Frankendiesel
Veteran Member
I'm selling my ever-famous 1998 Chrysler Town & Country, aka "Frankendiesel" minivan. I started this project back in 2008 and it has been a great project. My time is valuable and I need to divert it to my family, so my project needs to move on to a new owner who will give it the attention it needs. The van has been driven roughly 30k miles since conversion. The motor and 5-speed transmission is from a 1998 Jetta and I put a new (Diesel Geek) timing belt and water pump kit in back in 2008. The engine has performed flawlessly. Injection pump head seal was done a few years ago with the upgraded Viton as well as the upper IP seals last year.
The van chassis has roughly 140k miles on it. During one of my upgrades, I toasted the body control module and put one in I had on the shelf. Unfortunately, the one on the shelf had 240k miles on it, so there is a severe mileage discrepancy.
The good: 37mpg average. In a minivan. How awesome is that? Engine starts and runs strong. Installed 0.205 injector nozzles last year which really woke up the sleeping giant. Put on smaller front tires a few months ago which also improve performance with no detrimental effects to MPG. Interior is very clean - non-smoker and I like to keep my vehicles CLEAN inside. The chassis is the LXi model, which comes with leather interior, electric everything, dual climate zones, Infinity sound system, traction control, trip computer, and built-in HomeLink. I also added a triple gauge pod on the A pillar with: Fuel Pressure, Boost Pressure, and Oil Pressure. Rear tires have probably 20k on them (Continental Pro-Contact ECO+) and front tires have probably about the same (different brand - Douglas I think? Got them off a BMW - some sporty directional/performance tire).
The ugly: Chassis is rusting underneath and the clearcoat is peeling on top. I live in the rust belt, what can I say. It's better than the average 30 year old van that sits outside, but it's still there. Driver's seat leather has torn and the seat heater is inop. Keyless entry stopped working when I swapped body control modules. Rear window wiper inop. AC is hooked up (and holds pressure!) but does not come on. Tach does not function. Oil pressure gauge currently not hooked up (fitting sprung a small leak, hope to have this fixed soon). Battery was weak this last winter. It's 6 years old now, so I'm guessing it will need to be replaced by next cold season.
See photo gallery here. Most of those are old pictures. I'll update as soon as I can.
Shoot me an offer I can't refuse. Comes with lots of spare parts.
Travis
The van chassis has roughly 140k miles on it. During one of my upgrades, I toasted the body control module and put one in I had on the shelf. Unfortunately, the one on the shelf had 240k miles on it, so there is a severe mileage discrepancy.
The good: 37mpg average. In a minivan. How awesome is that? Engine starts and runs strong. Installed 0.205 injector nozzles last year which really woke up the sleeping giant. Put on smaller front tires a few months ago which also improve performance with no detrimental effects to MPG. Interior is very clean - non-smoker and I like to keep my vehicles CLEAN inside. The chassis is the LXi model, which comes with leather interior, electric everything, dual climate zones, Infinity sound system, traction control, trip computer, and built-in HomeLink. I also added a triple gauge pod on the A pillar with: Fuel Pressure, Boost Pressure, and Oil Pressure. Rear tires have probably 20k on them (Continental Pro-Contact ECO+) and front tires have probably about the same (different brand - Douglas I think? Got them off a BMW - some sporty directional/performance tire).
The ugly: Chassis is rusting underneath and the clearcoat is peeling on top. I live in the rust belt, what can I say. It's better than the average 30 year old van that sits outside, but it's still there. Driver's seat leather has torn and the seat heater is inop. Keyless entry stopped working when I swapped body control modules. Rear window wiper inop. AC is hooked up (and holds pressure!) but does not come on. Tach does not function. Oil pressure gauge currently not hooked up (fitting sprung a small leak, hope to have this fixed soon). Battery was weak this last winter. It's 6 years old now, so I'm guessing it will need to be replaced by next cold season.
See photo gallery here. Most of those are old pictures. I'll update as soon as I can.
Shoot me an offer I can't refuse. Comes with lots of spare parts.
Travis
