5 Drag Racing Dodge Minivans
Who ever said minivans are just for getting the kids to soccer practice? Check out some of the baddest and fastest Dodge minivans dragsters out destroying the competition today.
1. Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Since I was young, I’ve always had a soft spot for sleepers – those cars that no one thought would ever win. We’ve seen the light chassis of import grocery-getters be retrofitted into 10 second killers, and factory freak pickup trucks built to decimate the competition, but minivan dragsters are a niche that has still yet to receive the attention it deserves.
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2. Paul Smith's "TurboVan" 1989 Dodge Caravan
The first generation Dodge Caravan/Plymouth voyager, is becoming a popular chassis for drag race enthusiasts. It’s lightweight, has several effective power plants to choose from, and still quite cheap. Paul E. Smith’s used this platform to create one of the most perfect 12 second SE Turbo van sleepers I’ve ever seen. His TurboVan.net site even gives us the opportunity to read his exploits and conquests building a 1989 minivan to beat the competition into submission. Some of his upgrades include removing the rear seats, and spare tire to lighten up the chassis. As well as upgrading the turbocharging system, exhaust and the valve train. Surprisingly, the actual block has received minimal work.
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3. Gus Mahon's "MeanMini" 1989 Dodge Caravan
From every angle this caravan looks like an old jalopy, but once you hear that turbo spooling you’re sure to be a believer. Gus Mahon was a gearhead specific to the Dodge performance community who loved to tweak the turbo 2.5 liter motor. Unfortunately he lost his life in 2002, from an automotive accident, but his legacy still lives on through his website and his cars. The MeanMini is especially special, built from the ground up, it started as a 16 second beater. After modifying the fuel injectors, tuning the turbocharger, and rebuilding the transmission, Mahon managed to turn this van into an 11 second V8 killer. The MeanMini has since gotten a new owner and continues to be raced to this day, but you can read about the build on the original MeanMini site.
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4. Mike “T-REX” Sance’s "Cheap Thrill" 1998 Grand Caravan
Dodge used to be all about raw V8 power, and this Grand Caravan brings us back to that original focus. While the outside looks like an ordinary Caravan, open the side-door and you’ll see a full-fledged mid-engine conversion, powered by a 440 cubic inch big block. The engine has been professionally retrofitted to the rear, and a custom roll cage was installed, plus the needed rear suspension to handle real power. This van has some old passes floating around on youtube, with a solid 12.84 second pass on the quarter mile. Since then, the motor has been rebuilt to a 512 stroker big block, and with a rebuilt transmission is doing an average of 11 second per pass.
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5. Chris Krug’s Street Driven Jet Powered Dodge Caravan
Yep you read that right, the mad scientist behind this ride wanted to do something extraordinary, so he made an everyday commuter into something ripped straight out of a comic book. This $17,000 project installed a 1000 hp helicopter engine into the back of a minivan, with a turboshaft to distribute power directly to the rear wheels. While the flame from the afterburner exhaust doesn’t really do anything in creating additional thrust, it does look awesome! Krug has also added a mechanized retractable window that lowers to reveal the jet exhaust. The coolest thing about this van is it still has its original engine driving the front wheels, which allows it to be street driven! That’s right, this monster is still considered street legal! You can read all about it on Gizmodo.
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6. The Mysterious 1996 Dodge Caravan Custom
There is little to no information floating around this mysterious marvel, even with all the apparent sponsorships blasted all over it. From the get go, you can see the roof as been dramatically lowered, by about 12-inches in order to make the van more aerodynamic. The roof scoop feeds air directly into the retrofitted 440-Big block mid-mounted engine. The rear bumper apparently mounts a wheelie bar, so its speculated to be quite fast. The rest of the chassis sits comfortably on Mickey Thompson drag race slicks. This was spotted at the Mopar Nationals in Columbus, OH, in 2010, and never seen again.
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