The Chevrolet El Camino is a car that would be right at home here in Australia. In fact it is only in the last 12 months that the Holden Commodore ute, which would be the spiritual descendant of the El Camino, finally went out of production. This particular El Camino is listed for sale here on eBay. It comes with a clear title and bidding has pushed the price to $2,650, but the reserve hasn’t been met yet.
I really like the El Camino and the Ranchero a lot. The fact that I own a Ford Falcon utility does not indicate that I am biased towards this type of vehicle (well okay, maybe a bit), but I’ve just always found them to be a great compromise between a family sedan or wagon and some of the bigger and less refined SUVs on the market. This particular El Camino has great bones, and is going to make a fantastic project for someone. The body appears to be quite sound, and the seller states that the only rust or rot is in the rockers, but that it is otherwise solid. I have to say that the photos seem to support this claim, but I would really like to get a look at the tray.
There are a limited number of interior shots. Actually, this is it. The seller states that it came from the factory with a blue interior. We also know that it has been optioned with the tilt wheel. Honestly, the great thing about vehicles like the El Camino is that they tend to be a lot easier to work with when it comes to interior trim than most equivalent sedans. As long as the basics are in there it shouldn’t take much to bring the interior up to scratch. Of course there is is also the option to consider it more of a commercial vehicle and go for a more hard-wearing utilitarian look that will be more durable in adverse conditions.
Under the hood doesn’t look too bad. The car was fitted with what I believe is a 327ci V8 coupled to an automatic transmission. The car is also fitted with air con (which I assume isn’t working) and power steering. The owner has also fitted a new battery and changed the brake fluid. The car is so sound mechanically that the owner drove it the day that the ad was placed. I really believe that a hit with a power wash will get rid of the loose debris that appears to be present, and will have everything looking ship shape.
I have a soft spot for this type of vehicle. They are surprisingly robust and can be very comfortable. It is possible to squeeze some remarkable performance out of them because they tend to carry less original weight than the sedans on which they’re based. This El Camino really does appear to be a rock solid base for a satisfying project car. This is a project car that I would love to tackle. Of course it’s also possible that I’m just biased.
This looks like a pretty sweet start for a restoration or restomod or even a minimal-work driver/big-box weekend runner.
I’ve always dug them too, even though they are much more station wagon than truck based.
My first work “truck” was a ’76 SS that i put a Laguna endura front end & double-hump heads with headers.
On a date night or bed filled with grass clippings & a couple Lawn Boys, it got me by for the better part of a decade before the front end gave up from being worked so hard.
Personal fave is the ’69 Elky SS & i’d love to have one with a 500hp LS & 6-speed but solid-boded examples are too dang much money anymore.
And rightly so.
A/c and still pretty intact….not close to the price for theses in that condition.
Somewhere a ’66 Chevelle “SS” wants its hood back.
like the dwn szed ‘chero, esp ’60 – ’64 (i.e. “round bodied”).
Nice to have a lill different writer. Oz has its own vernacular english.
As an i6 guy I cross-post w/alota guys frm Down Under & often we hafta
translate our english. There are times where we R just undecipherable , this
time we R not. If U didn’t get a welcome yet Adam here’s one
W E L C O M !!!