Hi all,

Here's the thing. I am 26, just moved back to Berkeley CA, going back to school to get my masters, and for the first time in my life I'm going to buy myself a car. And I have always wanted an El Camino. The problem is, I don't really know anything about working on cars, and while I'm willing to learn, my time is going to be limited between work and school.

I have up to $5000 to spend, and I'd really like a '59-'60 or '68'-'69, but I'd be willing to branch out for a reliable daily driver. Mostly I'll be tooling around the bay area (but that involves regular 30 and 40 mile drives). I'll also be taking the occasional road trip to LA or Oregon or Vegas.

Is there any hope of finding an El Camino in that price range that will keep running on that schedule for a couple of years with minimal intervention? Does anyone know anything about the California smog requirements and how that will affect things? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Carolyn

Hey Carolyn;

First of all, welcome to our little family!

Of course this is just my opinion, so take it for what's worth. Anything 30 or 40 years old is going to take alot of attention and money to get where you'd need it to be to do the driving you described. Fourth and fifth gen.'s are probably more along the line of what you should be looking at and in your price range. Being in Kalifonia, rust isn't too much of a problem, but something to always be aware of. Fifth gen.'s (78-87) are more plentiful than all others and finding a reliable one in your price range shouldn't be that difficult. Having said that and just so you know I'm not biased to any particular year, I've always want a 1970 454 SS...oh, someday. :cool:

Welcome to ECC Carolyn!

I have to agree with Peter. For what you want to spend, a real nice 78-87 5th generation El Camino is probably easier to find than a 59-60 or a 68-69. The roadworthy 1st generation El Caminos that I've seen for sale are in the $9-12K range and up. Keep your eyes open though. Good luck in your search.

As soon as I hit the Powerball I'll buy myself one of each generation El Camino.

:mrgreen:

Carolyn,
I feel your pain! I just gave away a 1987 GMC Cabelaro with 107k miles and a 3rd generation ( my dad gave it to me) for $3300.oo. I wanted someone to buy it that might take care of it better than I did.

Good Luck
86 SS El Camino 8)

Definitely check all your local classifieds, that's how I found my 87 elky. Granted, mine had sat in a barn for 3 years and requires quite some work, but I did buy it for $3250 :D . Make sure you find out everything you can about the car before you buy it. Such as accidents, or automotive problems, anything that might need replacing. For your kind of travelling, I hope you find one with either a two barrel carburator or throttle-body injection, cuz a 4 barrel, like mine, is a gas guzzler. Good luck.

Finding a good to excellent condition 4th or 5th Gen Elky in your area and in your price range should not be difficult at all. I do not know if you have the Auto Trader or Tradin Times weekly newspaper want ads in your area, thats where I found mine. You can also check Ebay and tailor your search to your area only, then go look at the vehicle before you bid. Check the vehicle out completely and remember BUYER BEWARE. Finding an older Elky as a daily driver, and in your price range is near impossible and even if you did find one I wouldn't recommend using it as a daily driver.

:cool:
Hi Carolyn,

Welcome and if you are really serious about purchasing an elky...
I would be more than willing to help you out. I'm pretty close to where your at. I am in Santa Cruz, Ca. Drop me a email with a general idea of what you are looking for and I will research the Bay area for you and get you started in the right direction. My name is Darryl and I can be contacted at:

realfastcars@hotmail.com

Looking forward to helping you out if I can.

Cheers!
74 elky owner/pumped 350/tired paint/resto in progress

Welcome to ECC, Carolyn.

I agree with the other board members. A 5th generation El Camino (1978-87) will best fit the description of your needs. Ocassionally check this link for El Caminos for sale. You can restrict your "search" on this link to the Pacific Coast, or California, or a single zip code.

I just now found three dozen El Caminos for sale in California at this link.

http://www.collectorcartraderonline.com/adsearch.html

Best of luck with your Elky search and your post graduate studies.

Hey, from a nubie. If I may add a bit here. I don't know which car to choose, buying an elk is like any other car. The more you know about them the better the deal you may be able to get. Or if you get selected by one to be its owner and take care of it be sure you know what you are getting into as much as you can. Parts are the biggest thing you are going to have a problem with. 4th gen elks parts are a dillimma they are GM A-bodies BUT try to find parts like the core support bushings should you decide to take off the clip and get into the engine area and other obsolete parts I.E. New or remanufatured parts for the interior and body parts. Used is okay for metal but the rubber stuff and trim and molding is hard to find. They are almost thirty yrs old. And be careful of projects and words like "all you would have to do is..." "oh it's just..." I said this to myself and I have quite a few restore hours under my belt. I have recently finished a 1983 Harley Lowrider. I purchased mine w/o motor and it's in pretty rough shape but I don't have the constraints of a schedule so its no big deal time wise. 60 to 72 A-bodies parts are plentiful (weird huh?) Well I thought that I had this motor trans combo and it turned out to be this, and all in all I have had to (so far) fit the trans crossmember and headers/exaust replacement, drive shaft shorted. Well all I am saying is I have gone neck deep but it is fun and once it is done it will be a unique and awsome ride. SO it will be worth the trouble but be ready for what you get into! Hope to see you down the road and sorry that this was so long I am waiting on parts, ridden my motorcycle, played my guitar, watched tv, and here I am. :")
Ltr.

Hi Carolyn,

I'm also in the SF Bay Area, (east bay). The best source for you finding one is to look in the Bay Classifieds or Diablo Dealer weekly papers. Those are our free local bay area used car ads. Or also on autotrader.com

Best of luck looking for one and if you need any help or questions on one you find...just ask! 8)

Dave

Hello

I thinks its gunna be kinda tough to find what your looking for, 1st gen caminos and well pretty much any cars/trucks from the 50s and 60s will be hard to keep care of as daily drivers, and when people restore them they usually go the whole 9 yards and sell them for more then your lookin to pay, I also think the 5th gen el caminos would be more what your looking for, money and daily driver wise, but none the less you may find the needle in the hay stack, good luck on your search.

Hi carol, i live in modesto ca i own a 69 el-co and am going to look at another one tomorow a friend of mine told me about. he is one of the few peoples judgement i trust and according to him this is one fine peice of equipment. the asking price on its 3000 and IF i can think of a way to bring home another old chevy and remain married id like to buy it myself but thats a big IF. i will post on the el-co tomorow after i get back from looking at it. with the owners permission i will also post his address.

$3000 for a 69 isn't a bad price unless the car needs some serious work. Last month I looked at a 69 SS clone (bad attempt) minus engine and trans and needed the bed replaced for $3200. It was just 1/2 mile up the road from RT 66 Raceway in Joliet IL. I guess location has a lot to due with what you can sell a car for.

As soon as I hit the Powerball I'll buy myself one of each generation El Camino.

:mrgreen:

once I win the lottery I'm buying one of every year of Elky! :-P

I don't mean to brag but I brought my '70 SS for $2000 minus engine and tranny but the body is perfect 8) and it was from Hawaii. My dad looked and called people for six months and couldn't find anything but I just drove down the road. I think all you have to do is be patient and keep looking sooner or later you will find one. :D

El Camino gal, no offense, but only a cheesehead would sell a 70 SS Elky body in perfect shape for $2000! :lol: When I win the lottery, I'm gonna buy ALL the El Caminos'...everyone has their price! I will then rent them out to all you guys that need your Elky fix. I'll be the Elky Kingpin. 8)

sorry about not posting on this sooner as of tonight i haven seen the el-co
i hadn't been able to find a daylight time that me and the owner could agree on. tuesday at 4 pm im supposed to check it out God and the D.M.V
willing. so with any luck il post after i see it for those interested.

I don't mean to brag but I brought my '70 SS for $2000 minus engine and tranny but the body is perfect 8) and it was from Hawaii :D


I do!..... My last Elky was given to me. :P
Its a 1972 Custom 400. No engine or Transmission but other than that it is all there. Originally it had a 402 BBC and a THM 400. Some day it will once again breath through a BBC but a 502 CI one this time. It will need a new grill, bumper and paint with the engine. Cost was what gas it took me to go get it. :D

that 69 elco needs some work it has a decent running sb in it the body is straight but it needs paint not worth 3k in my oppinion but drop me an email at sgtwarped@aol.com if your interested once again its in the modesto california area