Vehicle Description
Small pickups that were easy to drive had been around for quite a
while. Station wagon-based pickups came next, but tended to be
pretty basic. By 1976, the El Camino SS was a vehicle that was the
best of both worlds. Luxury features transferred in from the
high-end cars of the time, and chassis design that offered a nice
ride with substantial hauling capability at the same time. This car
has all that, then dresses it in smooth white paint and powers it
with a matching numbers motor that gives it a mean little rumble at
idle. Check it out.
The silhouette of this car is long and lean and just begs to be
shown off. The hood and the bed rails slope gently toward the cab
which has a windshield that rakes back on a steep angle and is
matched by the sail panel as it blends from the back window onto
the bed rails. That look is even lower and leaner by an SS stripe
that wraps around from one front fender to the other, leaving you
with one sweet looking car... or truck... or SUV. Except that term
wasn't being used yet. The front end is dressed up with an SS
grille and is flanked by rectangular quad headlights, all
underlined by a sharp looking bumper. On the side, you'll find a
couple body colored sport mirrors, and at the rear is a big SS to
the stripe along with El Camino in script underlined by another
chrome bumper. White-tinted spray-in bedliner rides the walls of
the bed, hugging a beautiful wood floor platform accented with
shiny slat-work. What a nice touch. A perfect trailer-queen
presentation it is not, but man, it really attracts a lot of
attention in the wild.
Open the door and you will find an interior out of a high-end car.
The door panels have smooth upper panels with styled squares in the
center edged by chrome piping and a comfortable armrest for
cruising. Rare high-back, swivel bucket seats are in great
condition and flank a center console housing the automatic shifter
and power window controls, all accented by a classy wood applique.
There are a more signs that this ride has a bit of a sophisticated
streak, with cruise control, a beautiful wood SS steering wheel,
wood dash bezel, and power lock controls on each door panel. The
stock dash is neat and clean with crisp, clear gauges that are
operating as they should, there is an AM/FM radio in its stock
position, and the factory A/C has been updated to R134 A/C
refrigerant and modern compressor. GM did some quality
soundproofing by adding a double panel roof along with a nice
headliner, and good-looking carpeting ties it all together.
Pop the hood and you will find a healthy, numbers matching 400 V8
engine that is nicely dressed out sitting in a neat and clean
engine bay. A black air filter housing is stock and looks great,
and the fact that it's still intact is a pretty amazing in-and-of
itself. That sits on top of a stock 4-barrel carb and intake
manifold. Chevrolet orange valve covers match the painted block,
and signs of fresh maintenance are evident throughout. The overall
look of the engine bay is correct and bad to the bone. Dual
Flowmaster mufflers punctuate the exhaust system and provide are
nice throaty rumble at idle, and certainly amplified when the
throttle is activated. Power front disc brakes assure good braking
ability and GM chassis engineers equipped the car with specially
matched spring rates for a good ride without sacrificing payload.
The rubber meets the road through 225/70/15 BFGoodrich Radial T/A
tires all around mounted on Rally wheels.
Good looking, comfortable, capable. What are you waiting for? Come
on down and check out this sweet ride. Call today!
