I am the proud and happy owner of a 2005 Chevrolet Astro L S passenger all wheel drive with about 250,000 miles. As far as I know, it is all original. Original engine and transmission and everything. The 03 to 05 was the best😊
The 4.3s are a really good engines,as long as the coolant is changed and the intake is tightened as routine service as well as oil changes with filter and the transmissions seem to hold up well if taken care of.overall a pretty decent little van
@@lawnmowerdude it was a school van before I purchased it. Service record show that was done at around 217,000 miles or so. I am currently at just under 246,000.
I have an ‘04 with 212,k mikes now and counting and I drove it to Philadelphia to visits some friends and I urban camped in it for a few days. It was quite a scene
I used to have an Astro with the Vortec V6. Thing made it to 310,000 miles before I sold it, only ever did basic maintenance. Before I moved I would still see it being driven around by the new owner from time to time. Was an amazing machine.
I've had a Safari passenger model and currently have a Safari cargo version. AWD and anti-lock brakes. The boxy design is what makes them perfect for cargo , boxes or bicycles.
Literally LIVED in a one of these for 2-3yrs. It was a 1980s era class-B+ allegro camper conversion with the V6. Thing ran strong with zero issues. Uncle had a standard van version. Basically, the S-10 of mini-vans. Good times and shame theres nothing on the market like it today.
Drove an awd one from the late 90s often for work, to pick up customers and drive people around and the 4WD was awesome in them, they went everywhere in all weather. 18 inches of snow was barely a problem even on some pretty steep grades, and the rear bias made them fun to powerslide when it was slippery out.
I saw the thumbnail and had to watch. We had the same color one as in thumbnail. I waked up at 4:30 every morning in high school and delivered newspapers by throwing them out the windows of the ASTRO. Such great memories with this awesome vehicle.
I currently got a 1990 Chevy Astro 4.3L V6 RWD Cargo with 290k and I love it, I lived in it and now I live with it. It's so juiced for just a Van. It's got some quirks but it still starts up and drives every time.
I had a 2001 Astro hi top conversion that I bought in 2014 with 125k. In 7 years I put 90k on it and the only thing the engine ever needed was a distributor cap but I gave it plugs and wires too. Of course I did an alternator, water pump, power steering but that's any vehicle. I think it was the most dependable vehicle I ever owned, and I'm a Ford van guy! My Astro still ran great when I sold it with 216k I kinda miss it
I have an ‘04 Astro for work. I paid $900 for it with 167,k. It was in great shape but had an electrical problem. I fixed that, put some wheels from a ‘22 GMC Sierra on it & it’s still a great van with over 220,k miles on it now.
I owned an '87 Chevy Astro (2.5 4 cyl.) cargo van and a '90 G.M.C. Safari Waldoch conversion in '09! They were both "okay", but the MoPars were MUCH BETTER in EVERY CATAGORY!
Even as a kid I always thought they were the coolest vehicles. I was a teen in the early 2000's during the SUV boom, so to fit in I got a Grand Cherokee. I wish I would've gotten an Astro, probably would have had a lot fun with it.
I'd been looking for an Astro cargo van for a while, and almost bought one, if it hadn't been so roughed up on the inside. I still want an Astro though. Great vans.
My''94 has 123K on the cluck, where my '95 has 326K on the clock. both have a rebuilt tranny. Neither have e rebuilt motor. the 95 got a master gasket set installed last trans build. doesn't tick at all. I had a bunch while building a service business. Only one was destroyed because of a drunk driving it after hours into a tree. Parts are almost unobtanium for series one. Love these vans...
I always wanted a Astro Van because when you saw them lowered with actual nice wheels they looked so good I might have to buy one and fulfill that teenage me dream minivan
The Astro name was used the 80s production of the GM/Chevy heavy truck cabover division...the GMC Astro and Chevy Titan. They stopped production in 1987 and formed White/GMC
That's awesome! I've always loved Crager SS mags! I watched a show where some guys took a second gen Safari AWD like we had and turbo'd it as a what if like the Syclone and Typhoon.
The transfer case / front differential of the AWD models has been known to withstand 800hp launching with drag radials. With only upgrades to the cv axles. Still a sought after setup for street racing
It's amazing GM hasnt changed the look of those commercial vans in decades, they've made their money on those. The ASTRO was neat, nothing really like it these days.
Great vans and wrenched on them alot as a mechanic through their runs. The 4x were more wotk, but solid platforms. Unfortunately alot of buyers didnt understand what made them great was the truck inspired bones and complaints from soccer mom type buyers....
Great video. You forgot that the AstroO was HUGELY popular in japan and inspired a while segment of vehicles that even Kia started emulating like the Soul.
These astros are great damn vans, got a few right now myself, 2 2000s, and a 99. One of the 2000s is a teal awd, with a now blown motor, which thankfully, is easily swapable to a 5.3l v8. I also want rwd and Awd or 4x4, so thats being swapped out. Originally looked into doing similar to another van of mine, and it was going to be a lot of work, however, I was very happy to see that its very easy, and chevy literally makes all the parts. Most I may need is driveline. Engine literally falls out
Recently asked my sister to sell me her '95 with 285k miles. Nope, it still looks new sitting next to their 1986 Camino SS. Have to rewatch your vid, many details to learn.👍🏾
The Astro and Safari were more so aimed at commercial buyers than at families. The M-Body platform that these vans was actually different from the Chevrolet S-10 platform
The bad news is even the S10 was basically bean counter cost reduced junk. So the M body was doomed to be even worse in most ways. These were mostly the dark years for GM.
GM actually had a prototype for a minivan before Chrysler, called the Nomad II. If you look it up, it looked very similar to what Chrysler came out with. Another GM van fact is they had a trim package for their full size Chevy G vans called Caravan well before Dodge used that name.
'The Astro Van' was the nickname of the vehicles that drove the astronauts up to the launch complex once they were fully suited up. The Mercury thru Apollo astronauts were all given Corvettes as well , pretty sure that is also all part of the "astro ventilation " those cars and possible other GM vehicles had
Currently GM only wants to offer big expensive gas-guzzling SUVs so that they can make more profit. Also, Ford. They care more making higher profits instead of making affordable, fuel-efficient and reliable family cars and minivans
These vans were tougher than a bucket of nails. Probably one of the best vehicles General Motors ever made.
I am the proud and happy owner of a 2005 Chevrolet Astro L S passenger all wheel drive with about 250,000 miles. As far as I know, it is all original. Original engine and transmission and everything. The 03 to 05 was the best😊
Have you changed the intake manifold gaskets yet?
The 4.3s are a really good engines,as long as the coolant is changed and the intake is tightened as routine service as well as oil changes with filter and the transmissions seem to hold up well if taken care of.overall a pretty decent little van
@@lawnmowerdude it was a school van before I purchased it. Service record show that was done at around 217,000 miles or so. I am currently at just under 246,000.
I have an ‘04 with 212,k mikes now and counting and I drove it to Philadelphia to visits some friends and I urban camped in it for a few days. It was quite a scene
The transfer case is actuallly worse than the earlier model other than that I agree
I had an 87 Safari. Took the seats out and went camping in it every weekend for years. Great vehicle.
They were okay!
I worked at the Baltimore assembly plant making these in the early 1990s there was a whole lotta drinking going on to get these beauties manufactured
I'm driving a 98 with over 200K miles on it. I bought it 10 years ago for $100! Best $100 I ever spent!
I believe this!
omg 100! Amazing! I been trying to get one for less than 3000 with less than 300k miles on it lol.
I remember simple times when suvs were rare and mini vans were exactly how suvs are today. Cars, minivans, and wagons ❤
in those times, SUVs were just trucks with shorter beds that came with rear seats and a removable top
@@MrOiram46 most suvs I remember were 2 door mostly just like the trucks. Only a few super long suvs with the main one obviously being the suburban
I used to have an Astro with the Vortec V6. Thing made it to 310,000 miles before I sold it, only ever did basic maintenance. Before I moved I would still see it being driven around by the new owner from time to time. Was an amazing machine.
I've had a Safari passenger model and currently have a Safari cargo version. AWD and anti-lock brakes. The boxy design is what makes them perfect for cargo , boxes or bicycles.
Literally LIVED in a one of these for 2-3yrs. It was a 1980s era class-B+ allegro camper conversion with the V6. Thing ran strong with zero issues. Uncle had a standard van version. Basically, the S-10 of mini-vans. Good times and shame theres nothing on the market like it today.
Drove an awd one from the late 90s often for work, to pick up customers and drive people around and the 4WD was awesome in them, they went everywhere in all weather. 18 inches of snow was barely a problem even on some pretty steep grades, and the rear bias made them fun to powerslide when it was slippery out.
I saw the thumbnail and had to watch. We had the same color one as in thumbnail. I waked up at 4:30 every morning in high school
and delivered newspapers by throwing them out the windows of the ASTRO.
Such great memories with this awesome vehicle.
Since GM & Ford both left the minivan market in 2009, that left Chrsyler the only American automaker to offer a minivan
I think it's quite ironic that Chrysler introduced the minivan concept and when the chips fall they're the last(American) standing.
Was the Mazda MPV ever considered a domestic product?
Ford still has a minivan technically (Transit Connect)
And now it’s quite literally the only car in Chryslers line up, they are killing the 300 this year.
@@SayAhhNot when Mazda is a Japanese company.
I have a 1990 gmc safari absolutely love it best car ever my dad had a 1986 gmc safari
I currently got a 1990 Chevy Astro 4.3L V6 RWD Cargo with 290k and I love it, I lived in it and now I live with it. It's so juiced for just a Van. It's got some quirks but it still starts up and drives every time.
Loved the sharp crease in the middle of the front fascia !
I had a 2001 Astro hi top conversion that I bought in 2014 with 125k. In 7 years I put 90k on it and the only thing the engine ever needed was a distributor cap but I gave it plugs and wires too. Of course I did an alternator, water pump, power steering but that's any vehicle. I think it was the most dependable vehicle I ever owned, and I'm a Ford van guy! My Astro still ran great when I sold it with 216k I kinda miss it
To this day I'd LOVE an Astro/Safari AWD high top conversion!
This is the most classic bangin' little Chevy van! I swoon when I see a well kept Astro.
I have an ‘04 Astro for work. I paid $900 for it with 167,k. It was in great shape but had an electrical problem. I fixed that, put some wheels from a ‘22 GMC Sierra on it & it’s still a great van with over 220,k miles on it now.
Drove the Safari and the Astro, and they were awesome.
I was born in 1980, these were all I saw! Then worked on then drove. Great Video!
Wow the memories....I remember being enthralled by that jingle as a little kid..."Chevy, CHEVY, Astro, ASTRO!"
Best mini van ever produced
I owned an '87 Chevy Astro (2.5 4 cyl.) cargo van and a '90 G.M.C. Safari Waldoch conversion in '09! They were both "okay", but the MoPars were MUCH BETTER in EVERY CATAGORY!
We had an 89' Astro in Maroon then a 99' Astro in Green. Those were the days.
I have one of these and still love it
0:50 🚨Dad Joke Detected 🚨 "Dedicated Van Base"😂😂🤣
Even as a kid I always thought they were the coolest vehicles. I was a teen in the early 2000's during the SUV boom, so to fit in I got a Grand Cherokee. I wish I would've gotten an Astro, probably would have had a lot fun with it.
The most manly minivan built!
We still have our 2000 Astro awd that was bought in 2001. 320,000 miles and still going.
They're still so popular the prices are higher than any other older minivan
Man I was getting mad nostalgic for these lately, the epitome of 2000s family transport in Santa Ana
We rented an Astro for a mother's day roadtrip. I recall it was a very nice vehicle.
I wish they still made it, perfect work van
I'd been looking for an Astro cargo van for a while, and almost bought one, if it hadn't been so roughed up on the inside. I still want an Astro though. Great vans.
I have an 02 I'll sell you.
These were TUFF!
My''94 has 123K on the cluck, where my '95 has 326K on the clock. both have a rebuilt tranny. Neither have e rebuilt motor. the 95 got a master gasket set installed last trans build. doesn't tick at all. I had a bunch while building a service business. Only one was destroyed because of a drunk driving it after hours into a tree. Parts are almost unobtanium for series one. Love these vans...
I wanted an Astro van bad in the mid 90s. Another great video!
I still see Chevy astros driving around as work vans
I just bought one $500 run amazing 140,000
I always wanted a Astro Van because when you saw them lowered with actual nice wheels they looked so good I might have to buy one and fulfill that teenage me dream minivan
The Astro name was also used for one of GMCs Cabover Semi trucks.
The chevy Corvair Greenbrier deseves a shoutout as it pre-dated the Astro by 20 years to compete with the vw bus!
The Astro name was used the 80s production of the GM/Chevy heavy truck cabover division...the GMC Astro and Chevy Titan. They stopped production in 1987 and formed White/GMC
I see you are headed for 100,000 subscribers Pat. Keep up the good work.
Hey deserves it and much more!
One of the best mini vans out there.
These vans are among the most reliable vehicles ever made . They still popular on the road after so many years .
Best minivan ever!!! 😍
Definitely a cool van
I had an Astro and a Safari. They were both great and trouble free.
Hey I dig those little vans. I wouldn’t mind have a conversion one today.
I would love to have another one. I had an 87 lowrider on Daytons and a 94 with a 350 conversion and cragar SS
That's awesome! I've always loved Crager SS mags! I watched a show where some guys took a second gen Safari AWD like we had and turbo'd it as a what if like the Syclone and Typhoon.
Yeah, I always liked the Astro!
For a future Video: Dodge B Series / Ram Van!
Yeah, I've got a 1980 Dodge B300 MaxiVan!
I have a 97 Astro.
206k miles. Runs and drives fine. About 21mpg.
The Caravan and Transsport always struck me more as the mom car and the Astro was more likely to be a dad.
1995 is a special year....1996 front end with 1994 interior
Así es. También es mi año favorito.
Former Astro owner here.
The V8 swap greatly improved this vehicle’s shortcomings.
5.3 or?
@@nicklikesradio
5.7 vortec.
This was three years before LS variants.
loved this episode
Using the truck plan is why they were the best.... im currently looking for a 2005 awd
Here in georgia usa, i fairly frequently see these on the road. I always liked them.
The transfer case / front differential of the AWD models has been known to withstand 800hp launching with drag radials. With only upgrades to the cv axles. Still a sought after setup for street racing
AWD Astro van with a gen4 5.3 and one of them Chinese whistling hair dryers would make a hugely awesome sleeper
It's amazing GM hasnt changed the look of those commercial vans in decades, they've made their money on those. The ASTRO was neat, nothing really like it these days.
I drove an Astro van as a Courtesy for Riley Chevrolet for customers, the Astro was a really good choice.
Just for FYI, the 1984 Sheepdog van at the end of this episode was actually based on a Ford Econoline van.
Yes I know that wasn't a GM van, I just loved that scene and figured I could borrow it here
@@MyOldCar CHEVY CHEVY ASTRO ASTRO
What you have you done to me
They were assembled near where I lived in MD
I used to own 1990 buick century i had custom dual exhaust on it from same generation grandprix but now rarely seen one for years still. Road worthy
Great ending!
Great vans and wrenched on them alot as a mechanic through their runs. The 4x were more wotk, but solid platforms. Unfortunately alot of buyers didnt understand what made them great was the truck inspired bones and complaints from soccer mom type buyers....
Great video. You forgot that the AstroO was HUGELY popular in japan and inspired a while segment of vehicles that even Kia started emulating like the Soul.
Actually I did mentiion its popularity in Japan near the end.
@@MyOldCar oh wow. Gives me an excuse to watch again. 😁 I was waiting on it but was also multitasking at the same time.
Thanks 😊
The Astro name came from the class eight diesel truck section of GMC. GMC Astro/Chevrolet Titan starting in 1969
Please do an episode on the Mitsubishi Diamante
What’s that? Never heard of it
@@42luke93it's a full size sedan larger than the Galant
CHEVY! CHEVY! ASTRO! ASTRO! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU! 😂
🤣🤣🤣 even at the end of the video
These astros are great damn vans, got a few right now myself, 2 2000s, and a 99. One of the 2000s is a teal awd, with a now blown motor, which thankfully, is easily swapable to a 5.3l v8. I also want rwd and Awd or 4x4, so thats being swapped out. Originally looked into doing similar to another van of mine, and it was going to be a lot of work, however, I was very happy to see that its very easy, and chevy literally makes all the parts. Most I may need is driveline. Engine literally falls out
Recently asked my sister to sell me her '95 with 285k miles. Nope, it still looks new sitting next to their 1986 Camino SS. Have to rewatch your vid, many details to learn.👍🏾
Astro-Astro! These cans were so unreliable! Love it!!!
had a good laugh at the end. Should have seen that coming.
I owned one used it for work beast 👌
If they made one of those new today I would buy one
I still see the cargo/work versions of the Astro everywhere, must be because of the 4.3 V6 or the Iron Duke
It's the 4.3 Vortec And the towing capacity.😊
It's weird seeing that van again, it's because the same shape and size as a normal SUV now
It'd be so cool if the Astro made a comeback as a hybrid minivan.
it was the only mini that looked like a real an and was and still is popular with vanners
i have a 2003 with the glass top i love it been working on it for 2 years to bring it back
Loved ❤ it. Thanks so much.
The Heartbeat Of America. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
The Astro and Safari were more so aimed at commercial buyers than at families. The M-Body platform that these vans was actually different from the Chevrolet S-10 platform
The bad news is even the S10 was basically bean counter cost reduced junk. So the M body was doomed to be even worse in most ways. These were mostly the dark years for GM.
Thanks for this!
Painters love them.
The awd system was used on the syclone, Tony Angelo is building a clone and used the awd settup and 4.3 from it
I learned to drive in an '86 manual Astro. By age 14, I was a grizzled stress veteran with a 100,000 mile stare.
An Astro comeback would definitely work as an EV for GMs portfolio. Possibly out sell the traverse 7:1
I drove a shorty GMC Safari one of the first Buick Pontiac dealership parts runner van. The Southside of Indianapolis I worked for
GM actually had a prototype for a minivan before Chrysler, called the Nomad II. If you look it up, it looked very similar to what Chrysler came out with. Another GM van fact is they had a trim package for their full size Chevy G vans called Caravan well before Dodge used that name.
'The Astro Van' was the nickname of the vehicles that drove the astronauts up to the launch complex once they were fully suited up. The Mercury thru Apollo astronauts were all given Corvettes as well , pretty sure that is also all part of the "astro ventilation " those cars and possible other GM vehicles had
GM engineers modelled the Astro after the space shuttle.
Had a ‘91 AWD for about 2 years but had a lot of issues so we went to a Camry and kept it for 8 yrs.
I used to work in the satellite company that produced the Liteflex composite springs for them. We called them M-vans.
Nice touch on dubbing in the Astro jingle with Dumb and Dumber.
Please do a video on the Ford Explorer sport trac pickup
Keep asking and see what happens.
I had a couple of Dustbuster U Bodies, the '02 Astro I rented once had a softer quieter ride but higher from the full frame.
Currently GM only wants to offer big expensive gas-guzzling SUVs so that they can make more profit. Also, Ford. They care more making higher profits instead of making affordable, fuel-efficient and reliable family cars and minivans
They build what the market wants, stop being such a little tyrant.
Tell your hero Joe biden to sell his gas guzzling V8
💀💀💀💀💀 Wanna hear the most annoyong sound? You caught me way off guard. 😂😂 Love this channel!!
Astro is amazing