Welcome to Broke Weirdo's Garage.
Keeping a 1985 Chrysler Town & Country wagon alive through equal parts determination, optimism, and occasionally tons of cursing.
Here’s the deal.
If you're new here, you're probably wondering one of three things:
The answer to all three questions is... I love this car.
Start with the buyer’s guide.
Before you dive into the repair logs, I put together everything I’ve learned so far about owning a 1985 Chrysler Town & Country wagon.
If you’re considering buying one, curious about what goes wrong, or just trying to understand why this old wagon is worth saving, this is the best place to start.
1985 Chrysler Town & Country Wagon.
I'm not a dummy; this wagon isn't a show car.
It isn't a six-figure restoration, although if I had the cash it would be close.
It's a driver, a project, a memory machine, and occasionally a source of chaos.
Most importantly, it's the same year of wagon that was a huge part of my life growing up.
Having one back in my driveway still feels completely unreal.
Wagon Specs
- Year: 1985
- Model: Chrysler Town & Country Wagon
- Engine: 2.2L Turbo
- Transmission: Automatic
- Color: Sarajevo White
- Trim: Fake Woodgrain
- Personality: Tons
- Status: Currently teaching me patience
The short version.
I saw the wagon on Facebook Marketplace and joked that if I had an extra $3,400 lying around, I'd buy it immediately.
My friends saw that post and decided to make it happen.
To this day, I'm still blown away by that.
The wagon came home because of their generosity.
It wasn't perfect. The paint job was worse than rough. It was recently done and rust was already starting to appear. Parts were scattered everywhere in the back.
But absolutely none of that mattered.
That first drive reminded me exactly why I wanted, and honestly needed, it.
Get the wagon back on the road and keep it there.
The goal isn't perfection.
The goal is to get the wagon back on the road and keep it there.
Every repair, upgrade, mistake, and victory gets documented here.
Sometimes things go according to plan. Sometimes they absolutely do not.
Either way, you'll get the full story.
Your first few stops.
If you’re new to the wagon, I’d start with the bigger story first, then dive into the repairs. The repair logs make a lot more sense once you know why this wagon matters and what I’m trying to do with it.
Then start with these repairs.
If you’re here because you own one of these cars, these are some of the most useful projects so far. I’m no pro, but if I could investigate with little to no knowledge, you can too.
It’s complicated, but we’re working on it.
After a few months of driving, a hard-starting issue turned into a stalling issue, which eventually turned into an overheating issue.
At the moment, the wagon isn't roadworthy.
That sounds bad.
I actually think it's exciting.
Every problem is another opportunity to learn something new and make the wagon better than it was before.
Follow the adventure.
I'm constantly learning new things from this wagon. Usually because something just broke. If you enjoy old Mopars, turbo oddballs, station wagons, DIY repairs, or watching somebody learn as they go, you're in the right place.