Vehicle Sighting - 1993 Ford Aerostar

[meep]

I think the Aerostar was based on the Ranger truck, so actually pretty solid mechanically, but hard to work on with the anteater nose.

Pretty terrible crash ratings as I recall.

Yes. Drove well enough. Not good in a crash.

I hated the ground effects then, but now as a retro-classic I would drive it! Last night I helped a guy load a couch into an old ford dually - gonna say mid 80s diesel. Grey and maroon, about 48 pinstripes on it. Fiberglass thing kinda like a headache rack behind the rear window. Big chrome grab handles behind both sets of doors, dual clear and amber fogs in a metal “box” up front, long running boards…. Basically every possible add-on from the JC Whitney catalog in the 80s…. And it was glorious Americana. I would have repulsed back then, and now I’d probably offer my left n*t for it and be turned down because it was oozing full spectrum awesomeness.

 

[Egg_Head]

It even has the very rare "Mulsanne Straight Ground Effects Package"

 

[97prizm]

Wow, that's in good shape!

A neighbor of mine has a Pontiac Aztec that appears to be in decent shape. Lol. I'll try and snap a pic.

Maybe he should loan it to a museum hehe? The autopian has an article about a museum that has a 1994 Chevy Beretta with 45.5 original miles on it. It's a crazy time capsule.

 

[jkasch]

Did you have the 3.0 or the 4.0?

I vaguely recall a PS or PM story from around 1985, something like "Ford and GM play catch-up with Chrysler and jump into the small-van market".
IIRC, the original SWB model was available with a 4-banger. Could it have been the venerable 2.3 Lima?

They were available with a slick Mazda 5-speed MT in the early years. That would have helped.

It was the 4.0. I had it Ziebarted and paid to have the annual cleaning and respray done each year. Most were rust buckets, but mine was rust-free after 9 Michigan winters.
My three young sons loved that they had headphone jacks in the rear. High end for the times.

 

[IndyFan]

Maybe he should loan it to a museum hehe? The autopian has an article about a museum that has a 1994 Chevy Beretta with 45.5 original miles on it. It's a crazy time capsule.

Lol, yep. I actually loved the styling on the Beretta. Great looking car. But they didn´t seem to last long, like their 4 door sister, the Corsica.

 

[earlyre]

I think the Aerostar was based on the Ranger truck, so actually pretty solid mechanically, but hard to work on with the anteater nose.

Pretty terrible crash ratings as I recall.

Basically ranger based, but Unibody, with, "Integrated Frame Rails" in the Floor Structure. Read about a Shop teacher fitting a 302 to one. had to do some light fab for Motor Mounts, but it apparently almost bolted right up.

Dad had a series of these as company cars over their run....like 5 or 6... he bought the 94 when it was time to turn it in, and most of my first couple years of driving were in that van, that one like all of the ones his company bought their District Managers was SWB, RWD Auto, with the 3.0 Vulcan ( which was actually made here locally)

Lol, yep. I actually loved the styling on the Beretta. Great looking car. But they didn´t seem to last long, like their 4 door sister, the Corsica.

HA! That's what my mom had at the time! the part of my first couple years of driving, that I wasn't Driving the Cayman Green Aerostar, I was Driving Mom's White on blue interior Corsica.

 

[Lubener]

Drove an Aerostar which was a company car when I did field work. I was a very enjoyable mini van to drive. Engine was a bear to work on. These I felt were better than the Windstars which I remember sheared a torque converter while I was returning to the office.

 

[burbguy82]

What a
My buddy had one.

What does the double poop emoji mean?

 

[Zee09]

What does the double poop emoji mean?

Turd

 

[Kurtatron]

I love the 80s 90s economy cars. That’s a working man family van. Even better, it makes no qualms about being 90s, with its ridiculous color scheme and plastic base boards.

I have a ‘91 Previa, but considered one of these. Apparently these also came with a manual transmission from factory at very small numbers also. I would have bought one of those if I had come across one before the Previa.

 

[Fifth87]

Between this and the Caravelle pricing, Moe needs to be advised to put down the pipe.

 

[Number_35]

Between this and the Caravelle pricing, Moe needs to be advised to put down the pipe.

And yet ... they might sit for weeks or months, but they always sell.

 

[loneryder]

How do you find all these old cars?

 

[Number_35]

How do you find all these old cars?

I'm often out for a walk or on my bike, so it's easy to stop if I see something interesting.

My wife is generally accepting of my pathological need to stop and look at old/weird/interesting cars.

 

[Number_35]

I love the 80s 90s economy cars. That’s a working man family van. Even better, it makes no qualms about being 90s, with its ridiculous color scheme and plastic base boards.

I have a ‘91 Previa, but considered one of these. Apparently these also came with a manual transmission from factory at very small numbers also. I would have bought one of those if I had come across one before the Previa.

Most of the early minivans were available with a (rarely chosen) MT option, but I haven't seen one in a long time.

I think even the base Astro was available with a manual back around '85.

For sure the early Aerostar, Toyota Van, Previa, Caravan and Voyager, and the Mazda MPV offered a 5-speed MT in the early years.

I think the Dodge Caravan was available with the 2.4 and MT at least into the 3rd generation (1995 - 2000).

We had a '90 MPV with the SOHC 2.6 4-banger and 5-speed manual. Great van, a real pleasure to drive. Revved fairly high on the highway (about 2500 RPM @ 100 kph) but turned in good mileage.

 

[TMoto]

Oh, but did you ever have the pleasure of changing plugs? It's great fun in the winter in a no-start situation.

I had a rwd model with the 4.0 and changing plugs through the wheel wells was easier than through the hood or access panel in the passenger compartment.

Ours also had an oddball tire size on smallish rims that were a pain to source.

 

[IndyIan]

How do you find all these old cars?

I always remember Manitoba and Winnipeg having quite a few 20-30 year old cars just being driven. They don't get a lot of snow and its often cold enough that salt doesn't work anyways, so it seems they see a lot less corrosion than cars get in southern ontario.

That dealer is optimistic though, $9k Kcars and Aerostars must sit there for a while?

 

[earlyre]

Drove an Aerostar which was a company car when I did field work. I was a very enjoyable mini van to drive. Engine was a bear to work on. These I felt were better than the Windstars which I remember sheared a torque converter while I was returning to the office.

yep, when ford fazed out the aerostar for the windstar, the first one Dad got as a company car had that happen in our driveway at 30k mi...
one morning, he goes out, starts it up, shifts into R, loud POP.. no drive... comes back in grumble grumble grumble.... has to call the home office, etc....

Luckily he was in our Driveway, not out on the road somewhere, and had a backup vehicle, his old company van, the 94 Aerostar he bought from them...

after the 5-6 Aerostars, he had 2-3 Windstars, and a First Gen Escape. he also bought one of the windstars for my sister. ( funnily, he liked it, and wanted to buy it, but by then the company was Leasing the vans for 75k mi, instead of buying them out right, they wouldn't let him buy it. had to turn it in, etc.. he forgot a Fish hook shaped clip on the Driver's sun visor....cut 2-3 weeks later, a suspisciously familiar windstar showed up at one of the local used lots, he went over to take a look at it... there was his fish hook clip! it was his old van. bought it for himself, but then my sister "needed" a van, since he had 1 kid, and dad gave it to her.)

 

[Number_35]

A family member had one just like that. It had issues that cropped up often.

Here they had a reputation for having problematic AC that failed often and was expensive to repair.

 

[Number_35]

I always remember Manitoba and Winnipeg having quite a few 20-30 year old cars just being driven. They don't get a lot of snow and its often cold enough that salt doesn't work anyways, so it seems they see a lot less corrosion than cars get in southern ontario.

That dealer is optimistic though, $9k Kcars and Aerostars must sit there for a while?

I would guess that Winnipeg is about halfway between southern Quebec (worst rust) and BC's lower mainland (least rust).

You're right, the chemical processes that lead to corrosion slow right down during our cold winters.

However, salt is mixed in with the sand to keep the sand from clumping. This results in slushy roads down to about -10°C.

The result is a very salty brine on the roads everytime we have a thaw, and throughout early spring.

So unfortunately, rust is a real problem here.