99 caravan. .. is it possible to put a 5L gm drivetrain in it?

[milla]

I have a 99 dodge caravan with a 3.3L in it, and I have an 88 gmc 1500 2 wheel drive pick up with a 5L v8. Was thinking about putting the drivetrain from the pickup into the caravan and making it a rear wheel drive. Has anybody done this or know if it can be done

[shadow88]

I think you'll be the first.

[Vigo]

I dont think ive seen a RWD conversion of that body style of van before. Should be easier than most of the other cars on this forum because theres a lot of height under the floorboard and it's already leaf springs in the back, but it will still require a lot of fabrication. I dont think anyone here can give you very much SPECIFIC help/advice.

[A.J.]

I'm pretty sure Massachusetts has emission testing. If you do succeed in this swap you're not going to be able to pass the OBDII check. Something to think about if this is going to be driven on the street. That's what kept me from putting my '04 SRT-4 engine in a '96+ Caravan. I couldn't pass OBDII smog check running an '89 computer. Maybe if you installed a '98 GMC V8 instead of an '88 and swapped all the OBDII computers and were able to keep the light off.

[turbovanman²]

Anything can be done with time, money and sweat. Good point A.J. check your smog laws before you start.

[turbo84voyager]

I did see pictures of a 3rd gen van with a RWD conversion at one time. In my opinion it is not worth the effort to use a 305. A stock 3.8 V6 probabily makes more power. I believe an 88 305 TBI only had 175 HP. Like it was stated earlier it may be an emissions problem. I have this issue with my 84 voyager. Luckilly if I use it less than 5K im exempt from emissions but the turbo engine does not have a EGR or smog pump like the carburated 2.2. Because of this I would fail the visual inspection even though the turbo engine does not need it.

[85boostbox]

LS swapped and done if you go Chevy wise

[turbovanman²]

LS swapped and done if you go Chevy wise

LIKE!!!!!!! :nod:

[milla]

Ya I'm not worried about getting an inspection sticker, but I know I would definitely have to add some sort of frame under it otherwise it would twist the first time I got on it lol