okay my Gf is infatuated with el caminos we have found one in lexington sc where we live,

the dealer is palmetto custom

it is a 1978 model, we are going to go and check it out later this week up close and personal,

but i have a few questions

if the car is in good working order and I get a local mechanic to check it out and says it is also in good condition, will this likely be a type of vehicle where being into mister fixit is the main thing, or are these vehicles once refurbished well are pretty self sustaining, as long as you keep up with the routine maintentance of them?(i know that was a real confusing question any answer will be appreciated)

also has anyone dealt with palmetto custom before and how was it?

My 78 has been pretty reliable. I have replaced everything over the years since I have owned it since the mid 80s.

First of all, consider that this is a 27 year old vehicle you are thinking of buying. In addition to normal maintenance (oil changes, tires, brakes, etc.), it will also need occasional repairs to other wear items like exhaust, steering and suspension components. If you can do these repairs yourself, you are ahead of the game. But, if you aren't mechanically inclined you can incur some pretty hefty repair costs when you bring it into the repair shop.

Not to mention that awful four letter word, RUST!

Palmetto Custom???

I've lived in the greater Columbia area all my life, never heard of them! Where are they located?

There are a couple of decent elkies for sale around here, in fact, if it hasn't been sold, a really good looking 69 should be for sale at the next cruise in at Fat Boys/Wendys over in W. Columbia.

You are fortunate that your girlfriend loves elcaminos. I would guess that if I had a girlfriend atm that she would be very pissed at me as I spend ALL my available time working on my el camino, I love every minute of it.

This memorial day weekend, started at 10am friday driving an hour to get new seats for it, made it back mid day, started wripping out the interior, sanding rust, priming the front half of the cab, anti-rust coating. While waitint for it to dry, started working on new wiring harness for the guage pod, in between this and that, testing what would be needed for my new power buckets to work. Getting dimensions for mounting the seats....

Needless to say, I finished putting her back to driving order again Monday night at midnight...

All told, about 16 hours of sleep all weekend and MAYBE 4 hours of the remainder NOT spent on the elcamino...

Enjoy your purchase, but understand that you will spend more time with the el camino than your girl, unless she's under the hood or in the cab working with you :)