Thread: 1985 Astro V8 "Ole Yellar" Project Van

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The Ole Yellar project van is a concept and not really tied to any van per say.I bought this 1985 conversion van out of KY and dolly towed it home to Roch 3yrs ago.The 1989 V8 Astro donor van I bought out of In and the same thing dolly towed it back to Roch.

The 1985 has never failed to take me wherever I wanted to go.Really has become a old friend.Really doesn't owe me dime one.But up here in the Roch,NY rust belt,it's body was becoming less and less likely as the body for this project.I was thinking I was going to go threw the process of repairing it and do a slider door handle shave,slider door delete(welded shut for one smooth panel),side windows fillers.

When I surf Craigslist,I almost never look at the cars/trucks section and just by chance I found on Monday a listing for a 1989 Astro cargo Florida van that was here in Roch,NY.It has tons of new parts on it.So I called the seller out of curiously and arranged to go see it.It is a really solid body with the normal rust/peeling paint issues on the roof(which won't matter because I would be putting the conversion roof on it from the 1985 Astro and one rust repair on the driver's side wheel well.Also no side window fillers because it is a cargo already.I shot a offer to the seller and he told me not one penny less.So I walked away from the sale thinking the price was too steep.

On Tuesday it was still bugging me.Here was a rust free van in Roch from down south.I feared I was going to go threw that in the pit of your belly feeling while I was doing all the repairs on the 1985 that I let 1989 get away which in the end would be a much nicer van.So I called him back to offer a deposit to him buying it to be the end of the month.He accepted the offer and I now own the 1989 cargo.I will take the conversion top from the 1985 and put it on the 1989 cargo.

I am thinking this is a major step forward in this project even through I was money I would have rather not spent.I'll put up pictures of the new additive to the family when I can.Kind of excited to have gotten it.

Oh yeah-two wks before this I bought a 1989 factory service manual because it was a really good price and I thought I could use it on the 1985.The donor Astro V8 van was a 1989 too that means the parts I have from that will fit the cargo.A chance happening to find the cargo,buy a manual,and gotten the donor v8 van that is a 1989 too??.All I am going to say is I do think someone above is looking out for me.