Steve was confiding in his uncle for advice when looking to buy a 1966 El Camino, not thinking he would ever sell his. Turns out he was wrong! His uncle sold his El Camino to him, which was about 6 years ago.
Steve’s El Camino is a resto-mod, matching numbers 396, built at the Kansas City assembly plant in the last week of 1965. It is a factory AC car, originally equipped with a Powerglide automatic trans. It came to him with headers, a mild cam, aluminum intake manifold, and a 700R4 transmission.
Since taking ownership he has installed:
MSD ignition
4-row aluminum radiator with dual electric fans
aluminum hi-flow water pump
Eaton Detroit true trac positraction differential
polyurethane body mounts
Summit tubular front control arms
Hotchkis rear sway bar
RetroSound stereo.
He has replaced the AC compressor, starter motor, battery, fuel pump, all wheels, axle bearings, alternator, KYB shocks gas adjustable in front, and Gabriel HiJackers in the rear, and also rebuilt the carburetor. It’s set up to be a reliable street ride. Looks good and gets us back home.
This El Camino has meaning as he had one when he was 18 years old and he had to sell it but never got over it. It was a 12-second quarter-miler, not well suited to his job as a pool service technician.
The El Camino he currently owns is in his top choice of color, and rust-free. He loves the look of the 1966 El Camino and cars from this time. They have a sound and feel that is so different than modern cars. They almost have a personality and soul that is unique to each vehicle.
Eventually, he would like to repaint it and possibly get new bumpers to dress it up. The paint and chrome are ok but could be improved. He also plans to do more rust protection with POR15 on the chassis and underside.
