Vehicle Description
1987 El Camino SS
Rumor has it that Mattel's Elliot Handler (the 'el' in Mattel),
spotted designer Harry Bradley's El Camino in the Mattel HQ parking
lot and commented, "Those are some hot wheels," coining the new
name for Mattel's line of toy cars, Hot Wheels. In fact, Elliot was
so impressed by Bradley's custom El Camino, he insisted that Mattel
use it as a model for the first line of Hot Wheels toy cars. And
the rest as they say is history.
All starting from an Australian farm wife wanting a vehicle she
could use during the week on the farm and then drive it to church
on a Sunday, the concept of a car with a truck bed was born. The
Chevrolet El Camino, (literally translated to "The Way"), is in our
massive facility and stands out as a nice example. Dressed in
black, with silver rockers and stripping to delineate the two, it's
a worker during the week, and churcher during the weekend, that
Australian woman would be proud!
Exterior
Nice straight steel panels cover this car/truck example. The uppers
are painted black which has been reworked to near factory specs and
finish. On the lower portions of this vehicle, we have silver paint
covering the rockers. Just a slight bit of rust on the driver's
lower door at the gap. The remainder is rust free. The grille area
is appearing to harbor a bit of dust, and the chrome plating is
delaminating off of the surround of the egg crate portion. Bumpers
remain shiny and window trimmings are in good condition. A nicely
curved B pillar runs rearward and forms the bed sides of the pickup
bed on back. Here we see aluminum rails as a highlighter and also
serving as a grip for any strapping or hold downs. The bed is left
uncovered and is painted black on the ribbed reinforced steel. The
tailgate is functioning and rust free. Below the rear bumper frames
the back of the bed, and houses the horizontal taillights. 14-inch
honeycomb styled wheels are wrapped with Uniroyal blackwall rubber
on all 4 corners.
Interior
Burgundy smooth vinyl which has plenty of padding, is covering the
door panels. Some chrome trimmings are also on and a molded plastic
armrest and ledge to house the door locks and mirror joystick can
also be seen. Slipping inside the dash utilizes square and
rectangle design so essentially a series of boxes form the
instrument cluster, center radio and temp cluster, and the boxy
design center console. These surfaces all utilize the burgundy
plastic/molded vinyl, along with black panels to create the 1987 GM
dash look. A padded cushion is on top of the glovebox in the center
console and this lives just behind the shift lever. Burgundy
broadcloth covers the buckets, and these are showing some fading.
No rips for tears or exposed padding for these chairs though which
are in good condition save for the fading. Deep pile burgundy
carpeting covers the floors, and a burgundy fuzzy headliner is
hanging tightly above.
Drivetrain
This truck/car sports a 305ci small block engine, topped with a
4-barrel carburetor, and a TH350 3-speed automatic transmission on
back. All is looking unrestored and in patina with some dusting on
all surfaces under this hood. A 10-bolt rear axle is on the
back.
Undercarriage
Some surface rust and patina are present, but all in all
structurally sound underneath. Surface rust is noted particularly
on the edge of the rockers and some of the steel frame. Independent
coil springs are on front and a 4 link with coil springs for the
rear ride. Power disc brakes are in front and power drums for the
rear along with power steering.
Drive-Ability
A turn of the ignition and she fires up quickly. A nice
acceleration on the test track, some bias free panic stopping, and
smooth automatic shifting. The blower only blows only on the floor,
and the A/C is inoperable. Also, the consignor noted there is an
exhaust leak on the right side "doughnut" of the exhaust.
Mostly original looking, worn but presentable paint in two tone
style, and a cloth interior. The bed is in nice condition, and just
a smidgeon of rust is noted and its mostly surface rust. A truck
car combo for everyone in the family no matter what they are going
to do.
VIN DECODE
3GCCW80H7HS908675
3-Mexico
G-General Motors
C-Chevrolet
C-4001-5000 GVWR
W-El Camino
80-1/2 Ton Pickup Delivery
H-305ci V8 4bbl
7-Check Digit
H-1987
S-Ramos Azripe, Mexico Assy Plant
908675-Sequential Unit Number
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.