1972 El Camino- An American Legend

Coming off the highs of the super street muscle car era of the late ’60’s where most every top model muscle car had more than one carb and more than 400 horsepower, GM was still producing great examples of the ‘good ol days’ of American engineering when things were simple, fast, and priced economically. The last of the classic body lines for GM is generally accepted as 1972, however cars just after that (’73,’74) didn’t completely drop the ball, they just took a step in the wrong direction. This 1972 Chevrolet El Camino may be one of the last classic body’s from Chevy, and man did they nail the looks. First of all, the El Camino is a versatile vehicle allowing one to transport large items with its bed, but it handles and is sized like a car. This gave it competitive acceleration and handling compared to all the other muscle cars of the day, and you could drive it to work every day too. This in my mind is the ultimate cruiser/daily bruiser. When I see it, it seems to be content with a run up the highway to the parts store, or a happily applied 300 foot streak of burnt rubber in your favorite quiet neighborhood. I always wanted one of these great automotive ideas of the 1960’s, thinking of myself saying “just throw it (item not needed in the cab) in the back and lets go”. When I first heard of this particular car, it belonged to a husband of a friend of my mom, who had recently sold it to a young classic car enthusiast. It sounded like a good home, which is clearly what this one-owner car needed. Next thing I know I am standing next to it at the local Cars and Coffee Irvine. I could not believe it, and sure enough it was the car. Michael, the cars new owner, drives it everyday, clearly treats it right, and did his share of research into the car. The color is a special order Green from a southern CA dealership, and the black vinyl top brings me back to drive in burger days. Almost everything is original, the bed is properly aged with nice patina, the interior still has the ultra-kush bench seats, and the chrome overall is in good shape. The engine had to be replaced, so a Corvette ZZ4 engine was put in, giving the Camino a slightly higher horsepower number. It’s classic cars like this that stand out to me, just thinking of all the concrete this car has covered, and what the streets around it must have looked like when the odometer number had just started to turn. Here’s some photos of the El Camino-