Photo: 57straxlevet/eBay
The Chevrolet El Camino is my kind of truck. It looks sporty thanks to its two-door, car-based design, yet it comes with a spacious bed in the rear. And it's nowhere near as massive as a pickup truck, making it an ideal daily driver on top of being a solid hauler. But there's one big problem with the El Camino: Chevrolet doesn't make it anymore.
Introduced in 1959, discontinued after the 1960 model year, and revived for 1964, the El Camino was retired for good in 1987. Sadly, there's no sign of this car-based truck coming back anytime soon. The good news is that the classic car market is packed with old El Caminos. You can buy just about anything nowadays, from early models with small-block V8s to muscle car-era big-block versions and 1980s V6 slugs. Of course, some examples cost notably more than others.
You'll also find all sorts of restomod builds finished in fancy paint jobs and fitted with modern wheels and V8 crate engines with ludicrous power. But here's an El Camino project that's unlike any other I've seen in recent years.
This high-riding truck is no longer an El Camino under the shell. The classy 1959 body panels hide the four-wheel-drive frame of a 1979 Chevrolet Suburban. Hence the massive wheels and the equally impressive ground clearance, both of which take the El Camino almost into monster truck territory.
There's no info as to how this El Camino was put together, but the Suburban frame was most likely shortened in order to fit under the El Camino. The latter's wheelbase is about 10 inches (254 mm) shorter than the seventh-gen SUV, so there must have been some serious cutting involved. But the big wheels and meaty, 33-inch tires fit perfectly under the arches and that's all that matters.
4x4 conversion aside, the El Camino looks a bit rough. The light blue paint looks faded and the chrome trim needs a good polish to shine like new. The hood is painted in a different color and the badge on the nose is missing. But there's no rust to worry about and the bed looks pretty good.
The same goes for the interior. It needs a good cleaning and revamped door panels, but it's definitely usable. It seems that the original seats have been replaced with SUV-style units that offer a higher seating position. It makes sense given that this El Camino rides more than 20 inches (508 mm) higher than usual.
But things get a lot more interesting under the hood. Whether this El Camino had an inline-six or V8 is a mystery, but it doesn't really matter since the original mill has been replaced by a 383 V8. Larger than the car's range-topping small-block at the time, the 6.3-liter stroker features aluminum heads and BDS 671 supercharger.
Unfortunately, the seller doesn't say a thing about output, but this mill should send more than 500 horsepower to the wheels. For the time being, all that oomph is going to the rear wheels, as the front axle is not connected to the transfer case. But the sale includes a driveshaft and you can finish the 4x4 setup yourself.
Let's be frank here, this is by no means a concours-condition classic. It needs a mild restoration to look better inside and out. But it doesn't have to be a show car. This thing was built to haul stuff over rough terrain and there's no way it will stay clean if used like an off-roader.
Definitely not your regular classic El Camino, but this 1959 utility will make an impression at your local vintage Chevrolet cars and coffee. If a high-riding El Camino is on your bucket list, this truck is being auctioned off on eBay as we speak. Offered by "57straxlevet," it attracted a high bid of $7,200 with five days to go, but there's a "reserve not met" status in place. It could be a bargain though.
You'll also find all sorts of restomod builds finished in fancy paint jobs and fitted with modern wheels and V8 crate engines with ludicrous power. But here's an El Camino project that's unlike any other I've seen in recent years.
This high-riding truck is no longer an El Camino under the shell. The classy 1959 body panels hide the four-wheel-drive frame of a 1979 Chevrolet Suburban. Hence the massive wheels and the equally impressive ground clearance, both of which take the El Camino almost into monster truck territory.
There's no info as to how this El Camino was put together, but the Suburban frame was most likely shortened in order to fit under the El Camino. The latter's wheelbase is about 10 inches (254 mm) shorter than the seventh-gen SUV, so there must have been some serious cutting involved. But the big wheels and meaty, 33-inch tires fit perfectly under the arches and that's all that matters.
4x4 conversion aside, the El Camino looks a bit rough. The light blue paint looks faded and the chrome trim needs a good polish to shine like new. The hood is painted in a different color and the badge on the nose is missing. But there's no rust to worry about and the bed looks pretty good.
The same goes for the interior. It needs a good cleaning and revamped door panels, but it's definitely usable. It seems that the original seats have been replaced with SUV-style units that offer a higher seating position. It makes sense given that this El Camino rides more than 20 inches (508 mm) higher than usual.
But things get a lot more interesting under the hood. Whether this El Camino had an inline-six or V8 is a mystery, but it doesn't really matter since the original mill has been replaced by a 383 V8. Larger than the car's range-topping small-block at the time, the 6.3-liter stroker features aluminum heads and BDS 671 supercharger.
Unfortunately, the seller doesn't say a thing about output, but this mill should send more than 500 horsepower to the wheels. For the time being, all that oomph is going to the rear wheels, as the front axle is not connected to the transfer case. But the sale includes a driveshaft and you can finish the 4x4 setup yourself.
Let's be frank here, this is by no means a concours-condition classic. It needs a mild restoration to look better inside and out. But it doesn't have to be a show car. This thing was built to haul stuff over rough terrain and there's no way it will stay clean if used like an off-roader.
Definitely not your regular classic El Camino, but this 1959 utility will make an impression at your local vintage Chevrolet cars and coffee. If a high-riding El Camino is on your bucket list, this truck is being auctioned off on eBay as we speak. Offered by "57straxlevet," it attracted a high bid of $7,200 with five days to go, but there's a "reserve not met" status in place. It could be a bargain though.
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