Sky-High Mini Van: 1992 Ford Aerostar

You have to be either the biggest jokester on the planet or a very cool influencer to do what someone has done to an innocent mini van. And then you’d have to have a lot of cheek to sell that 1992 Ford Aerostar as a rolling chassis, ie. without engine or transmission. But someone’s doing it, putting what looks for all the world like monster truck underpinnings under the van to lift it high enough that you’d need to use a ladder to get in. If adding running gear to such a project is your kind of jam, then gather together a flatbed and $12,500 bucks to make this yours. Find a way to get to Manchester, PA after reviewing the ad here on facebook, and good luck to you. Jack M was our tipster on this one, so wave hello to him and call out your thanks.

This is indeed a marriage of opposites. The Aerostar was a mini van offered at the height (not a pun) of popularity of such vehicles, 1986-1997. It was, interestingly enough, offered mostly as RWD (not a front-driver) and in some AWD configurations. Engine sizes were from 2.3 liters to 4.0 liters of displacement. Those of you who remember the pre-SUV era will remember items like this Ford along with Chrysler Town and Country vans and Chevy Astro vans filling the parking lots of soccer fields and big-box stores in the above-mentioned era. None of that matters here, though. This Aerostar has a Ford F-250 chassis from the 1970s as its underpinnings, along with what sound like solid and well-chosen suspension components including Rockwell two-and-a-half ton axles, and here’s a clue as to the engineering: both front and rear ends feature front axles, narrowed, which infers that someone who knows how to engineer a home-built project is the father of this assembly. You can see for yourself in the accompanying images, which also make the point that this van is, well, tall. Those of you with engineers’ eyes can report in on the quality of this build based on what you see.

The ad says it has been driven 999,999 miles, obviously just an easy way to fill in a check-box task when writing up the ad. In truth, good news: the enormous tires are like new. Of course, that means the project stalled short of running gear. This buggy used to run a Chevrolet small-block, apparently, and it still has hydraulic steering components and a divorced 205 transfer case. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that that won’t be the only thing that’s divorced when this project turns up in its new home. Possibly the presence of an aluminum radiator and aluminum fuel cell, which are part of the deal, will mitigate the sticker shock that getting this idea to actual drive-down-the-road status will engender in other members of the new owner’s family.

Can you see yourself sinking $25 grand into this project? Or maybe you have a suitable Chevy 350 (let’s just say) sitting around waiting to motivate a new vehicle, and this project is something you’ve never thought of but are intrigued by nonetheless. Are you just someone who likes a challenge? There must be other reasons why you would even look at an ad like this. None of them probably make much sense to an outsider, but we’ve all got our dreams. Maybe you’re the kind of person who likes it when people at cruise night say things like, “I never would have thought of doing something like this!” To each his or her own reward.