A second-gen (’64-’67) Chevrolet El Camino, such as this 1967 example, is always a nice find, mostly because they often get overshadowed, in numbers and value, by the third-gen (’68-’72) version. The images of our subject car aren’t the best but there are enough present that tell a reasonable story. Located in Sylvania, Ohio, this half car-half truck “ute” is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $6,440 with twenty-four bids tendered so far.

Different individuals will notice different things about a car at first blush. In my case, it’s the hastily applied dark blue finish, sprayed over what originally looks like a variation on tan (Granada Gold maybe?). It looks poorly applied with little to no surface prep – and thus the noticeable peel factor. The good news is that the body is not showing evidence of rot, a common affliction with A-bodies of this generation. There is only one partial image of the cargo bed but it, and the tailgate, appear to have had a black coating of some nature applied and the seller claims that it was previously media blasted – both check out as OK. There are also partial images of the underside, specifically the rear frame rail, and it too looks sound but it’s hardly a comprehensive image. Holding up all four corners are first-year rally wheels with the correct “flat cap” centers. Looks like the seller sprung for new tires – seems like an odd thing to buy at this point unless the previous set was beyond holding air.

The engine badge indicates that this Camino was originally powered by a 327 CI V8 which means either 275 or 325 gross HP on tap. The presence of an automatic transmission, however, means, and the seller does identify the motor as a 275 HP, “RPO-L30” variant. Regardless, the engine’s not installed but it is included in the sale. The listing is hard to decipher, thanks to no punctuation, but it sounds as if this Chevy was air-conditioned and the horizontal bracket attached to the front portion of the engine’s passenger side exhaust manifold looks like a compressor bracket – no indication if the compressor is included.

The interior has seen some improvements applied with the bench seat having been nicely reupholstered in white vinyl. The seller mentions that new white door panels are part of the deal too and the floor is stylin’ with new black nylon loop carpet. Some comment, I think, is made regarding the headliner but I can’t decipher it.

So, why was the engine removed? Is it usable as is or does it need to be rebuilt? Search me fish, good questions that will require an inquiry. Also, there’s no evidence of a transmission either, so there’s another question to pose. On the surface, this looks like a pretty good project but it’s the unknowns that will give one pause. And as we all know, the devil’s always in the details, right?