1987 Chevrolet Astro review from North America

It had an appetite for alternators! I had changed the alternator so many times, the last time, I was timed. It took about 5 minutes total, from the time I opened the hood, to the time I closed it!

The transmission died twice! what else would you expect from a crappy automatic? I'm sure if it had a manual tranny, there would have been no problem!

Engine changed once. My fault!

Dash dimmer quit working, so I connected the dash light circuit to a hot terminal in the fuse-box, when the key was on, so were the dash lights!

Despite it's problems, tell me of another STOCK mini-van that can do burn-outs, 360's, and figure 8's all on dry pavement, with STUDDED winter tires, all while hauling 8 people!

My Astro van, or as it also called, the BAD A (double s) -TRO was dark blue, had four bucket seats and a rear bench. The rear speakers were crap, by the time I got it, so I put in some KLH house speakers, with 15" woofers behind the rear bench, hooked them up to a small 500 watt amp... the acoustics were perfect! The bass would hit so hard, that it would blur your vision!

It was a shelter from the cold in the winter months. I was one of the few young people in town with a drivers license, so I'd see several friends walking around, and I'd pick them up! After a while

I'd have a full load! One night I counted, 15 people, and a dog, in my Astro! and it still went up these hills like it was empty!

I have taken my Astro camping, it made the perfect little camp-shack. Pop out the rear seat, turn it around, facing the rear, and pop it back in. Put the KLH speakers on the ground, after pulling off the stays for the rear doors, so they would open all the way and back it up to about 12 feet from the fire. you had the music, the place to sit, and if you rolled the 4 seats down, they made 2 long benches. Like 2 cots to sleep on!

Eventually the second engine gave it up! It was so weak, it barely made it home. I pulled it into the back yard, and it never ran again.. It became a storage shed for the last two years of it's life, but I never once walked by that van, and failed to remember the good times that were possible because it was there!

I have a lot of memories in the old van! It brought a tear to my eye to see it go! But the spirit of my Astro lives on! It's parts are still running on the streets of this town! Yes! Most Definitely, I WOULD love to have another old Chevy Astro Van!!!