If Chevrolet built an El Camino Super Sport in 1966, this beauty could be one. But that didn’t happen until 1968 when the whole Chevelle family (inc. the El Camino) was redesigned. This Regal Red pickup looks like it has been painstakingly restored and enhanced, but there is no mention of any of that (just standard dealer marketing-speak). Located in Osceola, Missouri (we assume), this truck is surprisingly priced at just $14,300 here on Vista Auto Sales. Hats off to JDC for this cool tip!
Like the mid-size Chevelle it was based on, the 1966 El Camino got a facelift (which would carry over largely into 1967). Sales remained flat, but they may have been because the only competition, the Ford Ranchero, moved up from compact to intermediate in 1966. So, the El Camino had some real competition for the first time since 1959. Both the El Camino and Ranchero were based on station wagons and were considered “Utes” – utility coupes.
So, what’s the story on this Chevrolet? Besides telling us it has just shy of 90,000 miles, the dealer is pretty silent. And that may be because they don’t know. But their business specializes in muscle cars, so I would think that it would be SOP. A 327 cubic inch V8 resides under the hood, and it’s got more bling than it would have had when new. But has it been rebuilt? Is it original? Has it been modified?
An automatic transmission is on board, but is it a factory 2-speed Powerglide or has it been upgraded to a Turbo-Hydramatic or something else? The body, paint, bed, and interior all look stellar, which speaks to a restoration. But the cost of restoring this wagon would have cost way more than the seller’s online price. So, what’s the deal here? An optimist would say, “Wow, what a great opportunity”, while a pessimist would say, “What don’t we know?”
Now this is a bargain compared to some prices of late. And Howard has been predicting this slide for a couple of years now.
This is not a new member!
Wayne..aka formerly “Cooter”
I’ve heard people predicting a crash in the market for over 30 years. They tend to pick examples that bolster their case and ignore those that don’t. There are fluctuations as cars come into style and others go out. The market is more nuanced than most naysayers will admit.
There are several YouTube channels that have started featuring cars that sell at or below certain price points, $5,000, $10,000 $15,000 or certain makes at major auctions. Most of the cars highlighted are orphan makes and models with limited appeal, which are often loved on this site. Those are worth a look.
This El Camino is either a great bargain or there is a serious underlying problem. That’s in the eye of the beholder any issues may not be evident in the pictures in an ad.
Steve R
Yup, I have my eye on a 65 or 66 Impala, preferably a Super Sport. My first car was a white 327 Super Sport, I then owned a 396 4 speed 65 Impala, not Super Sport but rare for that combo and not being one. My last one was a 66 283 convertible.
Looks like you enjoy Nice cars and bikes Wayne.The 4sp, Big Block, non SS Impala sounds too cool.👍
I suspect this thing hasn’t run in current config, that spark plug wire looks to be laying directly on the header.
It looks good here, but when a “dealer” gets a hold of a car like this, tread carefully.
First, it looks like if there was a “car comics book”, this would be a superhero car. Dashing in to save the day for other cars or something like that. It’s really sharp. And for that price, how can you go wrong. It can’t be that sharp, and also have some major issue hiding somewhere. At least nothing so bad that you couldn’t take care of it with a little extra cash.
I really wish I could afford to just buy it to have it as a toy.
looks good inside and as does the paint. prefer a more stock appearance under the hood instead of all the aftermarket gack. poor wheel choice as well. cheap enough to buy and make improvements
Price seems too good to be true. I’d do a few things differently, but it appears to have some nice upgrades. Has dual circuit brake system (front discs?), rear sway bar (updated suspension?), trans pan appears to be 400 THM, tilt column looks to be 67 or newer but looks like a nice addition. The wheels aren’t my favorite but I could live with them if I turned the white letters in – and lowered the whole car 2 – 3 inches. I sure wouldn’t kick it out of my garage. Makes me think I need to get off my butt and do something with my 66.
It does look too good to be true. I’ve been following these for quite awhile and just picked up a project one for $2000. but I would jump on this if it was somewhere close and I could see it in person. It almost matches my 67 Malibu hardtop, red on red with buckets but I’m very leery at this price point.
I hate to be THAT GUY, but the trim on the hood doesn’t match with the trim on the fenders. Now, if you put it on a laser rack and it comes out straight , that’s great. Then you reinforce the frame, add vintage air, and coat the bed, it’d make a great parts runner for any shop. Just my $.02
Steve, you are spot on, regarding a price crash within the industry! As you mentioned, I have been hearing the doom and gloom predictions for decades. These people do not follow the market, long term, and are thinking or dreaming a collapse will make the market place cheap again. Business is great, and the market place once again will dictate the price.
I buy and sell a lot of cars which makes me a salesman as I do all the negotiating. Putting up an ad with limited info is a great tactic. Encourages interested buyers to inquire while helping eliminate tire kickers. I can’t sell a car with just an ad but let me get you in a one on one and I stand a much better chance.
The fact that it didn’t sell in the first 5 minutes always worries me. Wish it was closer.
Tread carefully. A couple of their prices seem to good to be true including this one. No fault of Barn Finds, and it was a different dealer, but one featured here not long ago was a scam. Here’s the link.
https://barnfinds.com/19k-mile-v8-survivor-1975-chevrolet-monza/
I did a image search, found it listed two other times and the VIN number. It was restored in 2008 and the one website had it priced at $34,995.00. Don’t know what date it was last listed but the current pictures are the same ones as before.
There are several “dealers” advertising really good deals on FB Marketplace. I haven’t been scammed by them all but I did get stung by one.
Do a Google image search. In my case they posted a dozen pics. When I asked specific questions they sent more pics that showed the areas I was asking about. I had to go and so quickly made a deposit. I should have paused and done the check first. By then it was too late. Watch out. Too good a deal.
If you look at their site on FB Marketplace, Vista Auto Sales is legitimate EXCEPT the web site this ad is on is not theirs. The real Vista has “normal” cars. The scammers use a legit business name and address. This is exactly what happened to me.
You had to go,so quickly gave a deposit.??? Where did you have to go,to the bathroom?? 🪥 Always take your time,and do NOT give a deposit w/o looking at it first,or send someone nearby to look at it. Our bf family is great for that.Nothing worse than giving up a deposit.
FWIW they have a website and there is a physical address listed which Google Maps street view shows a business with the same name as listed in the article above, so there’s that…
See my follow up comment. The business name and address are legit but the web site is not from the real Vista Auto Sales. I learned this scam the hard way! Esp watch out for deposit request thru Venmo friends…
99.9% sure this is a scam, I looked up the registration for this website and its 32 days old. https://whois.domaintools.com/vistaautosalesus.com
I suggest Barn Finds pull this article in order not to aid the scammers in finding victims.
Please be careful…… ased on recent reports, there is no evidence that “Vista Auto Sales” (a company with positive reviews in Vista, CA) is a scam. However, scammers frequently create fraudulent websites using similar names to real businesses, and Missouri law enforcement has recently warned of scammers using fake websites to sell vehicles that do not exist
Please be careful…… based on recent reports, there is no evidence that “Vista Auto Sales” (a company with positive reviews in Vista, CA) is a scam. However, scammers frequently create fraudulent websites using similar names to real businesses, and Missouri law enforcement has recently warned of scammers using fake websites to sell vehicles that do not exist
Based on the great detective work done by The Members….I would suggest pulling this ad? Prefer Safe rather than Sorry……
A bright shiny new coat of Resale Red paint can hide a lot of sins, and I don’t trust used car dealers. I got taken on a deal one time ~ new shiny yellow paint covering mucho Bondo. The first lie the guy told me was “I’m not a used car dealer, just a private collector.” When I got the title guess what he was. They lie. It’s just what they do.
Very disappointed that Barn Finds didn’t pull the article but at least the website is down, not sure if permanent as it seems registration might still be active but some of my other checks make it seem that it has been yanked, yay, another scammer kicked, now to the next rodeo.