This 1986 Chevrolet El Camino SS is a genuine Choo Choo conversion, and with just 56,000 miles, it hasn’t exactly been over-used. It’s located in Rhode Is56land, but the seller confirms it was previously garaged in North Carolina, which hopefully means it was never driven in the road salt and slop. The Choo Choo Customs enterprise built numerous conversions, largely focusing on vans, but the El Camino was perhaps the more popular model in terms of long-term staying power. The El Camino seen here is cosmetically sharp and also benefits from several mechanical improvements, including a new Jasper transmission and GM Goodwrench 350 engine. Find it here on craigslist for $17,000.
That’s a lot of scratch for an El Camino, even if it’s a genuine Choo Choo. The conversions performed by the Tennesee company certainly helped to up the attitude factor of the standard El Camino, even if they didn’t do much to affect the actual horsepower. The biggest change was the nose, which benefitted from an upgrade to the Monte Carlo SS front end. This alone made the El Camino looks much more aggressive, along with additional SS graphics, rally wheels, white-letter radials, and a custom rear bumper. There’s no denying that the enhanced looks were definitely an improvement; the question is, how much are those improvements worth?
The seller’s car is in very nice condition, with an interior that isn’t perfect but still looks better than 56,000 miles might suggest. The challenge for me with the Choo Choo conversions is that they didn’t go very far. To say nothing about the lack of mechanical enhancements, the interior also emerged essentially unchanged after the Choo Choo work save for a small badge on the glove box door. To me, the work done on the exterior would be nicely complemented by some upgraded bucket seats, a different steering wheel, and perhaps a set of carpeted floor mats with the Choo Choo logo. No word on whether the air conditioning works on this car.
The replacement engine presents well, but here’s my question: it’s not outside of the realm of possibility for the replacement engine to have 56,000 miles on it, or for the chassis to have that many. The seller doesn’t distinguish between the two, so you’ll have to get in touch for clarification. The listing notes that the El Camino has been further upgraded with new headers and a Flowmaster exhaust, ensuring the El Camino will sound as good as it looks. The Choo Choo conversions aren’t the most valuable Chevys out there but they do have a following; the question is, will one of those enthusiasts pay near $18K for one?
This is a very eye-catching car. Looks great in white. $17k is too much for me though, but I’m not saying it’s not worth it. I’m just saying that I wouldn’t pend that on it.
The seller could have helped out a bit by giving some details on that Goodwrench engine. Could be 150 HP or could be 450 HP as far I I know.
Where is the door sticker from Choo Choo , the sticker on the dash is not the train emblem that was used on Choo Choo’s , according to the gear selector the trans used is a THM200 with lockup convertor and no overdrive , just 3 speeds , dual exhaust not offered from the factory and does it still have a computer carb on it or a computer at all . If it has a glass nose it’s not a Choo Choo . I have no issues with anyone making a clone but to pass one off as a genuine ChooChoo is not acceptable
I am from Chattanooga and am very familiar with Choo-Choo customs, and I’m totally not convinced this is the real deal. I’m not as familiar with anything they may have done in El Camino, but they generally did significant upgrading in the interior and I definitely don’t see any of that. Maybe there was a Bare Bones Choo Choo option Maybe This Is It but I’m not thinking that is the case here. Buyer Beware…