The stock rims are 14" (I run the factory alloys, the tires are "supposed" to be 205-75R14 but I run 215-70R14). Those rims came on the van and are 15". I think the brand/designation is "Modern" -- I am not an aftermarket rims kind of guy, so I'm not up on this). The fronts had 1/4" spacers on it when I bought it, and I was getting a very odd vibration -- turns out the rears were rubbing the inside of the rear inner fenderwells, so I added two more 1/4" spacers and it quieted right down. The new owner is a retiree and never loads the thing up, so they'll probably work fine, but though they look really nice, I have doubts about clearance when loaded up -- and I do load my grey '89 up sometimes.
That roof rack on mine isn't for show, I've hauled at least two pallet-loads of plywood home on that rack over the years. And even though it's a shorty, a 10' stick of PVC pipe or lumber will fit completely inside -- resting the forward end on a towel on the dashboard!
I was hauling a load (well, 1500 lbs anyway) of gravel to work on my boss' util trailer last week, the tongue lock failed and the tongue popped off. The gravel was back-loaded so the tongue went up -- and bashed a hole in the tailgate (hood & tailgate are both fibreglas). Boss is going to have it repaired, it
is repairable, est. was $600.
Five years ago, I was seriously rear-ended:
Obviously, I had to replace the tailgate. The one I've got on there now was a red '86 from a JY, stripped it and had it match-painted ($350) and had the emblems removed and holes filled ($35 ea). So no "Aerostar XLT" and blue oval on the current 'gate.
Since I seem to have hijacked this thread and changed it into Aerostar discussion, here's a couple more fun photos. A borrowed trailer last April (will explain this below):
I used it after the
Portland Auto Swap Meet ("Always in April") to pick up this '83 LD28 from Tigard on Sunday:
And, just in case you think that Gen1 Maximas are the only ones with the door cracking problem, here's the prepped-for-welding door attached to that blue '90 long above:
This one I welded. Both doors looked like this. So did my grey '89, but that one I fixed using a doubler plate solution similar to what I did on the
'82 Wagon.
.