I’m pretty young and 19 but I love aerostars, I have a 96 XLT all-wheel-drive a few years ago and I missed it, so I went online on December 30th and found a 92 Aerostar Shorty with a five speed manual transmission, very rare in these bands, so I said out from my house in Arvada Colorado, about 10 minutes from Denver, to Montrose Colorado, about an hour from Grand Junction. Me and my buddy took his BMW up there, 10 days prior I found out my girlfriend was six months pregnant. We get to Montrose around 11 PM mountain time and I by the van for 950 bucks, it ran and drove awesome with the five speed in it. Driving home all through the night, about an hour out of Grand Junction I blew the tire in a blizzard and had to have it changed by state patrol because it didn’t have any spare tools. If it wasn’t for them I don’t know what I would’ve done. That was Around midnight. it was 310 in the morning when I got a phone call from my girlfriend saying that she just had my daughter three months early, I broke down emotionally and drove all through the night to get to the hospital to see her and my daughter Marie. Because the van was rear wheel drive it wasn’t doing so good going up mountain passes so I left the van in Glenwood Springs in the Hampton Inn parking lot for three days and we took my buddies all wheel drive car back down to Denver. When I came back the van fired right up and drove all the way home with no issues. Wouldn’t have rather been in any other car, the Aerostar will always hold a special place in my heart because of that reason
greg howe Three months early? Dude you’re young and inexperienced. I bet she had the baby almost full term and told you that so the math worked out. Bottom line you should probably get a DNA test now before you get any deeper.
I own and daily drive a 1994 Ford Aerostar extended with the 4.0. It's in beautiful shape but is starting to get hard to find parts for them. The 4 cylinder was only available in 86' and 87' and the 2.8l V6 was used only for the first few months in 86' before switching to the 3.0. By the way, that van is not a shorter wheelbase than the extended model, they all had the same wheelbase but the extended one had several inches added past the rear axle. That van is a very basic model. They usually have power windows and and a cassette player in the radio. I just put a new fuel pump in mine yesterday as it finally went out after 250k miles.
Exactly. We had a 93 XL that 5 of us learned to drive on for 20-25 years of driving and finally died in 2018. I miss it. Had power everything. I miss the radio controls in the backseats.
I owned two of them over the years. Super spartan and reliable. They were great for my work hauling bulky gear around. I wish they still made vehicles like them.
@@nemo5335 Transits (idk about the lil transit connect version) have the battery underneath the driver seat and when the battery gets weak, you have to go directly to the battery (it's a weird indented one too) to get the van started. Kinda weaksauce imo
Aerosoarvan last time I saw one was about 30 minutes ago. I just put new rotors wheel bearings replacing the caliper rear rubber hose brake lines. This one I have has 138,000 mi on it which I put about fifteen thousand of those miles on it same color as this van you have in your video. Mine does have little rust down low. I'll be replacing the rear brake shoes and put new spring kit on it for the brakes and back. Probably replace the wheel cylinder I think I have one leaking. If the caliper hadn't stuck down which is a common situation with these Vans up on past your front then I wouldn't be doing all this. Ordered parts online from a couple places and got good thing parts cheap because supply is greater than demand. I've owned this one maybe five years I don't drive a lot but at 28 mi to gallon I'm going to start. It has the 3.0 L engine and everything is removed behind the front two bucket seats which are in great shape no rips or tears. Because I use it for a small transport. The first one I bought probably 15 years ago I still have it and it's white it's decked-out all the auctions and it has a 3 L engine. The blue one I just bought here couple three years ago as a form and it is 2 wheel drive extended. It is more of a cargo van. They always thought these things are becoming next little cult Vans like a VW vans vans. They're rear-wheel-drive and maybe that kills it for some people but that's what I like. And they're wider than the replacement bands that came after this one and more headroom and as far as length they're comfortable. So I think they're great low Vans they have a nice basic English style to them which then always appealed to me but these bands their utilitarian they look fine. One that's all decked out I got good twenty-five miles to gallon with it as well. Can I use it to haul engines. I have to rebuild 327 Chevy engines and it now. It's really ideal a whole load and wait and it's easy to load in from the side or the back. I use it to service rental properties. When I'm not playing around with engines parrot and I see these occasionally. So if your customer ever need some parts. You feel free to reply and let you know where some are at. By the way the gold van I haven't serviced haggerty they're only about $8,000. Yeah The other achieve and I have not kept insurance on them because I've been using my super duty. But have you looked at gas ⛽ prices. Anyway irritated by some of the adjectives used hear it not offended I didn't say they were entirely untrue. But the van is very well-designed and yes I can remember having a front-wheel-drive caravans these are much better than the Windstar van that came after their junk especially compared to the aerostar. Anything new in that well I don't really have a need for it. I do have a couple of Chevy Uplander van Spirit but I bought a third one for parts just in case. One of those uplanders handicap van and the other one is a government vehicle surplus and it has 18,000 original miles. I like to play with them from time to time and I've been known sell a couple. Thank you glad that you did the episode
1998 registration sticker!! has it been in a garage for 20+ years? I had a 1989 aerostar with the 3 liter and the ultra rare 5 speed manual with 3.73 gears in the rear end. you packed a lunch and dinner and cleared your calendar when it was time to replace plugs and wires.
Very cool. Those heavily yellowed headlamp assemblies reminded me of how my Plymouth Acclaim looked at around the 15-year mark. You might tell your customer that Rock Auto still has new ones for this car (only 9 remaining) at $34.99 each. I had replaced them on my Acclaim when they were like this, and it was a big improvement.
I own one and it’s great, it didn’t really breakdown but only needed to have the positive terminal replaced but it still runs. We have owned it for around 10 years
I had 2 Aerostar's. I had a 91 and a 94. Both where 3.0 Leader. The first half of 1994 were 3.0 leaders. The second half of 1994 they switched over to 4.0 Leader. I had my 1991 for 3 yrs and my 1994 for 10 yrs. I put 305.000 miles on my 94. And loved it!! I was on a long road trip a blew a belt. When I took it to Sears. They kept telling me it was a 4.0L. When I knew for a fact it was a 3.0L. The 3.0L had two belts and the 4.0L had one serpentine belt. Never take your cars to Sears for repairs.
I had an AWD 4,0 V6 one back in the day that I bought for the old lady when it only had 9,000 miles on it and we had to carry a fire extinguisher with us at all times because it would spontaneously combust for no apparent reason all the time. The main culprit was the sound proofing on the dog box / firewall and we had to remove all of it and replace it with better stuff to get it to stop igniting. When I finally figured out how to correct the issue and finally felt confident that it was fixed for good my x fell asleep at the wheel and totaled it for me so I didn't get to see if the problem was gone forever or not. I was just happy that she didn't hurt anyone and simply made a new trail through the woods for someone and the airbags did their job quite well leaving her with just sprained wrists from the bags throwing her hands away from the wheel so fast and her thumbs getting caught on the inside of the steering wheel briefly. Sorry for rambling. Lol
@@taylornechole Ohh yeah... LOVED it .... Just like Tom said in above video.... "Brings back a lot of memories .... Very Nostalgie !!!!" .... I had a nice 6 cyclinder engine that made an amazing sound at the startup. Engine was very smooth and the ride was very smooth...... There was something in that van, had a great funtime in this van. It brings people together :) !!!!
I had two. 1987 and 1992. Rolled the -87 two and a half times and ended up on it's roof when a drunk cut me off in an intersection. I emerged without a scratch or bruise despite no real safety equipment in them. Had 390K miles on the odometer. The -92 was written off by the insurance when a lady ran a red light and nailed the driver door forward....also a write off. This one had 480 K miles on it. Despite their appearance now, they were the best looking mini-van of the time.
I remember a crazy story right after moving to the Atlanta area in 1997 involving one of these. There was a fellow who was a day trader who went crazy, shot up his office, and then drove off in one of these. Ending up ditching it at a gas station not far from our new house. The mayor or somebody on the news (don't remember the details) mistakenly referred to the vehicle as a Ford Aerosmith van. My dad thought that was the most hilarious thing he'd heard in a while - a Ford Aerosmith van.
The Ford Aerosmith theme commercial song was drive this way! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. For the rest of us it was a force Walk This Way. Hilarious story. I currently own three of these I love them
One of the cars I learned to drive in was a 93 Aerostar XLT Eddie Bauer edition with the 4.0 and all-wheel-drive. Same color as this one but longer. I loved that thing! Still have one of the two pairs of headphones that came with it to plug into the back seat radio. I can’t forget the power steering whine or the smell of the interior on a hot day.
I have one like that now, except red, with gold trim. Bought the '93 Eddie Bauer AWD in '97, and have been driving it for 26 years, now with 287,250 miles. Just blew a heater hose a couple of days ago, and I hope the dealer has one anymore. Replaced the first heater hose 17 or 18 years ago. Due to rear heat and AC, the hoses are extra weird. Overall, extremely reliable.
I had a 94 Aerostar extended van with the 4.0 and the tow package. It was a blast to drive. I absolutely loved that van. People that had them usually keep them till there was nothing left to them. They really were great vehicles, aside from being dog ugly. Lol
That is so true, mine finally let go at almost 400k miles. Interior was in bad shape. I told myself I'd never buy another one but if I found one at the right price in good condition it would be in my driveway
I unfortunately am constantly reminded of the Aerostar because one of my neighbors in my back lane has one rotting away in his backyard being used as a storage/garden shed 😩
If I remember correctly the driveshaft is aluminum. The tailgate is fiberglass too, or at least the bottom was. I saw one after it was rear ended (still driveable) and the tailgate had basically broken into 2 pieces but were still connected.
You can tell the Caravan caught Ford and GM off guard. They didn't understand that the unibody construction is what really sold the Caravan. It drove like a car, not a truck.
My first Caravan with the 2.5 four cylinder was good except for having to replace the cylinder head once,the next one we bought didn't even last us a year before it became a yard ornament. I've pretty much stuck with Ford vehicles ever since,they are my first choice anyways.
I grew up in the 90’s in Texas my dad bought my mom a 1993 Aerostar cot king ranch I miss being in the back seat after school and going to the park. I need that in my life again I almost cried when they sold it after 15 years.
I laughed at them when they were current. Then years later, I picked up the twin to this one. Rode great, handled great, got great fuel economy, and was a real workhorse. I donated it to a needy family five years ago, and it is still their daily driver.
Don't knock my Aerostar !! I had 2 of them !!! I think it was the first car (van) to have that aerodynamic look. We ordered the van without the 3rd seat for more space for our great dane and our collie when we went camping. Towed a large popup camper with it and the dogs slept in it. The second was the longer one. Loved both of them 😄😄
I purchased a 1986 (first year) Aerostar with a 2.8L(V6) 5-speed manual with 50,000 miles on it in '89 and sold it 20 years later. Loved that thing!!! During that time I put 300,000 miles on it. I put a Mustang GT 5.0HO in it with an automatic OD. Made a ram-air/cowl induction hood for it and many-many other mods!!! Pulled a 24' camper with it!!! Search V8 Aerostar and you'll see it. Before I sold it my son made some videos and posted some of them. There were so many questions I put a video together using some pictures I had from building it. IT'S GOOD TO SEE THERE'S A COUPLE GOOD ONES LEFT!!!!!
😆 OMG! LOL I had a Ford Aerostar van mine was from the year 1987 XL. Ours was a grey color. My parents bought it new at that time. Ours had a cassette player/radio LOL So, for some weird reason I been having dreams about it and it brought back memories. I sometimes miss it. This van was my childhood now I'm 44. LOL I remember that ours had some maintenance issues. So my parents didn't keep it for too long. It would of been cool if we had still had it. I loved that van. 💖 My mom told me that she saw a Ford Aerostar not that long ago here where we live. Nice video about this one. 👍🏼 Its true that they are rare now those vans.
150000 miles????? That’s it?!?! My 1997 Aerostar has over 270000 miles on it and still going strong haha Hell I was born in 1997. Me and my car share a damn birth year! Love the Aerostar. People give me looks because it’s “old” but I feel great in it.
For real tho I haven't seen one of these since I believe 2008 or 09. Actually forgot they existed. Always thought they were ugly but I can appreciate them
I've owned 4 Aerostar vans total, 2 long versions and 2 of the shorter version. And currently I still own 2 1993 short Aerostars. Both are white, one with power mirrors and windows and the other has manual mirrors and windows. Both vans have the 3.0 V6 engine. One of my Aerostars I've owned since 1996 and it has over 300,000 miles on the odometer while the other one I purchased in 2017 and it has under 100k on the odometer. I love these vans because they are rear wheel drive and they are very utilitarian. I've hauled several different riding mowers inside and they are great for transporting bicycles and road trips. Good gas mileage, comfortable to drive, and room to take a nap on a long road trip. One reason you no longer see Aerostar vans on the road is because under the "Cash For Clunkers" program lots of Aerostar owners turned them in for the $4500. That robbed us Aerostar enthusiast of a lot of good used vehicles and an abundance of used parts.
I wore out three of them as a salesman. Two were five speeds. Great transmission. The automatic blew out after 3500 miles. I gave the last one to my son in high school. He and a friend added a” non-parasitic supercharger”. My son drove and his buddy ran the leaf blower that thwy piped into the intake at the air filter. He claims he could whip a 5 liter Mustang at a stop light. They were terrible rust buckets.
I had one and thought it was great. 5 speed manual. Got good mileage I had to swerve in a crazy rain storm one time and it held the road great. It was pretty solid all around I’d say.
@@torclop3461 Not really that special to be honest but I’ve just always wanted to own one or at least be able to drive one once because I’ve seen them around especially when I was a kid in the 90s and just always thought they had a kind of neat styling even though they’re probably deep down under their skin piece of garbage
@@torclop3461 I just happen to not fall in that bracket of that I necessarily need one but it would be cool to own one for a short period of time just to be able to drive it and say I got that experience but just being able to drive one alone wouldn’t be bad either but it would have to be at least a 1990 because I don’t like the later versions that started to go away from the box style look
I owned a white '96 Aerostar XLT for 5 1/2 years. 4 things brought it down: transmission failure, 2 deer hits (front end damage), & a busting water pump. Mine wasn't the best--paid $1500 for it-- but was certainly better than some others I've seen out there. Neighbors had a few when I was growing up & that's why I wanted one. A few still linger around in my area but are otherwise non-existent compared to Astros & other vans. I now own an '05 Astro but if you can find a good Aerostar get it while you still can! I believe the hubcaps on this '93 came off a similar-vintage Escort.
I have a hyundai trajet van (early 2000s) and it has the same type of front triangle window, slightly bigger but not part of the door. I think it just made door design/manufacture easier. And the back seats are like the chev lumina APV, probably just copied. I took them all out and converted it to a campervan. 2.7 litre V6 with an auto so not much power. But here in Australia they sold them with rear AIRCONDITIONING instead of rear heating like some US vans.
These came out in 1985 2 yrs after the Chrysler vans. My Dad had a 1990 XL base model he bought used in 93 and honestly this one which would've been brand new back then is in better condition that the 3 yr old one he bought then! Ours was rwd and had alot of rust issues shortly after he got it. Wasn't very reliable either. He replaced that with a used 98 Windstar he bought in winter of 2000 and that van handled way better and held up despite its few minor annoyances. We also had a newer 96 Taurus he bought to replace his 86 Chevy Celebrity which became the other victim of the rust belt like that Aerostar had. The Taurus was a good car too.
My neighbors across the street had one when I was growing up, it was back in 85 or 86. I thought it was like a box on wheels kind of thing! But it made its mark! It had replaced the stationwagons!
I love cars like these, they arent too valuable but bring back tons of nostalgia. One car I recently bought was a white 1988 Chrysler Lebaron convertible in great condition with no rust. Id love to get my hands on a old aerostar or even an astro van or a grand caravan. Growing up my family had the 1991 Previa which we owned until 2007.
This minivan is larger on the inside than it appears on the outside. It is very comfortable to drive and handled quite well. The one I had went through two transmissions but otherwise the engine was quite sound. Not only did it have a fiberglass hood, the rear hatch was also fiberglass. Mine had all the bells and whistles for the year. Ford spent all the money on other projects and left the overall body design up to the interns (obviously) because it was not the most beautiful girl in the garage. I enjoyed mine.....
My family got a minivan in 1995. The Ford lot had the choice of the Aerostar and the Windstar. I'm surprised now that Ford still had both selling at the same time, but minivans were everywhere at that point. We ended up getting the Windstar, it was marketed as being very safe from what I remember.
My fiancee's late husband left his van at her parents field at their farm. It was running when he parked it, and it's been sitting there for about 4 years now. I'm going to be getting together a few things and heading out to that farm within the next few weeks and seeing if I can get her to run and drive her over to my gal's cousin's house so I can work on it. It was actually in pretty good shape. So, within the next month or so there may be yet another one of these back on the road if I have my way. Merry Christmas to you and yours from a fellow gen xer who remembers these fondly.
Nice both I and my wife had em growing up. Ours was 5 speed manual rwd. We swapped the middle bench for another 3seat bench so all six kids could fit. We regularly rode behind the back seat when we had company.
You should see if you can find an 80's Toyota mini van with the manual transmission and 4WD...haven't seen one of them in several years. A guy down the street has 2 Aerostar AWD vans with good bodies but I believe both needed transmissions...ahh the dreaded Ford garbage A4LD automatic transmission box of failure.
Nice van, i also have an Aerostar van, mine is an 1986 XL SWB, it drives nicely, mine has the 2.8 Cologne V6 with the carb, with 2WD, I have a video of it on my channel, and mine also has damage on the Seats on the same location as the one in this video, runs very nice and drives very nice still, it came from Atlanta Airport originally as passenger transport from the airport to the plane
I had the panel version of the van.. It was very reliable. I got a lot of use out of it, put a lot of miles on it.. added a class 3 trailer hitch and pulled a boat with it.. Mine was a manual trans, V6
Had a bunch of these over the years. Bought em cheap and drove the hell out of them. First thing, took out the seats. That thing was now my truck. Throw down a foam pad, indoor sleeping/camping. Hauled probably 5000 lbs. of firewood logs at a time, many times. Floor to ceiling, tailgate to windshield, with just enough room for the driver. Could haul 2 full size motorcycles, one forward, one backward. Also drive my snowmobile in, up the ramp, throw the ramp in, AND close the tailgate. (extended van, of course) Loved these old workhorses.
The late 80s version with the digital dash is what I think of when I remember these. That one did look like the inside of a space shuttle with all sorts of digital readouts. My mom had one, but got rid of it when the AC kept breaking.
I'm actually driving a 1994 apple candy red with grey trim and almost illegal tint all around and it has 327,230 miles on it. I enjoy driving it and it's fuckin clean inside and out no rust on it and I sometimes call her Betsy and she's been good to me since I started driving it.
I have a 1997 Ford Aerostar with well over 200,000 miles the air conditioner heat and everything in the van still works there very well put together vehicles it's my family's daily driver and it was my great-grandfather's before it was ours
I drove one of these for a newspaper I worked for, it had the 3.0 I would beat the hell out of it and the LOW OIL light would always come on. Other than that, I like it for the time period. It was comfortable and the view of the road and all around was great with a higher driving position than a car. I liked the rear wheel drive as well.
I had a green 92 that had a factory inline 6 diesel with a 5 speed stick an a tow hitch. I paid 400 bucks fer it an traded 2 cases of Budweiser and 3 2 pounder bass fishes. Made the deal with the original owner whom is a chicken farmer. It was factory built by order to be the only diesel aerostar ford made. I had to change the entire steering system under it as it was completely trashed from sliding on black ice into a deep ditch. The body an chassis was straight, but the steering was destroyed. The car was said to be totaled by the insurance inspector. Even after I fixed er up, mines inspector said the same til I told him "I fixed it myself, take a look see." He did an said "well, nice job. Looks like you know wut to do with wrecked Ford's, how much do you charge? I got a 78 mustang 2 I'm trying to fix." An then I started fixing up cars more often fer more than jus myself.
We had them growing up and I have personally purchased two from auctions. The 4.0 was great. There is nothing quite like doing a burnout in a minivan when leaving the light. The transmission is the weak point.
First new car I ever bought was an ‘85 Aerostar standard length wagon, 2.8 liter V6, 5 speed manual. Replaced it with a ‘94 Aerostar extended length cargo van with the 3.0 liter engine, 5 speed manual. I liked both vans but the ‘94 never felt as peppy as the ‘85, despite having 10 more horsepower.
That's how I want to fix up my 91 aerostar. Even though I use her as my work van, she's still my baby. A lot of people talk about how they never see them. Can't wait till I can fix her up all the way.
You'll see a handful of these rad vans, like early Caravans and Previas, in lower-middle class areas still putzing around. Fondly remember hulking out the middle row in one piece. Thing weighed like 50ish pounds or more.
A buddy's Mother-in-law has had one since new same color as that one, no running boards with less than 50K miles. We just put the fourth set of tires on it last year as they rot off of it. She is 91 yo and drives it once a month 1/4 mile to the community center and back.
Oh 'bout 5 minutes ago when I got outta mine. In fact some dude was losing his shit over seeing it yesterday like its a 60s Avanti or something hellagood. My 70 F250 crewcab...rare. My 69 Boss 429...rare. In that context 93 Aerostar ( last year of distributor ignition) daily driver...not rare.
Loved then had day job but lay seat down put ladders in and tools and conduit and parts do electric work e the side or clean out go camping pulling old pop up camper they just fit me i wish I could get another one now !!!!!
You should see what the Ghia bodyworks concept looks like... it's actually attractive! But yeah... I remember them, too. Ford really dropped the ball by ignoring Lee Iacocca while he still worked them, because he proposed what later became Chrysler's mini-van, and the Aerostar was just another of Ford's examples of playing catch-up in a game of "following the sales-leader" to Chrysler's successful K-car based efforts under Iacocca's leadership. And, eventually, they did... when the Aerostar was replaced by the Taurus/Sable-based Windstar. Note: In the late-70s, GM also had proposed/plans of making a wagon variation of the Citation with a van-like body.
My dad bought one new in 91, that same color. It was my first car when i got my license. I loved that van. I found a '93 long wheel base about two years ago for $150. It's got the 4.0 engine. The auto trans was bad and I swapped it out for an Explorer 5 speed manual. It drives great!
@@2stroketurbo I had a build thread on the explorer forum. Serious Explorations is the site. Its a site dedicated to the Ford Explorer, Ranger and its variants. There is a small group dedicated to these vans, and a few vehicles have had 5.0L swaps! It may be of interest.
Last one I've ever seen was an all wheel drive extended Eddie Bauer 95 Aerostar with zero rust only had 24.000kms and had the 4.0 motor I am from canada
I think the wheel base was always the same, there was just an extended body available. I didn't know about the 4-cyl option, only the 3.0L and 4.0L. Some of these have been popping up on the road along with unmodified Jeep XJs--I think Grandpas are dying and Grandmas are getting rid of what's in the garage... Found your videos searching to see if anyone was outfitting one as a stealth camper, since these were really adaptable vans. We turned my father's into a locksmith vehicle when I was a kid.
We had the long wheel base with all the power accessories and the 3rd row. It was an awesome van. We also had a dodge mini van and a GMC Safari. The ford was the nicest to drive and by far the most comfortable.
