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.