Old-School Rear-Drive Minivans: 1986 GMC Safari vs 1993 Ford Aerostar

Sbsd 11 27 2023
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Good morning, and welcome back! I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving holiday. Today, we’re getting right back to it with a couple of old rear-wheel-drive minivans. There’s a lot to be said for a good cheap box-on-wheels, and these are both definitely cheap. Are they any good, though? We’ll find out in a minute.

First, though, we have not one, but two sets of results to look at. On Thanksgiving Day, it was MG versus Fiat. Neither one was without its issues, but the Brava’s US-market-friendly automatic transmission turned a lot of you off, and the MGB GT won in a landslide. I can’t say I disagree – I own one, after all – but I certainly don’t need two of them, so my imaginary internet money is going to the Fiat.

On Black Friday, I gave you all a glimpse at the hobby that occupies most of my free time: old RC cars. Lots of you shared your own stories about the hobby, and they were wonderful to hear. I’d like to do more RC-related pieces here when I have time; it’s good to hear there’s some call for it. Our Showdown was between two old rivals: the Associated RC10 and the Kyosho Ultima. Neither is a bad choice, but the RC10 seemed to drag up more old fond memories and took the lion’s share of the votes.

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All right; let’s check out some vans. Chrysler’s front-wheel-drive minivans caught GM and Ford flat-footed in 1984, leaving them scrambling to catch up. Both chose to enter the market with rear-wheel-drive vans, both borrowing heavily from their respective compact pickup trucks for drivetrain components. They weren’t as nimble or as car-like as the Caravan and Voyager, but they could tow and haul more, and seemed less alien to traditional buyers. Ford and GM both eventually went front-drive, but not before selling a ton of both of these vans. Most are gone now, but today we have one of each, and for bargain prices. Let’s see which one you prefer.

1986 GMC Safari – $1,850

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Engine/drivetrain: 2.5 liter overhead valve inline 4, four-speed automatic, RWD

Location: Washougal, WA

Odometer reading: 97,000 miles

Runs/drives? Yep, but needs exhaust welded back on

GM’s entry into the minivan wars arrived in 1985, and it was a bit of a parts-bin special: it used suspension parts from full-size sedans and the drivetrain from the S-series pickups. Nearly every Chevy Astro and GMC Safari was powered by a 4.3 liter V6, but some early cargo models were equipped with a 2.5 liter “Iron Duke” four-cylinder. This is one of those.

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This Safari has very low miles, only 97,000. It was owned by a school district, and probably spent its life puttering around various school grounds at 20 mph. The little four-banger is plenty of power for such use, I suppose. Astros and Safaris were technically available with manual transmissions, but I’ve only ever seen one of those in person. This one is, as you would expect for fleet use, equipped with a TH700R4 four-speed automatic.

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The seller says it runs and drives fine, but some tweaker tried to steal the catalytic converter and failed, but managed to sever one exhaust pipe. It will need a little welding to put the exhaust gasses back where they belong. Apart from that, though, it sounds like it’ll go anywhere you want it to go – just not quickly.

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Apart from a plywood divider behind the seats, this van is an empty vessel. Outfit it as a camper, or use it for work, or whatever. The Iron Duke may not have a lot of power, but it should return a lot better gas mileage than the notoriously thirsty 4.3 liter V6.

1993 Ford Aerostar – $1,500

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Engine/drivetrain: 3.0 liter (probably) or 4.0 liter (maybe) overhead valve V6, four-speed automatic, RWD

Location: Clackamas, OR

Odometer reading: 150,000 miles

Runs/drives? Yep

And here we have the Aerostar van, introduced by crosstown rivals Ford in 1986. It was more of a clean-sheet design than the Astro/Safari was, but still used some off-the-shelf Ford parts. In 1993, two V6 engines were offered: the 3.0 liter “Vulcan” V6 from the Taurus, turned ninety degrees to power the rear wheels, or the 4.0 liter “Cologne” V6 used in the Ranger and Explorer. The seller doesn’t specify which engine is in this one; the 4.0 was standard with all-wheel-drive, but this one is 2WD, and only a low-level XL model, so I’m guessing it has the Vulcan. Ford offered a stick in the Aerostar all the way up until 1995, but this one is an automatic.

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The seller says it runs and drives well, and has been kept up-to-date on maintenance. It has 150,000 miles on the clock, which is pretty low, but it’s also around the time that Ford 4R44E/4R55E transmissions decide they’ve had enough if they haven’t been maintained. Make sure that fluid is nice and pink.

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Unlike the Safari, this Aerostar is a passenger model, seven passengers, to be exact. The interior looks all right, except for some wear on the driver’s seat. If you don’t need or want the extra seats, it’s easy enough to take them out, and then you can do whatever you want with it. It’s the extended model, with an extra foot or so behind the rear wheels, so there’s plenty of room to work.

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The one thing that does bear mentioning is the difference in color on the driver’s side. Usually that’s the sign of repair from a wreck. It has a clean title, but we all know that doesn’t mean much; lots of shoddy repairs get done off the books. That color difference could just be a trick of the light in the photo, but a close inspection is warranted, I think.

Old vans get a bad rap; too many of them have creepy owners or end up getting lived in, or both. But I can’t think of a more useful vehicle than a small van. Use it as a truck, or a station wagon. Commute in it, and go play on the weekends. And these two are cheap enough to leave room in the budget for whatever modifications or additions you care to make. All that’s left for you to do is choose.

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)

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55 thoughts on “Old-School Rear-Drive Minivans: 1986 GMC Safari vs 1993 Ford Aerostar

  1. I have owned both an Aerostar and the Safari’s cousin the Astro van. The Aerostar ate up 3 transmissions and left me stranded with a pre-teen on the way to a soccer tournament. I did like the Aero – except for the tranny. Comfortable seating, digital dash, room for family of five. I had the V6 Astro for 12 years, and still have some of it. Long trips – for soccer mostly – but also Coachella from Alberta. The Astro lives on today in my daily driver – a 1939 Chevrolet Master 85 Businessman Coupe. Motor, wiring harness, tranny, gauge cluster, steering column and gas pump. Still super reliable drive train with almost 300,000 km. 27 mpg highway and quarter mile in just under 15 seconds.

  2. I’ve always loved the Aerostar’s styling. The minivan of my childhood was a dark green over gray cloth ’93 Grand Caravan but the pinstripe and red interior call to me.

  3. Had a 5 speed Aerostar with the 3.0 when I was 17-19 y.o. Got it with 190k, drove it until 220k when a head gasket or something turned the oil to milk… I didn’t bother finding out and sold it for $300. Was almost the perfect car… one-legged burnouts, decent fuel economy, great for camping, road trips, etc. Wish I still had it.

    1. Both are fugly, but the Aerostar does in fact accept a V8 without much fuss. though I imagine you would want the entire engine to axles from a 2000 ish 2WD Chevy truck to avoid immediate detonation upon the first attempt at a one wheel peal.

    1. The Aerostar isn’t actually based on the Ranger. It used a hybrid unibody/frame rail platform. The suspension was different as well: A-arms instead of Twin I-beam upfront, and a three link coil sprung rear axle out back.

  4. Since the van would ostensibly be used to tow something that I’d like to purchase in the near future (and likely regret later), I’m going Aerostar here. Even with the 3.0, it’s got well over 4,000 lb towing capacity – almost 5k but I wouldn’t be inclined to get near that on anything this age. If the Safari had the V6, that would be the call, but an Iron Duke won’t get it done in this case. The red velour Ford is also in a place where it’s so uncool that it’s cool. At that price, I wouldn’t be afraid to use it as a pickup truck either.

  5. Ordinarily I’d go with a Safari/Astro all day, but the misery of driving anything with an Iron Duke makes me say no. Make mine the Aerostar, potential accident damage or no… It’s cheaper, anyway.

  6. My mom had an long Aerostar when I was a kid, blue on blue. My best friend’s dad also had a short Aerostar, red on grey with a manual. Easy pick today.

    1. Pontiac offered a bunch of “Super Duty” hot rod parts for the Iron Duke to soup up the early Fiero. They got up to around 140hp. I suspect those parts are long gone….

  7. I saw that Aerostar over the weekend on my usual “what if” trolling of Portland Craigslist — and if I lived any closer, it’d be hard to say no, just for that RED interior. We’ll take the Ferd.

  8. Iron Puke is a non-starter in any vehicle. Plus, look at that glorious Ford whorehouse-red velour interior!
    If the interiors were equal and the GMC had the 4.3, I’d go for that. My FIL still totters around in an Astro for his handyman business, and it’s made of granite.

  9. I like both, but went Aerostar here. The condition of the red interior sold me.

    Normally I’d be more interested in the Safari but in this case, the Aerostar seems to be better loved, and likely had an easier life than the Safari, mileage be damned.

  10. The Aerostar is the better choice here. It has a complete interior, and it’s red too 😀

    However, I might have considered the Safari more if it had the 122 instead of the Iron Dukee

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