Serious fans of the A-Team will pity the fool who thinks this Van is the one used in the show. While it’s painted in a similar paint scheme, the extra set of wheels in the back instantly gives away that it isn’t the Vandura from the show. It does have a tie to the A-Team though, as it was commissioned and built for Mr. T! Reader Joe P had been on the hunt for this van after a photo surfaced online of it sitting in a parking lot, but he couldn’t pinpoint its location. That was until recently!

From Joe P – A lot of people, without reading the story, will automatically say it’s not The A-Team van which is correct, but it was a van Laurence Tureaud (Mr. T) had commissioned built by Tandem coaches in California. The Van was found in Ford Heights, Illinois. I had seen photos of it in the past someone captured, but to no avail on the location. Over the summer, someone else spotted it and posted another photo of it online in a storage lot with no indication of location or phone number.

I did eventually find it on Google Earth and contacted a local used car dealer down the road to see if he had any information on the building, but he was not able to help.

As it turns out a friend of mine, Jon C, was able to locate the owner and purchase the truck. Being from Chicago he had the hometown advantage. I called him and expressed my interest in the van, but at that time he wasn’t sure he wanted to let it go. But after the summer we talked it over and came up with a deal.

Apparently, the previous owner passed away and it was donated to a charity. Then sold, but lingered in that storage lot until Jon found it. I’ve been trying to reach out to Mr. Tureaud, as I’d like him to sign the glove box door!

I’m currently looking for a donor van now for parts. I intend to get it back into shape and back on the road!

So, Mr. T, if you happen to be reading this, Joe would love to hear from you! It looks like fixing this Van back up is going to be a ton of work, but it will be one cool project. Hopefully, he keeps us posted as it gets it back into tip-top shape.

If you’ve found a cool project with some special history, please send us an email, leave a comment or message us via Facebook about it!