Vehicle Description
1981 Chevrolet El Camino
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, (The
Fleetside). And the rest, as they say, is history.
For consignment, a 1981 version of the El Camino. A 2 owner truck,
purchased in 1983 by our consignor and well taken care of. Nice
two-tone color combo exterior and interior, a new crate engine in
2013, and a transmission rebuild in 2015. It runs very well, has a
few faults here and there, but a car you can haul hay during the
week and take to church on Sunday.
Exterior
Silver side slabbed steel, fairly straight, no rust, and retains
its shine has a nice contrasting maroon lower body section with
large and in-charge Super Sport decaling on the doors. No chrome
trim for body sides, just red and orange tape stripes to delineate
the silver from the maroon. Shiny brightwork wraps around the glass
and door frames and also wraps around the top of the bed. Speaking
of the bed, it has been coated in Line-X bedliner and is looking
just fab with no wear, dings or scratches. Chevy 14 inch RS rally
wheels are on all 4 corners and are wrapped with clean blackwall
rubber. Our consignor is also including an El Camino fender cover
and a Wolf Automotive cover for this...uh truck...uh car!
Interior
Nicely preserved maroon vinyl adorns the doors, along with a bottom
panel of red carpet, and fine cranks and handles. A large
comfortable split bench also in maroon is covered in tuck and roll
vinyl but is showing some wear, tears, and seam separation
especially on the driver's side. Iconic square design for the dash,
with major usage of rectangles and squares, holding the gauges,
knobs, factory AM/FM radio, and is making use of some rag rolled
brown applique. Maroon carpet floods the floors, and a maroon
headliner floats above the seats.
Drivetrain
The original 267ci V8 is long gone and now a Targetmaster 350ci V8
crate motor, new in 2013, sits within the original but very clean
engine bay. It sports an aluminum intake manifold, Holley 4bbl
carburetor and has been dressed up with polished Edelbrock valve
covers and an air cleaner. A rebuilt in 2015 TH350 3-speed
automatic transmission attached to the rear. A 10-bolt differential
takes the power from the mill/transmission setup and puts it to the
rear wheels.
Undercarriage
Only surface rust here, tubs are sturdy, and some scratching off of
the paint on the rockers and areas of road dirt can be seen
throughout. Independent coil spring, and coil spring on the front
and rear respectively is the suspension. Brakes are power disc up
front, and power drums on the rear. Headers snake their way out of
the engine bay and send spent fossils through Flowmaster 40 Series
mufflers before meeting the atmosphere in front of the rear
tires.
Drive-Ability
A quick starter and decent driver. Thanks to the higher horsepower
crate engine acceleration was splendid and shifting was smooth but
firm. All functions were working at the time of our drive, but we
didn't check the payload capacity of this car...er...truck.
Here we have a good example of the El Camino in Super Sport
badging. Well running with a newer crate engine, and in overall
fair to good condition. Look it's a car, no its a truck, no it's an
El Camino! Come into Classic Auto Mall and we Willkie show you "the
way" to see this!
VIN DECODE
1GCCW80J2BD505648
1-USA
G-General Motors
C-Chevrolet
C-Hydraulic Brakes, 4001-5000 GVW
W-El Camino
80-2 Door Sedan Pick Up
H-267ci V8 2bbl
2-Check Digit
B-1981
D-Doranville, GA Assy Plant
505648-Sequential Unit Number
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 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.
