autoevolution
 

Chevy Caprice “El Camino” Trucklet Looks Unfinished, Needs an LS Engine Swap

The 1991 model is the first year of the fourth-generation Caprice. A stable for Chevy since the 1960s, the full-size sedan became an Aussie import from 1999 right up to 2017 when the Holden plant in Elizabeth came to a grinding halt.
1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute 23 photos
Photo: TNT Auto Sales
1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” ute1991 Chevrolet Caprice “El Camino” utePontiac G8 ST (Sport Truck)Pontiac G8 ST (Sport Truck)Pontiac G8 ST (Sport Truck)Pontiac G8 ST (Sport Truck)Pontiac G8 ST (Sport Truck)Pontiac G8 ST (Sport Truck)Pontiac G8 ST (Sport Truck)Pontiac G8 ST (Sport Truck)Pontiac G8 ST (Sport Truck)
Offered as a four-door sedan and as a station wagon for family-oriented customers, the Gen 4 was never available as a ute. This fellow here is a one-off build according to the seller, a “Caprice conversion to El Camino” that could use a bit of TLC.

Listed on TNT Auto Sales for $7,995 with 153,688 miles (247,337 kilometers) on the clock, the project truck started out as a sedan with the 5.0-liter blunderbuss and the four-speed automatic transmission from the 4L60 family. The engine – codenamed LO3 – carried over from the third generation of the Caprice with 170 horsepower at the crankshaft and a single exhaust outlet. In other words, the El Camino references end here considering the high-output V8s from the 1960s.

Famously described as an upside-down bathtub, this particular example of the Caprice hardly resembles one at all. It’s even funnier how the rear headrests poke out of the bed, and it would’ve been even funnier if they were facing rearwards.

The Subaru BRAT comes to mind, an oddity that featured jumpseats in the cargo area not out of convenience but to trick the Chicken Tax. As it’s also the case nowadays, the U.S. government imposes a 25-percent tariff on imported light trucks. Two seats in the bed helped the Japanese automaker drop the taxation to 2.5 percent because the BRAT was classified as a passenger car in this configuration.

Turning our attention back to the Caprice trucklet, there’s no denying that whoever buys this Frankencar needs to sort out the interior and the cargo area. A different powerplant – maybe an LS – could also be dropped in the engine bay.

Even though the RWD ute is gone from the General Motors roster, GM had plans to revive this body style in the guise of the Pontiac G8 ST. The Sport Truck was presented as a concept but the financial hardships of the 2008 crisis killed off the Pontiac brand as well as the production plans for the two-door trucklet.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories