1972 Chevrolet El Camino SS

Do you want a muscle car with some practicality? The El Camino was a great concept when it first appeared back in 1959 as it gave the option to buyers of a light duty pickup with the size and handling of an automobile. In 1968 Chevrolet decided to present an SS model to their lineup and thus the muscle car El Camino was born and became a popular site on the roads and even on the drag strip. Although El Caminos were built up to 1987, the peak of styling and performance for these cars was from 1968-1972 and then the fuel crisis, safety, and emissions regulations really dumbed down the whole range of cars from American manufacturers as we entered the Malise era of automotive design.
This 1972 model year El Camino has been a labor of love for its current owner and received a 10 year, frame-off, restoration with over 4000 man hours invested to create a one-of-a-kind custom, resto-mod show car. To begin with the car was disassembled and the frame was prepped and powder coated, the body was painted in a beautiful pearl white metallic and all chrome's replaced to show quality and the brightwork was replaced and polished as needed. The interior is all new with a rally pack gauge cluster, AC prepped dash, black loop carpeting, black headliner, modern retro looking stereo, custom kick panel speakers, and a Corvette style 3-spoke comfort grip steering wheel with tilt column. The engine is the true heart of the beast with a 502ci Ed Pink block, aluminum Edelbrock Victor 24 heads, modern Holley 4 barrel carburetor, Edelbrock aluminum intake, MSD ignition, billet pulleys and serpentine belt system. The engine puts out approximately 650 hp and has dyno sheets showing conservative, gentle testing with 418 horsepower to the wheels displayed. Under the hood beautiful billet valve covers sit atop the heads, billet hood hinges with lift struts are featured, and lots of chrome bits dress up the engine bay. The dual exhaust system has Doug's Headers, 3-inch pipes with Magnaflow mufflers, Silverline stainless tips, and a 3.5-inch center dump pipe with electronic valve controlled by a dash switch. This thing will notify all bystanders that it means business when the engine fires up! The Turbo 350 automatic transmission was fully rebuilt and a 12-bolt post traction rear end was installed. The entire suspension was modernized with a QA1 Level 2 suspension and handling kit with A arm conversions, thick sway bars front and rear, and adjustable coil overs at all 4 corners. Power assisted, 4-wheel disk brakes were also installed with drilled and slotted rotors and red painted calipers. The cooling system was also beefed up with a large aluminum radiator added, billet Alvin overflow tube, and twin electric fans. This car also has a functioning Ram Air hood with stainless hood pins to complete the true muscle car build. The wheels were also painted in matching pearl white and are wrapped with proper white letter BF Goodrich T/As: 225/60/15 up front and beefy 295/50/15 at the rear. The car has a nice mean stance right now and sits lower in the front, looking ready to pounce but the ride height can be raised or lowered to your tastes since it has adjustable coil overs. Finally there are "SS 502" badging, spray in bed liner to the cargo area, and a black vinyl roof to complete the whole package.


This El Camino has only traveled 58 miles since completion and has been trailered to many local car shows and has been a crowd favorite wherever it goes. The owner is making room for some more projects so has decided that its time to let this dream build car go to a new custodian. This is one of the best ones out there, and the car is sure to put a grin on the face of its next owner for many many miles and years ahead.