Complete Repair Log
Everything I've done to the wagon.
Every repair. Every mistake. Every small win. This is the whole record of bringing a 1985 Chrysler Town & Country Turbo wagon back to life — nothing cut, nothing dressed up.
New To The Wagon?
Start with the bigger picture.
This page is the running tally — everything I've fixed, broken, and fixed again. If you're actually thinking about buying a 1985 Town & Country wagon, start with the Buyer's Guide instead.
It covers what I wish someone had told me: the rust, the cooling issues, the vacuum-line spaghetti, the interior parts held together by hope, and the electrical gremlins that come standard on anything this old.
The Honest Version
This isn't the highlight reel.
Most restoration sites make it look like progress happens overnight. This isn't one of those, and I'm nowhere near that kind of mechanic.
The wagon isn't finished, isn't restored, and currently treats "transportation" as more of a suggestion.
That's fine. The goal was never perfection — just one more thing working than yesterday.
Some days I fix the wagon. Some days I fix the last fix.
Wagon Status
Current condition: complicated.
Engine & Drivability
The mechanical stuff deciding car vs. yard art.
Low-Compression Engine Diagnosis
One video, every clue: sooty plugs, the 61 PSI compression number, coolant doing things it shouldn't, and why the project is on pause.
Watch And Read →PCV Valve Refresh
Cheap, overdue, and done. Sometimes maintenance really is that simple.
Repair Page →Spark Plug Inspection
Four sooty plugs and one very wet #1 — the first real clue something was wrong.
Repair Page →2.2 Turbo Compression Test
Cylinder #1: 61 psi, twice. Cylinders #2 through #4: 140 psi each. Not a rounding error.
See The Results →Throttle Body Cleaning
An attempt to fix rough running and hard starts. Helped some. Didn't solve it.
Repair Page →Vacuum Line Spaghetti
Chrysler vacuum hoses: an ongoing, never-ending adventure with no finish line in sight.
Repair Page →Boost Leak Treasure Hunt
Hunting for missing boost and the mystery vacuum leak that's hiding it.
Repair Page →Fuel Smell After Shutdown
A smell after shutdown that has no business existing. Still tracking it down.
Repair Page →Head Gasket Saga
All signs point to a head gasket or the head itself. Which one, and where it's leaking, is still unconfirmed.
Repair Page →Cooling System
Trying to keep the wagon cool.
Thermostat Replacement
Swapped clean. Didn't fix the overheating or the stalling — turns out that wasn't the problem.
Repair Page →Cooling System Overhaul
A wet #1 plug, surging coolant, and low compression turned a cooling job into an engine investigation.
Repair Page →Electrical & Dash
The electrons have opinions.
Instrument Cluster Adventure
Half the dash lights worked. Then it got interesting fast.
Repair Page →Keyless Entry Install
Considered adding modern convenience. Decided not to jinx the power locks right after fixing them.
Repair Page →Interior
The inside is becoming its own side quest.
Sagging Headliner Fix
An $8 fix that actually worked — instant difference for basically nothing.
Repair Page →Interior LED Conversion
White LEDs are bought and waiting, so the original colored filters can finally do their job.
Speaker Grille Restoration
A small detail, but small details carry a lot of weight in an old wagon.
Paint & Exterior
Looking better than yesterday.
Paint Mistake Recovery
The orange-peel paint job came with the wagon. The sanding, the primer burn-through, and the mystery roof bondo are now mine.
Repair Page →Rattle Can Paint Prep
Learning, the hard way, that prep matters more than the paint itself.
Repair Page →Suspension & Chassis
Making it less boat-like.
Coil Spring Situation
Tried installing coil spring spacers. The wagon said no. Round two involves actually removing the tires first.
Repair Page →Rear Shock Research
Trying to find affordable shocks without accidentally making the ride worse.
Timeline
What has happened so far.
Thermostat Replacement
Replaced clean. Overheating and stalling didn't care.
Spark Plug Inspection
All four plugs sooty; #1 came out wet. First real clue.
Compression Test
Cylinder #1: 61 psi, twice. Cylinders #2 through #4: 140 psi. Confirmed.
Full Engine Diagnosis Update
Laid out what's confirmed, what's still unknown, and why the wagon's parked.
PCV Valve Refresh
Small maintenance, actually overdue.
Throttle Body Cleaning
Cleaned it chasing a hard-start problem.
Power Door Lock Revival
Grease and attention brought the old locks back.
Instrument Cluster Adventure
Found a disconnected harness and a lot more questions.
Sagging Headliner Fix
Twist pins worked. Forty years of dust attacked back.
Paint Mistake Recovery
Sanding uncovered orange peel, bad primer, and roof bondo nobody asked for.
Coil Spring Situation
Spacer attempt failed. Next plan is clear, at least.
Cylinder #1 Repair
Problem's real and localized. Which part failed — head, gasket, valve, piston, ring — still unknown.
Project Pause
Engine planning comes first while I job hunt and figure out the repair with my dad.
Cosmetic Work
Paint, interior, suspension — all on hold until the engine has a real plan.
Every fix counts. Even the ones that mostly teach me what not to do again.
Current Investigations
The mysteries currently occupying my brain.
Hard Starting
Cycling the key sometimes helped. But with cylinder #1 down on compression, chasing fuel-system theories is putting the cart before the horse.
Cylinder #1 Compression Loss
61 psi next to three matching 140 psi readings. Confirmed problem — the failed part is still unknown.
Cooling System / Overheating
A wet #1 plug and coolant surging at the radiator neck point straight at a head-gasket or cylinder-head problem.
Fuel Smell After Shutdown
Not the kind of old-car smell you get to ignore.
Speedometer Accuracy
Already questionable before the instrument cluster adventure made it worse.
Instrument Cluster Lighting
Some lights out, one harness disconnected, new white LEDs standing by for round two.
Gear Indicator Alignment
Started catching after the cluster went back in. Forty-year-old plastic earns caution, so I backed off.
Future Projects
The list grows faster than I can complete it.
Interior
LED conversion, speaker grilles, and sun visor restoration — all queued up behind the engine.
Mechanical
A plan with my dad, a real workspace, an honest budget, and a leak-down test — in that order.
Comfort
AC, better speakers, a cargo-area outlet — still on the list, just nowhere near the top.
The list isn't going anywhere. The engine decides when it does.
Why This Page Exists
The real project car experience.
Part of why Broke Weirdo's Garage exists is to document what owning an old project car is actually like. Not the highlight reel.
The wins, the mistakes, the three-hour diagnosis that somehow creates two new problems — or the discovery that last month's repair is this month's repair.
This wagon and I are still getting acquainted. This page keeps growing as long as the story does.
Not Done Yet
The wagon is waiting. I am not done.
The newest milestone isn't a repair. It's finally knowing which cylinder is the problem, and being honest about what fixing it will take.