Factory-authorized 4×4 conversions are one of the cooler segments of vintage vehicles you can get into for reasonable money these days, and it’s a hot segment at the moment given how many folks are getting into “overlanding” and other activities involving a four-wheel-drive and a vehicle you can live in. This 1987 Chevrolet G20 van was built by aftermarket conversion company Pathfinder in the 1980s and originally spent time traversing the rugged terrain of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It has survived in surprisingly intact condition and is offered up with no reserve here on eBay where bidding has reached $10,700 and the auction ends Sunday night.
I went down the rabbit hole of researching a similar vehicle a few years ago. The Ford Courier pickup was a model that was also converted to four-wheel-drive by aftermarket conversion companies back in the 70s and 80s, and I found a pretty rotten example in Georgia. I ultimately decided against it, but one thing I learned was this: these companies, despite being considered “aftermarket,” typically didn’t skimp on the good stuff in terms of off-road equipment. Pathfinder was a very well respected company known for high-quality conversions of GM vans like these, and this example even retains its original “K” emblems on the fenders and rear barn doors denoting it as a real-deal Pathfinder build. This Chevy was originally purchased by the California Department of Transportation, otherwise known as “Cal-Trans.”
These 4×4 vans are hard to find today, and many of the ones you do manage to locate have already led a hard life on the trails. In addition, given their popularity with the overlapping and van-life crowds, it’s not uncommon to find vans like these with half-hearted camper conversions undertaken inside, leaving the next owner with someone’s home on wheels to either rebuild or strip out and start over. This Pathfinder conversion is pleasing to the eyes not only because of its rarity but because it clearly hasn’t been taken apart and put back together again multiple times. The door panels and seat upholstery look to be in good shape, and the rest of the photos show a cabin a completely empty cargo bay save for plywood on the floors and side panels; this may have been a camper at one time, but right now, it’s just a blank canvas for the next owner.
Old-school bumper stickers indicate this Chevy became someone’s ski vehicle and personal exploration capsule after it was done serving the state of California; I can imagine a few DOT employees were salivating at the chance to own this Pathfinder for pennies on the dollar when it inevitably went up for sale as part of a municipal surplus auction many years ago. Photos show some rust inhibitor sprayed on a few body panels, so you’ll likely have some cosmetic work to address in the future if you’re lucky enough to take this van home, but for the time being, it looks ready to use as-is with an interior ripe for updating as a cockpit built for spending weeks at a time off the beaten path. A real-deal Pathfinder is a highly-credentialed off-roader and this one looks like a bargain at any price in a no-reserve format.
I really like it. I can’t remember the last time I saw a 4×4
van. For being 35 years old looks pretty good.
The current bid looks about as high I would go.
The ultimate SUV
I believe the Chevy vans were unibody construction. It would be interesting to see how the conversion to 4wd was done.
In my Pathfinder Dodge VanCharger they welded fabricated brackets to the unitbody frame and replaced the factory engine crossmember with their own which accommodates the coil springs and track bar. I believe the Chevy K van used leaf springs on the front instead of coil springs so they probably didn’t change the crossmember.
I assume it has an engine .
G is for GMC built, K is for Chevy built !
Both actually on same lines. Old friend worked at GMC dealership. Trucks would come in with one emblem wrong 🙄
G or K 20 is 3/4 ton G or K 30 is 1 ton. This says 30K 🤔🙄 Humm. You gotta be a real truck guy to know the difference. Anyway it’s a nice conversion build. Lots of these built in Oregon. Wouldn’t mind owning it to build my on the road vacation home.
G is the body series group, meaning van in both Chevy and GMC. K is the 4×4 series name of the full-size pickups and Blazers and Jimmys in BOTH GMC and Chevy, and C is the 4×2 series names of BOTH GMC and Chevy
Mr. Dave ,
you are right on the K being 4×4. G is for GMC not for BOTH . C is the designation for Chevy 2 wheel drive. K may be for both.
Well, no, I had a Chevy 1 ton van and it was a G30, and GMC vans were also G30 in the 1 ton. The C10,20,30 is for 2 wheel drive pickups in both Chevy and GMC
4 leaf springs, mmm – ’80s style, don’t think it’d wrk for me (esp @ this size back east is alot tighter than w. of Mississippi).
I remember alot of those awd Astro vans around back in the day. Obviously not nearly as rugged as a 3/4 ton like this. But they sure seemed to sell alot of em, and we’re ideal ski or cottage vehicles.
Looks pretty nice I have my eye on one in CA for 10G k going to jump on its pretty clean for 1987
What would Pathfinder use for differentials ?
Ford front differential to match ratio of rear
I imagine Ford diff out back as well .
Norm, sorry bumped the wrong spot. Sometimes my phone picks up my finger hovering. Didn’t mean to ” report ” meant to reply !
Most likely Dana 60 rear Dana 45 axle front.
Common in Ford, chevy and dodge. But they all have their own make too.
Believe it or not my father owned this exact vehicle. He got it at a gov auction in the mid 90’s I believe. He picked that “banana yellow” trying to match as best as possible the safety orange it was before. He didn’t want to pay the extra cost to paint the door jams or interior. I was a little under 10 at the time. We spent manny of times exploring and camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains, just like the write up said. He had put on a custom homemade tubular bumper and had some diamond plate storage boxes in the rear cargo area. Looks like those have been removed. He added the insulation and plywood. That sticker pictured on dash is from a place in Todos Santos Mexico. There was also a UMSC sticker in the back left window. He passed away in 2017 and I reluctantly had to sell it.