The Toyota Previa is possible the weirdest/coolest Minivan out there, and it came from Toyota! Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe '97 LE SC may rock a supercharger under its floor, but will its price blow the roof off?
How many of you are middle children? You know, almost never the one to do anything first, nor the baby of the family that gets coddled just because they are the youngest. Datsun's 260Z held that spot in the S30 familia, and while that's often an unenviable role to play, fully 70% of you thought yesterday's 1974 260Z, with its sassy vinyl roof, was worth a win at its forty-five hundred asking.
The Egg and I is a memoir by Betty MacDonald about her experiences as a newlywed in the late twenties and early thirties, working on her husband's chicken farm. It is self-described as being told with wit and high humor. Chickens? Newlyweds? How could it not be?
Driving today's 1997 Toyota Previa would perhaps be about as close as you could get to experiencing Mrs. MacDonald's story yourself - from the point of view of the egg. Previas have always been so odd they are hip, but especially in an eggshell hue, they have always appeared to have just emerged from a hen's rear endr. This white beauty takes that egg-like visage and dresses it in skirts and a duck-tail rear wing that's so big the back glass probably stays dry in the car wash.
The ad claims 110,000 miles on the van, however it does not say how many of those were made after it had been so fashionably dropped like the bass. It should be noted that in addition to ground clearance, this Toyota has lost bits just like that unfortunate guy in the movie Looper. The pizza pan wheels in the pics have been sold out from under it - factory alloys taking their place. Also, based on the gaping double DIN hole in the dash, the only tunes available while driving this van would be your butt trumpets.
The rest of the interior is awash in leather, which covers the three rows of individual seats, and burled wood on the dash and custom console. That center plank looks a little worse for wear so maybe it could serve as a wheel chock or something. At the very least the seller describes it as a 'work in progress.'
The S/C models all received a supercharged edition of Toyota's 2TZ 2.4-litre DOHC four. At 6 psi the blower pumped the mill's output to 160-bhp, which was enough to let the Previa get out of its own way. The only gearbox offered on the S/C was a 4-speed automatic, so row-yer-own fans will be disappointed here.
Hole in the roof fans on the other hand will likely be ecstatic over this Previa's two - count 'em, two - sun roofs. The rest of the body is said to have suffered some war wounds, but it looks like it's in reasonable shape. The ad says that the current owner has had the van since 2000, and that it has seen regular service since then. It also notes the replacement of the SAD shaft (which drives all the remotely-placed ancillaries) has been updated with poly bits.
The ad additionally notes that the price tag for this egg-like ride is $7,000. It's now time for you to vote on whether that price has been well thought out, or is not all it's cracked up to be.
You decide!
SF Bay Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Guamunist for the hookup!
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