Awesome 10 Second Work Vans with Room for Eight

A little-known fact: The 1980’s era Mitsubishi L300 minivan was the reason platinum plugs were invented – When you have to drop the mid-mounted engine and transmission to change the spark plugs, going 100,000 miles between tuneups becomes a necessity.  Of course a far better solution is to simply replace the weak inline four with a big V8, while leaving the pipe rack on the roof. We can’t vouch for this Australian guy’s plumbing skills, but he’s one hell of a driver.

Originally outfitted with either a 115 horsepower 2.4L gasoline or 78-horse 2.5L diesel in both 2- and 4WD versions, these vans are still in production Japan and the Philippines. Dropping a small block Chevy into a chassis with a high center of gravity, 95-inch wheelbase, and twitchy steering is nothing new, of course – think “Gasser”.  But put some mufflers on this thing and you’d never be able to set it apart from the tens of thousands built since 1980 that never do anything more exciting at the track than deliver hot dog buns.

The nitrous-injected 400ci Chevy is said to make 880 horsepower to the wheels, and has done a best of 9.1 at 155 MPH. Who knows how quick it would be if it could hook up and stay straight…