Back when I was growing up, The A-Team was my favorite TV show.  I tuned in every week to see Hannibal (George Peppard), BA Baracus (Mr. T), Face (Dirk Benedict), and Murdock (Dwight Schulz) shoot it out with bad guys.  I suppose since the show centered around an elite-former-military-unit-now-mercenaries, shoot outs were inevitable and expected.  But what I liked best about the show were not the shoot outs themselves, since no one really died.  More than the shoot outs, I’ve enjoyed the preparations for pending confrontations with the villain of the week.  I liked watching the A-Team lay out traps, set up barricades, and manufacture a contraption while their theme song played.  Despite the “set up” scenes being played over and over again every week, I thought they were entertaining and I looked forward to seeing them every time.

The A-Team Van

A-Team Van Models for Sale on eBay

The A-Team would not have been complete without a dependable, kick ass transportation.  That’s where the black hot rod-like 1983 GMC Vandura with a distinctive red slash, rear spoiler, and mag wheels came in.  Many fans at the time, and today as well, coveted the A-Team van.  It was appropriately driven by BA Baracus, the muscle of the group who also served as a mechanic while in the military.

The  modded GMC Vandura was always involved in car chases or getaways that seemed to be appropriate for race cars.  Often there were screen shots of it peeling off, making tight turns, and, many times, jumping.  It went off-road in a few episodes as well.  And still, it came back week after week as fifth member of the A-Team.  Very dependable!  And very cool.

A-Team: The Movie

There’s a 2010 film project to release the A-Team as a big screen movie.  For now it lists Liam Neeson as Hannibal and Bradley Cooper as Face.  I’m curious on how they’ll make the van.  I hope it’s not an SUV.

Photos of GMC Vandura

See GMC Vandura Van for sale on eBay.