Late model Caravan = fun?

I appologize if this is just plain stupid but the wife (we) have owned three and have had great luck with them. I can't help but look at ours and the hundreds I see every week and wonder if they can be made to be more "fun".

Dropped a couple inches, better anti-sways/bushings, upgraded struts/springs, lighter wheels and grippier tires?

Can the AWD versions be fun? Maybe lifted and rallied?

I can't talk the wife out of one (she loves them) but I could convince her to make it less tortuous to be in and drive.

Any ideas (besides and LSx swap and a 6 speed) that you've seen or heard? Any swappable parts from other Chrysler products to put some life in them? I have to admit they are waaaaaaaay convenient for the 5 of us!

This looks like fun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78InPT4iqlw

Keep a stock engine and do steel panel body work. ZAV style. Anywhere you put diamond plate, bolt some off road lights to and you're set.

Here's one off road.

In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:

All that RPM buildup while the brakes are being held just makes me cringe.

In reply to N Sperlo:

Sounds about right to me. The joy of turbos and torque converters together. With some slicks and some suspension tuning, that thing would make some damned good numbers (for a van)

BTW, one doesn't need to do a brake stand with an SRT4 drivetrain in a caravan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shHpDJvHf74

Oh and here's my buddy Terry's van at Woodburn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntbsg_frgP8

Its a stock 2.5L SOHC engine with a big turbo, intercooler and a custom tune, plus slicks. He also plays base in a AC/DC tribute band and used to have the world's fastest stock block turbo Buick.

In reply to turboswede:

I baby my truck and all the cars are MT. (EDIT) AT (/EDIT) are practically foreign to me although I just replaced one in a dodge van twice in a week. Damn salvage trannies.

A whining turbo and a clutch being released, now that's the sound I prefer. To each his own.

In reply to N Sperlo:

Don't get me wrong, I love my manuals and always prefer them over automatics. I'm just trying to illustrate that Autos typically don't mind being loaded like that and many times that is one of the few ways to have fun with an automatic, especially when you can build 35psi on the line before launching (or producing silly amounts of tire smoke!)

In reply to turboswede:

Don't get ME wrong. I just learned something. Thanks.

When I said "MT were foreign to me, I meant AT" Whoops! I'll go edit.

Caravan + 2.5 turbo (sitting right here in garage) = fun. I would drive one, much to my wifes dis-approval!!!!

My in-laws have had three of these things. My take away is that the parking brake pedal is located right where my ankle likes to go when entering and exiting, so I usually end up with a bloody scratch near my foot when I drive it. They also have an issue where you cannot fill the tank all the way or else the thing will buck and stall as you pull into traffic leaving the gas station. There is some issue that would be easy to fix, but instead requires a new gas tank. I figured this issue out for them a year ago or so right here on this forum. They just never fill it up all the way and it is fine. They love the things. I do not equate them with fun.

BARNCA wrote:

Oh man.... midship 3.5/42RLE/IRS.... HEAVEN!!! Plus I believe you could keep the middle row of seats too....

We had a Caravan. Lowered, adjustable Koni's, big sway bars, ported and polished 3.8L, limited slip. It would smoke a 4.6L Mustang all day long. Oh, and it handled GREAT and sounded like sex.

http://wardsauto.com/news-amp-analysis/dodge-s-gilles-pioneered-man-van

No

DrBoost wrote: We had a Caravan. Lowered, adjustable Koni's, big sway bars, ported and polished 3.8L, limited slip. It would smoke a 4.6L Mustang all day long. Oh, and it handled GREAT and sounded like sex.

I desperately NEED more info!

I wish I could give you more. I sold the van years ago. It was a '99 SWB Caravan (not Grand). They only come with the 2.4L or 2.0L. A 3.8L is just a simple swap away, along with the 4 wheel disc brakes. Ground control rear sway bar, Kini's, meaty 17's, cold-air induction, 2.5" exhaust to go with the head work made it rev and sound great. Lowered 2.5" in rear, 2" in front. I was sad to see it go. It was in a GRM some years ago in their One Lap of America coverage.

fornetti14 wrote: No

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k9bBLEPb-0

Disagree. Anything can be made fun as long as you're twisted enough to get ideas.

It's still a minivan.

You're just putting lipstick on a pig.

So?

You could use that argument for half of the builds on here.

Trans_Maro wrote: It's still a minivan. You're just putting lipstick on a pig.

Hi there, i'm building an Escort. Nice to meet you!

Sorry, Escort > minivan.

You have no idea how deep my hatred for the minvan is.

There is nothing cool or fun about a minvan.

You could take James Dean and Billy F Gibbons, put them both in a minivan and they'd be the biggest goobers in the world.

There is no vehicle that takes masculinity to it's grave quite like a minivan. Even a V6 mustang doesn't compare.

Shawn

I would go for a Honda Oddessey. It uses the 3.5 liter Honda V6. Jackson Racing (or someone) makes a supercharger kit for that motor. That motor (in the Accord) can be paired to a 6-speed manual, and someone must make an upgraded clutch for said manual. Someday, I will have a 6-speed supercharged minivan that can haul my upright AND all the audio gear I own with ease. Not to mention couches, tables, and pretty much anything else under the sun.

Trans_Maro wrote: Sorry, Escort > minivan. You have no idea how deep my hatred for the minvan is. There is nothing cool or fun about a minvan. You could take James Dean and Billy F Gibbons, put them both in a minivan and they'd be the biggest goobers in the world. There is no vehicle that takes masculinity to it's grave quite like a minivan. Even a V6 mustang doesn't compare. Shawn

I hear where you're trying to go with that, but I don't have to define my masculinity by driving a Camaro, wearing gold chains and leaving my top two shirt buttons open. We've got a minivan, and while I don't drive it daily, I have no qualms about using it. It does what we need it to better than any SUV or car can do, and I've still "got a pair".

Trans_Maro wrote: There is no vehicle that takes masculinity to it's grave quite like a minivan. Even a V6 mustang doesn't compare.

305 hp. Don't look now, but that's almost as much as the SVT Cobra made a few years back (315ish).

Minvans do everything that SUVs do (except go off-road, and who uses their SUV for that?) except way better. And with more cargo space. And ease of entry/exit. And usually for cheaper. And with better gas mileage. So you can stuff your manliness, dude, because we don't care. We're interested in results, not perceptions, welcome to GRM!