1971 Chevrolet El Camino

Description

When I was a kid, the guy who took care of our yard drove a 1971 Chevrolet El Camino just like this one; it was even the same color. With a limited vocabulary, I called it the "truck-car," but even my 4-year-old eyes knew it was way cool. A Chevelle with a bed, it's great news for muscle car fans because it puts you behind the wheel of one of GM's great machines with a trunk that'll carry anything you can buy at Home Depot.

With so many of these being work trucks when they were new, like the one owned by the gardener, finding a clean, straight, unabused example like this is no easy task. The handsome paint is quite close to the factory's Mulsanne Blue and it's holding up well, although this is definitely not a trailer queen, and does show some signs of having been driven and enjoyed. Those massive rear quarters are not so easy to get lined up and flat, so you know someone really cared about this Elky while it was being resurrected. Black SS stripes and a cowl induction hood are always welcome on an A-body and along with the black vinyl top, it looks a lot more upscale than the beat up work truck I remember from my childhood. Note that the bed has been finished with a sprayed-in bedliner that will look great and last practically forever, and a sizeable investment has been made in the chrome and trim, too.

The black bench seat makes the El Camino practical enough to carry three passengers, just like any truck, but it's beautifully dressed in Chevelle threads. Nicely detailed seat covers give it a fresh look, the dash is nicely presented with updated Auto Meter gauges cleverly arrayed in a custom panel, and they're framed by the original wheel which has a leather wrap. This one comes complete with factory A/C, a Lokar floor shifter, as well as a lot of fresh upholstery, including a headliner that looks brand new. The door panels are standard black, but I like the vent windows, which do a fine job of funneling air into the passenger compartment and they're sorely missed on today's cars. Tinted windows also help with the performance vibe.

The engine is a rebuilt 350 taken from a later model, and upgraded with standard hot-rod upgrades like an Edelbrock carburetor and a matching intake manifold. Dress-up is limited to Chevy Orange paint, a set of Edelbrock finned valve covers, and a K&N open-element air cleaner, but it runs well and pulls the relatively lightweight Elky around with a great V8 burble. A 700R4 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission shuttles horsepower back to a 10-bolt rear, and this powertrain is about as reliable as they come. The chassis is solid, the floors are clean, and the exhaust system sounds great. It's cool to see the Chevelle's coil springs under a pickup truck, but they endow the El Camino with wonderful road manners and a pleasant ride, and all the upgrades available for Chevelles are virtual bolt-ons. Finally, a set of polished Keystone mag wheels wear a set of 215/70/15 Dunlop radials.

Old or young, El Caminos are just plain cool. This one has a great color combination, a very user-friendly powertrain, and plenty of utility to match its performance. Call today!