Noob with a Chevy Astro-from Germany!

[Astro_Kraut]

Hey Guys!

I'm Marian,18 years old, and finally,after begging for years my father finally gave in and I kinda "inherited" his Astro that has been sitting in a barn for almost 5 years now.
So at first, A few pics of that beauty:

and the interior:

I don't really know much about the car and that's why I registered on this board.
My dad always bragged about how rare this Astro is.Apart from being rare over here in general, are these 3 little windows on the driver's side really that rare? I found almost none of these on Google.
What about the interior? with the 2 rows of Captains Chairs? Is it common?
I am not sure of the glass fiber Fenders,too. I guess some experts on here might answer these questions in about one minute
Also,there is a Chevy SB in there. Is there a simple way to find out what exact engine this car is running? because popping the hood does not really help looking at the power plant
All I know is,that it is going horribly strong compared to the 60HP Volkswagen I am used to

I saved up a few thousand bucks to spend on it and there are some things left to do - what do you prefer on here, opening a new thread for smaller concerns in the according category or sum the questions up in a project-thread?

I guess there is quite a lot to come as I really love this car

greetings from Germany,
Marian

[chevymaher]

Very nice van.Second row buckets are common.But yours looks like a conversion van.Not factory upgraded afterward.And very nice interior at that.
V-6 is what it should have.If it is a small block somebody put it in.The V-6's look identical to the V-8 just shorter.It came with a 4.3 V-6.
Welcome to the site.

[Big_kid]

Welcome aboard!

[Mr_Bowtie]

Welcome!
I have seen those 3 windows on the driver's side before on other conversion Vans. Looks like you got a nice clean Van to enjoy!

[Jasen]

Welcome to A/S

[ProStreet_LS1]

Welcome

[Astro_Kraut]

After going through the all the documents I found and talking with my dad in detail I can add a few more Infos (and the ones I forgot in the first post)
-My dad pulled the engine out of a crashed C4 Corvette,he says.as he is also dead sure it did not have the Crossfire Injection it could be all between 306 and 411 hp. Ah well,fairly enough for that good old Astro anyhow I guess.
-I found papers that suggest there is a TCI 700 Transmission in it,so RWD of course (forgot to mention that)
-built in 1990
-roughly 77k miles on it.

good to know that my Dad bragged for a reason concerning how rare these windows are.

I am grateful for the warm welcome,especially of the mods but I still wonder how you like things to be discussed-in single threads for every little concern or one single build-thread to handle them all.Because there are quite a few questions to ask! (I just want to avoid a "stop that idiot from creating all these threads/ruining the overview"-rant)

Marian

[Phantom]

Welcome ,

Very nice van ,, especially for the year it is,,
The corvette C4 engine was available from 1984–1996 with the 84 having crossfire and with the 85 model year having 230HP and HP increases took place through 96 , so in order to get specifics a little research is in order .

Things that pertain to your van and things you do to it normally are done in a single build thread.
Any questions you have about vans in general; there are specific forum sections that you post your questions in to keep similar topics together ,, so if you have questions about transmissions there is a section for that ,, questions about electrical related matters there is a section for that ,etc etc , check out the home page and scroll down.

Looks like you a van that will bring you lots of fun , nice and only 77k miles on a 90 should last a long time

[97cargocrawler]

Wow! That looks and sounds like an awesome van! Looks like you're gonna have a lot of fun in the back! It's gonna need some curtains

[JuneauCabbie]

Willkommen zum Forum!

Looks like you got a gem, and for a good price. Low mileage, and it looks like the body and paint are in great shape.

The fiberglass fenders were part of the camper conversion, as are the smaller windows, the table, and probably the rear bucket seats. When it left the assembly plant, it was probably just a basic cargo van with no side windows on the driver side and only the sliding door window on the passenger side. Does it have cushions that convert to a bed for camping?

I'm sure it's a lot of fun to drive with the Corvette V-8 your father installed. You could probably smoke a few Porsches and Audis on the Autobahn with that!

I wish had a van like this when I went to watch the Tour de France in 2004.

Just curious, is Marian a male or female name? I know it can be either in Europe, though it is usually female here in the US.

If you plan on doing a lot of work on it, you probably should start a project thread under Projects/Builds rather than here in Introductions.

.

[JuneauCabbie]

You might be able to get more info by using the VIN (should be visible in front window in front of steering wheel).

Try http://service.gm.com/dealerworld/vincards/

Also http://www.vehicleidentificationnumber.com/
http://www.nastyz28.com/decode.php

http://chevyresource.com/corvette.html may have info on the engine based on the engine number

[94 Van Guy]

Welcome to the forum Marian,

Keith

[Drahken]

Welcome aboard

[Astro_Kraut]

Wow! That looks and sounds like an awesome van! Looks like you're gonna have a lot of fun in the back! It's gonna need some curtains

actually,there are curtains.You can see them a bit on this picture

2 on the rear windows,one on the slider door-window.
The small windows are equipped with shades which can be pulled down. with the tinted windows you absolutely can't look inside

Looks like you got a gem, and for a good price. Low mileage, and it looks like the body and paint are in great shape.

zero bucks is always a good price,lol. Low mileage for an Astro,kinda.Did you know over here Opel (so GM) sells a "lifetime warranty" for their cars,that actually ends at 100k miles?
Anyhow,the paint is alright,although it is splintering on the roof. hard to see,but I will fix it for rust-protecton.

[...] Does it have cushions that convert to a bed for camping?

see the picture posted above.Is that what you mean? Also the middle seats and the shotgun seat can be spun 360 degrees.Not sure about the driver's,though...

I'm sure it's a lot of fun to drive with the Corvette V-8 your father installed. You could probably smoke a few Porsches and Audis on the Autobahn with that!

the torque is more interesting stepping on the throttle definetely causes wheelspin,even on dry tarmac. It's not that fun on the Autobahn,though. At roughly 120mph things are getting a little unstable.

Just curious, is Marian a male or female name? I know it can be either in Europe, though it is usually female here in the US.

Dude reporting in!

If you plan on doing a lot of work on it, you probably should start a project thread under Projects/Builds rather than here in Introductions.

I will do as soon as the paperwork is definetly done.It's a real horror to legally get this car on German roads!

.

Also,thanks for the links! I will definetely try to find out what the VIN can tell me.

[97cargocrawler]

Awesome! The seats rotate so you can watch the folks on the bed....that van would be extremely popular here in the San Fernando Valley.

[Lumpy]

Awesome! The seats rotate so you can watch the folks on the bed....that van would be extremely popular here in the San Fernando Valley.

Ya Ya! Der Autos Rockin nine Knockin!

Tag AstroKraut.
400 horses AND a bed. Wowenzie..


Lump