Today I picked up a gently used, 1984 Gitane Grantour, 57cm bike with “Special” double butted, Vitus 181 tubing.

It's in decent condition with a few notable items.
There are some nice, Suntour bar-end friction shifters along with some Specialized brake levers that are inline with the TekTro standard brake levers, which is a clever addition. Nearly new continental tires and fenders were included too.
The canti brakes are vintage Mafac.

Can anyone give their thoughts on this as a sport touring bike or …?

Also, where in the Gitane lineup would this have fallen?

Any other info is appreciated.

The beefier Vitus 181 tubing should be ideal for a loaded up tourer like that Gitane.
Canti brakes also makes a lot of sense for that bike. Later Gitane design and graphics is so cool too.
Tell us how it rides once you get it loaded up and trekking!
BTW, a lot of these 80's and later French bikes usually have English threaded BBs.

Chombi

Ask the Gitane experts at gitaneusa.com.

HERE are the 84 Spec's from the catalog

It looks to be well up in the food chain - though as a slightly heavier touring bike it is not an apples-apples comparision to what falls on either side.

I don't know about the threading.

PS - NICE snag there!

Should be an English threaded bb. Nice score! I've been keeping my eye out for a Gran Tour in smaller dimensions. They don't seem to come up for sale too often. Should be a good riding bike.

Cyclomondo seems to be the source for decals for the folks on GitaneUSA.

Thanks everyone for the great information!
Nice link, Auchencrow. That helps quite a bit. I see that the original bike came with Super Champion Model 58, 27"'s but mine were replaced with Mavic Module E, 700c wheels (which seem to fit just fine) and some nice, new Continentals!
Thanks for confirming Cyclomondo is the decal king, scozim.

Glad I am part of the forums. I scored a grantour frameset off ebay for cheap and on impulse. This thread helped with the direction I want to take on the build. Thanks guys!