Swap Begins

"Long-Voyager" (long-voyager) 03/06/2018 at 07:31 • Filed to: Acclaim, Mopar, Engine Swaps, wiring, wrenching, Modification, Running in the 90s, Performance, weekend wrenching

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Went to the junkyard Saturday morning to pull the engine bay harness I need to do my swap. I show up there thinking this is going to be an easy disconnect and go like the van was, man was I wrong. The plug for the harness is buried behind the dash, requiring you to remove the dash to get it out. After about 3hrs at the yard Saturday morning, I had the new harness and was on my way.

Went home and went to work:

Getting to it.

Making a mess

Got her all torn apart before calling it a day Saturday. Slept in yesterday and went back to work on it. I got the whole driver’s side of the harness swapped in and got it routed back inside so I could put the interior back together:

Don’t mind the wires hanging out, gotta get the mount kit for my CD player.

Also picked up some woodgrain trim pieces and brought some engine color inside the car while I was at it.

Now I have the inside portion complete, so the rest of my work will be under the hood. It will probably move quickly now as she’s not drive-able until the swap is complete now.

Spridget > Long-Voyager 03/05/2018 at 08:05

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Very, very irrelevant- I remember seeing a comment you posted on FP about the forum for these ‘80’s and ‘90’s Mopars. Can you provide a link? I managed to forget it.

Long-Voyager > Spridget 03/05/2018 at 10:01

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http://www.turbododge.com/forums/

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/forum.php

fintail > Long-Voyager 03/06/2018 at 09:31

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I was thinking that steering wheel is the same as the one in the 93 Caravan my dad had back in the day, but I guess it is a little different. Same interior color as his car, and by what I recall of the dash, maybe the same styling team.

Long-Voyager > fintail 03/06/2018 at 10:09

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Ya the 93 vans had a slightly different steering wheel. 94 & 95 are identical to this.

I would almost bet all 90s Mopars had the same interior design team. ;)

fintail > Long-Voyager 03/06/2018 at 21:31

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Interesting. Steering wheel designs always catch my eye.

Reminds me of one I forgot. Around 1992 the old guy who was our neighbor bought a new van, a SWB Caravan, in kind of a black cherry color. I remember he’d give me $20 to wax it, which I was more than happy to do.

Long-Voyager > fintail 03/07/2018 at 07:02

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Like this?:

Another van I should have kept.

fintail > Long-Voyager 03/07/2018 at 09:48

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Yep just like that, a very dark and deep red, with a similar interior. I remember helping him remove the seats a few times. The van replaced something even more unusual - a K-Car LeBaron Turbo coupe

The van had wheelcovers like these, which did a fair job of looking like wheels:

Long-Voyager > fintail 03/07/2018 at 10:02

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That van had gray interior, not that I would have minded red. It was optioned very strangely. Sport Wagon package so it had the gfx, bigger wheels/brakes, and better suspension. It however only had a base radio, manual windows, power locks, no tach, power vent windows.

I guess I always thought those were steel wheels, had me fooled. ;)

fintail > Long-Voyager 03/07/2018 at 10:14

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My neighbor’s van had normal equipment, I suspect it was a V6. I guess that kind of color would have been mildly trendy in the early 90s.

As hubcaps go, those put on a good show. Many optional wheels of that era looked more like hubcaps.

I think my dad’s 93 was this blue:

But it was a Grand, and had these hubcaps:

Long-Voyager > fintail 03/07/2018 at 10:20

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I think that is about the only color of the 90s vans I hated, that blue just does nothing for me.

fintail > Long-Voyager 03/07/2018 at 10:33

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Teal would have been better, in a 90s way. I think there was a teal.

The T&C he bought in ~97 was I think a pearl white with grey leather interior, and gold trim, pretty posh for the time.

Long-Voyager > fintail 03/07/2018 at 12:15

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I always liked the Dark Green (Teal?) on the 2nd gens. Otherwise, Charcoal or Black.

I loved the Pearl White 3rd gens.

fintail > Long-Voyager 03/07/2018 at 21:20

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It was identical to this, same wheels:

I can’t do too dark of colors, the OCD in me would have it being wiped down every day.

Long-Voyager > fintail 03/08/2018 at 07:10

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Best investment I ever made when we had a black car:

Quick walk around and it looks freshly washed again.

fintail > Long-Voyager 03/08/2018 at 09:09

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I’ve had one of those for 20+ years - they get better with age. They can leave swirl marks on fresh wax on a dark car though.

The issue here is the duration of rain - the PNW may not always be the leader in volume, but in the amount of hours of wet roads, it’s up there.