![]() Some 35 years after buying the El Camino, MacLeod finally finished his project late in 2018 and showed it off at the 2019 Calgary World of Wheels. The car remained in the automaker’s lineup until 1987, when production was halted. But, the El Camino returned in 1964, when GM based it on the Chevelle platform. It’s a 1959 El Camino pattern, and MacLeod added the trim from an Impala to the door panels.Ĭhevrolet built the first generation El Camino until 1960, when it quit production of the unique vehicle. An interior package came from Ciadella Classic Chevrolet Interiors in Tempe, Arizona. To the body, MacLeod fitted 1959 Cadillac taillights while the fuel filler door was shaved and moved to the inside of the box, which now features a wood floor.Īfter seeing a 2005 Mini Cooper in Electric Blue, MacLeod had the El Camino sprayed that hue. Upgrades include power disc brakes, power steering and air conditioning. Backing up the engine is a two-speed Power Glide transmission. He pulled the cracked engine and installed a rebuilt small-block Chevrolet power plant that was originally under the hood of a 1969 Camaro. The El Camino needed new floors, new quarter panels and all new metal in the subframe under the tailgate. He enlisted the help of Ronnie Smith of Custom Rides by Ronnie in Didsbury to complete the metal work. It wasn’t until MacLeod moved to Airdrie that he finally brought the El Camino home. “I was throwing good money after bad, and while the car had been sitting, water got in the engine block, froze, and cracked it,” MacLeod explains. OKĪt that point, he simply parked the project car on his nephew’s pasture in Manitoba, where it sat while MacLeod moved first to Thunder Bay, Ontario and then to Cold Lake, Alberta for work. You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen. While he’d painted the chassis and installed a new engine, the El Camino wasn’t anywhere near completion.įull Screen is not supported on this browser version. He pulled the car out and sent it to another shop where, due to their high workload, it didn’t get finished, and MacLeod got the same result at a third body shop. None of the body panels were lining up properly. They began the process of straightening out the car, but MacLeod wasn’t satisfied with the efforts. The El Camino was delivered to a shop that specialized in collision work. He says he’d tinkered with a few cars prior to the El Camino, but body work wasn’t his specialty. MacLeod had big plans to redo the car with some body work and a few performance upgrades. It still had the original straight-six-cylinder engine and three-speed column shift transmission.” “It had been crashed, with significant damage to the front end, including the hood and fenders. ![]() “It was in pretty rough shape,” MacLeod recalls. It was for sale, and almost 25 years to the day after Chevrolet’s introduction of the model, on October 29, 1983, MacLeod borrowed $400 from his girlfriend, added $200 of his own money, and bought the vehicle. MacLeod finally stopped at the autobody shop and inquired about the El Camino. “Every day on my route I’d pass by a body shop where there was this El Camino sitting outside.” “I used to work for Westway Foods in Winnipeg as a delivery driver,” MacLeod, now based in Airdrie, says. Inside, the seat and upholstery from a Biscayne were utilized. ![]() Outside, it wore the trim of GM’s top-of-the-line Bel Air. The original El Camino was based on a Brookwood two-door station wagon platform. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |