Vehicle Description
In the late 1970s, the hottest car on the road was the "Bandit"
Trans Am. So when Chevy dealers started looking for a way to bump
sales of the El Camino, well, black and gold was already an
established hit. Thus was born the 1978 Chevrolet El Camino Black
Knight, looking for all the world like a Silverado and a Trans Am
had a child. Fortunately, this one is filled with V8 power and
limited edition cachet.
Only 1200 or so Black Knight El Caminos were built before a lawsuit
forced GM to change the name to Royal Knight in 1979, making them
rather rare beasts out in the wild. They were also extremely
popular, with some dealers ordering up the decals and dressing up
standard Elkys to look like the Knights. Either way, these were
great-looking cars. Is this a real one? We're not positive without
an original dealer's invoice, but it's certainly got the right
look. The black paint is an older respray that's holding up well
and when you're doing black, you know there's no way to hide the
flaws, so they obviously started with good base stock. Dressing it
up with the gold Black Knight decals is one way to make your El
Camino stand out, and we have to admit that it works just as well
here as it does on the Trans Am, with the gothic-looking hood decal
and plenty of gold pinstripes to highlight the El Camino's unique
profile. The grille and bumpers are standard El Camino fare and are
in very good condition and just in case you still want to use this
things as a hauler, the bed has been treated to a spray-in
bedliner. Nice!
The bright blue interior is an unusual choice, but the trim tag
says that black paint and a blue interior were how this car was
originally ordered so it's quite possible that it's a real Black
Knight. It certainly appears that the upholstery is original, and
with that in mind, it's in good shape overall. Sure, it's the
product of the '70s, so it's a little flashy, but there's plenty of
stretch-out room with the wide bench seat and the surroundings will
look familiar to anyone who has driven a '70s GM product in the
past. Standard factory agauges are joined by three auxiliary gauges
under the dash and this car is fitted with options like a tilt
steering column, AM/FM/8-track radio, cruise control, and A/C
(needs service). Heavy duty floor mats protect the carpets and
there's another Black Knight decal in the rear window.
1978 was the last year you could get a 350 cubic inch V8 in an El
Camino, with this one carrying a replacement Mr. Goodwrench crate
motor that's an easy fit. All the factory hardware was swapped
over, so it isn't some home-brewed monster but rather a truck that
feels very OEM and surprisingly powerful. There's an Edelbrock
4-barrel carburetor and polished intake manifold under the stock
air cleaner, so nobody will know there are a few extra ponies on
tap, but the rest looks like it was installed at the factory. A
true dual exhaust system with glasspack-style mufflers was
installed, which also adds some power, and the TH350 3-speed
automatic transmission snaps off quick shifts to make it a lot of
fun to drive. The undercarriage is remarkably clean and it has the
right stance on gold Rallys with 215/70/14 white-letter radials all
around.
A very unusual piece of GM history or simply a great-looking El
Camino? You decide, but at this price, we don't expect it to sit
around for very long. Call now!
