Real or Fake? Church-Owned Chevy G20 Pace Van
Pace car editions have extended to the full cadre of vehicles, including trucks, SUVs and of course, convertibles and coupes. A Chevy G20 Beauville van, however, is not the first thing that comes to mind as a potential pace vehicle. The seller of this 1993 Chevy G20 van claims he bought it off of a church group that hasn’t used it in several years. Whether it’s the real deal or a dealership creation is up for debate. Find it here on eBay with an opening bid of $3,900.
We all know dealerships play fast and loose with making duplicates of whatever that year’s pace car is. The G20 features the correct colors and logo for the 1993 Indianapolis 500, and in years past, GMC and other brands have extended the pace car treatment to other vehicles, like the GMC Sonoma and Jimmy. However, there’s little evidence out there that Chevrolet ever expected their G20 van to wear that year’s regalia.
Supposedly, a church group used this passenger van for a while before they parked it. It sat idle starting in 2012 and the seller noted rough running supposedly due to bad gas. Overall, it looks a bit tired and the interior is what you’d expect for carting church groups around. While the motor holds good oil pressure, the seller wouldn’t recommend daily use at this point as it sounds like there are still a few gremlins to work out. Fortunately, if it is legitimate, the paint job and graphics look pretty solid.
Here’s what one of the actual pace cars from that year looks like, as Chevy did market the C/K 1500 pickup as a special edition customers could own. This one is listed on eBay for a fairly heady price, but it’s also in as-new condition. Whether the G20 van for sale here was ever intended as a pace vehicle is certainly a question mark, but can you imagine a better rig for carting your friends to the next running of the 500?
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Comments
The van is a G30. As shown in the VIN, it’s a one ton chassis.
I’m sure its a real indy pace van. I remember seeing one of these during that time. Chevy did offer pace trucks, cars, tow trucks for indy 500 events.
I’m sure you remember fords 1979 indy pace tow trucks.
yes it is a G30. I had a G20 I bought as a “lark”. I had a G20 on order and the dealer said they had bought a GM “special” at auction that was used as a show vehicle. It had every option except the rear bed option. I later discovered it had a unique motor as it required an LT alternator. The local Chevy dealer said is was an “adapted” Corvette motor. It was a bruiser and would lay rubber!!! Loved it until some creep poured brake fluid into the oil.
They used these to shuttle track safety crews and such. Just another vehicle on the track. It didn’t actually pace anything.
This would make a great wheelchair van for my mother in law! Been
looking for something like this to transport her power chair as a dedicated lift van can sell for as much as $300,000.00 here in Florida.
I know this because I have a friend who is quadrapalegic and that’s
what he paid for his nearly 15 years ago. I might be able to convert
one like this rather than buy a new one.
That would make a nice W/C van provided you would not have to do too much reinforcing for the weight of the lift mechanism. Check out that C/K 1500 pick up truck posted here and listed on eBay and then see the Seller’s other items for sale. Wow!
Ad sez: “A/C does not work…. I would suggest a tune-up”. Uhhh yeah. Tune up the A/C. This has rear A/C also. Being a former church van means maintainence was pretty sporadic if at all. Bet this baby hasn’t had an oil change since Slick Willey was fornicating in the white house. This baby is gonna need a lot of work, and after all that, you got an antiquated van (design dates back to 1970) with 81K miles. Starting price needs to be lower for this filthy, poor running piglet.
I want the Redline 400 Flight Cranks he has for sale!
Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/182687396572
Hahaha — I have the same van, in white, sitting at my shop. Nearly identical condition and issues, and has also been sitting (since 2014). You can have it for free if you can tow it home!
So, does that mean the Indy decals are worth $3,900??