turbo van swap

[JMVegas]

Okay, do you think it is worth the trouble to turbo a caravan? I have been thinking about it for awhile. The need for a hauler has become apparent. I had to ask friends w/ a truck to take my engine for my 88 csx-t to the builder for me. I only ever driven small cars and no way a engine is fitting in a car trunk. Plus I will be able to move my boat and quads with out having to borrow a friends truck

The pro's
haulin stuff and toys
availibility of parts
not to big
decent gas mileage
cheaper insurance
can seat more than 2
ease of swap, as long as I stay w/ a van that came w/ a 2.5

The cons
It is a mini van

The questions
What years did they switch obd2, so if I get a 93 or so and use a 90 engine and harness I won't be completly legal, but few smog techs can tell it is a older engine. So as long as I use a pre obd2 vehicle and engine I should be able to pass smog, right??

[JMVegas]

oh yeah, and if I ever get into a acident, no one will cry if the van gets hurt. Alot of accidents in Vegas, so daily drive the van and take the csx-t out on weekends and such.

a $900.00 or so mini van, about another $1000.00 or so for engine rebuild and misc parts, stuff from the junk yard. Figure in a weekend of work. Budget $1900.00 or 2 grand to be safe, and I could be rolling in style What you think??

[rib256]

2 grand, you could buy a running drving turbovan and save time/hassle.

[JMVegas]

Okay, maybe where you live. But out here, west coast, even finding a driving caravan is hard enough.

[rib256]

I've heard that, but check autotrader, ebay, craigslist and on here. I had to build my own too. I am on my second year putting it together/debugging. That is why I say less hassle. Even if you have to jump a few states over.

[EvilcowRoland]

If you can buy all new parts it's not bad. If you try to make junkyard used parts work, it could be a hassle. But that's true if you were putting a turbo setup in an already turbo'd car too. The van swap isn't any harder than swapping anything else. The only tricky parts are the van specific items. Best to get a turbo van harness (although you can make whatever work) and axles are custom to the van (at least one is). Also, if your inspectors are paying attention, they'll likely know a '93 van has been swapped to turbo. They only came in '89 and '90 models. If you want to do the swap, it'll be easiest to find an '89 van and go that route. '90 was SBEC and had some slightly different mounts etc., but not really any harder. Swapping a car from TBI to turbo is a good learning experience, but for the money and time you'll put into it you may want to just look for one that's already turbo. I swapped a Daytona and while I learned a lot from the experience, in the future I'll just start with turbo models from the word go.

[JMVegas]

No luck on autotrader or craigs list. I guess I can look at ebay. I can find 96's easy enough, but no good. To pass smog here, I need to stay obd1 or 0. That way it is only a engine, harness and ecu swap. Simplifing things I know. Tail pipe smog checks for pre obd2 vehicles. So I have to stay 93 or under. No under hood inspections. Besides I all ready have all the parts neccasary, just not the van. My engine comes back from the builder next week, rebuilt 87 2.2, all the wiring and stuff from a 88 shelby csx-t, wally fuel pump from another project car, so it should be a easy swap. Stock auto should handle stock boost, or I could convert to 5 speed, have the parts for that too. And emissions is very important to me, I all ready have 1 car that must have a " special " smog.

[JMVegas]

As far as mounts, as long as I stay w/ a 2.5 van, then any of the 2.5 or 2.2 should just bolt up. The trans should all work too. Right?? That is what I have read on here so far, or are the vans different??

[EvilcowRoland]

The mounts should be the same between 4 cylinders yes. Although, if you use the trans that comes in a TBI van it may not hold up to boost for very long. The turbo vans got a beefier auto trans, but I don't know about the TBI models.

[areimus]

let me know how the wiring harness goes in. I am doing the same swap. 1987 daytona z enigine and ecu and wiring to 1993 van. I am just building the enigine right not but am not looking forward to the wiring portion of the job. keep us all updated

[NoDestiny]

Got my turbo van in Idaho, running condition, for $400. I did some maintenance for another $300 (changed out anything that was questions, fluids, timing belt, plugs, wires, etc.). But of course, not every day will you find one for $400. I got lucky on Craigslist!

[newmember]

I got mine for $500 on ebay, have about $unknown of new parts going into it. If you're going to swap a turbo motor, swap the trans over to a 5 spd too, that way you can knock down some better gas mileage than with the A413. The turbo trans in vans are beefier than the TBI.

[JMVegas]

Does any one how much difference there is between a v6 and a 4 motor mounts. I found a really good deal on a 90, but it is the 3.3 V6. I would like to buy it, but I want to put my turbo 4cyl in it, so how much difference is there between the mounts? Any one know?

[newmember]

There is some, not sure exactly how much. There was a guy that posted in the Mad Scrappers post that said he had several turbo caravans he plans on junking. You should get in contact with him and see what he has.

[allmotor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMVegas Okay, do you think it is worth the trouble to turbo a caravan? I have been thinking about it for awhile. The need for a hauler has become apparent. I had to ask friends w/ a truck to take my engine for my 88 csx-t to the builder for me. I only ever driven small cars and no way a engine is fitting in a car trunk. Plus I will be able to move my boat and quads with out having to borrow a friends truck The pro's haulin stuff and toys availibility of parts not to big decent gas mileage cheaper insurance can seat more than 2 ease of swap, as long as I stay w/ a van that came w/ a 2.5 The cons It is a mini van The questions What years did they switch obd2, so if I get a 93 or so and use a 90 engine and harness I won't be completly legal, but few smog techs can tell it is a older engine. So as long as I use a pre obd2 vehicle and engine I should be able to pass smog, right??

96 first year for obd2, fuel milage between a 2.2/2.5 in a minivan is exactly the same as a 3.3. i had a 2.5 stick 94 that got 28mpg regularly. my 96 3.3 grand caravan pulls 26 all day. 96 has all the options, 94 base model. additionlly when i used the ac on the 2.5 my mpg dropped to 24, while the 96 dropped to the exact same 24. before we got the 96, we had a 94 grand 3.3 same deal for mileage on that. plus the 3.3 gives plenty of power even for towing. i used the 94 to tow a ministock race car total weight trailer and car 3000#.