Final Touches

I’m set to deliver the van to my mom on Saturday. I’ve coordinated with my dad to come by while they’re out so I can “do a surprise thing”. He doesn’t know what’s going on either.

In final preparations, there were a few more details I couldn’t resist:

OEM Keys

In case you don’t recall, this van was stolen in transit to New York. And the original Ford keys went with it. While I had a locksmith re-key it, the new key is a boring spare. I found these blanks of the original Ford keys online and am having them copied from the spare.

“Green Goblin” Keychain

I had this snazzy keychain made to go with those fresh new keys. I’ll admit, it’s kind of massive, and that wasn’t planned. In case it wasn’t obvious, this is her nickname for her old green Aerostar. Although, I actually think she made that nickname up more recently. I don’t think she ever called it that in ’95.

Carpet Mats

New mats! Let’s face it, I never got the carpet as new looking as I would have liked to. I ordered these “laser measured” mats from covercraft that are supposed to fit exact to this car. Spoiler alert: they aren’t that precise. But they look okay anyway.

BRAND NEW 1996 Owner’s Manual

If there’s one thing I’ve learned during this project, it’s that you can find literally anything on eBay. This is an original, in the plastic, 1996 Ford Aerostar owners manual. How/why did somebody have this?

Gonna pop this bad boy in the glove box, then pray that the factory warranty magically resets🤞

New Grill (third time’s a charm)

You might remember from one of my first posts that I replaced the whole front end of the car (headlights, signals, bulbs, and grille). I was so pleased with myself until the end when I realized that the grille is supposed to have chrome plating around the edges. Sine then I ordered another grill that had chrome edges, but was for the wrong model year and didn’t fit. Then I ordered another one from a manufacturer overseas, but months later it never came. I’m told that Covid-19 really impacted their ability to keep up with demand for 1996 Ford Aerostar parts. Then I gave up for months. And then, very recently, I stumbled upon the holy grail – the correct grille – on where else but…eBay.

So much better, and just in time!

Detailing

Finally, some much needed interior and exterior detailing. As you can see I also removed the front license plate holder (lucky bastards don’t require it in Pennsylvania). It looks so much better.

I also had the engine bay cleaned. Looks brand new now, right?

Dare I say we’re ready to roll?