubishi 3.0, the valve guides and/or valve seals would allow ALOT of oil into the cylinders, and it became an effective mosquito fogger at low speeds/high idle time/standard operating temps. I never fixed it, drove it until it became embarrassing, and traded “up” to a worn out Dodge Diplomat that I turned into a pseudo detective edition Police car. A story for another time. I am seriously looking at this van right now and may actually get to see the pacific northwest as a result of this van. Great find, and thanks for posting it on Barn Finds!
Maybe I’m a bit paranoid but I find it suspicious that the seller calls this a Caravan when it’s really a Plymouth Voyager. I know, I know the Caravan and Voyager are the same vehicle. But someone selling a car should know the name of what they are selling. On Craigslist this is even labeled a Grand Caravan. So something is a miss here. Too bad is that this is the perfect van for me located near where I live.
You’re 100% right, mike! My brain saw Dodge Caravan even though clearly the badges are Plymouth. My apologies.
Great vehicle for a young family. We had several in our family over the years. One in particular had 213000 mikes on it and we took it on vacation and it never missed a beat loaded down with people and belongings. I wish I had the money and I could just give it to a young couple just starting out. Many years left on that girl
I once had a ’92 Caravan LE which was the first of five minivans in my family! It was like this one, a short wheelbase model, we took the middle row out and moved the third row forward to make it a comfortable 5 passenger with lots of cargo space, when going to sell it, I retrieved the seat from storage and found it had been well used by some folks who liked to use it for an occasional “afternoon delight”, my wife wasn’t delighted to say the least.
This is just an ordinary Caravan with some dealer- or owner-applied graphics. There was a Sport package, but it featured body-color cladding that this one lacks.
CCF, I saw two different gospels on what the “Sport” package consisted of, depending on if it was a Plymouth Voyager or Dodge Caravan. The Dodge Caravan “Sports Package” included a roof rack, five-spoke wheels, sunscreen glass, and black window trim. The Voyager “Sport Wagon” package reportedly included gray bumpers and trim, fog lights, and five-spoke wheels.
The ad states Caravan NOT grand Caravan. Furthermore smart people building an ad tend to understand as much as the folks on Barn Finds. Generally folks have no idea Plymouth made a Voyager . Most folks would never type Plymouth Voyager AWD under a search
Under the map it states “1995 dodge grand caravan sport”, so yes, it does.
On our 3rd Dodge van… first a ’91 that we put 85K on with only tires, a muffler and two batteries, a ’99 with over ’89K, tires and a couple batteries, V6, probably the best vehicle we’ve ever owned, and an ’09 with the 3.8, all the gadgets, fast, lousy dash controls, and hauls anything. Seriously thinking about another one, had to replace the throttle body last year. Might be the start of old age getting to it but it’s great at what it does for us. If we lived in snow country might consider this one worth having.
I never would have thought that full-size 60’s and 70’s wagons would become collectible. So to me it’s not out of the question that clean, low mileage, nicely equipped Caravans and Voyagers might become collectible.
Disposable is the term I used 13 yrs ago in buying a white 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan sport. for $2250 dollars. The owner had just replaced the transmission. Friday I checked the miles on it 298,880 miles. I haul concrete , rocks, trash to the dump. Yet the transmission is still one it came with from the previous owner. Yes I service the transmission every 15,000 miles. Great van
Call me paranoid but I’d like someone to put a set of eyes on it to verify that it’s really AWD with the Sport package, and not just a base Voyager with a bunch of decals that someone added. Odd combination of options.
“Sport”
Both the AWD minivans and the integrated booster seat option went away a decade or so later because they were incompatible with the Stow’N’Go folding seat system which proved so popular Chrysler dropped all non-Stow’N’Go versions except the base-base model.
Not bad. I’d would take it on a massive road trip south and see how far I could get through the Darien Gap. At least you could sleep in it. Then leave it there with those old corvairs and fly back. Who’s in?
I was recently accused of negative comments, can’t imagine where that came from, but none here. AWD mini vans are all the rage here, and for obvious reasons, it really turns a plain mini van into a much more usable vehicle, especially in the unpredictable hills, and in Colorado, you’ll encounter some hill where ever you go. I think people get a false sense of security with these, however, it’s not for busting through 6 foot drifts, but for slippery travel, a family will probably make it home. I’ve had several Chrysler vans, all great vehicles, and AWD should seal the deal for today.
i believe volvo had integrated car seats as an option at least on the 90s, early 2yk wagons
They did . . . I daily drive a ’93 940 wagon
all i remember about them is rusty, ugly, and blue smoke…and a missing hubcap or 2…
I had a 1994 Caravan ES with the Sport package. 3.3 in mine. Color-coded wheels and grill, red badges, tinted windows, etc. Literally everyone I spoke to that had had a Caravan/Voyager had gone through transmission troubles. I bought it anyway knowing this. It was a great little van. Sure enough (60kish miles?-I forget) a solenoid in the transmission failed leaving me with a $700 repair bill.
Also a side note, the transmission in my van always had a ratchety clickety sound when coasting down to a full stop. I was told it was completely normal and I’ve heard others doing it as well.
I too always wondered about that sound emanating from the transaxle of these vehicles, heard it from many. From the mid to the late ’90’s, I worked as a driver for a pharmacy that made daily, scheduled deliveries to long term care facilities, the longest being around a 250 mile round trip. About the time I started working there, the pharmacy bought two new ’94 Caravans with the 3.3 liter V-6, one a Grand Caravan. Spending some 30 hours a week behind the wheel, I found that they were wonderful vehicles to drive, responsive, relatively economical, sure-footed in snow. The head gasket failed on the short wheel base van at around 125,000 miles. The Grand Caravan soldiered on past 325,000 miles needing only tires, brakes, a couple of batteries and a negligible amount of oil between changes until the business was sold and closed.
I don’t really understand the mindset of minivan bashing when they are really just a subset of the SUV. In fact, most of todays SUVs look and act alot like minivans, albeit with a little more ground clearance. Personally, for street use I’d rather have the minivan over the SUV as they can carry more and are far more comfortable and versitile.
The word ‘sport’ should never be used to describe a Plymouth or Dodge van.
Had an ’85 and it was vary peppy and comfortable.
I still have my 1994 Plymouth Grand Voyager (113k original miles). The Grand model is the long version. It also has the 3.3L engine same as this one. It is a fine engine with plenty of power for hauling things. My wife and I have agreed that we will never sell it.
Talked with the ‘owner’ of this van. Fishy title issues. Beware
You have to very careful when doing business with sellers who advertise multiple vehicles. A buyer should always beware! Many times they appear to be a private party when they’re not. They are a clearinghouse for used cars. I’m not inferring that’s true here, but just sayin’.