You’d be hard-pressed to find a classic car more versatile than an El Camino. The Pick of the Day is a 1971 Chevrolet El Camino listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Burnet, Texas.
“This beautiful 1971 El Camino is a garage-kept car that spent its entire life in California, until it was recently relocated to central Texas with its family,” the listing begins.
Chevrolet’s popular “coupe utility” was in its third generation from 1968 through 1972. It was based on the Chevelle, which rode on the same General Motors A-body platform. A restyle in 1971 gave the car “Power Beam” single-unit headlights, a revised grille, and different marker lamps. It was that same year when a rebadged variant of the El Camino, the GMC Sprint, hit the marketplace.
The appeal of the El Camino, of course, was found in its versatility. One advertisement had the headline “One tough car. One luxurious pickup.” It went on to say, “Nobody ever combined beauty and brawn like Chevrolet did in the ’71 El Camino.” There were a few stand-out features mentioned including the Magic Mirror paint, “double wall” box panels, one-piece fender liners, a coil suspension, and durable Body by Fisher.
Despite the El Camino’s truck-like capabilities, the cabin is comfortable. The listing says “The interior is a 9.9 out of 10,” and it adds that everything inside the car functions as it should. A Bluetooth radio has been added, and the cabin has been completely lined in Dynamat sound insulation. The carpeting, door panels, bench seat, and dash pad were all replaced.
This El Camino started out life with a 350ci V8, but it has since been upgraded to a stroker 383ci small-block V8 with Vortec cylinder heads, aluminum intake manifold, Holley 650cfm carburetor with an electric choke, and a new HEI distributor. “Most everything is new, and a lot of time was spent professionally restoring the engine compartment for year of reliability,” the seller says. The transmission is a remanufactured Turbo 350 with a mild shift kit, and the Positraction rear axle has 3.30-ratio gearing.
The seller says, “This is a well-mannered car with an extremely smooth ride with minimal, if any, road noise. It also has plenty of performance when you step on the throttle and effortlessly maneuver around corners.” Supporting that claim is a nine-minute video with test-drive footage from both inside and outside the car. The Flowmaster exhaust system gives the car an aggressive growl that will turn heads at any cruise or parade.
The asking price is $29,500 or best offer.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com
