My van is kind of an odd-duck here. It's an '84 Vanagon, a minivan with a four-speed manual. Lowered 3'', Mercedes rims and a '91 Legacy 2.2 engine swap. A German van with American suspension components and a Japanese engine. A very fun combination.
The Subaru motor gives the van something like 140 horsepower with a cone-type air filter. This doesn't seem like much, but when you mate it with a transmission geared for 80-90 horsepower, it has the torque to do full-posi burnouts better than many regular cars.
This is the only minivan I have ever driven that could be considered enjoyable by a driving enthusiast. The boxer engine has that unmistakable sound. It just revs and revs. Since it is lowered and has the wide tires, it grips the road surprisingly well. I enjoy outcornering people on highway off-ramps in a van. While the ride suffers horribly, it does make the van track extremely well on good roads. The long four-speed shifter is precise and has a good feel. The throttle response is fantastic and the clutch feel is also very nice. Even my father, who has experienced many, many cars in his lifetime, enjoys having the opportunity to drive it.
I do all the work to the van myself at Huot Technical Center, in my high school automotive class. My last project before summer was to do both rear wheel bearings, and a redoing the rear brakes with all new components. After my senior year, I will be going to Lakes Region Community Technical College for a serious automotive training experience. I will be leaving with certification and a degree, and hopefully my van will be looking and performing even better once I leave.
Continue to page two for more details on this fantastic '84 Vanagon
