Get Your Groove on With This 1979 Chevrolet G20 Disco-Era Van

Wait until you see the van-tastic shag carpeting and fuzzy door paneling.

byKristin V. Shaw|
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An extraordinarily cheesy and embarrassingly catchy song called “Chevy Van” lit up the airwaves in 1975. It sold 3 million copies and was called “The Song of the Seventies” by Rolling Stone, reaching No. 5 on the charts. If that makes you nostalgic for the misspent days of your (or your parents’) youth, this 1979 Chevrolet G20 van could be your love connection.

Better hurry, though, because the auction is in full swing on eBay right now with just a couple of hours to go, and it’s at $11,000 and climbing.

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On the outside, the G20 may appear to be your standard-issue 70s-era conversion van with a jaunty roof-mounted fiberglass wing and custom paint in three shades of red. The van is pictured on a driveway caked in snow, but the seller says it is best suited for summer, never running on snow or salt. A painted bug shield that Burt Reynolds would have been proud of caps the hood, and the spare tire cover proclaims “Nothin’ But Good Times.” And–completely on brand–etched on each side window is an illustration of the Zig-Zag Man from the eponymous company that has been making rolling papers for 140 years now. 

When I was a kid, my mom had a t-shirt with a screen print of two sets of feet sticking out of the back of a van with the words “Do it in a van” emblazoned across the picture. I had no idea what that meant back then (“are they sleeping in there, Mom?”) but the interior of this 1979 gem is surely the real-life dream of that slogan come true. I can tell you for sure that the conversion van we had when I was growing up did not look anything like this Moulin Rouge on wheels.

Zhuzhed up by Gladiator conversions, the van was sold new to the original owner in 1979. When the second owner bought it, the van had been sitting in a covered garage for eight years but was still running. The interior—complete with a mattress set, oak table, and three swivel seats—was well worn. Quickly pulling the wooden subfloor in favor of squishy pile shag carpeting in a startling burgundy, the owner also covered the interior of the doors with white shag carpet and the mattress with new satin sheets. 

If you feel like you need to take a shower after reading all of that, you’re not wrong. But if you are suddenly inclined to snuggle with a van interior, have at it. Maybe you'll be inspired to convert your own living room/bedroom on wheels in case you miss this one. 

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Got a tip? Send the writer a note: kristin.shaw@thedrive.com

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