The SS396 and SS454 of 1968-72 are the most famous and have inspired the most survivors and clones, but the little-known El Camino SS of 1983-87 has its own following and movement of imitators. The El Camino SS has been the inspiration for the survival of many of these El Caminos. In areas of the country with snow and salt, the story is different, however, and El Caminos survive in some numbers but often with more than utility as the motivation for the effort of keeping them alive. Southern California being the land that rust forgot, almost any car can be kept on the road indefinitely as long as its owner finds it useful and is willing to keep it functioning mechanically, so large numbers of the highly useful and cheap to repair El Camino have survived as work vehicles. The Ranchero had a shorter wheelbase than the El Camino and was arguably more stylish than the Chevy thanks to its optional hideaway headlights.A feature last year on The El Caminos of Los Angeles depicted the fleet of Chevrolet El Caminos of every generation from 1964 to 1987 on the streets of L.A. You could get the car with a variety of other engines at the time including a 5.8-liter V-8, a 4.9-liter V-8, and a 4.6-liter inline-6. Meanwhile, whatever was available with the Ford Torino could also be ordered for the Ranchero, including the 7.0-liter Ram Air Cobra Jet engine that was distinguishable since it came with a cut-through hood which allowed the hood scoop to see the light.ġ970 was also the first year that the Ranchero received its own badging, identifying it as either a 'Ranchero' or a 'Ranchero GT'. It was positioned as a top-of-the-line trim level. You could get a Ranchero Squire for the first time in 1970. It had a shallow-pointed grille up front while the overall body shape was, as in the case of the 1970 El Camino, influenced by the coke bottle shape, very influential at the time. For the boxy '68-'69 look, the Ranchero went to a raunchy, razor-sharp, design for 1970. It became quite popular which is why Chevrolet responded with the El Camino which quickly overshadowed Ford's Ranchero.įor 1970, the Ranchero was restyled again. It combined the looks of a sedan with the practicality of a light pick-up truck. The Ranchero was the first American postwar coupe utility vehicle. In any case, most 427s were rated at 460 pound-feet of torque.ġ970 Chevrolet El Camino SS Competition Ford Ranchero Officially, no 427 had such an output in period, so it's either a mistake on their part or a modified unit. Mecum says this 472-powered El Camino is making a whopping 550 horsepower. It was an iron block with aluminum heads that was rated at 430 horsepower. In 1970, only the Corvette ZL1 was available with a 427. The 427 was most often found under the hoods of high-performance Corvettes or Camaros. This El Camino, though, is a little bit special. Above it was only the 7.4-liter unit which put out 450 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. The 396 developed in excess of 360 horsepower at the time. The 6.6-liter V-8 was still sold as the 396 (6.4-liter). The 3.8-liter and 4.1-liter inline engines were the choice of those that actually put their El Caminos to work although quite a few needed an extra punch and chose one of the V-8 options. The El Camino was available with a choice of inline-6 and V-8 engines during the four-year span of the third generation. One of the optional extras that could be added to the SS package was the addition of functional hood pins which this car has. ![]() The center panel of the tailgate is also painted in black. This example comes with the D88 stripe package which gave the car a sporty look thanks to the two wide stripes - with black outlines - that stretch back to the windshield. The orange indicators are incorporated in the chromed bumper and are positioned directly below the headlights. The bulky front bumper covers the entire lower part of the front fascia. The round headlights, which sit inside chromed sockets, are located on either side of the two-piece horizontally-mounted grille. Up front, the El Camino sports the four-headlight setup you'll find on the Chevelle. ![]() To make things easier in the production phase, the El Camino has as long a wheelbase as standard 4-door Chevelle Malibu, although it's slightly longer due to the longer rear overhang. That's why the El Camino received the same boxy body for 1970, at least up until the A-pillar. Basically, the El Camino followed suit in the Chevelle's footsteps when it came to looks.
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