My van does look better now. My wife even commented one night that it looks "badass" as she looks at it when pulling into the driveway. It's all wheel drive, so I wanted it to LOOK like it's AWD. I wanted it to stand apart from all the other vans out there, but not in a bad way. I'm not done with it yet, but the suspension lift is done (not going higher).
The van's front used to sit so low that the headlights couldn't even light up down the road to see that far at night. That's what made me want to at least level the front to the rear. I thought the van had stock struts and they were too low, so I ordered the polyurethane spacers. Then I found out Pacifica struts would fit, so I bought a pair of those. Then my front tire started eating the front fender on hard bumps and potholes, and I started to wonder if someone put quick-struts on the van. When I finally did the swap/lift, I found out the struts WERE quick struts, and a low quality at that. If the van would have had factory height struts to begin with, I might not have even lifted it.
I still need to find shorter sway bar end links to fit, so I don't push the van around curves/corners. Even as it is, it's safer driving than before because I don't have to constantly avoid potholes, slow way down for dips in the road or railroad tracks, or take left turns painfully slow. My headlights shine down the road as they were meant to, increasing nighttime safety. Feels stable on the freeway at 70mph just as before. It even stops better without so much nose-dive (because old struts had weak springs, weaker than stock). It drives like my 3rd gen now, just slightly taller. I haven't gotten ABS to engage yet (no snow since the lift). I try to keep a full tank of gas, especially in the winter for lower weight ballast. I also did the lift to get through the pile of snow the plow leaves on our driveway, and for getting out of work when they plow the lot (plow us in) there.
I also like being able to find good tires for cheap, and with the size I run it's easier. It makes the van look meaner. My other choice of vehicle would have been a late 80's AMC Eagle wagon, but they are carbureted and would have been unreliable on frigid winter mornings. Then there would have been parts availability, and probably worse gas mileage than I already get. The van has more interior space, fuel injection, parts availability and AWD so that's what I chose. I'm making it work and having fun with it. It usually only has me in it, but nice to have as a back-up vehicle for the family.
