Chevy & GMC Vans

Oops, that last pic shows it does have a solid axle under the front.

I'll wager the side door still slides on an extended support, note in Brutalis's last pic the door handle is still in the original position and the open door shot still has the upper guide bar visible.
Of course I may be wrong, but it is a lot of weight to be hanging off the door pillar. The slider door leading edge would also have to be modified to clear the passenger door when it was opened.
Shep

Sure would be cool if he would pic post to clear that question up.

I'm gonna put my money on hinges, if you look at the photo i have numbered it 1 to 3, #1 is the old track for the slider without its bar, #2 is the check strap, it appears to come from under the headlining rather than the track, #3 is a nylon strap door pull, if the door still slid open you would not be able to reach the strap to shut it......well thats how i see it, Over to you Brutalis...whats the answer....Johnny

DAMN!

I can see you guys are interestet in the slite door. It can be opened 40-50 degrees. Mattblackratbus have figure it all out.
My friend (ovner of the red Astro) is writing down all the detail of the car. He is more or less the designer of the big Astro . He will post the details here. I will try to follow up with more detail pictures later.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!! And once again "SAFARI'S RULE".

....Johnny

Until I saw Peter's ZZ and the silver 4x4 here, I thought only the cool astros sat LOW.

I am digging the silver astro.

Man...I'm liking the geometry on that thing.

For now, how 'bout just tire size and gear ratio? (Did I miss that info while trying to kep the drool off my laptop?)

I'm thinking that is the Astro in the video of "How to reseat the tire bead with starting fluid". Unless the friendly Metro Iceland GM dealerships sell lots of the "ZR Big Ice & Snow" package vans!

Johnny! You win I lose . Although I could'nt live with just a 50 degree opening. That would be a real struggle to get the sheep in.
I really love this van, can't wait for the build spec. I suppose it comes with years of having to contend with extreme weather conditions, but these Icelanders sure can build some awesome looking machines.
Shep
Brutalis, how many more are out there?

Hi guys

My name is Gunnar, also owner of the red Astro W/tent on the first photo. It seems that those information’s and pictures, my friend Erling („brutalis“) posted in, has stir up some attention and chatting but first I would like to correct Erling about „Iceland Astro/Safari“ cars, mine is a ´96, also my friends silver Safari is also a ´96 on 38“ not 36“ tires.
We like Astro/Safari because they have lots of space and pleasant power over the diesel jeeps that are popular her, but we are three mad guys here that see some other use for Astro/Safari, by the way, we pay 7.5 DOLLARS FOR THE GALLON OF GAS so you should stop complaining about your gas prize.

Now about those cars, starting by mine :
It is a 1996 AWD and I bought him as a wreck car after a rollover and I rebuild him myself and the color is ruby red, and I like to use that car as a semi-jeep in summer and hauling my snow sled ( AC 2001 MC 800 ) in winter, I took him to a jeep modifying shop and they raised the body 6 centimeter (around 2 ¼“) between chassis. This is the only one here with that modification. Then I put on a 31“ tires on 16x8 alloy wheels and added some alloy belly pan that I designed myself so I would not have to worry about hitting a rock in the oil pan when me and my wife goes into the highlands of Icelands with rough roads and rivers. And to avoid the car bouncing too much, I replace the shocks with adjustable Rancho 9000 and later I added Rancho air adjusting system.
And for summer camping I have a „sleeping“ bench seat that I turn into flatbed at campsite where I, my wife, and our young daughter sleeps and then I put up my universal car-connecting-tent for cooking and dining as you can see on the first picture.

Because I like snow sled trip more than jeep trip at winter, I go sometimes with my friend, Svavar, whom own that highly modified silver Safari into the highlands in winter jeep trips, and we like to call his Safari „Icefari“ and that a heck of a machine !

The Silver Safari:
It started out as a 1996 Safari AWD but Svavar didn´t use anything of the AWD stuff because it´s too weak for his kind of trips. It´s better to use AWD for this kind of modifying, because the frame is more suitable and also the AWD/4WD transmission. First he put in a part-time transfer case from a Blazer and with some small modifying it fits and then he connect the end of frame and rear suspension fastener with steel profile pipe ( my idea ), similar like racers do in race cars. Then he added 9“ rear axle with no spin locker and 4 link air suspension to that steel profile pipe. Front axle is a spacer 44 reverse pinion with air locker, coil suspension and 5.13 gear ratio, not 4.88 as I wrote previous, in both axles and Rancho 9000 shock absorbers front/rear and wheel span is increased by around 10“ and tires are 38” mudders on 15x14”alloy wheels. To pump up tires after deflation (key element to drive on snow) he changed the air condition pump in to air pump and added an electrical pump at the rear for the air suspension.

Then it was needed to cut the body to get more clearance for more suspension travel and then he put on a special Icelandic made fender flares that had to be fitted to the body. Because there is only TWO gas stations in the highland of Iceland, we have to bring a extra gas along, so those winter trip jeeps have a extra gasoline tank and this has about 120 liters extra. For longer trips he can add some gasoline cans at the front of the car and then he have nearly total of 300 liters of gasoline. If he gets stuck out there, at front and rear is a female hitch where winch are connected and platform for mud jack.

AND NOW THE STORY ABOUT „THE MYSTERY SLIDING DOOR“ , it seems that this door „opens“ the most speculation about Svavar´s „Icefari“ but that door thing is actually very simple, He just had two hinges welded at post between front and sliding doors, some modification on door post because sliding door edge need to go into post while opening, all sliding stuff removed and original door opening handle and locker used. And to open that door you just pull handle, door poops out at rear and you put your finger into that slit and pull! and those straps were just last minute fixed before we left town, and I came up with that idea to use those straps and strap handle, but its a heavy door so it open just a little, if you want to open that door more you need to strengthen that post.

There is a extra lights on the car and when you are in the middle of nowhere, like in the picture where I am standing at the car on glacier „Vatnajökull“ you need good navigation and radio and we use laptop with GPS and VHF radio. And as you can see on that photo, there is NOTHING as far as you can see, except for snow on glacier. In that trip we were going to mountain hut in the middle of that glacial, weather was so bad we found that hut by GPS point. There is more about this car but I think this is enough, if there is something special you guys would like to know you just ask.

Finally it´s Erling´s (brutalis) car, he is the modest, its a 1998 Astro AWD with 2“ raise at rear and Rancho 9000 on all corners and he is thinking of similar modification for road and camping use as mine.
One last thing, our crappy GM dealer here is only interesting in selling Opel cars from GM so that dealer has sold only one new Astro , the rest of Astro/Safari in Iceland, about ca.35 cars, are imported used or through former Naval base and out of them are two on 35”, at least four on 38” and one on 44” tires.

We, the „three Astro/Safari amigos“ are used to work on ours cars and we have compete in rally and quartermilerace in the past and I also own a ´67 RS/SS Camaro, waiting for restoration and Svavar has a ´69 RS Camaro show condition car, as you can read, we are much into American cars but that´s another story.
P.S. the newest picture with the duo cars is taken last evening.

Greetings from the top of the world
Gunnar, Svavar and Erling

Thanks guys
I had come across your winter glacier crusing last winter and must say you guys are nuts! In only the best of terms
Hell, I only plow snow with mine....

Gunnar, Svavar and Erling, thanks for the update i would just like to say i'm glad that you found the site, and your vans rule .....Johnny