In 2016 Carmelo was vacationing in South Carolina when he spotted this 1967 El Camino for sale and he just couldn’t pass it up. Being an original California car, it was in great shape and a good deal for a running driver car.
He’s had El Caminos in the past, but never one as old as a ’67, and he liked the body lines of this generation. For the first year of ownership, he drove it around as it was. During the following year, the heater core needed to be replaced so he dove into restoring what needed it.
He removed the entire interior as part of the process replacing the heater core. While everything was apart, he cleaned and rust proofed the entirety of the trouble areas such as the inner fenders. Several items were replaced with new parts the previous owner provided.
Carmelo also added a new SS hood as well as the SS dash panel from the Chevelle, fixed up the grille as well as the radiator support and front bumper. The tired front suspension was rebuilt and refreshed entirely to bring back some tighter handling.
In addition to the cosmetics and handling upgrades, Carmelo also rewired the electrical system in the 1967 El Camino to make it more modern and reliable. He also took note of cleaning up the worn paint to be more presentable. The tired TH350 transmission was replaced in favor of a 200R4. That alone made the 327 small block more enjoyable to drive.
In the future, he plans on adding an air conditioning system for comfort as well as a power disc brake conversion for additional stopping power.
Carmelo has invested quite a bit of time and effort into bringing out the underlying potential of this 1967 El Camino for his personal enjoyment. He always gets great comments while driving around, as not many of these cars make it outside of their garages these days. He plans to get the full use out of his investment rather than it being a garage queen.
In the few short years he’s owned this El Camino, Carmelo has revitalized and improved the majority of the vehicle to be a street cruiser. It might not have the most desirable or prestigious options, but the fun is all the same.
