And perhaps Cranberry Red paint.įor some, having the TH400 automatic behind the LS6 is preferable. The only way to better it for equipment would be bucket seats with center console. This example checks off most of the boxes that anyone wanting an SS 454 LS6 (Chevelle or El Camino) would want: a popular color (Tuxedo Black), M22 “Rock Crusher” 4-speed, 4.10 Positraction rear end, Cowl Induction hood, power steering and power brakes. In later years, this concept was also used to side-step federal emissions standards for cars (most famously in the case of the 1978–79 Dodge Li’l Red Express) to surpass the performance of most cars. As such, not only did it wantonly borrow from the Chevelle hot-rod parts bin, but with the benefit initially of lower insurance rates as a truck. In the greater scope of things, this was always considered a truck by not only GM, but several state and province licensing authorities. It can be argued that the El Camino SS started the hot-truck phenomenon. And of course, the LS6 was the top of the line.
#71 EL CAMINO SS 454 FOR SALE FULL#
These big-block monsters had a reputation of being fast, although they could be hard to control under full throttle - drive one of these things hard without being careful and your own rear bumper will try to pass you.įor 1970, the El Camino was also available in two Super Sport models - the SS 396 and SS 454, each in two flavors of tune. This continued into the restyled 1968 models. However, it’s also worth noting that the 396 became a stand-alone engine option as a non-Super Sport in 1966. While the Super Sport Chevelle existed since 1964, there was no SS Elky until 1966 - the Mark IV big-block engine carried over into the El Camino, and the SS 396 became a bona fide stand-alone El Camino model that year. As these coupe pickups were both on station wagon chassis, component sharing was all but necessary to justify the lower production numbers of the open-back models. When the El Camino came back from its three-model-year hiatus in 1964, it shared a platform with the all-new Chevelle. Ford brought this concept to America with the Ranchero in 1957, and Chevrolet joined in by 1959 and ’60 with the Impala-based El Camino. The genesis of the El Camino came from Australia, where there was a market need for truck-like utility as well as car-like comforts in the same vehicle. It was both completely irrational and the perfect dual-purpose machine, depending on how you looked at it. With this car, you were able to haul whatever you needed to haul during the week, and on the weekends, you could head out to the drags and run low 13s in the quarter mile. Some sources place their build number at just over 500, and documented examples are even more scarce. But even more rare than that was the LS6 El Camino, like our subject car. Only about 4,500 LS6 cars were built in ’70. Party in the front, business in the backĪ documented original LS6 Chevelle isn’t something you see every day. And you could still have your LS6 engine, too. But what if you needed to haul things every once in awhile? Bigger things than would fit in that Chevelle’s trunk?
Regardless, these A-bodies were just the thing for brutal acceleration, endless doughnuts and city-block-long burnouts. Horsepower was king in 1970, and the LS6 cars were rated at 450, although some call that rating conservative. You may never get agreement from brand-loyal car fanatics over which of these was the baddest OEM muscle car ever built, but GM person or not, you have to agree that the LS6 is deserving of the reputation. And from Chevrolet, it’s the ’70 LS6 Chevelle. From Ford, it’s mostly the Shelby GT500 or Mustang Boss 429. From Mopar, that nod usually goes to the Hemi ’Cuda.
In the minds of most car guys, only a few cars can compete for all-time top-dog muscle-car status. This LS6 El Camino, Lot S166, sold for $121,900, including buyer’s premium, at Mecum’s Kissimmee, FL, event on January 26, 2013. Passenger’s side of the block on the front edge of the cylinder head deckġ966–70 Ford Ranchero GT coupe pickup, 1970–72 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454, 1978–79 Dodge D-150 Li’l Red Express pickup On top of the dashboard on the driver’s side
0 kommentar(er)
