What van? Needs to handle turns...

GameboyRMH wrote: Any JDM micro-van like the Suzuki Super Carry. Engine below floor level, mid-engined, RWD: Also available as pickups, 2WD and 4WD, that will be lighter and have an even lower center of gravity:

No Renault Espace F1?

Or this. Bone stock (except red honda badge) and beat about a dozen cars....including a Miata, IIRC.

In reply to irish44j:

I kinda hate to say it, but yeah. Those things are actually pretty awesome.

There is another pic of a similar vintage caravan that was a legit road racer, not a chumpcar car, but my google-fu is broken apparently.

that thing's legit enough for me. I think they cut out the rear floor and tied the rear shocks' upper mounts into the cage for better shock angles. Seems legit.

You can make an older 84-95 dodge caravan handle decently well by mixing and matching junkyard parts off of other dodges.

And theres about 15 motors that will go in them. Some of the ones that bolt right up are even pretty sweet.

Vigo wrote: that thing's legit enough for me. I think they cut out the rear floor and tied the rear shocks' upper mounts into the cage for better shock angles. Seems legit.

Actually I'm pretty sure you posted the pic I'm thinking of. It's a white dodge caravan sport, and I think I remember hearing that Ralph Gilles drove it.

Oh and yeah we both know how horrible that rear shock angle is.

Rxbalt wrote:

Okay so don't scandy a stock one.

Vigo wrote: that thing's legit enough for me. I think they cut out the rear floor and tied the rear shocks' upper mounts into the cage for better shock angles. Seems legit. You can make an older 84-95 dodge caravan handle decently well by mixing and matching junkyard parts off of other dodges. And theres about 15 motors that will go in them. Some of the ones that bolt right up are even pretty sweet.

'84-95 Dodge/Plymouth minivan was the first thing I thought of, too.

Also, Turbo.

irish44j wrote: Or this. Bone stock (except red honda badge) and beat about a dozen cars....including a Miata, IIRC.

I concur!

Our 2010 Honda Odyssey now has 19" Saab 9-5 wheels and 245/40-19 Goodyear Eagle Supercar F1 tires courtesy of the Saab North America HQ auction earlier this year. Handles nicely though wife is reluctant to let me take it to a Detroit region SCCA autoX event. :(

moparman76_69 wrote: There is another pic of a similar vintage caravan that was a legit road racer, not a chumpcar car, but my google-fu is broken apparently.

A friend of mine runs a Caravan C/V with the 2.5L TBI and 5-speed in Chump/LeMons. Won the IOE at Sonoma with it. Lorin Mueller and his family are hard core AutoX folks from Eugene and Lorin lives in Cali now.

Chatted with him about the van at one of the ChumpCar events in Portland (where I brought our turbo Caravan ES and we towed our Shadow Turbo ChumpCar to the track using a different Caravan Turbo w/5-speed, heh) Stock drive train, freshened up for reliability. Van was completely gutted, the rear hatch is held on with hood pins after the inner skin was removed, etc. Rear was dropped using custom shackles, used Daytona front struts with cut caravan springs.

i'm 2.4 swapping my van. Factory n/a 5 speed v i'm kinda partial if you couldn't tell

Turbo Odyssey.

Super mega bonus internet points if you can build one with a turbo j35 front AND rear, for twin engine'd goodness.

moparman76_69 wrote:

That is cool...

turboswede wrote:

moparman76_69 wrote: There is another pic of a similar vintage caravan that was a legit road racer, not a chumpcar car, but my google-fu is broken apparently.

A friend of mine runs a Caravan C/V with the 2.5L TBI and 5-speed in Chump/LeMons. Won the IOE at Sonoma with it. Lorin Mueller and his family are hard core AutoX folks from Eugene and Lorin lives in Cali now. Chatted with him about the van at one of the ChumpCar events in Portland (where I brought our turbo Caravan ES and we towed our Shadow Turbo ChumpCar to the track using a different Caravan Turbo w/5-speed, heh) Stock drive train, freshened up for reliability. Van was completely gutted, the rear hatch is held on with hood pins after the inner skin was removed, etc. Rear was dropped using custom shackles, used Daytona front struts with cut caravan springs.

Here's an in-car clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDw2g1Z9GwE

bloody slick out at that race.

People are clearly not reading my unicorn threads...

I was thinking about this thread a bit today and got passed by a mid-70's Satellite wagon pulling a pop-up camper.

It occurs to me that asking for a van that handles might really just be asking for a full-sized station wagon.

Reposting a video that ~I posted before~...

But it's totally relevant here.

BEHOLD THE GLOWING EXHAUST!

It occurs to me that asking for a van that handles might really just be asking for a full-sized station wagon.

I can probably make a stock dodge caravan go 10 seconds faster around a road course for a lot cheaper than i can do it with most full size wagons. ymmv