To take a frumpy 1980s Mopar minivan with a stick shift and drive the living hell out of it is not a new idea. But somehow as 2019 wraps up, it’s still a relevant one.
I had sort of thought that all of these cars had been junked or turbo-swapped and hooned to oblivion. That’s what I would have been doing had I the space and the requisite boredom. Maybe in this universe I’m still living in California, my first-gen RX-7 build has already gone nowhere, and I added a second car to my fleet rather than finish that imaginary rotary project.
But that is neither here nor there!
What we have here is a Boulder, Colorado high-plains special, posted up on Facebook Marketplace, the Craigslist for people who are on their phones all day. (Note the vertical photos, even.) The listing describes a car in perfect condition, and by perfect, I mean it has a clean body and a clutch. What more do you really need?
There is also a cute dog in the pics. Can’t be bad. Anyway, the listing:
REDUCED PRICE Cancer forces sale.- 1989 Plymouth Van Voyager SE Transportation special. Seating for 5. STICK 5 speed ! Engine was rebuilt by PO, Trans axle right after by a shop in Cheyenne, Wy.. Decent tires, New Rt front axel and CV, new battery, runs good and strong as well as economically. Heat works fine / air was removed years ago. Needs a compressor to hook back up. Ready to roll anywhere.
Mileage is a claimed 236,000. I can see this car either making it to a million miles, or about 236,001. Not a ton of room in between.
The seller also notes that they’d be willing to trade for a square body GMC Jimmy K5, which seems similarly tough and blocky.
I have a strong feeling that I am insufficiently mature for this vehicle. I would want to drive the shit out of it, rip it up gravel roads, front wheels spinning like hell, bikes and friends bounding around in the back. Something would get broken, and hopefully, it’d be an axle before some of my bones.
But if I’m not buying it, which one of you is?
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