The Chevy El Camino makes me smile. It is one of those vehicles people love to hate on. The El Camino was certainly a niche market vehicle and those outside of the niche never “got it”. It certainly wasn’t the greatest truck, and wasn’t that great of a car either. But it was unique. After the Ford Ranchero was discontinued, there was nothing else like it.
As a kid, the El Camino always fascinated me, and I decided that one day I would get one. The El Camino was manufactured for decades, and there are lots of different versions. The last, most recent version was the 1978-1987 model on the “G” body chassis.
The El Camino was a body-on frame vehicle that used a long frame similar to the G station wagon’s. Incidentally, the El Camino and the G wagons also shared a unique rear bumper that incorporated the tail lights.
I found an El Camino for sale locally on the web. It was not running but the pictures showed a complete vehicle. When I called, the seller seemed very nervous. He refused to give me his address. After some back-and-forth, he agreed to meet me at a doughnut shop. The vehicle didn’t run, so I didn’t understand how was this was going to work, but I went. When I arrived, there was no one there. It turns out he was spying on me from a different store on the opposite corner. I guess I passed the “test” so I could follow him. We drove to a very sketchy part of town and looked at the El Camino. It was parked alongside a house that couldn’t have been more than 800 square feet in total. The El Camino was very rough, but nicer than the house.
It was two tone silver and came with the fuel injected 4.3 V6. The odometer showed 46k. It had either rolled over once or possibly twice, he swore to me that it had 46 thousand original miles, I chuckled. It was over 20 years old and every part of this vehicle was used and abused. It had obviously done some heavy hauling, the bed had hundreds of dings and dents and barely any paint left. The seller reluctantly agreed to let it go for $600. I think I finally paid him something like $612 – I emptied my wallet because he kept begging for more money.
I backed the tow dolly right up to it and asked for help rolling it on. He immediately jumped in the driver’s seat to steer it those 24 inches or so. I was frustrated, and told him not only did I have to push it by myself, now I had to push his weight along with it! He screamed for a one-armed neighbor to come over and help push. You can’t make this stuff up.
It ran great after the coil was replaced. That little 4.3 was the only bright spot. The interior needed work, the body needed more. I replaced the carpet and found a better seat at the salvage yard. I did all the bodywork and got it painted. I used multiple coats of that texturized liquid bedliner which made the bed look 100% better.
A little El Camino trivia before I get to the sad ending. The first year for the El Camino was 1959. The Ford Ranchero actually pre-dates the El Camino. There was a GMC version first called Sprint, then later the name was changed to Caballero. Regardless of name, all these GM vehicles had a “secret” compartment under the bed, behind the seat where the spare tire and jack were. From the dashboard forward, the last generation was identical to the Chevy Malibu, every part interchanges.
Back to the story. I used my El Camino daily for a while, and occasionally hauled stuff. Then I sold it to a young man in town. Less than a year later I read about a fatal accident on the interstate near the exit to my neighborhood. It was a late-night, fiery crash. The next day there was an update to the story and it mentioned the victim was driving an ’86 El Camino.
It was him. Apparently he broke down in the wee hours of the morning on the interstate in the center lane. He was rear ended by a small car, and then again by a tractor-trailer. The second impact split the gas tank. A vehicle stopped on a highway and hit from behind by another traveling at speed is an extremely violent impact.
I was somber and depressed, I felt so bad for the family. I did not want to be a part of that story. I decided to quit flipping cars.
I found out later that a V8 swap had been done to the El Camino. As with all engine swaps, I suppose there were still bugs to be worked out. I assume that was the reason for the midnight breakdown. A sad story, and for me, the sight of an El Camino is now bittersweet.
Wow James, that story just hit home with me. I’ve been flipping cars as a hobby for years just every now and then because it gives me a chance to drive many different kinds of cars. But I never thought about it like that. I’ve never intentionally sold anyone something that was just junk, as I know you were not doing either with the El Camino, but it did make me think about how it would make me feel if something like that happened to me. I know that once the buyer takes the car, you can’t control what he/she does with it or the upkeep on the car but I think I will keep a closer watch on what I buy and who I sell to just to do my best to prevent something like that happening. Thank you for sharing that story with us.
The good old Caballero! When I was selling trucks at The GMC Truck Center in New York City (GM closed the facility in 1984), I actually sold three of these during my four-year tenure there. I was not looking for this business. All three customers walked in off the street. Me fellow salesmen and I were amazed. They are charming vehicles and at one time along with the El Camino by Chevorlet and the Ranchero by Ford were the darling of people in the western states, such as Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Texas and the like. We never sold pick up trucks in Manhattan because an open body is an open invitation to theft. For commercial light-duty truck use, the van was the popular modicum. Most were sold without optional lights (window glass) in the rear doors and then customers added extra locks to the sliding side door and panel rear doors. The average life of these vans in Manhattan is 5 years and 50,000 miles as the chauffeurs (employees) don’t give a hoot and the streets can be rather rough. So, we had a rotating business of those products. As for the pick up trucks, we once received a reprimand from the home office of GMC Truck & Bus Group (as it was not at that time) for not selling our “quota” of pick up trucks. Needless to day we laughed that off as our principal business was fleet sales and a little retail (including those vans). So, it is fun to see the Caballero once again.
Was that center on 11th Avenue between 58th and 59th with a rooftop parking facility? If it is I used to look down on it from the next building to the south and I saw an old 1950s 4wd Suburban up there that I wanted to buy. Never bothered asking as I lived in Brooklyn at the time and had no place to park it, let alone work on it.
I’m sorry to hear about the buyer. That’s awful!
The seller, though, good lord… What an idiot! (Not you, I mean the guy you bought it from). I had a chuckle reading that!
Quite a saga around the purchase! My late father had a black ’59 with a 348 V8 and three on the tree that he drove to his job managing a concrete ready-mix plant in Orange, Ca. during the 60s. Good memories of that car.
My 84 El Camino. Two tone Gunmetal blue, Slathers of Chrome, 350 under the hood velour and mouse fur interior in a medium blue, AC. Am-FM Cassette, Whitewalls, GM Spec wire wheel covers, a hood ornament. It was a “Conquista” but I peeled that ridiculous name off the tailgate Also had factory air shocks, which came in handy several times when I actually hauled something with it. Like the new 351 for the 72 Mustang Grande in triple green we had at the time. The original had become a boat anchor in Eloy, Az. on a return trip to Phoenix from Tucson. That is another story. this “Elco” was a dependable car though it did come across as the least butch truck I had ever seen. Another one I shoulda kept.
I was disappointed the first time I saw one of these, because my grandfather had traded his 70 C10 shortbed for it. My favorite boyhood truck was gone, replaced by this low sleek thing that looked a trifle distaff. And bit too smooth, like those guys who think they are dressed up at the country auction but really just look a little dissipated.
When I saw him riding his lawn tractor into the bed up the ramps, I understood. Less of a high-wire act from the B-210 cockpit, and he was getting older. I rode along to help tend the churchyard; the new sleek thing rode better and was quieter.
Sorry about your buyer story. It’s hard to separate from things like that. You had a brief moment to interact and then he was on his own with it.
When I read the headline, I figured we were in for a story about how something happened to your El Camino that forced you to have it towed and subsequently crushed. Not sure how I would have handled that “initial” purchase, it sounded like the seller had some kind of “legal problems”.
As a Ford fan, I was always proud of the fact that the Ranchero was 1 of many times that the smaller Ford beat GM into a market segment. But I think the last El Caminos were vastly better looking than the last Rancheros.
Growing up in suburban New Jersey when these were new, folks had a “what is it!” attitude towards them. Years later, I got to ride in a shiny black ’73 model with a V8 that was serving as a flower car for a funeral home. It was the funeral director ‘s pride and joy. It was a hot summer day and the AC was ice cold.
I wouldn’t mind a late model ’84-86 today.
I have never owned an El Camino but my brother had a couple of them, years ago, and various friends owned other examples. As others have said they are neither fish now fowl, they won’t haul as much stuff as a regular pickup and they will only seat two or three people in the one seat. Having said that they can be delightful to own if you only need to occasionally use the bed and only have one passenger at a time. I’m pretty sure that “secret” compartment behind the seats is the foot well for rear seat passengers, as El Caminos were based on Chevelle station wagons. My favorite version of the El Camino is the 1968-72 edition; if I could find a good one that hadn’t been rodded to death I would be sorely tempted.
Never had an El Camino or Ranchero but always liked the style. During a temporary assignment in Seneca NY for security duty, I had to draw a vehicle from the motor pool. No sedans left, so the dispatcher asked if I’d be OK with a truck. I was – and ended up with a little Dodge Rampage. El Camino style in a smaller package. I only drove the thing for 8 weeks, but I remember it as being a handy little thing. Rarely see any of the 3 American car/pickups anymore. Wish I could find a good Holden ute w/ lh drive. It would be a nice to have a more modern version of the concept for a driver.
There you go: http://lefthandutes.com/4sale.html
This is why I never sell cars to friends or relatives.
The Chevrolet El Camino was one of those “Chicken Tax” Trucks which had the rear of their Cabins slanted, another example is the Subaru BRAT.
Chicken Tax was applicable 2 imported utilities which r non domestic
Exactly, and both the El Camino and Ranchero predated the Chicken Tax. The rear slanted cab was more to do with the car-based styling (and wanting to reuse the coupe doors) than any tax.
I have owned both a Ranchero and an El Camino. I bought the ’73 Ranchero in 1979. It was a little rough around the edges, but I fixed it up and enjoyed it. It was one of those vehicles that make you wonder what they were thinking when they ordered it. It had a 302 V8 with a 3 speed column shift ( later changed by me to a Hurst floor shift), and no power accessories. What really made me wonder about this is the guy cheaped out on everything else but popped for Magnum 500 factory wheels.
After 3 years the engine started having a wrist pin knock, so I sold it to a guy after telling him about the motor. I then bought a traded in ’75 El Camino that had a 350, automatic, air, power steering and brakes, and the SS appearance package with Rally Wheels.It had some rust which I fixed right away and recharged the air conditioning. It was a great truck for my use. The original owner owned the local concrete company. When I got it I had to use a pressure washer and scraper to get all of the concrete slag off the undercarriage. After 4 years and a lot of miles I sold it to a friend who drove it for a long time until a drunk hit it. No one was hurt in this incident. He bought a Caballero with a bad engine and transferred the drivetrain and front suspension into it from the Elky and drove it for several years more.
A lot of people find this generation of El Camino and the battering ram bumpered Ranchero to be ugly. I, on the other hand have always liked the looks of both of them. If I was going to buy a truck today, I would have to look for a good example of either one of these.
Nice El Camino although I prefer the 1978-81 front end over the 1982-87 front end due to the yellow turn signals on the side along with the single headlights, I’ve felt the single headlights on the 1978-81 models gave the car a more aggressive look.
I’ve always liked these last-gen Elkies, enough to peruse CL occasionally but not do much more than that. My only experience with one was a long winter ride in my brother-in-law’s dad’s GMC variant, Colonnade era, in Canada. It had a good heater.
A good if sad story .
Being in the low end used car business for decades I ran into sellers like the one you described many times ~ they never quite get that they create their own problems by assuming everyone else is as crooked and dishonest as they are, a sad thing .
I’ve always had a like/dislike affair with the ’59 Elky, I know a few folks who own ’64 or ’65 models with 230 or 250 i6 engines for general hobby use, good little trucklets IMO .
These last generation ones are amazingly popular in the Ghetto, many are up fixed beyond belief .
Many more are stolen repeatedly .
-Nate
Lucinda Williams, singing “Lake Charles,”
from the album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road ….
We used to drive
Through Lafayette and Baton Rouge,
In a yellow El Camino,
Listening to Howling Wolf…..
That was a roller coaster of a story.
My maternal grandfather owned several new Elkys back-to-back from the mid-’60s to the mid-’70s, along with either a Chevy or Ford full-size wagon (usually top-trim). The wagon would be their go-to-see-the-relatives car, but in certain situations, they needed to fit the whole family of five in the El Camino. This was where it turned out to be better than a regular pickup–Grandpa drove, Grandma sat on the far side, my mom and aunt sat between, and my uncle, the littlest, sat crossways stuffed in the crevice behind the bench.
My El Camino had a cloud over it as well but for different reasons. Had a ’70 way back when, a very stripped out one. The only option was the THM350, as it was a straight six, rubber hat, no radio, manual steering and brakes. Loved it none the less. One day my late older brother had his first of what was to be 5 or 6 DUI’s when he pulled out of a bar and got broadsided. I was the only one that would bail him out and did so by selling my Elky. The things we do for family. Sold it to a friend that was also an Elky fan, and was also, well, an alky. He slammed that poor Elky into a tree on night after tying one on and after that it sat in his front yard for many, many years, covered with one of those ubiquitous blue tarps. Lost contact with him many years ago, found out that he passed away from alcohol related illness a couple of years ago.
Shame it ended that way, but nothing you could have predicted or prevented. Still, understandable why seeing one would trigger mixed emotions for you. I always admire these when I see one, though I too prefer the ’78-’81 front end styling to the “Caprice jr.” look of the ’82-’86 models.
A friend of mine had a ’65 El Camino (bought well-used in the ’70’s). The “rebuilt” 283 gave way several months later (there was no paperwork, of course). But it WAS rust-free!
I’d love to have a 60’s version (almost any year) – or the right 1960 full-sized one.
I had for a few months a ’79 Caballero with a 305 V8. I decided to keep my ’70 C10 and sold it, was going to replace the pickup with this but decided the old truck would tow more weight and was probably more durable in the long run.
Your story brought back the memory of me in my ’73 Sport Bug in a thick fog around 2:00 AM on I-5 near the SF Bay area. I was going about 30 MPH, I could see no more then about 20 ft and came up to a Pinto that was stopped in the middle lane, I swerved around it and saw someone still behind the wheel, looked like he was asleep or passed out. I had just passed an 18 wheeler and as I continued on, I saw a huge orange glow in my rear view mirror as the trunk slammed into the back of the Pinto along with a loud explosion sound. I kept going, I figured stopping might get me killed as well if more traffic was behind me.
My friend’s brother had a 1987 two tone blue one of these for about 4 years with the 4.3 V6, bench front seat and 4 speed automatic, A/C. tilt and the Chevy rally wheels. It was a little old lady special with less than 60K miles on the clock and it ran and drove mint. That 4.3 was actually quite peppy and would easily do a full burn out on command. We used to carry tons of furniture, rugs, flooring and many other things in that car and it proved really handy. Would love to find another one like it for a Summer hauler.