Used second gen Honda Odysseys are a dime a dozen, oftentimes with high miles and for cheap, but this is no ordinary Honda Odyssey.
What a gem of a van I came across earlier today on Craigslist thanks to my car enthusiasts friends on Facebook. This 2002 Honda Odyssey is asking about three times the average price for a used Odyssey at the moment, at $6,000, it’s definitely an outlier. But as this Craigslist post shows from earlier this week (Nov 2, 2018) this Odyssey has a handful of modifications that justify its price, especially this one. It’s got a six-speed swap in it!
Check out a couple of photos of this van that’s meant to hit find its powerband in every gear and stay in it, below.
This van isn’t particularly shouting it has a six-speed manual swap. If it wasn’t for that one line in the description and the two pictures, no one would even know. Honda Odyssey’s don’t come with six-speeds from the factory.
Other modifications include a set of Hankook Winter tires, KYB Gas dampers, H&R Touring cup springs, a clutch kit, ball joints, sway bar links, rotors, pads, and a new battery.
These are all the tale tell signs of a Dad who came across a nice family hauler, possibly with a worn out automatic (which these cars are known for by the way) and decided to make it into a weekend project, to make this seven-seater kids hauler into a van with more active safety and that you can shift on your own.
The second generation Honda Odyssey, by this time, already came with a five-speed automatic, which was an improvement over the four-speed from 2001. Paired with its J35A1 engine, it was good for 240 HP at 5400 RPM and 242 lb-ft at 4500 RPM. If you wanted to get the most out of this van, you’re going to have to hang it out near its upper rev range, which is not what Odyssey drivers do for MPGs and because they have kids and all.
With a six-speed manual swap from I presume an Accord, you CAN exploit all that power.
Shifter placement leaves something to be desired but it looks pretty clean to me, almost rally style and reminiscent of the EP3 Civic Type R which had a similar shifter placement.
$6,000 seems like he wants to sell it but not really. And I don’t blame him. What a sweet van!
Source: Craigslist.
