Astro Build: The story of Van-a-White

[grox]

I purchased a 95 AWD Astro last week. I plan on a mild lift kit (2" or 4") T-case swap, and a system of drawers and sleep loft in back. It's certainly going to be more of an earth roaming camper van than a rockcrawler, which is why I decided that The Expedition Portal is the best place for a build thread.

But before I get to any of the fun stuff I have my share of "neutralizing" first. The van runs great but had a super annoying vibration on the highway. I suspected u-joints but I took it to the shop for an overall check-up anyway. Turns out the old-timer that owned the van didn't do anything, with the exception of oil changes, for all 130,000 miles. You name it, it needs attention. What do you expect for $1,600?

This weekend I'll take on replacing the front drive shaft and u-joints, rear drive shaft u-joints, tie rod ends, change and flush fluids... and if time allows work on getting those crazy decals off the side. :wings:

Pictures to follow.

 

[rotor]

I like it!

 

[LeadDoggy]

going to keep an eye on this one......

 

[scotter]

I'll be watching as well, looks like you scored a decent van to start with for a good price. I had similar aspirations for an Astro I once owned so I could use it for radio camping. Take plenty of pics and share your experiance.

 

[T.Low]

:26_7_2:

 

[BCHauler]

You can't beat the Astro/Safari's for versatility. I had a 90 for many years and loved it. Lots of space and versatility. I swapped in a 350 in mine. Just look at T.Low's rig. They're a neat platform.

 

[Herbie]

Awesome! Another Astro joins the fold. Can't wait to see how you get on.

 

[ihatemybike]

I am an Astro geek and I approve of this build!

 

[grox]

Got a lot of basic stuff done this weekend. Outer tie rod ends, replaced front drive shaft, u-joints and changed fluids. Aside from a couple stripped out Torx bolts on the drive shaft and a stripped out oil pan drain plug (the oil pan not the plug!) things went really smooth. Hopefully I'll get to the fun stuff soon.

 

[ihatemybike]

Yeah, those E-Torx are a pain.

 

[el-cid]

Wow, hard to beat with that mileage at that price. I looked at a '97 with way over 200k miles for $650 Sunday that literally made me gag. It sort of looked/smelled like they kept a pack of wolves inside it. It needed lower ball joints so bad it was scary to ride in (then the guy told me he had been driving it like that for 2 years, it was OK). That told me all I needed to know about how it was taken care of. There are some of those around here, then there are decent ones that are $4k, not much in-between.

 

[ihatemybike]

Grumpy was quite neglected when I bought it. Thing just keeps going though.

 

[grox]

I just couldn't face spending the weekend digging around in that dirty engine compartment changing plugs and wires so I took it to the local shop for a tune-up. The mechanic painted a very dreary picture of what the van needed to be "safe". However, once I got it home and power washed, I was pleasantly surprised. The van is actually in really good shape. Once I get the routine maintenance caught up I should be good to go for another 100K.

My buddies at work were giving me a hard time about buying a minivan, that is until I showed them some pics of Kevin, T-low and Herbie's (and others) vans. Now everyone wants an Astro!!! :victory:

Btw - anyone know the part numbers for Rancho shocks? I want to buy them locally and avoid shipping costs.

Stay tuned. More pictures soon.

 

[el-cid]

Grumpy was quite neglected when I bought it. Thing just keeps going though.

Heck, you're entirely the reason I was willing to go look at this van!

 

[ihatemybike]

Grumpy had 297K when I bought it. It had no back seats, hadn't been cleaned in 117k miles worth of delivery driving and require a shot of starting fluid to start every time. They wanted $800 originally.