I found out later that a V8 swap had been done to the El Camino. I did not want to be a part of that story. I was somber and depressed, I felt so bad for the family. A vehicle stopped on a highway and hit from behind by another traveling at speed is an extremely violent impact. He was rear ended by a small car, and then again by a tractor-trailer. Apparently he broke down in the wee hours of the morning on the interstate in the center lane. The next day there was an update to the story and it mentioned the victim was driving an ’86 El Camino. Less than a year later I read about a fatal accident on the interstate near the exit to my neighborhood. I used my El Camino daily for a while, and occasionally hauled stuff. From the dashboard forward, the last generation was identical to the Chevy Malibu, every part interchanges.īack to the story. Regardless of name, all these GM vehicles had a “secret” compartment under the bed, behind the seat where the spare tire and jack were. There was a GMC version first called Sprint, then later the name was changed to Caballero. The Ford Ranchero actually pre-dates the El Camino. The first year for the El Camino was 1959. I used multiple coats of that texturized liquid bedliner which made the bed look 100% better.Ī little El Camino trivia before I get to the sad ending. I did all the bodywork and got it painted. I replaced the carpet and found a better seat at the salvage yard. The interior needed work, the body needed more. That little 4.3 was the only bright spot. It ran great after the coil was replaced. 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. He immediately jumped in the driver’s seat to steer it those 24 inches or so. I backed the tow dolly right up to it and asked for help rolling it on. I think I finally paid him something like $612 – I emptied my wallet because he kept begging for more money. The seller reluctantly agreed to let it go for $600. It had obviously done some heavy hauling, the bed had hundreds of dings and dents and barely any paint left. It was over 20 years old and every part of this vehicle was used and abused. It had either rolled over once or possibly twice, he swore to me that it had 46 thousand original miles, I chuckled. It was two tone silver and came with the fuel injected 4.3 V6. The El Camino was very rough, but nicer than the house. It was parked alongside a house that couldn’t have been more than 800 square feet in total. We drove to a very sketchy part of town and looked at the El Camino. I guess I passed the “test” so I could follow him. It turns out he was spying on me from a different store on the opposite corner. ![]() ![]() The vehicle didn’t run, so I didn’t understand how was this was going to work, but I went. After some back-and-forth, he agreed to meet me at a doughnut shop. When I called, the seller seemed very nervous. It was not running but the pictures showed a complete vehicle. I found an El Camino for sale locally on the web. Incidentally, the El Camino and the G wagons also shared a unique rear bumper that incorporated the tail lights. The El Camino was a body-on frame vehicle that used a long frame similar to the G station wagon’s. The last, most recent version was the 1978-1987 model on the “G” body chassis. The El Camino was manufactured for decades, and there are lots of different versions. After the Ford Ranchero was discontinued, there was nothing else like it.Īs a kid, the El Camino always fascinated me, and I decided that one day I would get one. It certainly wasn’t the greatest truck, and wasn’t that great of a car either. The El Camino was certainly a niche market vehicle and those outside of the niche never “got it”. It is one of those vehicles people love to hate on.
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