I like these

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
08/28/2015 at 13:47 • Filed to: None

Sure they were typical GM of the time, and they couldn’t hold a candle to the Japanese vans for comfort of build quality, but I like them. Growing up my best friends family had one and used it for towing their boat to Lake Powell and back. They had a Safari AWD and even loaded down it pulled their 3000 lbs boat over hill and dale at high elevation pretty well and we super comfy to travel in (all three rows reclined). I’ve been tempted in the torchinsky part of my brain to buy one, LS swap, lift and convert to a camper. It wouldn’t be able to handle the really hard trails but it could do all the ones my family would be interested in and a flip top safari camper would just be so cool.

DISCUSSION (21)

deprecated account > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 13:50

Kinja'd!!!

dat rally suspension

HammerheadFistpunch > deprecated account
08/28/2015 at 13:54

if you mean “spacer blocks” than yes. I suspect a lot of these lifts are pretty low tech.

WiscoProud > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 13:55

I too have harbored a secret love for the AWD Astros. They are one of the only minivans I could honestly see myself driving. They look pretty good with a lift and tires too.

deprecated account > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 14:02

Okay then yeah, also, see my last post; #rallysuspensionisthenewstance

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 14:11

I’LL MEET YOU THERE!

Kinja'd!!!

cazzyodo > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 14:13

My buddy wants to put together an off-road camper van.

He’s obsessed with van ideas.

He approves.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 14:20

A family member has one - Astro LT AWD. The engine was trashed by a previous owner, so he more or less got it free, and threw in a Jasper rebuild 4.3. Shortly after that, the trans went. (700R4!!!). With those two episodes behind, it’s nearly new.

HammerheadFistpunch > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
08/28/2015 at 14:24

Does he like it?

itschrome > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 14:26

the safari/Astro where great vans! 4.3 V6, AWD. fairly reliable and cheap to keep running. Good ground clearance which made it very useful for accessing places most vans couldn’t. Plus it was the right size, not to small, not too big. They need to bring something back like this! Hell give it the New 4.3 V6 out of the silverado, build it on the Colorado platform and call it a day!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 14:33

Yep. Fast, smooth ride, tall roof (he’s 6’5”+) can haul everything, and can handle the occasional bad road. Actually, I think he likes it too much - he’s been hesitant to dig into the Land Rover project while it’s still running strong. (This is my younger brother that we’re building a 109” with Benz diesel for.)

HammerheadFistpunch > itschrome
08/28/2015 at 14:39

I agree with you, I think there is a market for a legit capable midsized van. I think the corporate 3.6 would be ideal and you could borrow from the Lambda platform...then again, its pretty much just a lambda with sliding doors at that point.

itschrome > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 14:52

Nah, fuck the Lambda. Also I say the new 4.3 in this application for a more grunty Vehicle. the new 4.3 bring 305 fl-lbs though has similar HP rating. make this more usable with towing and AWD applications. Fuck yeah!

HammerheadFistpunch > itschrome
08/28/2015 at 14:54

I’m for 4.3 as well , but for it to be competative, it would need to be more fuel miserly, and the 3.6 is a fine motor for that job

itschrome > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 14:56

yeah.. I hear you.. I’m just not listening. LA LA LA LA LA LA MOAR POWER!!!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 15:02

I LOVE THESE VANS!

We had a 1991 Safari AWD and that thing was a tank. Hauled everything and went everywhere. We put 215,000 miles on it in 8 years. The only problem it ever had was the transmission went wonky - it wouldn’t shift, went into limp mode. Shut the van off and restarted and it worked fine. A few days later, same thing happened. Ended up being a loose pin in an electrical connector inside the transmission, and it was fixed under warranty. Literally required nothing else but normal maintenace.

We sold it to our mechanic at 215k miles in 1998 or 1999. His wife drove it about 3 years, at which point they sold it with 250k miles to a friend from church. He shipped it down to his parents in Guatemala. They use it as a transport vehicle for parishoners at their church. Back in the mid 2000’s we heard the van was still down there, running strong, at 350k miles.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 15:03

The only thing with the Chevy Astros I don’t like are the people who own them... particularly the white panel van versions. They seem to attract a disproportionate number of aggressive, tailgating asshole drivers.

Though these aren’t that common in the rust belt anymore.

Shift24 > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 15:23

Might be cheaper to just do a TBI 350. Similar set up as the 4.3l already and granted not an LS1 but i mean they are a dime a dozen (Create from GM is like $1500) and there are chips to convert it to a V8 rather than redo all the wiring.

The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!) > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 15:41

Kinja'd!!!

A friend’s parents had one of these growing up and my strongest memory of it was not having enough room in the front seat to comfortably fit my legs...and I was 8 at the time. How said friend’s 6ft tall, Amazon-sized mother fit behind the wheel, I will never know.

Still, these things are awesome. Even now, 10 years out of production, they’re on every street corner in NYC towing hot dog wagons and halal stands. If people can keep them running in one of the most hostile-to-cars environment in the country, they must be pretty good.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 15:52

Ack.*

I will commend them on being fucking cockroaches though. No matter how hard I tried to kill that engine in trans in the Safari, it just kept chugging.

*Opinion may be based on driving a model with gold stripes, peeling paint, and the ugly pre-’95 face and interior with the 160hp version of the 4.3. I probably wouldn’t mind a good condition late model one as a winter beater.

HammerheadFistpunch > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
08/28/2015 at 16:00

yeah, im talking late model vortec heads AWD.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > HammerheadFistpunch
08/28/2015 at 16:05

That’s the ideal combo and what my mom will be buying if she gets another one just to have like she wants. She loves these things.