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.
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.
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 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 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
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
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.
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 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 😩
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 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
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 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.
I have and drive a 1988 Aerostar Cargo van. 3.0 V6 225,000 miles, I've rebuilt engine & tranny at 200,000 miles. . Runs like new. It has a special order factory interior for undercover police stake outs . Two comfortable Capitan's chairs in front. Cargo area had electronic survailence equipment I removed. Wood paneled interior with movable curtains to hide interior cargo area. Bought it from a Police dept with 5000 miles on it in about 1990. Drove it all over US for yrs and still drive it locally. Has heavy duty tow hitch. A/C, Heater & Overdrive, good power & mileage. Love this van !
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.
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 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
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.
@@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 :) !!!!
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.
@@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
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
My dad had one of those when I was a kid, can't remember what year, but it had the older style steering wheel, the gear shifter and hand brake was on the floor, and it had the digital gauge cluster. And was fully loaded with power locks and power windows.
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.
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 remember my old boss bought two aero stars back in 1992 ,that were called areosport for a fancy body trim.he had a short wheel base that had the 3 litre and the long wheel base with the 4 litre engines and only rear wheel drive only.also had a co worker that had an 1987 areostar 4 banger with a three speed auto transmission on the floor.
My parents bought a 95 in 97. It went through two siblings before finally coming to me in 2006 with 270,000 on the dash. Sold it with 312,000 and was still running fine. Thermostat was the only issue.
Nice vid! Interior reminds me of LWB Chrysler voyager. It was a front wheel driver, floor shift - 5 speed, with a 2.5 litre diesel. Due to a crash on the right side - we got the car cheap but never could get the proper right side drive shaft - despite several welded transplants from Toyota sedans.
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.
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.
Haha! That's exactly like my family's old Aeorstar van in my driveway right now!! We were still driving it last year until it had transmission issues. Might put it back on the road after watching this.
I very nearly bought one of these when I was living in Germany. It had the Cologne V6 and 5 speed manual. They wouldn't budge on the price so I bought a Caravan, again with a 5 speed manual.
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 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
I guess it depends on your region. I still see them pretty regularly in northern california, at least a couple a week, not including the one in my driveway.
I always thought these were so cool when I was a kid, they just don’t exist around here anymore even though I remember them being everywhere when I was really young. I’m in the rust belt so it’s weird to see one not all rusted out
My neighbour had one of those. I still hear the telltale sound of the noisy power steering box these vans use.
my dad had one, the long version :)
That's power steering sound is the Ford Turbo
Lol 😂 still making that weird sound lol
Thanks for your comment. I thought I needed to change my daughter's PS pump. Now I know it's just how it is. :)
The Grand Marquises have the same power steering whine
I had the Eddie Bauer edition with overhead computer and the back seats converted into a full bed
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
Thats an awesome story, I wish nothing but the best for you and your family!
Thank you! It means a lot
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.
Greg Howe how can you not know your “girlfriend” is 6 months pregnant?
I’m 19 and I just bought a 1994 Aerostar. I’ve taken it up note in my state and we’re going to a drive in movie tonight lol I absolutely love it
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.
I converted a 4.0L aerostar van to a manual using a mustang T5. Ford should have offered the 4.0L with a manual
"They just don't exist anymore."
Um... I'm looking right AT one!
Junk
I checked online 2 days ago, there are some for sale less than $4,000.00.
@@NyuuMikuru1 , I picked one up for 350.00 . Running strong .
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
Wow! The minute I heard that open door chime it shot me right back!
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.
irishauto you are hardcore dude
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 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.
It's pretty hilarious a ford Aerosmith
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
wow, been a long time...
Classic RWD, the way Van should be...
@Eric Diaz Nope, the Aerostar was rwd or awd
FWD allow for a much taller cargo area, because there is not drive shaft to the rear.
I had one when I was in college. It had digital dash, short wheel base, and AWD. Those were fun to drive.
I have 1 With 400 Hp Turbo.. It goes
My Last Aerostar Went 509K miles No issues.. Except 5 Transmissions
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.
transit can do the same thing.
@@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
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 bought a '93 brand new, and kept it for 17 years. I'm thinking I got my money out of it. It was still running strong when I sold it.
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 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 😩
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.
Sears was shit! Shows it cause they're long gone now!
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
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.
Absolutely the roomiest mini van ever built!
Yessir. Right Smart purchase this van. You buy this vehicle, treat her proper, she’ll be with you the rest of your life.
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.
I have and drive a 1988 Aerostar Cargo van. 3.0 V6 225,000 miles, I've rebuilt engine & tranny at 200,000 miles. . Runs like new. It has a special order factory interior for undercover police stake outs . Two comfortable Capitan's chairs in front. Cargo area had electronic survailence equipment I removed. Wood paneled interior with movable curtains to hide interior cargo area. Bought it from a Police dept with 5000 miles on it in about 1990. Drove it all over US for yrs and still drive it locally. Has heavy duty tow hitch. A/C, Heater & Overdrive, good power & mileage. Love this van !
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 have a nice one. 1997 Ford Aerostar XLT. Her name is Van-Go. I pulled the seats out, put in a cot and camper gear. She is awesome for Van dwelling.
Omg this van was my childhood! This video brought back so many memories! Thank you for this time capsule!
The front end kinda reminds me of a Dustbuster. LOL
That's the state-of-the-art aerodynamics this vehicle had. Some say it was inspired by a mighty cardboard box.
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.
@@dwbogardus The rear heat and AC were super cool features for the early 90s! Glad to hear there's atl least one like it out there. Keep on truckin!
I remember back in elementary school, some girls dad had it all decked out with wheels, side Skirts, ect. I seen one a few days ago.
"When was the last time you have seen an aerostar van!?"
Yesterday I saw an aerostar cargo van! I still see them sometimes
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
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.
These are extreme nostalgia for me too! Very well said, loved the video 👍🏻
Hell Yeah .. I miss it .. load of memories .. it was my first car !!
@@TechFreak51 what was it like? Did you enjoy it?
@@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 see one every so often. The rocker panels are usually completely blown out.
I’m 26, and I remember seeing both these and Windstars a lot when I was a kid.
We had a blue one, 1990 model year. My wife absolutely LOVED that damned thing.
Ha. ! If it worked and did the job... well
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.
This is one of my dream vans to own
Fr??? Are they that special? My mom has one but she doesn’t take care of it that much
@@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 But believe it or not there is a cult following for these and there are people that would give their left nut just to have one
@@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 really like the old Aerostar mini van with the 2.3 I4. Hand crank windows are cool, less hassle.
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.
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 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 actually remember growing up with nothing but these as family Van's. I actually still have one in my back yard. It's a 1988 with a 5 speed manual
Rented one for several days back then. Loved it. And yes, i liked the looks. Still see a few in my town.
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.
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.
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.
Had a couple of Taurus. Just looking at that Aerostar dash brings back the memories.
I like these. Would love to find one in decent shape that I could totally restore and make it look new. Love the rear wheel drive setup in these.
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 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.
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.
Man, I Grow up having an Aerostar and yet was in a automobile accident on the aerostar- Good Times!
I had the choice between one of these, an Astro or a Previa and I chose the Previa. Never regretted it for a second, now that was a space age minivan
And looked like a spaceship too,that's why they had next to no resale value in my area.
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
My dad had one of those when I was a kid, can't remember what year, but it had the older style steering wheel, the gear shifter and hand brake was on the floor, and it had the digital gauge cluster. And was fully loaded with power locks and power windows.
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.
My dad had one of those for a while, had to have been older than that one. Does bring back memories.
That dorky styling is really working for me. Kind of wish I'd had one of these. Thanks for sharing. God bless
Looks a little like the Ford Transit van.
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.
They were made when putting computers in cars was becoming a thing. That was the only drawback to these other than the rust
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 remember my old boss bought two aero stars back in 1992 ,that were called areosport for a fancy body trim.he had a short wheel base that had the 3 litre and the long wheel base with the 4 litre engines and only rear wheel drive only.also had a co worker that had an 1987 areostar 4 banger with a three speed auto transmission on the floor.
My parents bought a 95 in 97. It went through two siblings before finally coming to me in 2006 with 270,000 on the dash. Sold it with 312,000 and was still running fine. Thermostat was the only issue.
I see those everywhere down here in my area.. i used to have a manual transmission v6 awd one years ago.. it was green. Now i miss my van
When are you replacing the brake master cylinder?
I remember a time when these things were everywhere. I can’t remember the last time I saw one on the road though.
My dad had a similar aerostar but it was a silver comercial / cargo version (4 cyl.) in which I learned to drive stickshift...
Ah the memories...
Nice vid! Interior reminds me of LWB Chrysler voyager. It was a front wheel driver, floor shift - 5 speed, with a 2.5 litre diesel. Due to a crash on the right side - we got the car cheap but never could get the proper right side drive shaft - despite several welded transplants from Toyota sedans.
I still drive a 1992 Aerostar ..My unckle gave it to me about 6 years ago ..I drove it up to west Virginia ..still driving it up there
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.
I’m thinking of purchasing 95’ to covert into a camper van. Any advice??
My family has two of them! Both 1990 and one is the XL and the other one is the Eddie Bauer! Both extended wheel base with the 4.0.
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.
I bought one in '93. That color. 3.0 with a 5-speed manual. Wish I had a new one. Solid car.
Haha! That's exactly like my family's old Aeorstar van in my driveway right now!! We were still driving it last year until it had transmission issues. Might put it back on the road after watching this.
I very nearly bought one of these when I was living in Germany. It had the Cologne V6 and 5 speed manual. They wouldn't budge on the price so I bought a Caravan, again with a 5 speed manual.
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.
Come to Central Pennsylvania and take your pick of AeroStars
I’ve had one of these vans for 13 years and I love it.
ZI had one and put magnetic flames on it to give it some attitude. I still have the flames if you want them!
man i loved my Aerostar!
This is the exact van from my childhood. Oh the nostalgia is strong!
My dad had a black and grey xlt i think...oh man...lots of road trips and good times with that van and would love to get my hands on one
yeah I just remember them when I was growing up in the early 90s
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.
They're awesome vans forsure. I actually love the look of them. I may be buying a 93 with a 4.0 V6. Anybody know is it hard finding parts for them?
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.
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.
My dad had a 1990 or 1991 XL. Two-tone paint was badass.
I learned to drive in an extended red 95. Loved it.
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
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.
best best mini van ever made
I guess it depends on your region. I still see them pretty regularly in northern california, at least a couple a week, not including the one in my driveway.
looks clean I have seen few that clean these days.
I grew up in a 1989 Ford Aerostar. What I would give to get my hands on one!
I've been driving that XL maroon 3.0 since l bought it in 2004 for 500 bucks.
Just turned 151,000 miles, runs like a champ.
It had the futuristic aerodynamics of a cement block.
I always thought these were so cool when I was a kid, they just don’t exist around here anymore even though I remember them being everywhere when I was really young. I’m in the rust belt so it’s weird to see one not all rusted out