Mini

My Dodge Caravan, "Mean Mini", is a vehicle leading 4 lives.
        First, Mini is a family hauler that's taken the clan to Walt Disney World & back (3,000 miles) without a hitch.

  Groovy, man, groovy...
 

Here's her story:

             In September of 1988 I purchased a new 1989 Dodge Caravan with the 2.5 turbo 1 motor. It's best quarter mile was 16.5, on a cold night. I threw in Mobil 1 oil, @ stuck on a K@N air filter. My muffler man welded a 2.5" exhaust pipe onto the back of the cat, with the cat acting as the muffler. At New England Dragway Mean  Mini cut a 2.437 60' time, and 16.182 @ 84.11 mph.
              I put in colder spark plugs, a colder thermostat, & bled the boost to 12.5#s.  Back at NED the mini ran 16.01 @ 84.58.  The van got a manual fan switch (to keep the fan on at the track).  I put a solenoid air valve on the wastegate line bleed-off so that I could control boost from a toggle switch on the dash.  That way I could leave the line on 5 lbs. without spinning the tires, then flip the switch up to 13 lbs. while under way.  This produced a 2.38 launch, & a quarter of 15.766 @ 85.86 mph..  A little practice with the HI-LO switch= 2.28 60', and 15.558 qtr mi.
              A    MAP SENSOR BLEED TO RAISE THE CUT OUT POINT  was made & installed on the map sensor line to keep the stock computer from shutting me off at high boost.  I threw on a Spearco intercooler and ran 15.111 @ 89.45 mph..
             My Cyberdyne rich-lean gauge told me that fuel was needed.  I installed a solenoid fuel valve on the fuel return line to close the return as the boost climbs in order to raise fuel pressure.   ADDING FUEL  Mini ran a 14.854 @ 91.40, at 14 lbs. boost.
 
 

            The 3 speed auto tranny was beat up.  After a beefed up rebuild, & a hike to 15.5 lbs boost, Mean Mini cut a 14.563 @ 92.75 mph.  This was a 3,250# vehicle with 30 sq. feet of frontal area.  Any time that you're doing tranny work is a great time to spend $400 - $500 on a limited slip differential conversion. E-mail Seth Prentiss at: LIMITED SLIP

  In 1991 I ran a single NOS fogger nozzle rated 70-80 hp., and pulled a 13.43.  This proved that the drivetrain had a chance to take low 13's.

In 1991 and 1992 Turbo Magazine and High Performance Mopar magazine had something to say about Mini ; read the blurbs at:   MAGAZINES

              I knew that a  Garret would flow much better than the little Mitsubishi, and that a Super 60 would be better still.  The super 60 turbo, with a 3" exhaust, ran 13.764 right out of the box at 97.67.  After the addition of a sixth injector and positraction, Mean Mini cut a 2.08 60' time, and a quarter mile of 13.569 @ 99.80.
              In september of 1994 I drove 330 miles to Cecil County Dragway in Maryland.  The van out-accelerated 7 cars out of 7, and cranked out a 13.484 @ 101.36 mph in 95 degree heat.
            Then she packed up and purred home after churning out 26 lbs+ boost with no trouble.
          At NED, on a 75 degree Saturday afternoon, I made 2 passes with my new underdrive pulley on. Boost was 27 lbs.  The tires spun (2.194 60') to a 13.475 @ 102.29 mph.  On the second pass the tires spun less (2.025) and gave up a 13.184 @ 102.57 mph.

            Mini kept the big Super 60 turbo for a while, but eventually donated it to Slugmobile, my 1989 Acclaim. Mini received an old used stock Garrett T2 turbo. She couldn't get more than 21 psi out of the old Garrett. She still managed to run 13.7's!
 
 

           In May of 1998 I messed up my ankle really bad. Ankles were not designed to bend 90 degrees! That happened right after Anthony Berge  was kind enough to put a Super 70 (large turbocharger) in Mini! ...And a new high-flow fuel rail, along with a new MP "mild" head. I had to put racing on hold. In 1998  I was able to race at  the track with Mini only 3 times. I went up 4 times, but had a broken wheel stud on one trip, which prevented any serious passes.
        The first good trip of 1998 was to Lebanon Valley, New York.  Anthony, or "AJ", did a good job, and the turbo performed well. I dialed in the new Super 70 turbo during the day, with a best (last pass) of 13.192. The very next time out, with the engine dialed in fairly well, netted a Camaro-killing 13.183, and a Corvette-killing 13.186. Still nowhere near maximum boost!

             My OTC "Mindreader" (engine scanner)  told me that the timing was being pulled back by 14 degrees in #2 cylinder during all those 13.1's!! I was running low 13's on 3 1/2 cylinders!
            My plan is to fix the timing and mount the lightweight race wheels, which she's never tried, yet. Should be instant 12's, on the same set up as last time out.

        The "instant 12's" never happened in 99! I caught Lyme disease and couldn't go in the sun (from the medication) all Summer. I lost the prime racing season. I managed to bring Mini to the track in the Fall, but I had advanced my timing by 6 degrees (experimenting) and forgot to put it back to normal for race night! I attempted to run 30 psi of boost with the timing too advanced. I was halfway through a 12 second run when the engine blew #1 piston, cylinder, and crank bearing.

        So in the Fall of 1999 I invested in a rebuild and decided to try Forward Motion's forged pistons. I had to wait until the year 2,000 as the rebuild was done after the New England tracks closed.

        I needed a good Friday evening in the Spring of 2000 to use my slicks and break into the 12's. The first 2 Fridays my track was open were FREEZING (literally) so I stayed home. I was free on almost all of the next Fridays, but it rained/drizzled on all of them until Memorial Day Weekend. I couldn't believe I was finally going to race! I worked for hours and drove through horrendous holiday traffic for 6 hours round trip, just to be told that only Chevies could race that weekend. I was devistated to the point of ALMOST giving up drag racing after wasting almost 2  months of the racing season.
        I "sucked it up" and tried the following week, only to have a tech inspector shut my hood in a manner that snapped the hood latch spring! I couldn't race with the hood popping up. I got so disgusted at the last 3 years of bad luck (crunched ankle, Lyme Disease, rain-outs, Chevy-outs, and broken latches) that I gave up drag racing until late July/early August of 2000.
        Meanwhile, my pal Paul Smith had much better luck and weather than I did, and after TONS of hard work following the tried and true methods I pioneered in minivans ('89 turbovan, beefed up auto tranny, big exhaust, big intercooler, lots 'o  fuel, high boost, slicks, etc.) Paul managed to get to the track over all the weeks that I waited, and this early Spring his monster mini ran low 13's followed by a late Spring best of 12.65!!
        My bad luck was his good fortune, and he is a swell fellow who deserved something for his hard work and dedication. I'm glad he's the one who beat Mini to the 12's! See: PAUL SMITH'S VAN
        ...Anyway, he proved my theory that a minvan could run 12's if it's timing wasn't being pulled back.  That's worth something to me, right?  :)

        Sadly, I caught Lyme's Disease AGAIN  (Arrrgghhh!!!)  this Summer and NEVER got to the track to race!
        I'm over it, now, but it's late in the year (the tracks will close soon) and Mini will not have much time to race. I plan to go after her all season radial street tire record if I get the chance, and seriously go after her all-time "slicks" record next Spring.
        You can bet your money that Mini will run 12's, but you'll have to wait. Nature / Fate / Luck has made it clear that this is not my "good-luck" year, and I'm not going to push it this late.

        So Mini bows to Paul this year, but remains minivan Drag Racing Champion of 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and "no-nitrous" champ of 1999. Cliff Sebring had a 13.0 second nitrous minivan in 1999, and Paul has 2000 all tied up in a ribbon with 12's!