1984-1985 Dodge Caravan

[Dibbons]

Whatever happened to the original mini-vans? I saw one driving around this week which brought back memories of 1992 when I purchased a 1985 model (called Mini Ram Van) for $700.00. The only thing wrong with it was the rear window was busted out. Mine was the cargo version (only two-bucket seats) and I used it for a part-time mobile auto repair vehicle. It was equipped with a five-speed transmission and four-cylinder motor. Like most ideas, the original concept soon got bloated and into the "Grand Caravan", lost the convenient small boxy size completely by 2008. I see all just ended production in 2020.

Quoting Wiki: "The Grand Caravan replacement is the revived Chrysler Voyager model, an entry-level version of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan that offers similar pricing and features to its Grand Caravan predecessor. In Canada, the Grand Caravan nameplate will be retained and sold under the Chrysler marque for the 2021 model year."

Photo shows a similar vehicle to mine (same color):

 

[91r/t]

I think the old 2.2/2.5 engines died a painful life when not maintained....seems every third one I heard as a kid in supermarket parking lots and such had a rod knock.....especially the K cars. Don't get me wrong, they were great engines if maintained properly. Hell my dad had like 30 of them with trouble free miles, but he also checked/changed the oil. I guess the 80's and 90's were rough to the old 4 banger with low maintenance. My pops even had a 89 spirit ES with the turbo 2.5 and ran it 245K without a turbo change or a head gasket, but he was the king of maintenance and letting the car warm up in the cold.

 

[F4R/T]

Really if you think about how neglected a lot of them were they did pretty decent for what they were. The old K platform was used all over and made them a ton I bet.

 

[Dibbons]

Funny you should mention the engine longevity. Circa 2005 driving down the freeway one day it just slowed down and quit (but no rod knock). I gave it away to a shade-tree mechanic friend who had hopes of repairing the cylinder head and getting it back on the road. I told him it was not a cylinder head problem, but he would not listen to me. After the head work he performed, it still wouldn't run.

I lost track of it after that. After using public transportation for awhile (San Diego) I purchased a 1996 five-speed , four cylinder Toyota Camry from a classmate to replace it.

 

[Darter6]

I too had a 84 cargo van. I worked at a winery and we used it as a delivery van.
Took it to a spring shop for better rear springs and they upped it to a 1 ton version that they had for handicap vans at the time.2.6 Mitsubishi auto.It was a workhorse.Regular maintenance,No head or block corrosion no oil burning only problem was the carb choke.Trick fix was to remove the choke plate and cut a corner from it. Worked like a charm.
Sold it to a lumber yard in 1993.Who knows were it ended up.

 

[69a100]

I'm still tooling around in my 94 Caravan CV with a 3.3 and 163K on the clock! The heater still sucks after 25 years!

 

[Dibbons]

The A/C in my '85 always worked like a champ, almost always had to lower the fan speed down to low on a cruise.

 

[gkent]

I had both an '84 mini-van and an '85 Rampage with 2.2's in them. Both had loads of miles on them. The rampage timing jumped a tooth so I swapped out the timing belt and it ran like a charm for a few more years. I can't remember what killed it. It came with a ratty red interior and I swapped every piece with grey interiors from Omnis. EVERYTHING including the carpet was a direct swap.

The van had an alternator issue that was probably more my fault. It blew head gaskets a couple times, a starter motor once and a timing belt. And then it had an issue burning up the center posts in distributor caps. I think I went through four of them on a Christmas trip to Florida. Finally solved that by swapping in the one from the Rampage which had died by that time. The van was still running decent when we sold it in the mid '90's.

 

[yella71]

I also had an 84 or 5 with a 2.6 mitsu motor i got for 150bucks and rebuilt a short block from the junk yard to make it run and be my work vehicle for many years. I also did mobil repair service out of it and it did far more than it was designed to do.