The Wagon Research Library | Broke Weirdo's Garage
The Wagon Research Library

Learning the wagon's language.

Manuals, diagrams, brochures, websites, communities, and other rabbit holes I've discovered while trying to keep a 1985 Chrysler Town & Country Turbo alive.

Why this exists

This is not a factory archive.

It is a running collection of resources I've found while trying to understand this wagon without losing my mind.

Every time I work on the car, I find another mystery. Sometimes the answer is in an old forum post. Sometimes it is buried in a brochure. Sometimes it is sitting on a website that looks like it has been holding the internet together since 1998.

This page is for the useful stuff: technical references, parts sources, Chrysler history, old ads, manuals, diagrams, communities, and anything else that helps keep this weird old wagon moving toward the road again.
Start Here

Thinking About Buying One?

Before you dive into manuals, wiring diagrams, brochures, and forty-year-old forum posts, start with the guide I wish I’d had before this wagon found its way into my life.

It covers rust, cooling issues, vacuum lines, electrical quirks, interior parts, and the little surprises that come with owning a 1985 Chrysler Town & Country wagon.

This is the front door to the research library: what I’d check first, what surprised me, what would worry me, and why a complete-but-imperfect wagon can still be worth saving.
Start digging

Pick your rabbit hole.

Turbo Mopar Resources

Technical websites, troubleshooting information, turbo Chrysler knowledge, and resources for the 2.2L and 2.5L era.

Explore Turbo Resources →

Chrysler Brochures & Ads

Original sales literature, magazine ads, commercials, and the glorious 1980s marketing that tried to make woodgrain feel luxurious.

View Brochures & Ads →

Parts Sources

Places to track down maintenance parts, sensors, trim pieces, interior bits, and other hard-to-find wagon things.

Find Parts Sources →

Manuals & Diagrams

Service manuals, wiring diagrams, vacuum routing, factory documentation, and anything that helps explain what I am looking at.

Browse Manuals →

Showroom Sunday Archive

Brochures, ads, commercials, pricing, options, and Chrysler history from when this wagon was sold as actual luxury.

Visit Showroom Sunday →

Useful Communities

Forums, Facebook groups, YouTube channels, and the people who somehow still remember how these cars work.

Find Communities →
Featured resource

TurboVan.net

One of the most useful Turbo Mopar archives I've found so far. It is packed with technical information, troubleshooting guides, factory documentation, and decades of accumulated Chrysler knowledge.

If you are trying to understand old Chrysler turbo systems, 2.2L and 2.5L engines, electronics, vacuum routing, or period-correct weirdness, this is exactly the kind of old-internet resource worth saving.

Recently added

New things in the library.

TurboVan.net: Turbo Mopar technical archive and troubleshooting rabbit hole.
1985 Chrysler brochures: Original sales literature and Showroom Sunday material.
MSRP research: What the wagon cost new and what that means today.
Dash light notes: Instrument cluster, bulbs, LED conversion, and dashboard lessons learned the hard way.
Related project pages

Where the research turns into repairs.

The Research Library is where I collect the information. The repair pages are where I find out whether any of it actually helps.

Buyer’s Guide

The big-picture guide to what I’d check before buying one of these wagons, based on what this one has already taught me.

Read the Buyer’s Guide →

Repairs

The growing list of what has been fixed, investigated, broken, or made more confusing.

Browse Repairs →

Dash Lights & LEDs

I just wanted to fix a few lights. The wagon had other plans.

Read The Dash Story →

2.2 Turbo Guide

A beginner-friendly guide to the old turbo Mopar weirdness I am slowly learning to understand.

Read The Guide →

Know a great resource?

If you've found a useful Chrysler, Turbo Mopar, station wagon, or old-car resource, send it my way. I'm always looking for another rabbit hole.