PennSilverTaco's non-Toyota Japanese (and Korean) vehicle Rant/Rave MegaThread!

Itchy pussy

I saw a 1981 "Dodge Challenger" at the Syracuse Nationals on Friday (same day and place where I saw the yellow Arrow), except it was actually a Mitsubishi; I believe they also sold that particular platform as the Plymouth Sapporo.

 

@Plain Jane Taco

When the Dodge and Plymouth minivans finally got an optional V6 in 1987, it was the 3.0L Mitsubishi V6. The durable and reliable Chrysler 3.3L V6 finally became standard on long wheelbase "Grand" minivans in 1990, the last year for the 1st generation, but the biggest engine you could get on the short wheelbase models until the 1991 redesign was the 3.0L Mitsubishi V6. I have heard mixed reviews on the 3.0L V6, most of which were not good. A lot of people say that the 3.0L has a tendency to prematurely burn oil, even if well-maintained. However, there is an older gentleman and his wife who have been DJing at a number of car shows and cruise nights that I go to for years. They own a 1989 Dodge Grand Caravan LE, complete with the fake woodgrain paneling, and the thing is in perfect condition except for the fact that rear A/C does not work (the system has been converted to R134a and the front A/C works fine). The van is loaded, with power everything, front and rear A/C as mentioned above, and the factory Infinity sound system. It has no rust because it has spent most of its life in a garage. Being a 1989, this van has the 3.0L Mitsubishi engine, and it has like 110K miles on the clock. The owner told me that the engine has been incredibly reliable and has no issues whatsoever, and despite only having like 143hp, he says it is very responsive for what it is. The 3.3L V6 had 150hp horsepower and significantly more torque. The owner let me take a ton of pictures of his van, inside and out, for a Facebook automotive group I am on called Underappreciated Survivors, and since it has a Mitsubishi motor in it, I will post the pictures here when I track them down.

My aunt and uncle replaced their 1986 Plymouth Voyager LE with a new 1997 Plymouth Voyager Rallye. The new van, despite being short wheelbase, had the 3.3L V6, which proved itself to be incredibly reliable. The 1997 had something like 160K or 180K miles on the clock when they traded it for a new 2009 RAV4 under cash for clunkers and was falling apart but mechanically sound.

 

@Plain Jane Taco

Here she is, Bill...

Mitsubishi-powered 1989 Dodge Grand Caravan LE, in all her faux woodgrain glory! These pictures are from May 2021...

 

Mitsubisbi 3.0L V6; I previously thought it was like 110K miles, but as of May 2021 it was actually around 135K...

 

Yep. They made those by the millions back in the day

 

Damn near all 3.0s burned at least some oil

 

Everyone born from the mid-1970s onward has probably had a Chrysler minivan in their life at some point, even if it wasn't owned by their parents. In my case, two different aunts and uncles owned them and I spent a good chunk of my childhood and teenage years riding in them.

 

My truck burns oil...

What I'm talking about here is that I've heard stories of these vans leaving blue smoke screens behind them before they hit 100K miles!

 

I saw my share of 3000 GT and Dodge Stealth non turbos spitting blue smoke

 

I saw a base model non-turbo 1991 Stealth at the Syracuse Nationals on Sunday. It had crank windows, which I'm pretty sure I've never seen on a Stealth or a 3000GT. It also did not have A/C! The car was absolutely mint, considering it was 31 years old and from New York, but it was black and it did not have A/C...

Not a fun car to be in during a heat wave!

 

My dad had a 1986 Mazda B2000 from 1990 to 1992, and a 1990 Mazda B2600i LE-5 from 1998 to 2000. For a 1990 Mazda pickup, the B2600i was quite loaded. It had A/C, a cassette player, snazzy alloy wheels, and aftermarket cruise control. The truck was bought new in Illinois, and my dad bought it from the original owner in Chesapeake, Virginia while we were living in Virginia Beach. It had some rust and over 90K miles, but it ran great and the owner had all service records dating back to when it was new. The A/C blew ice cold (obligatory in Virginia Beach) and the truck was reliable, but it leaked oil. That was the one issue it had, and that was the Mazda engine, not the Mitsubishi one...

 

@6 gearT444E
@ColoradoTJ
@shakerhood
@steelcity2
@Taco critter
@TnShooter
@wilcam47

Hey Bill, here's that 1991 Dodge Stealth I was telling you about the other day; I'm pretty sure I have seen non-turbo models with rollup windows, but I have never seen one with no A/C like this one!


July 17th, 2022:

Syracuse, New York

 

@ColoradoTJ
@shakerhood
@Taco critter

Here are some shots of the instrument panel and HVAC controls. Unfortunately the owner was not around, so I could not confirm, but there definitely seems to be a blank spot where the button with the snowflake symbol would be...

 

Here is what a 1991-1996 Stealth/3000GT manual HVAC control with the "snowflake" A/C button looks like (pictures from internet)...

 

You will see here that the car I saw in Syracuse does not have the A/C button...

 

I owned a Mitsubishi 3000GT for a short time.

 

Have you ever seen one without A/C?!?!