chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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Mood: Weary
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Astro Van Project
The Van has been Purchased! After looking on Ebay, Craigslist and Nextech for months, I found this one. Amazingly enough it was within 2 miles of my
daughters home in Palmer Lake Colorado....Not exactly what I was looking for, would have liked the Multipoint FI engine. BUT the features did it.
Cabinetry, Raised roof, Ladder (KAYAK) racks, reasonable mileage and service records. Bought it, havnt seen it in person yet, I'll pick it up 4th of
July. Then it goes to Fruita Co. to a Fabricator (Stepson) for the real stuff. 4 inch lift, new springs, new tires and wheels, flowmaster, K&N,
BIG transmission cooler....Lots of steel work...Bumper, tow points, front reciever, skid plate, light brackets...LOVE the old school KC's...All steel
Powder coated The Baja Events wagon....I'll post pics and progress as we go
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bajajudy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6886
Registered: 10-4-2004
Location: San Jose del Cabo,BCS
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Interesting
Where do you sleep?
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Russ
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6741
Registered: 7-4-2004
Location: Punta Chivato
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I had the first model line of Astro. It didn't have EFI and I think it had a 4 barrel carb that I could watch the gas gauge drop when I punched it.
Held all my camping gear and dog for the opening of pheasant seasons in Washington, towed the boat. Sold it and got a used Datsun p/u with a shell
that was probably the most trouble free car I've ever had. A neighbor has the AWD Astro and loves it but the Punta Chavito road is taking a toll on
it.
Good luck with your conversion! Looks like it'll a beast of a Baja rig. Keep a photo log for us.
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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CortezBlue
Super Nomad
Posts: 2213
Registered: 11-14-2006
Location: Fenix/San Phelipe
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| Quote: | Originally posted by chuckie
The Van has been Purchased! After looking on Ebay, Craigslist and Nextech for months, I found this one. Amazingly enough it was within 2 miles of my
daughters home in Palmer Lake Colorado....Not exactly what I was looking for, would have liked the Multipoint FI engine. BUT the features did it.
Cabinetry, Raised roof, Ladder (KAYAK) racks, reasonable mileage and service records. Bought it, havnt seen it in person yet, I'll pick it up 4th of
July. Then it goes to Fruita Co. to a Fabricator (Stepson) for the real stuff. 4 inch lift, new springs, new tires and wheels, flowmaster, K&N,
BIG transmission cooler....Lots of steel work...Bumper, tow points, front reciever, skid plate, light brackets...LOVE the old school KC's...All steel
Powder coated The Baja Events wagon....I'll post pics and progress as we go
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Ok, you forgot the most important part, the Kick A$$ Stereo system and if possible, one of those spot lights that fits on the drivers side that can be
controlled to look for the bad guys when driving in the dark.
I had 2 astros in my past they are fun, kind of a pain to work on but fun. AWD?
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8923
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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From first hand experience, skip the K&N and go for an AEM Dry Synthetic element.
My AEM element is actually larger than the K&N, and does not require oil that will negatively affect/foul your MAF Sensor.
Nursing my cooling system at Coco's Corner. Note the AEM Conical filter (for a Dodge Ram 1500) attached to a K&N FIPK II Intake system.
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jack
Nomad
Posts: 148
Registered: 12-21-2005
Location: Kamloops BC
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Mood: Eat Heavy
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Ken's got that pegged right. I had a 2001 Astro that I put a K&N into. There was a noticeable power increase with the K&N but after about a
year it contaminated the MAF sensor. I think it was worth about $400 in Canada. I went back to the paper element and gave the K&N to a buddy who
had an older Astro that did not have a MAF sensor.
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AndyP
Nomad
Posts: 116
Registered: 12-8-2009
Location: Eugene, OR
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I like Astros a lot, and once spent a couple months in Baja camping out of one. With the AWD we could drive OK on sand. I put a simple platform in
the back for a bed and stored all our junk underneath.
[img]http://potterfs.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/pics-233.jpg?w=500&h=666[/img]
[img]http://potterfs.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/img_2470.jpg?w=500&h=375[/img]
[img]http://potterfs.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/pics-240.jpg?w=500&h=375[/img]
AWD didn't get help much in that last photo, but a friendly CAT driver yanked us out.
EDIT: not sure why photos aren't showing up...
[Edited on 6-28-2012 by AndyP]
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6451
Registered: 9-19-2009
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the possibilities are endless!
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