what's your 'dream' van?

[crash]

I often allow my mind to wander, surprise surprise, and think about what my dream van(s) would be if I could afford it. We all have dream cars, mine is an 87 GN. So, trying to stay on the VAN subject (see the wandering) ... I'll tell you mine... what's yours? :-k

I actually have 3 at the moment..

1. my current 99 astro converted to the same caddy front clip that mcfly mini's is building, the same generation of caddy front end. drop the front end 1" and paint the entire thing the caddy diamond pearl white. that one is simple, possibly even attainable. front end image below, just not slammed, sporting the TA GTA style wheels that I had on my 94 astro done in the autumnwood color to match wheels and body in solid diamond pearl paint with cladding in autumwood (stock color)


2. this exact AWD van pictured below, less the running boards, with tan leather, I'd like a shifitable setup to only run 2wd and 4wd when I choose. i'd like the leather seats front and rear to be heated. my 15" 454ss type wheels (like I have on my 99) and a 4" lift? (similar to 9dawgs) optional small electric plow attachment like a snowbear unit.


3. my 94 .. yes, the one I sold. stance and interior that it left me with. bascially, I want the van back! LOL posi rear, steel leaf conversion in rear (or air shocks or bags) to slightly rake it.... some crager SS wheels with BFG TA's .. body done in a two-tone graphite grey and metallic maroon (i think). 350 FI V8 conversion.

[Mat Mobile]

Rob, you could plan on seeing that 1st van you mention this summer at Vanfest (and it's in Ontario). The owner, Puddin' is a real cool guy and loves his Astro's. He's just not a forum kind of guy. I would like to meet you too.

So check it out: http://vanfest.vandomain.com/

And by the way... I'm guilty of hijacking... [-X

[crash]

thanks Mat.. I'll do my best this year to get to the one thing that's really in my backyard ..

[GnarliSafari]

my van, when the body was still clean, i love the rare rusty burgundy color it has, i already i like my american racing wheels and stance, maybe just an inch lower in the back....i already have the tan leather and shag carpet, i just seem to be hard on vehicles and im not so sure i like all the black primer its been aquiring lately. but there is no one to blame but myself. oh and of course a sbc would be nice as well.

[ihatemybike]

Dream van, hmmmm....

Start off with a Gray 2002 AWD Astro
window van, dutch doors, no cladding

Engine
2010 4.5L V8 Duramax Diesel 310 HP / 520 ft-lbs
Banks Power upgrades (more power, no black smoke)
Greasel veggie oil fuel system w/ on board filtration
Custom made larger fuel cell(s)

Driveline
4L60E transmission w/ Corvette servo, wide 1-2 band, Transgo HD-2 (might need stronger though)
2 speed electronically controlled transfer case (possibly wired for manual and computer controlled 4-Hi)
Gear Vendors Gear Splitter

Suspension & Wheels
4" OLV Lift
Timbrens
American Racing Vector SE rims
31" BFG All-Terrain TA KO tires

Body
Half panel conversion, replacing the side rear windows with screened backside opening panels
Front wheel well trimming
Custom ARB style bumpers
Rear mounted spare tire carrier
Roof light bar
A-Team van paint
Kick panel Herculined

Interior
Bench seats modified to lay forward and back forming a bed
Ceiling mounted video screen w/ Play Station 3
Trunk embedded into rear floor, cache embedded behind drivers seat

[reaper]

any 89-92 cargo.
windowless slider & rear barneys.
Naked interior,Just the bare essentials.
Engine would be a 383 stroker,
some exhaustwork,rear end work,etc..
17" rims ie: centrelines or american racing.
no extravagant paint,just straight & clean,prefferably white or black.
Dropped 2" up front 3" out back.
*sigh*....I have to buy myself a cargo & get this started.

[blk lt awd]

i can honestly say my dream van is the one i currently have....it was love at first sight....i guess now would be a great moment to become nostalgic. i'll share the condensed version to spare you all from falling asleep..hahah.

i was approx. 4 or 5 years old when one of my uncles friends brought over his old boogie van. it had all the fixin's. naked warrior ladies painted all over, velour interior with a bed in the back. for whatever reason i thought it was the greatest thing. then came the A-Team. looking at BA's black van made me say, wow! those burn outs in dirt were the best...hahhah.

then enter the astro as a production vehicle. it was a great time. we could play ball hockey in the streets. mcdonald's was considered a treat and so forth...haha. mini trucks were starting to become all the rage. i wasn't old enough to drive but knew that one day i wanted a done up vehicle. used to hear guys driving around with the "boom". would run out to the street to see what would roll by faster than if the ice cream truck was rolling up.

picked up my first mini truckin' magazine and noticed it full of s-10's and mazda b2200's. then the wheels started to spin....why not an astro. once i got into that mode i'd draw in my notebooks some ghetto ass sketches of what i wanted an astro to look like. determined to be different than the regular mini truck crowd i tried to convince my parents to buy one for many years. needless to say.....didn't work.

then speed ahead and it's 1995. we've bought all our vehicles from the same salesman and he became good friends with my dad. i guess going to the dealership on weekends just to hang out i may have mentioned what my ambitions were, once, perhaps twice...maybe more....hahha. it was also 1995 when i fell in love with the SS impala but that's another story for another time.

anyhow, i get a phone call after school during may. i recall it was warmer and it had to be towards the end of the month. it's my dad's buddy. we get small talk out of the way and i tell him that my dad's not home right now. i can remember the converstation exactly.....

"oh, i didn't call for him. i'm calling to talk to you."
me?
yeah, come down i want to show you something.
ummm, ok. what is it?
just come down you'll see.
ok, i'll be there in half.

i hang up the phone and am all confused. not knowing what to think i grab the keys to my mom's car as her and my sister are away on a vacation and i start driving down to the dealership.

i get there, park the car and race inside. i go towards his office and crap, he's not there. now this place being my second home pretty much i normally would've checked all the usual spots where i know this guy would've been. instead i have him paged and heart racing as fast as ever. five minutes go by and then ten...now i'm really nervous. he strolls up with a smile on his face. says to me i've got something for you. i ask what is it? he say's, go back to PDI and go to the very back and you'll know exactly what.

so i start my trek back towards the PDI area. i pass by the usual eye candy and stop at a red four door dually that has already been lowered. i've seen it before and have visions of me behind the wheel. picking up girls and so forth. yes horny teen syndrome...hahha.

i shake it off and remind myself that i'm on a mission. i carry on....picking up the pace i get to PDI. i'm looking around and i don't see a thing. the usual camaro's, beretta's lumina's the car and those ugly lumina vans, geo's, cavaliers and the usual boring cars waiting for delivery......now i'm thinking this guy is messing with me.

then i notice the large curtain drawn towards the back and more cars parked behind it along with some pick ups.....go around it and start eyeing down the rows.......WAIT A MINUTE!!

what's that in the back? it's dark and i have to get closer to see. i slowly walk up the aisle and WOW! it's a brand new black Astro. the new front end and all. it was love at first sight. right then and there i knew this is what he was talking about. i go to see if the doors are unlocked and they are. i race around to the driver's side hop into the drivers seat and just melt. i look around and all the other seats have plastic on them, the carpet is still covered in plastic too.

i notice on the dash.....it's a sold sign with my name on it. all of a sudden all of the visions i had of fixing up an astro are flooding back. what am i going to do to this thing. new car smell taking over my senses.

i run back to the sales area and he ask's what do you think? i was like great....but it's an LT....i don't nearly have enough to pay for it. he just laughs and says go pick up your dad from work i've already talked to him. i guess my dad felt guilty about my s-10.....again another story for another time.

i go to pick up my dad and he's says i know what ure thinking but i'll buy it one condition...you do nothing to it and it get's used as a family vehicle. so i crossed my fingers behind my back and agreed to everything. mom and sister got back from vacation end of that week and we went and picked it up together. that's my story.......sorry guys....i know i was trying to keep it short but.......

[mdmead]

Great story!

My dream van.... It's sitting in pieces in my dad's shop.....

[skippy]

I already had my "dream van " but like a moron I let it slip through my fingers cuz i was out of work & "had bills to pay " #-o #-o #-o ](*,) ](*,) ](*,)
All it needed was paint , some corvette ralley rims & the interior done my way . had the 350 tbi , duel exhaust , lowered , built by lockdoc tranny ( the whole van was done by him for that matter ) . I still kick my self everytime i think about it , but ...............
I will some day again .

[crash]

these are great stories, I knew we'd get some. I also knew that we'd find quite a few that already have their 'dream van'. like you skippy, my 94 was a start on the way to one of mine. I had to sell it also when Jen had her ruptured brain aneurysm. that dream at that time wasn't meant to be, as you said though, it'll come around again.

blk lt .. your falling in love early is a similar story to mine, minus all the 'new' purchases. my parents didn't have the money for new vehciles, they were always demos and always a chrysler product.. LOL .. I was part of that B2200 mini truckin' scene in the early 90's owning a couple, before my 5L stang phase rolled around. secretly wanting an 87 cargo a bmx friend owned and had put 5 stars, lowered and painted in a watermelon green/magenta fade. after the 5L thrills, my b2200 addiction became a b2200 with a FI HO 5L dream, never coming together. i never lost the image of that slammed cargo from my memory.

keep the dream vans coming.. this is pretty cool seeing whether you already own it, are working on it or are still hoping to one day attain it...

[blk lt awd]

blk lt .. your falling in love early is a similar story to mine, minus all the 'new' purchases. my parents didn't have the money for new vehciles, they were always demos and always a chrysler product.. LOL .. I was part of that B2200 mini truckin' scene in the early 90's owning a couple, before my 5L stang phase rolled around. secretly wanting an 87 cargo a bmx friend owned and had put 5 stars, lowered and painted in a watermelon green/magenta fade. after the 5L thrills, my b2200 addiction became a b2200 with a FI HO 5L dream, never coming together. i never lost the image of that slammed cargo from my memory.

weren't those the days? i think everyone remembers they're childhood and teenage years respective to their own era's.........and the late 80's and early 90's were the shiznit. b2200's and 5 L's were definitely in. i worked at an install shop and actually helped one of the owners chop up his b2200. we chopped the roof, made it into a walk thru and did a tandem axel on it while extending the bed. it got primered, he got married...and we never finished it...hahhah. i remember we were gonna paint it peach with a white interior...hahhha. if that doesn't scream early 90's i don't know what does....

off topic......well the entire post is kinda off topic but still......i think it was 94 or 95 when alberta had the mad cow scare.....mc donald's had a big mac sale...99 cents.....man....i don't think i've eaten enough big macs in that week or two to last me three lifetimes........and i could actually digest them then....hahhahah

oh i almost forgot....i actually did an astro at this install shop. this guy came in and was a little impressionable to say the least.....we had these reverse gold L.A. wires kicking around and a Saleen mustang wing......convinced him on both items......hahahah........i apologize for doing that to an astro but hey......a sale is a sale.......hahahha...damn i should've taken pictures....hahhah

[reaper]

I remeber those days aswell.
I worked at Lowriders & remember how sick I was of lowering
B2200's,5L's.Doing walkthru's,& undercarriage neon.
Everybody wanted neon *sigh*.
I also got sick of installing 5 star american racing 15" rims.
My co worker had a 87 Astro Cargo dropped & I loved that van.
I was heartbroken when he sold it to the local idiot rich kid.
I also was envious of my boss,He rolled hard in a badass Dually.
Those were the good ol'e days & I'll never forget it.

[skippy]

Damn !! you guys make me feel old !!! My good ol'days were the late 70's early 80's when vannin was in . some of the rigs we used to party out of were awesome . i remeber rollin out the half kegs at the local park , draggin out the big ass 15" house speakers out of the back of the van & crankin the tunes while we all sat around drinkin & havin a grand ol' time . never had to worry about gettin hassled by the cops unless it got too rowdy .

[blk lt awd]

I remeber those days aswell.
I worked at Lowriders & remember how sick I was of lowering
B2200's,5L's.Doing walkthru's,& undercarriage neon.
Everybody wanted neon *sigh*.
I also got sick of installing 5 star american racing 15" rims.
My co worker had a 87 Astro Cargo dropped & I loved that van.
I was heartbroken when he sold it to the local idiot rich kid.
I also was envious of my boss,He rolled hard in a badass Dually.
Those were the good ol'e days & I'll never forget it.

are you talking about larry? he had some pretty sweet vans along the way that i remember. i remember todd's dually as well. that was bad ass. one of my fav's

[crash]

i remeber rollin out the half kegs at the local park , draggin out the big ass 15" house speakers out of the back of the van & crankin the tunes while we all sat around drinkin & havin a grand ol' time

LOL.. I think i parked beside you one time back in the early 80's when I was camping.. unless there were alot of you 'types' around back then