Found this http://www.fwdperformance.com/ Any experience with these guys? Ugh i cant wait to start putting together... Theres a guy near me in zebulon nc that has among other things, a few shelby zs and a few buick GNs...
So my guess is that any fwd chrysler parts will bolt up to a caravan much in the way FWD VWs go?
Fwdperformance is great. Cindy is awesome
Oh and I think this is required reading
Thedodgegarage.com
Figure it could use a up/down logic shift box and eliminate the factory crap and still maybe be "fun"....
Well.. i know of ONE successful attempt to run a 604 on MegaShift, but afaik thats an orphaned software so while it may be repeatable, i wouldnt guess it would be easy to get any kind of help doing it. Other than that there are some $700 and up boxes that will control it in race-only conditions. The 604 is a 'clutch to clutch' shifting transmission which requires precise shift timing of all the elements turning on and off or it will bind and try to break itself on every shift. It's possible to get it into a given gear with power and ground in the right places, but getting it to shift and live under actual use is much different and would require something almost exactly as complex as the factory TCM, which is why noone has done it. On the other hand, you can put an autostick TCM on pretty much any 604 and have upshift and downshift control, but not any faster or harder than a normal shift.
But yes you can put an OBX into a 604 with some fab work. You can also gear them down really low, which would help a van a LOT.
So my guess is that any fwd chrysler parts will bolt up to a caravan much in the way FWD VWs go?
There IS a lot of stuff that will work. Fast steering rack, big front swaybar, car struts, poly suspension bushings, engine computers, and all the drivetrain stuff. Basically all the driveline will swap, and most of the front suspension. Back is leaf springs so you have less options but you still have poly shackle and eyelet bushings and factory and aftermarket swaybars and multiple leaf spring options, some car disc brakes can be adapted, etc.
I finally got my '94 GC to my house last weekend, and spent a few minutes cleaning the interior and checking things over.
Two questions... 1) Whats a good site to get general info about maint repairs? Right now, I need to replace my map sensor and figure out little things like getting the rear climate control unit. Aside from a few leaky gaskets and a minor HG leak, its in surprising good shape.
2) Whats a good source of info on performance upgrades for this vehicle, being used as a daily?
while I am not adding ANYTHING positive to the discussion, I just wanted say that htis thread made me find this, during a google search:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3194524/1991-dodge-caravan-cargo/
and OMG, I want that + turbo 5speed, now.
http://turbominivan.com/
mrwillie wrote: I finally got my '94 GC to my house last weekend, and spent a few minutes cleaning the interior and checking things over. Two questions... 1) Whats a good site to get general info about maint repairs? Right now, I need to replace my map sensor and figure out little things like getting the rear climate control unit. Aside from a few leaky gaskets and a minor HG leak, its in surprising good shape. 2) Whats a good source of info on performance upgrades for this vehicle, being used as a daily?
You can ask here: http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/ Lots of people informed on the FWD Chryco vehicles. I know one guy put Koni's and lowered his second-gen 'van so there are some folks around messing with these.
Johnny at http://www.polybushings.com helped design and build some performance suspension parts for the 1st/2nd-gen vans.
Im not active over there anymore (used to be #2 overall poster though, and its pretty big site) but the minivan forum on Allpar is a good resource for maintenance and repair on the vans.
As for modding a 94 van, i would just ask here as most of the people on turbo-mopar arent at all knowledgeable on or interested in the 3.3/3.8. There are a few people interested in it on turbododge.com but we are talking a handful at most. Any basic hop-up idea i ought to be able to give you good feedback on. It's when you start asking me how much you can mill the heads before you have intake manifold and pushrod issues, or what cam grind you should use, that i'll be in over my head. 
For example, if i had a 94 3.3/3.8 van and wanted to go faster i'd do this: 1. get a 58mm throttle body from a later 3.8 van of the 96-00 variety. Stock on a 94 is 52mm, and it's a direct bolt-on. Then build an intake. The stock airbox is flat ridiculous for a motor that big. It has a tiny filter and a silencer in it that necks down to <40mm. 2. Get an exhaust piping kit from fwdperformance.com or turbosunleashed.com. They sell mandrel bent exhaust kits for earlier short wheelbase turbo vans, but they work find on later long wheelbase vans with minor adaptation. Dont bother buying a downpipe as the v6 downpipe is slightly different anyway and stock is 2.5", good enough. 3. Want to get serious? Run a dodge neon 3-spd converter in your 4spd trans, and change the transfer gears for lower gearing. You can go from 3.6:1 to 3.9:1 effective diff ratio with different transfer gears and they bolt on without removing the trans. If you want to swap ring and pinion as well you can get down to 4.28:1.
Thats the info that I needed. Thanks guys!!
@Vigo and TurboSwede - I'm putting you guys on my speed dial.
Glad to help! I cant overstate how much i like driving 5spd early caravans. Even with 100hp they made me love them. I am not as crazy about automatics but the turbo torque of a 2.5 can right almost all wrongs with enough boost, and 3.8 is pretty satisfying as well. I sincerely encourage you to give a modified caravan a shot!
@Vigo -- Ive got a 1994 SE w/ the 3.3L and auto. I figure that if I have to drive it for awhile I may as well make it safe and fun.
I'll get back to you. Take care.
maybe this has been awnsered already but,
so i found a potential sacrifice, a late 80s daytona turdo 5speed. so my guess is that if i find a similar late 80s van, no matter what ever driveline is in that van, should all swap out, mounts and all. but im also wondering about the wiring, its my understanding that its all the same for late 80s chryslers,
ive found ONE 88 SE caravan, for 800bucks and its in rough shape and guy is firm. but ive seen a few 2nd gen vans.
i guess my question is will my late 80s daytona stuff(mounts, wiring, ecu) just bolt in? or am i going to have to do some wiring mods?
guess im just still confused as to what swaps and how...
Well, what late 80s daytona turbo are you talking? ES? Pacifica? Shelby? A late 80s daytona could have anything from the worst 2.2 setup to the best 2.2 setup to a 2.5 setup.
Without needing the know the answer to that, i can answer some other points.
There are 3 motor mounts on an auto and 4 on a 5spd. The 2 side mounts will swap into the van from the daytona. The rear mount bolts to a bracket on the k-frame which will not exist on the van. You can buy the bracket for ~$12 or something like that and weld it on to your k-frame. The front mount is probably van-specific. If you have a 2.5L van to start with you can reuse that mount. If you have a v6 van you may have to seek out a 2.2/2.5 van in the junkyard to snag the front mount. 89-down and 90-up have different mounts so stay on your side of that dividing line.
The wiring is extremely similar but it differs in all the ways that have to do with the body it's put in. Wire lengths and lighting connectors will all be different. While someone who has done the swap a few times could make a daytona harness work in a van, i would recommend you simply buy a factory 89 turbo van harness from one of the turbo mopar websites. They're usually under $100. You CAN reuse an 88-89 turbo computer on an 89 van harness.
If the 88 van is a 4 cylinder you'll have to change the fuel pump (the one from the daytona will work if you put it in the van hanger). If it already has a v6 the existing fuel pump will work.
Now, the van 5spd parts are slightly different from car 5spd parts. Shifter and clutch cable lengths are different, the shifter itself is taller, and the pedals are slightly longer. You can make car stuff work in a van, but it will probably not end up as nice as factory van 5spd parts. You can usually find people selling all the 5spd-swap van parts for 125-150 for everything (shifter+trim, shift cables, clutch cable, pedal assembly). 89 and 90 vans used different transmissions with different shifter and shift cables (same pedals and clutch cable tho), so for a late 80s daytoan transmission youd want the stuff from an 89 turbo van, or any 89 and earlier TBI 2.5L van (NOT carbed 2.2).
So give me the specifics on the daytona and the van (you never said which motor the van already has) and i can give you more specific info.
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