When it comes to vehicles we’ve grown accustomed to seeing restored or at least lightly freshened up for listing on various classifieds sites, the Chevrolet G20 van from the late 80s has not been on that list of frequent fluff-and-buff specials. The earlier models from the peak of the vanning era, sure – those appeared with some regularity as preserved specimens or restored tribute vehicles. The bare bones van used by plumbers and contractors, however? Not so much. The seller of this G20 van here on eBay set out to build an A-Team tribute but changed his mind midway through, so this sinister panel van is listed for sale with bids reaching $9,300 with the reserve unmet.
I have to admit, while I don’t think it makes much sense for a restoration candidate, it does look pretty tight with fresh black paint and sitting on black steel wheels with dog-dish hubcaps. The result is a van that likely has a future as a movie prop in any film that involves a lot of random acts of violence and the occasional heist. The seller has seemingly gone all the way through this G20 despite finding a new van to use for his A-Team build, which is surprising when restoration projects with a change in direction midway through usually just end up as half-finished jobs with lots of loose ends and missing parts – so kudos to the seller for persevering.
And they didn’t just stop at a new paint job. No, the whole cabin was redone with some aftermarket enhancements and re-trimming of surfaces to make the G20 as close to like-new condition inside as possible. The list of improvements is quite lengthy and we won’t go through all of it here, but it does seem like the seller didn’t leave much of any stone unturned, noting that they replaced door latches, the air conditioning system, and all the weather-stripping, along with refreshing the suspension with a new pitman arm, tie-rods, brake shoes and pads, and more. The 350 engine is said to have been recently rebuilt, and the transmission was overhauled less than 800 miles ago.
The paint job is all new and the cargo bay floor was recently rhino-lined. The tough thing about all of this work is being able to verify that it was done to a high level; my spider sense always begins tingling when I see a crap-ton of work thrown at a vehicle you’ve decided you don’t want, as it makes me wonder how quickly the work was pushed through. Regardless, this is a G20 van, not a vintage Ferrari, so your exposure to risk seems pretty low even if you do discover some rough edges here and there. You rarely get a chance to buy a G20 that has been thoroughly gone through, so this may your best shot in the near term at owning a restored cargo van outside of buying a 70s shaggin’ van for $25,000 or more.
Nice looking van.Would look better with Silver or White wheels.
I pity the fool that pays this much,,Mr. T’s( Laurence Tureaud) catch phrase, but I read, he never said that on the show. One of the most miserable vehicles I’ve ever come across, these vans,, but met a gal with a black custom Chevy van like this that,,,well, it was a heck of a toboggan ride,,,
Mr. T’s catchphrase originated from his role in Rocky III as Clubber Lang, who when asked if he hates Rocky replied, “No, I don’t hate Balboa, but I pity the fool.”
Looks like he stopped the A-Team build well before mid-way through. It’s a black Chevy Van.
Forgot to add that a White painted grille (or chrome)
would look much better.
Matte silver with black inner slats was original and stock.
white wheels and grill on a black van ?!? .. would look hideous ; in my opion ;)
A friend of mine bought one that way -it looked really cool
for a stock van.His was a short wheelbase one,& later put
some chrome Cragars on it.
8 lug aluminum 5 slots would be perfect.
Kind of sinister looking. All it needs is “free candy” painted on the sides, lol
Flowers By Irene, or Two Guys From Quantico Pizza.
ohhh such an exhausted joke in the ever slandering of the great American van.
No, not every van is a kindnappers van.
Some brought kids to school, some where the back bone of companies great and small, some were church and family outings, some were cross country adventure, some humble dwellings for challenged or simple folks, some ice cream on hot summer dayz, some where shagging wagons and some muscle vans.
Decades of great purpose and function far more reputable and valuable than pedophilia..
but hey, if that’s the first thing that comes to your mind
Maybe it’s just me, but…………we refer to it as a Chevy van. Looks like a GMC grill emblem to me.
The VIN checks to a Chevy G20, the eBay ad seems to indicate a swap to the GMC Grille & Badge because “as we all know it looks way better…”
Most people don’t read that far.
Ya, not like there the same van or even same company
gosh
.. theyre
Neat van …but what do you do with it? Be cool for swap meets if it was cheap.Seller put too much $ in it and good luck trying to get it back .
Things it’s missing, and ought to have:
– Chevy rally wheels with chrome rings and raised white letters.
– Chrome (or at least, silver) grille.
– “Got candy?” sticker for the back.
Am I missing something here. I don’t see anything close to looking like the A-Team van. Looks just like a 88 Chevy van and thats it. No team, just a nice looking 88 van
Auction ended at $14,357, Reserve Not Met.