New Member - MO

[77bc]

Just picked up my first Astro today. 97 rwd passenger van, 111,500 miles. Body has a few dents here and there, paint is what I would consider to be "fair". Lotsa scratches and a crappy job with a touch up kit!




Plan to drop it 3" in front (spindles and springs) and would like to go 3" in the back. Open to suggestions on whether to go springs in the back, or with a flip kit.

Darn previous owner put brand new BFG Long Trails on it that are 215/75/15's, and they are mushy as can be. Will probably wear them out and then swap to a 225/60/15 tire with a stiff sidewall, like the Fuzion HRI. I have been running those on my Chevy Malibu, and they really brought that car's handling to life.

[AstroAustin]

First of all WELCOME! Congrats on the purchase of the van
Thank you for posting photos right off the bat. You must have noticed we always ask for them anyways.

Plan to drop it 3" in front (spindles and springs) and would like to go 3" in the back. Open to suggestions on whether to go springs in the back, or with a flip kit.

Great idea doing spindles on the front. Those are by far the best way to drop the front.
In the rear go with a flip kit. If you are real handy in the shop just do it yourself with some Ubolts and fab up some brackets. If you aren't, then just buy the Belltech or DJM or a kit of some sort.

Great looking new van! Hope you hang around this place.

[77bc]

Thanks for the welcome.

I had an S-10 ext cab that I had dropped 4" front, with spindles and springs, and 3" in the back, with blocks. The spindles are the way to go, for sure.


After posting my first post, I took a tape measure to the wheel openings, and decided with the existing tires on the van, that 2" front and 3" rear will give me the "right" stance.

The dropping project will more than likely be a winter project. Before I do that, I believe idler arms and an alignment are going to have to get me through, until I can talk my wifey into releasing some more "play money". Then the cold air, MAF sensor will be next, and then a catback, and then.........the list goes on...



Here's my other projects that I have going on, too...


1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe


1978 Triumph Bonneville (wrecked bike that I obtained that I am piecing back together)

The Astro is going to be my daily driver, in the mean time, replacing my 2000 Chevy Malibu beater.

[77bc]

...discovered my tranny was 1 quart low. Could explain the horrible gas mileage (combined with a heavy foot)

...sold my 2000 Chevy Malibu, to help pay for my van purchase.

...took the van to get inspected. Failed, due to worn out idler arms.

...bought O'Reilly's store brand idlers, since I didn't want to wait to have them order the Moogs over to the store. Also, weighing my time, the cost of their idlers vs the moogs, the fact that theirs has a lifetime warranty, and I was trying to get the thing back together tonight...I went cheap. $85 for the set, versus over $200 for the Moogs.

...found that my tie rod separator tool was destroyed by a friend of mine, when I loaned it to him. Had to ride my bicycle back to O'Reilly, to get their "loaner tools", because the wife was gone in her car, and I had blocked the hot rod into the garage.

...Installed the idlers, in no time.

...cleaned up real quick, drove the van to take the tools back to O'Reilly, before they closed. Noticed a HUGE difference in the way the van drove.

...filled up the tank, since I had driven over 200 miles since Sunday.

...Figured my mileage to be 19.83MPG. Much better than the Saturday trip home from Tulsa, picking up the van. Much to be said about driving the speed limit, taking advantage of downhills and resisting the temptation to stand on it, going up the other side.

...will do my darndest to get some money paypal'd out tonight.

...photoshopped a slight drop on my van.

[AstroAustin]

Excellent!
The van looks so good with the photoshop drop on it. You should post a Before and After in the photoshop forums.
19.83 MPG is not bad at all as far as gas mileage goes. That is pretty decent actually.
I love the coupe, BTW.

[77bc]

Excellent!
The van looks so good with the photoshop drop on it. You should post a Before and After in the photoshop forums.
19.83 MPG is not bad at all as far as gas mileage goes. That is pretty decent actually.
I love the coupe, BTW.

Thanks. I like the look with the drop. It's gonna be a daily driver, so nothing radical, as I have been known to put over 500 miles on a week...

I was quite pleased with the close to 20mpg, before getting into messing with the intake and swapping O2 sensors, exhaust, etc... Gives me someplace to start from, though.

I went ahead and put the pic's in the Photochop area, along with about a 3 1/2 inch top chop pic. I can't imagine doing that project, as it would require a TON of metal work, having to lengthen the roof sections between the window openings, and probably widening the top a bit, but it looks cool to me, and is easy enough to do in photoshop. LOL