View Full Version : Would you buy a new El Camino?
According to this article, GM is planning to sell the Holden UTE (which is basically a Chevy El Camino) in the US.
http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=29269
I saw a lot of these in New Zealand. Brand new, they start at about $30K (US), but you can get them pretty tricked out -- with an LS2 and T56 -- and pay over $40K
Would you buy one?
Personally, I like Ford's version -- the Falcon Ute -- better. Here's one of the many I saw in New Zealand:
http://drone.regexit.com/zff/pics/NZcars2007/nzcars07.jpg
http://drone.regexit.com/zff/pics/NZcars2007/nzcars06.jpg
They run about the same price as the Holdens, I think, but I like the looks of these Falcons better. The FPV (Ford Performance Vehicles) version of the Falcon Ute is called the Pursuit, and you can get it with a 5.4L 32v v8 putting out 390hp. There's also an FPV version called the Tornado that's powered by a 4L turbo 6 putting out over 360hp and over 400ft-lb of torque.
Holden's performance division is called HSV, and the HSV Ute SS comes with the Vette's LS2, but I think I'd like the 32v v8 in the Ford better. Both have Tremec T56 6-speeds, independent rears, and are available with massive brakes (6-piston Brembos on the Ford).
Anyway, what do you guys think? You think Americans would buy these cars despite the redneck stigma El Caminos have?
Anyway, what do you guys think? You think Americans would buy these cars despite the redneck stigma El Caminos have?
WHAT redneck stigma?:laugh:
http://www.wallpaper.net.au/wallpaper/automotive/Holden%20Commodore%20SS%20Ute%201%20-%201024x768.jpg
personally i like the old ones
http://nor-cal.chevelles.net/photos/chuck%20el%20camino.jpg
THIS IS what i like
bluehawaii2003HD
03-22-2007, 05:01 PM
Ahh Chevy should get rid of their SS crap.
There is nothing super about it.
I also don't like the new look. I think the new Camaro is nice though!!
ArchangelX
03-22-2007, 06:02 PM
I'd buy it...I think it looks cool.
Act162this
03-22-2007, 06:59 PM
http://nor-cal.chevelles.net/photos/chuck%20el%20camino.jpg
THIS IS what i like
Amen to that!
1970 SS 396 for me over almost anything new. Can't stop or turn, but eh.
Wouldn't say no to an LS-6, but they are extremely rare - better luck finding a Chevelle with an LS-6 or an El Camino with an LS-5.
taegu808
03-22-2007, 07:50 PM
still too new. make mine a '67 and now we're talking!
http://www.totalbeverage.net/images/temp/67elcamino.jpg
re: holden elky, nerp. I don't mind the holden/GTO with that vette engine but leave the elky alone. the ford, not for me either looks cobbled together.
taegu808
03-22-2007, 07:51 PM
whoa big pic! but worth it :)
Udrivecrap
03-22-2007, 07:55 PM
hey.... i like this thread :woot: :woot: for the Hell Camino :flame2:
i just got one... its an 84 with a 350/350... yeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaa! :entlueft:
Udrivecrap
03-22-2007, 07:58 PM
here, this pic is in the gallery... i know, i know... it needs alotta work :(
http://www.hawaiitalks.net/photopost/data/2/medium/000_0902.jpg
Udrivecrap
03-22-2007, 08:30 PM
oh and yeah, i'd rather have a 70 or a 67 or a new one
http://www.hawaiitalks.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=105&d=1174607783
^^ that's nice lookin..... a gun rack would look cool on the back window :D
Act162this
03-22-2007, 08:53 PM
Holy cow!
That's pretty classic - Weiand air cleaner, wink mirror and... those look like auto drags up front! Haven't seen any of those around in ages!
There used to be swap kits to put BBC motors into those model years, if you want a BBC under the hood. The later El Camino/Monte SS cars also used to have BBC swap kits as well. I think the biggest problems were header clearance and overpowering the 700R-4, though. The kits solved the header clearance issues, but usually the R-4 needed to be rebuilt or swapped for a TH350 or 400.
bluehawaii2003HD
03-22-2007, 08:59 PM
Where is the super charger
Udrivecrap
03-22-2007, 09:40 PM
hahahahahaha.... yeah.... its a "classic" alright. :old:
it needs alotta help... i can tell its not the original motor and trans... so far all i did was swap a cam in it... its very dirty :(
someone loved it, but it needed more than the old owner could give it, apparently... that's why i have it now :D
those Hooker headers on it now just barely clear. if i go bigger, i've been looking at this 400 small block at my friends house :D
taegu808
03-22-2007, 10:07 PM
ah cool 84 I like too, reminds me of them old cop cars.
what can I say I'm old school. I'd like a straight front end with elky sitting a mile up in the sky fenderwell headers wide open and the biggest fattest drag tires in back ladder bars 6:71 poking out and all that. just like those old RAT cartoons :p
taegu808
03-22-2007, 10:08 PM
the shifter would be above the dashline LOL (no laugh people used to have em) ahahhaah
taegu808
03-22-2007, 10:10 PM
LOL!
http://www.creekrat.com/images/Cars/1967Firebird03182007A.jpg
sanmitch
03-22-2007, 10:39 PM
Dave, whats going on with the checker auto seat covers?
MsStang808
03-22-2007, 10:49 PM
A new one? HELL NO! They look like those Subaru Brats that they put out in the what was it.. 90's? They look grody! I'd rather ride TheBus
Nuckin Futs
03-22-2007, 10:52 PM
ah cool 84 I like too, reminds me of them old cop cars.
what can I say I'm old school. I'd like a straight front end with elky sitting a mile up in the sky fenderwell headers wide open and the biggest fattest drag tires in back ladder bars 6:71 poking out and all that. just like those old RAT cartoons :p
I miss the sound of the cars that had wild cams with gear drives at idle...
Udrivecrap
03-22-2007, 10:58 PM
whaaaat? any El Camino is kewl mang :smoke:
and yeah, i got a shiney chrome shifter that is taller than the radio and gets in the way of the CD... and yeah, those are Checker's seat covers, but i didn't buy them.... and yeah, its got a beefy cam and gear drive. :D
here's my engine :eek4:
http://www.hawaiitalks.net/photopost/data/2/medium/000_0903.jpg
when i first saw this thing... i said to myself... wtf? :wtf:
notice the different colored spark plug wire :hihi:
Udrivecrap
03-22-2007, 11:09 PM
all i know... its a long way from looking like this :D
http://www.hawaiitalks.net/photopost/data/2/medium/car1.JPG
there's this older Asian man i always see driving a CHERRY stock El Camino, about mid 80s...fricken truck looks like it's off the showroom floor
Act162this
03-23-2007, 12:46 PM
Hey, that's okay - doesn't matter if it's pretty or not as long as you have a big cam and gear drive.
one Accel and the rest Moroso Blue Max plug wires?
Act162this
03-23-2007, 12:53 PM
there's this older Asian man i always see driving a CHERRY stock El Camino, about mid 80s...fricken truck looks like it's off the showroom floor
Is it a dark blue one? Not the one with the Monte SS 84 - 87 front end, but the 80+ front end with the four square headlights?
There's also a couple of cherry 69 - 71 El Caminos running around with fat auto drags out back and skinnies up front or vette rims. I think one or two of them are SS 396s (one red w/ black SS stripes, and two others are black w/ white SS stripes). Sweeeet sounding lopey cams, IIRC, one has a Pete Jackson GD.
Hardly see/hear those old cars out on the streets anymore, so it's always a treat to hear a big cam and gear drive go by.
Is it a dark blue one? Not the one with the Monte SS 84 - 87 front end, but the 80+ front end with the four square headlights?
There's also a couple of cherry 69 - 71 El Caminos running around with fat auto drags out back and skinnies up front or vette rims. I think one or two of them are SS 396s (one red w/ black SS stripes, and two others are black w/ white SS stripes). Sweeeet sounding lopey cams, IIRC, one has a Pete Jackson GD.
Hardly see/hear those old cars out on the streets anymore, so it's always a treat to hear a big cam and gear drive go by.
yeah and his lic plate # is (i'm assuming) his last name.
one of my exes had a CHERRY 70 EC he used to let me drive all the time. baby used to haul ass:OLA:
There is also a 2-tone brown one from Aina-Haina... MINT...
No, he said its not for sale... DAMMIT
Act162this
03-25-2007, 06:29 PM
I would guess any of the older ones that are in decent shape aren't for sale. Some of the nicer 68 - 71 ones I've seen spend most of the time under a car cover when they aren't out for cruise nights or the toys for tots cruise.
Back in the day, everyone was putting the SS badges on their Chevelles and El Caminos, so unless you know how to read VINs, you really have to watch out what you are buying.
there is a 70 SS on CL now...
I'm looking at a 69 SS project... (not sure how big a project)
there is a 70 SS on CL now...
I'm looking at a 69 SS project... (not sure how big a project)
Act162this
03-26-2007, 01:05 PM
Ooh! 69 SS! Are you keeping it to a stock resto or restification? As long as it's not totally hashed or rusted into oblivion, go for it. Those things are hard to find these days, or if it's in good condition, you're going to pay a premium.
Back in the day, we'd have cut that thing up/gutted it, tubbed the rear, and stuffed in the biggest motor we could, but with prices and the resto craze these days, I think we'd be strung up if we did that.
i wish i never sold mine. me very sad. :(
Act162this
03-26-2007, 06:27 PM
Heck yeah - if we'd known then what we know now, we probably would never have sold our cars. But way back then, 67 - 69 Camaros, Chevelles, etc... were pretty much a dime a dozen. I never expected them to appreciate so much in value, especially in stock form.
Ooh! 69 SS! Are you keeping it to a stock resto or restification? As long as it's not totally hashed or rusted into oblivion, go for it. Those things are hard to find these days, or if it's in good condition, you're going to pay a premium.
Back in the day, we'd have cut that thing up/gutted it, tubbed the rear, and stuffed in the biggest motor we could, but with prices and the resto craze these days, I think we'd be strung up if we did that.
I should clarify... 69 SS-396 ElCamino...
I'll call the owner tomorrow and schedule a time to take a look at it...
It was a father/son project that the son lost interest because the track is closed. Supposedly in decent shape...:breakdance:
Act162this
03-27-2007, 12:43 PM
Roger that - I figured you were referring to a SS 396 El Camino. That's a find! Only thing better/rarer than a SS396 is an SS454 (LS5, LS6, who cares - it's a 454!)
Hope it's in good shape - if the only thing stopping them is that the drag strip closed, then it's probably in decent shape. Hopefully they didn't stop because it was too far gone to fix.
Good luck!
Roger that - I figured you were referring to a SS 396 El Camino. That's a find! Only thing better/rarer than a SS396 is an SS454 (LS5, LS6, who cares - it's a 454!)
Hope it's in good shape - if the only thing stopping them is that the drag strip closed, then it's probably in decent shape. Hopefully they didn't stop because it was too far gone to fix.
Good luck!
ahhh you would have been sick, my Camaro had a 454 inside, from a 74 Caprice Classic:toilet3:
Act162this
03-27-2007, 01:43 PM
Sweet... camaro with a 454 - first gen? They dropped in nicely!
Heck with the weight balance - if you're running auto drag skinnies in the front, it doesn't matter if you have a SBC or BBC - it ain't going to stop or turn anyway.
Lots of the car folks are using the Chevy 502 (new version) now, sweet-looking motor. It's almost easier now to get a motor than a car to put it in.
Back in the day, the only way to go larger than the 454 was to bore it out or use the Mercury Marine blocks. Wish I still had a car to put something like that in.
Roger that - I figured you were referring to a SS 396 El Camino. That's a find! Only thing better/rarer than a SS396 is an SS454 (LS5, LS6, who cares - it's a 454!)
Hope it's in good shape - if the only thing stopping them is that the drag strip closed, then it's probably in decent shape. Hopefully they didn't stop because it was too far gone to fix.
Good luck!
sure... a 69 SS454 would be REALLY rare...
and FWIW, there were oodles of SS454's... LS6 454's were rare... just like L78 396's... :shocked:
Act162--you're the guy that responded to my catfishing thread yeah?
Act162this
03-29-2007, 04:22 PM
Act162--you're the guy that responded to my catfishing thread yeah?
Yep. Did you catch anything?
Act162this
03-29-2007, 04:27 PM
sure... a 69 SS454 would be REALLY rare...
and FWIW, there were oodles of SS454's... LS6 454's were rare... just like L78 396's... :shocked:
Ah... figured the SS396 would be more common. Used to see SS454 badged El Caminos running around, but didn't pay too much attention way back then b/c everyone was rebadging their Camaros into SSs, or Z/28s when they were only base models.
Figured everyone was doing it, and back then, unless you were collecting, nobody really ran numbers on them.
Then you had the occasional sleeper that either had an SS and de-badged it, or dropped a BBC into a base model and left it "grandma green". One of my friends even went so far as to pour a whole can of motor oil on his block and then drive down a dirt road to make the motor look like crud. Then he'd take it to the tracks and say "I dunno what it runs, it's my grandma's Malibu".
Heck, those were the days... guess I'm showing my age.
Yep. Did you catch anything?
HAHA, no we haven't gone fishing for a while...kid-busy.
you post more here than you do over there. :banana:
Ah... figured the SS396 would be more common. Used to see SS454 badged El Caminos running around, but didn't pay too much attention way back then b/c everyone was rebadging their Camaros into SSs, or Z/28s when they were only base models.
Figured everyone was doing it, and back then, unless you were collecting, nobody really ran numbers on them.
Then you had the occasional sleeper that either had an SS and de-badged it, or dropped a BBC into a base model and left it "grandma green". One of my friends even went so far as to pour a whole can of motor oil on his block and then drive down a dirt road to make the motor look like crud. Then he'd take it to the tracks and say "I dunno what it runs, it's my grandma's Malibu".
Heck, those were the days... guess I'm showing my age.
I think you missed my point...
There were no 454's in 1969 production vehicles...
1969 had 396-325HP, 350HP, 375HP
1970 had 396 (402) and 454 (LS5, LS6)
1971-1972 there was a unique car called the "Malibu 400" Which was a base Malibu (aka Chevelle) with the 396(402) in it. no bubble hood, nuttin... and the one I owned was "grandma green"... but I bought it from grampa...
Udrivecrap
04-01-2007, 08:06 AM
growing up, we had a 71 Chevelle 4-door with 350 horses. bought it new and many years later sold it to one of my bro's friends who wrapped it around a telephone poll :wtf:
everywhere i go with my El Camino... even the way it looks... people say how cool it sounds. i'm like yeah, it says small penis.... but that doesn't apply to me :D
growing up, we had a 71 Chevelle 4-door with 350 horses. bought it new and many years later sold it to one of my bro's friends who wrapped it around a telephone poll :wtf:
everywhere i go with my El Camino... even the way it looks... people say how cool it sounds. i'm like yeah, it says small penis.... but that doesn't apply to me :D
Thats not what SHE said!:OLA:
Udrivecrap
04-02-2007, 09:25 AM
fukker :D
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