The world may not have been clamoring for a mid-engined seven-seater with an available manual transmission, but that’s what Toyota brought about with the Previa van. Today’s LE rocks a stick and some mods. Let’s see if it’s worth all the commotion.

There’s a certain joy to be had in driving a slow car. Wringing out a tiny but eager motor and making the most of its meager corral of ponies through energetic use of the gearbox is almost inevitably smile-inducing. Yesterday’s was just such a small caliber car. And it didn’t just look fun to drive; its condition and cleanliness implied that it might be fairly easy to live with, too. Unfortunately, that came with a $24,700 asking, a price that wiped the smiles off many a face. In the end, that turned into an 80 percent No Dice loss.

About the same time that Fiat was introducing its X1/9 to America, Toyota was flexing its own muscles across a number of product lines here in the U.S., its major export market. Beginning in the 1970s, the Japanese manufacturer became a juggernaut, filling market niche after market niche and typically bettering the competition in the process.

One area where Toyota initially stumbled was in the minivan boom of the 1980s. The company’s first foray into the category that had been reinvigorated by the wildly popular Chrysler K-Car vans was with the Space Van. This was a hastily federalized version of a JDM forward-control van that earned the nickname “Space Wart” for its unique and uniquely unfortunate looks. Seeking to atone for that misstep, Toyota’s second attempt at a minivan proved not only to be much better looking also a tour de force in innovative design.

Instead of a traditional auto-based van with the engine sitting in between the front seats, the 1991 through 1997 Previa mounted its engine mid-ships. To allow for a flat floor and reasonable entry height above, the engine was tilted over at 75°. All the most often serviced accessories were mounted under the severely sloping hood and powered via a jackshaft, while other consumables could be reached via an access hatch under the driver’s seat.

Unlike in the Space Wart, both driver and front passenger seats sit behind the front wheels for improved crash protection, and overall, the van’s rounded shape and short overhangs imparted the image of a rolling egg. Just adding to the uniqueness, Toyota offered the Previa with, alternately, a supercharged engine, AWD, and as in the case of this , a five-speed manual gearbox.

The stick shift and three-pedal driver’s workspace isn’t even this Previa’s most notable feature. That’s the fact that it has done a remarkable 287,886 miles over the course of the past 32 years. According to the ad, the van wasused by a flower delivery business for some undisclosed amount of time, so those are probably hard-earned miles too. That’s also why the center seats are missing, as they were given the heave-ho at some point to allow for more flowers.

That’s not the only part of the van to have been left behind. According to the ad, the 2.4-liter four under the floor was replaced somewhere along the line. The 138 horsepower 2TZ-FE four currently in residence is claimed to be “Very healthy.” That’s mated to the aforementioned five-speed manual and drives the rear wheels through a coil-sprung live axle.

That’s all the standard stuff, but this van has some aftermarket tricks up its sleeve as well. That starts with a custom steering wheel and shift knob in the cabin. Those seem to be the only updates in there, and amazingly, the van still sports its original Toyota stereo.

There’s more tarting up on the outside. That includes aftermarket alloys on spacers, a suspension dropped on coilovers, and a back hatch mirror off of a home market Estima. Mechanical updates include new spark plugs and a valve cover gasket, with the work apparently done at a Toyota dealership.

Considering its age and the fact that it was a work truck for some time, it’s unsurprising that this Previa suffers some war wounds. That includes some chips in the paint and a sizable dent in the flank just behind the sliding door. Nothing is too bad, and the van appears to be tidy both inside and out. It also comes with a clean title and current tags after passing its emissions test. On the downside, the seller says the A/C blower motor relay is on the fritz.

Previas were never as popular as their domestic competitors, but Toyota still sold a bunch of them here in the U.S. Few of them came with the manual, which makes this one notable. We’ll have to decide if its $6,750 asking price does as well.

What do you say, is this row-yer-own minivan worth that kind of cash in its present state? Or do the miles and the mods make this an egg that isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?

You decide!

out of Fresno, California or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Don R. for the hookup!

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