Most of you know me by my previous moniker “CougarXR7”. However, with that car now gone and the strong spirit of camaraderie here, I have no problem with using my real name. This is the first in a series of my old project vehicles that I’ll be posting about, my 1971 GMC Sprint.
As most gearheads already know, the GMC Sprint is nothing more than a Chevy El Camino with different badges, while the El Camino itself is mostly a Malibu wagon with the last 2/3rds or the roof sliced off. Despite its lack of distinguishing features compared to its El Camino cousin, the GMC Sprint is a rare beast indeed, with only 5500 built in 1971, compared to God knows how many El Caminos were built and sold that year. The rarest of all is the sporty and muscular Sprint SP ( GMC’s answer to the El Camino Super Sport ) with fewer than 80 in existence.
I rescued this one from the “CARS FOR SALE” section of a local wrecking yard for only $1300, including tax and the tow fee. Despite its ragged appearance, everything worked. Plenty of meat on the brake linings, ran like a top with no smoke or funny noises, the Turbo 350 trans shifts flawlessly ( despite a leak ), and it stops on a dime. Even the oil and all the fluids were clean. This was obviously someone’s driver before it ended up at the junkyard.
Despite its good running, this thing needs a LOT of work. It’s got the typical cancer in the lower rear quarters, the interior is simply horrible, and it has two huge “temper dents” in the drivers side door and front fender. Plus, one of the front upper control arm bushings actually fell out.
I originally bought this as a flipper, but now I’m almost leaning towards keeping it- at least for a while. It’s not only a rare beast, but also quite handy. Just the thing for grabbing a dozen sacks of fertilizer or 2-3 kegs of beer without having to drag my massive Ford F250 Super Duty diesel out every time.
Right now I’m in the process of swapping intake manifolds, The gasket was leaking on the stock two-barrel, plus since I already have this nicely painted Edelbrock Performer and good used Quadrajet ready to bolt on, the swap was a no-brainer. I also have a set of 15X7, 5-slot Rallys I bought from a friend. I’ve had them sandblasted and powdercoated, so they’re ready to go.
What do you guys think? Keep or sell? Retain the 350 or do a 454 swap?
Keep it! I love the rarity of it – and it will probably be a fun project for you to work on when you feel like. Personally I’d keep the 350 in it for originality.
Great find indeed! I often forget that GMC called their version of the El Camino the Sprint before going to Cabellero.
BTW, I’m still seeing “cougarXR7” as the author of this article.
Yes, I’ve alerted him to change his account as to what it shows publicly. I can’t do that.
I tried to do it earlier, but unfortunately I forgot my password for the site’s main login. I’ve requested a new password and am presently awaiting the email autoresponse,
I second the motion to keep it, and leave the 350 in.
Keep the 350! The big block will just add more weight to the front, and will spin the tires much more than you’d like…
Throw out the 350 and install a warmed-over 292 six!
HELL YES!! Six-cylinder is best cylinder.
That’s an interesting alternative. Same block (the 292) as the standard 250 six . . . pretty robust big six . . . torque monster.
For a while I actually had the crazy idea of doing a GM 6.5 turbodiesel swap. Seems like it would be more trouble than it would be worth.
Strictly speaking, the 292 block is a bit taller to handle the extra stroke. Definitely robust and torque monster.
+1
Atlas inline six out of a Trailblazer would be a cool swap…
Or a Pontiac OHC 6 out of a Tempest or Firebird Sprint – a genuine Sprint-powered Sprint!
+ 1.
It’s also a bolt in swap, since the Sprint 6 engine mounts were designed for the A-body chassis.
Olds 307 🙂
Whatever engine you choose, you will need an overstuffed chair in the bed to go with that brown vinyl footstool. 🙂
Seriously, another vote for the 350. I would think that a 4 bbl 350 would be all the engine that one of those needs.
I love your Sprint. First, just the rarity of a GMC Sprint is cool. Second, that brown color had to have been quite a rare choice on these as well. IIRC, that 1971 brown was an unusual color that was offered for a single year.
“the GMC Sprint is a rare beast indeed, with only 5500 built in 1971, compared to God knows how many El Caminos were built and sold that year”
According to one online source, 5,536 ’71 Sprints were built versus 36,042 ’71 El Caminos.
’71 was the second-best year in El Camino history up to that point (about 40K were built in ’70), but production would climb sharply over the next few years, to about 50K in 1972 and about 64K in 1973. The energy crisis then took a bite out of things, and the El Camino would never return to that level again, but it would clear 50K four times in the next six years, with a high of about 58K in 1979. Things dropped steadily from there. By 1987, the El Camino’s last full model year, production was down to 13,743.
Sprint/Caballero production never got much higher than it was in ’71. It only cleared 6K four times, with a peak of 6,952 in 1979. By ’87 production was down to just 1,882.
Thanks for the sale info, i had a feeling ’79 was a good year, since so many were on the roads that era. And 73, was a banner year for car sales, just before Oil Crisis 1. Both years are favorites of mine.
Also, “Earl Hickey” from TV show ‘My Name is Earl’ drove a ’73.
Keep!
I’d say, keep it, it doesn’t look to be needing as extensive a restoration as some, from the looks of it, a couple of dents and some body rot, it looks reasonably solid otherwise.
I’d be inclined to leave the 350 in it, especially if the numbers actually match, then it’s the original motor from the factory, and not a replacement at some point along the way.
The 350 V8 is one of the better Chevy V8’s they’ve ever made, it’s reliable and all that.
Keep and retain, my man; keep and retain.
Keep the car, keep the 350. Big block Caminos (ok, sprint) look cool, but they’re really only useful for manufacturing tire smoke. A nice 350 built for torque would be just the thing for this ride. Maybe a 4 speed auto if you expect the odd road trip.
A guy I knew many years ago had a ’73 Sprint SP 454. Swivel buckets and all. I don’t think I’ve seen another Sprint since, that’s a nice find. I do hope you plan to get rid of that rear window though….
That rear window is trashed anyway. The frame is bent and it doesn’t close fully, so the floor gets soaked every time there’s a hard rain. At least all the water has a place to drain, thanks to the salad plate sized rust hole in the passenger side floorboard. 🙂
If you hate the rear window, you should’ve seen the ugly, 70’s vintage camper shell that was on it. Off white, corrugated metal with brushed aluminum trim and those funky swing-out louvered glass windows. Yuk!
I am a little tempted to buy another sliding window due to the fact that this thing has no A/C.
I remember those canopies! Ugly is right. If you’re not concerned with 100% originality there are some pretty decent aftermarket AC systems available these days. Those sliding windows are an open invitation to a car thief, as I once learned. Anyway, hope you enjoy the car however you decide to build it.
If the camper is in decent shape I’d hang on to it. That way, if you do sell it would be something extra to throw in – ugly, but correct to the period and something just the description makes me nostalgic for (my dad had one on his ’79 Sierra).
Oh, and another vote for keeping the 350!
Like this?
Yep, it looked exactly like that, only beige. One of the windows was broken out and the lock was jimmied, so it was already useless.
I hauled it to the recycling yard around the corner and that was that.
Maybe the last owner considered the camper shell as the easiest fix for the leaking rear window? 🙂
I’m sure you guessed that we’d all say keep the 350 in it, especially if the numbers match. Well, you were right. I think you should keep the 350, especially if the numbers match. And nice catch, by the way. The 1970 to 1972 models are my favorite El Caminos, and getting yourself the GMC version is icing on the cake. It’s a nice combination of the odd and the commonplace. It’s a rare beast that you can get parts for!
Keep it and and the 350. I don’t think you even need to doll the old girl up much, just clean it up and replace the really bad components, interior parts, and rust. Doesn’t even need the rally wheels. I think it’s most appreciated as stock.
Back at the time this car was new, there was one a few blocks away from me this same color. Whitewalls and full wheelcovers. Maybe it’s your car!
KEEP KEEP KEEP KEEP KEEP it. Keep the SBC. Up to you how you mod or rod it. If it were me, I try to keep it as stock appearing as possible, but would “massage” the SBC. I assume this has front disc brakes. Might want to firm up the suspension.
I remember seeing a handful of these GMC Sprints (and the Caballero) in the 70’s. I distinctly remember seeing a 1985 GMC Caballero at Troncatty Pontiac-GMC-Cadillac in Corte Madera, California (new) that had an “El Camino” badge on the dash, but a GMC badge in the steering wheel center. Elcs/Caballeros were Hecho en Mexico beginning in MY ’84.
Keep it, stroke out the SBC and have fun!
The GM 350 is such a well balanced engine, I personally wouldn’t add the weight and mileage penalty of the 455. These cars are perfect for the 350.
I had forgotten there was such a thing as the Sprint. It made me recall it was eventually renamed the Caballero.
Great find. These are very attractive cars and I look forward to seeing it fixed up!
I say keep and 350.
The real question is “sympathetic restoration” or “mechanically-sound beater”?
That fact that it’s mechanically sound definitely makes things easier.
I’ll break from the pack and say drop in the 454. There’s no replacement for cubic displacement.
Although I’m in the 350 camp I recognize the validity of your opinion here. I suspect that most big block advocates have never owned, driven or fed one.
Thanks Doug. I’ll add that my reply was somewhat tongue-in-cheek in this case, and that I’m biased against the SBC in general. Also, speaking as a C-body Mopar owner, keeping a “numbers matching” drivetrain to preserve the value of a vehicle is over-rated. 😉
As others have said, this car/truck will already be nose-heavy when not loaded, and a 454 won’t help in that regard. My RWD pickup with the heavy Cummins up front can be downright dangerous to drive unloaded under some road conditions.
I’ll amend my original post to add that he should strap the 350 down in the bed as ballast. 🙂
Clean it up, fix and replace whatever you need to, and keep the 350…though the 4-barrel swap is a good idea. A new set of rims and tires would be nice as well. Two thumbs up! A classic and rare daily driver that’s easy to keep on the road.
I agree, keep the 350, keep the vehicle. Make it a real nice driver and watch the value go up. ! Many years ago I drove two El Caminos, both 1976 with all the stuff including the swivel buckets. One had the 350 the other had a 454. The 350 drove so much better than the big block, don’t know it was factory installed but it had so much umdersteer the 350 came home with me. I wish I still had it.
CHEERS
Richard
ps. The 350 with a 2 bbl had plenty of power even in the malaise era.
I’d keep it and restore it close to original since it’s such a rare model. A few subtle upgrades to improve drivability and comfort wouldn’t be out of line. If the 350 is original, I’d keep It for sure. Unless your planning on building a brute, I would think a 350 would be more than fine for this car. At least most of the body an interior parts are readily available.
Now I’m probably older than all of you, but I’m always surprised at how old-school your recommendations are.
Here’s the recipe for this classic truck/car:
GM LS7 — 7.0 liter engine
GM 6L80/6L90 — 6-speed heavy-duty transmission
Get the modern advantages of fuel injection, computer control and multiple overdrive gears.
Cool choice but what do you think an LS7 crate engne with 6L90 would cost? Even used it would be easy $10,000. This truck has a good running 350 and an intake, cam, four barrel and dual exhaust wouldn’t top $1000 and could be done in a driveway with simple tools. Heck, you could probably get it all used for half of that. That’s why the SBC endures. Loads of parts area cheap and available and anybody can figure out how to wrench on them.
Id say keep the 350 in it and refresh it and adr a four speed. If you are look for more power then I would use a 6.0 truck engine, it is very similar to the ls engines but with an iron block. Ls go fast bits bolt to these engines with ease but with just a cam and a tune they can make more than 400hp. And the 6l90 is a good match for the 6.0. A friend has a 2500 with 6.0/6l90 combo and its surprising how much oomph it has.
That would certainly be a monster. My only problem with the modern hardware is that this is the stuff we live with every day. To me, the reason to fiddle around with the old stuff is that it is different and simple. Sort of a refuge from the complex systems of our daily drivers. Of course, I long ago gave up the illusion that everyone must agree with me. 🙂
This discussion brings to mind my mother’s 72 Cutlass Supreme. The car had a 350 4 bbl and in an inch of snow, the car was so light in the rear that it could hardly move without snow tires. Add the weight of a big block to the fact that there is nothing but lightweight sheetmetal behind the front seats on this Sprint, and I have my doubts as to how much of the extra torque could even make it to the pavement.
Found a very nice Dodge Challenger here lately with a tremec 6 speed a few suspension and drive train improvements wouldnt hurt but I’d leave the 350 in.
I have to laugh at the slogan “What a difference a name makes” – I hope they provided a list of actual differences in case someone asked!
Nice ute Christopher, I’d say keep the 350 in it while you get the body & suspension sorted and worry about it after that.
I always wanted to stick the grill of one of these on a Chevelle and confound people with a “GMC Car”.
Lucky you! Wish I’d been there to grab it.
As for your plans… sounds like you’re doing about what I’d do with it (only my four-barreled crime of opportunity would have been more likely to involve a Quadrajet). So long as it’s not dog tired, that 350 ought to be plenty of motor. Be glad it wasn’t a 307!
Once the new wheels/tires are on and the maintenance is done, let the rust decide how much farther you want to go.
The 307 was a dog even compared to the 305 – in stock trim.
1974 307 had 100hp/200ftlbs, 1976 305 had 140hp/245 ft/lbs and that 305 was breathing through a very restrictive catalytic converter.
Keep a Small Block in it, since it was originally installed as such. Not like the common practice of swapping in a SBC into an older non GM/Chevy.
Also, does anyone know when the first GMC Sprint was offered? I’ve never seen any pics of pre-1971 models, nor any on the street.
Imagine if there was Pontiac version, instead of GMC?
1971 was the first year for the Sprint, it continued into the Colonnade years and then became the Caballero in the 1978 and up downsized A-body years.
Its funny, there almost was one later, Pontiac experimented with an ElCamino with a Grand Am front end that was considered for production, plus there was that almost made G8 sport truck thing that was going debut before they whacked Pontiac.
“Elcs/Caballeros were Hecho en Mexico beginning in MY ’84.”
Wrong. My ’84 Caballero (whose VIN begins with the digit “1”) was hecho en Arlington, Texas. Mexico production was ’85-’87.
While the Caballero is very useful and still an nice driver in town, the most fun is when someone comments “nice El Camino” and I get to say “it is not an El Camino; it is a Caballero” and then go on to the GMC explanation.
I found an interesting option for tires. After doing some research I stumbled upon two particular brands / models- the Goodyear Cargo G26 and the Continental Vanco 2.
With the popularity of miniature cargo vans like the Ford Transit Connect and the Dodge / Mercedes Sprinter for hauling heavy loads in congested urban areas, tires were needed that could handle these loads without the bulk of traditional LT-style truck tires that wouldn’t fit the vans’ small wheelwells. Hence these tires were developed.
Both these tires come with a “D” load rating and a maximum inflation pressure of 65 PSI. Their size is 225 / 70R15- just the right size for a 68-72 or 73-77 A-body. Just pump up the air shocks, inflate the tires to the max, and carry that fully dressed big block from the boneyard with no problem 🙂 .
Funny you should mention the control arm bushing falling out, my ’70 had the same thing happen. Made braking very treacherous, it’d pull to the opposite side. Good save on the Sprint, good deal too! The 350 is more than adequate, I had the 300hp, 4bbl variant in my ’70 and it was just right for everyday driving. Who wants a BB with today’s gas prices.
Father past last january..he had one redone for 9-11*
In US flag w flame strips… its been sitting in garage before for 15 yrs…not running n enigine in pieces* ;(
LOOKING FOR PARTS….NEED HELP FINDING….PLEASE HELP*.. EMAIL ME WITH INFO*! IF YOU HAVE SCRAP CAR OR NO OF ONE IN JUNK…LET ME NO!!! located in akron ohio*
I have one that I’ve been restoring slowly
Good find, I have a 71 GMC Sprint SP. 1 of 249 made its a small block 350 model, I am doing a full restoration on it now. It now has a ZZZ 350 motor (345hp. Roller cam & aluminum heads) 273:1 12bolt posi and a TH-350 for now but will get a 700-R4 in the future. Keep it a small block it’s a much nicer ride that way! ?