This is a 1980 GMC Vandura powered by a 6.6 liter a V8, the van has been rebuilt to A Team-spec, including a full repaint in the TV van’s black and gray colorway with the red stripe and rooftop spoiler.
There are few vans as famous as the one from The A Team, with the possible exception of the Mystery Van from Scooby Doo. With its big block 6.6 liter V8, this one is quicker than any Mystery Van we’ve ever seen, and it has space inside for up to eight people inside, including the driver.
This is a 1980 GMC Vandura powered by a 6.6 liter a V8 that’s been rebuilt to A Team-spec, including a full repaint in the TV van’s black and gray colorway with the red stripe and rooftop spoiler.
History Speedrun: The GMC Vandura
The GMC Vandura was part of the General Motors G-Series van platform, which ran for three generations between 1964 and 1996. While the G-Series platform dates all the way back to 1964, the Vandura nameplate wasn’t introduced until 1971 – the earlier generations were sold as the Handi-Van and Handi-Bus. The Vandura was GMC’s direct counterpart to the Chevrolet Chevy Van, they were mechanically identical in most respects, but sold through GMC’s dealer network under its own branding and badging.
Beyond the base cargo van, GMC offered several related models on the same underlying platform. The Rally was the passenger van variant, produced across multiple trim levels including the Rally Custom and Rally STX. The Gypsy was a two-passenger package intended as a starting point for owner customization. Image courtesy of GMC.
The first generation of the GMC G-Series van was offered from 1964 to 1966, it used a cab-forward layout with the engine mounted between and behind the front seats, a design common at the time among competitors like the Ford Econoline and Dodge A100. GMC sold this version as the Handi-Van (the cargo version) and Handi-Bus (the passenger variant).
These were pretty basic vehicles, with no power steering, power brakes, or factory air conditioning, and rear windows were offered only as an option. The second generation, sold from 1967 to 1970, brought a more modern curved windshield, a longer wheelbase of 108 inches alongside the standard 90 inch option, and optional V8 engines, which required a larger front grille for better cooling.
The Vandura Officially Debuts
The third generation arrived in 1971 and would remain in production for 25 years, making it one of the longest-running vehicle platforms in GM’s long and storied history. This redesign moved the engine forward of the driver under a short hood, abandoning the cab-over layout entirely. The new architecture used unibody construction, integrating the frame rails into the floorpan, with truck-derived hubs, brakes, and suspension parts sourced from the Chevrolet C/K pickup truck line.
It was also in 1971 that GMC first applied the Vandura name to its G-Series cargo vans. From 1977 to 1982, the badge was stylized as VANdura. The third-gen Vandura was offered in three main payload classifications that mirrored the classifications used on the C/K pickups – the 1500 (half-ton), 2500 (three-quarter-ton), and 3500 (one-ton). Engine choices widened considerably over the model’s 25 year run, ultimately spanning a range from a 4.1 liter inline six to a 7.4 liter big block V8.
The third generation arrived in 1971 and would remain in production for 25 years, making it one of the longest-running vehicle platforms in GM’s long and storied history. This redesign moved the engine forward of the driver under a short hood, abandoning the cab-over layout entirely. Image courtesy of GMC.
A 6.2 liter diesel V8 became available in 1982, later replaced by an updated 6.5 liter diesel in 1994. Transmission options included three and four-speed manuals (with the shifter relocating from the steering column to the floor in 1983) and automatic units that eventually gained overdrive for improved highway fuel economy, which was particularly important with the big V8s. Beyond the base cargo van, GMC offered several related models on the same underlying platform.
The Rally was the passenger van variant, produced across multiple trim levels including the Rally Custom and Rally STX. The Gaucho, produced from 1977 to 1981, was a five-passenger configuration that combined passenger-van interior trim with a large rear cargo area finished in wood paneling. The Gypsy was a two-passenger package intended as a starting point for owner customization.
Cutaway van chassis for commercial applications were also sold under the Vandura name, but these were offered exclusively in the one-ton series. The third-gen platform became one of the most popular bases for the conversion van industry that exploded in popularity during the 1970s and well into the 1980s.
Companies like Starcraft, Curtis, and Vanguard/Frontier transformed Vanduras into camper vans, mobile lounges, and Class B motorhomes, outfitting them with full custom interiors, fold-out beds, entertainment systems, and even discoballs.
The Vandura And The A-Team
The Vandura’s most important cultural moment came in 1983 with the premiere of The A-Team on NBC. The pilot episode aired on January the 23rd, 1983, with the first regular episode broadcast the following week after Super Bowl XVII on January the 30th.
Above Video: “The A-Team” was a wildly popular TV show, and it’s commonly cited as one of the best shows of the decade.
The A-Team ran for five seasons and 98 episodes through till March the 8th, 1987. The team’s primary vehicle was a 1983 GMC Vandura equipped with a 5.7 liter (350 cubic inch) V8. The van was customized with a two-tone black and metallic gray exterior, a red stripe extending from the hood line to the rear spoiler, red turbine mag wheels, and auxiliary lights mounted on the front grille and roofline.
It was driven on screen by the character B.A. Baracus, played by Mr. T. The production used multiple Vanduras during filming, at least one with a sunroof for standard shots and another without for stunt work, which did create occasional continuity inconsistencies between scenes. A 2010 feature film adaptation of the series brought plenty of new attention to the van, though the movie version was built on a different, more modern G-Series van from 1994.
GM discontinued the Vandura and the rest of the G-Series line after the 1996 model year, replacing them with the GMT 600-platform GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express. Given the rise in the popularity of the “Van Life” movement and the enduring popularity of The A-Team, good-condition, third-gen Vanduras tend to fetch a premium over other vans from the era.
The A Team-Spec 1980 GMC Vandura Shown Here
The 1980 GMC Vandura G20 you see here was converted into a tribute to the van from The A-Team, work the seller reports was carried out in 2022, shortly after the vehicle arrived in the United Kingdom from the USA.
It’s an early G20, easily identifiable by the side-exit exhausts, and it’s been kept in dry storage since the conversion was completed. The van was given a full spray in black paint rather than a wrap, it was applied in a matte sheen, with the red stripe, a gray lower section, the roof spoiler, and 15 inch turbine-style wheels that the television van is known for. The seller describes the bodywork as being in very good condition overall.
Mechanically, the van no longer has the 5.7 liter V8 it would have left the factory with. In its place is a 6.6 liter big block V8, roughly 400 cubic inches, fitted with a tuned Edelbrock carburetor and driving through a 3-speed automatic transmission. The seller notes that it runs and drives very well, and maintenance receipts covering the current ownership period are included with the sale.
The interior was built to seat eight, up front are leather captain’s chairs, behind them a second pair of captain’s chairs on twist-and-swivel bases, then a rear bench seat. Two additional individual seats were fitted by the current owner and can be removed when the space is needed.
The 1980 GMC Vandura G20 you see here was converted into a tribute to the van from The A-Team, work the seller reports was carried out in 2022, shortly after the vehicle arrived in the United Kingdom from the USA. It’s an early G20, easily identifiable by the side-exit exhausts, and it’s been kept in dry storage since the conversion was completed.
An overhead panel keeps the controls centralized for the aftermarket lighting and fans, and there’s a touchscreen entertainment system running front and rear speakers, along with an integrated reversing camera with night illumination. Both front doors, the side loading door, and the rear loading door all operate normally.
The van is now being offered for sale out of London in the United Kingdom, and you can visit the listing here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid. 
Images courtesy of Car & Classic
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
