I would appreciate any comments on the 70 Elky below. I realize it is a clone. No rust anywhere and car is a good runner. Comments on price or overall thoughts are appreciated.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=18&category=6153&item=2466064774&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBBI%3AIT

The stripes are WAY wrong. Not only did they paint them on the gate (which is not factory and looks goofy IMHO)they didn't use a correct stencil on the front so it looks off. Besides that,it looks clean and all. No engine pics. always makes me hesitant. You'd have to repaint the gate and hood to do the stripes correct. If you gonna spend that kind of money,it would be good to see it in person.

Not much you can tell from a picture, they hide or just don't show a whole lot. But it looks like a nice Elky and 7 grand for a running Elky that year is pretty good about Mid price. Not too high and not too low.

So were you thinking about buying this truck or is it yours and your selling it?

Thinking about buying. I really want a early 70's or late 60's model and they all seem to be clones that I find. I really like the original engine in one so that I can know what is being done. This one is solid body wise and interior but the engine is unknown. I have someone looking at prior to final decision but I really like the advice of you guys as I see you as the experts or at least with some experience.

Thanks for the input. I will get me an Elky one day! But I want the right one for me.

As the other have stated- the stripes are horribly wrong... Interior looks nice, but is not correct- Looks like generic JC whitney seat covers & door panels

Bed looks nice, looks like Linex or Rhino Liner- I would be real curious to know whats under it though... Be sure to crawl under the back of the car and look at the bottom of the bed- In front of the gas tank- to make sure its not completly rusted out!

Rims are basic rallys with cheapo white wall tires on them...

Doesn't say anything about the brakes- which probably means it has 4 wheel drums...

Personally I wouldn't buy that one for that price....
For another two thousand or so you could get one with a big block.
IMO- That car should be $4k-$5k. $6k if it had diskbrakes and the engine was built up.


I've got my eye on a 72 right now- Runs good, Just needs interor work and a crunch in the quarter panel worked out. and i can get the car for $2k... Keep looking there are defintely more cars out there.

Restoring these takes a lot of cash. Even when you look at some of the so called "El Cheapo" JC Whitney stuff. From what you can see in the picture its in good shape. I'm not sure about everyone else by I have paid up to $5,000 + for a Paint Job alone. Doesn't matter to the painter if the strips are wrong or not. That paint job probably ran the guy around 2 grand, including the bed liner.

I don't care for the paint scheme or some of the interior but I know the value of restorations. I've got well over $7,000.00 in my 76. My 80 SS has over $20,000.00 invested so far and I have the receipts, and I am not finished. So depending on just how much work someone has put in the truck it could have twice that amount in it. My engines cost more than $3,000 each. Then you still should appreciate the amount of labor that it takes to make it look that good that is not ever figured into the cost of restoration most of the time. Shops get up to 95.00 an hour around 60 to $70.00 for paint and body.

If you want to know about the engine then pull it apart. Your only talking about two or three days worth of work to be sure of what you've got. I guess if you haven't spent the time and effort on restorations or customizations then $7,000.00 sounds like a bunch of money I guess.

Just my $0.02 worth.

What about the claim that it's an original CA "black plate" - that plate looks like a white Nevada plate to me, so you're not going to get the black plate except as a souvenir. Of course if you're not in CA it's a moot point, but here in CA the original black plate is a highly desirable item, with many older cars still wearing them. They can be transferred with the vehicle to a new owner, and add considerable value to the vehicle.

Other than that, my advice would be to read the following article before you buy anything: www.autorestorer.com/articles/art116.html.
Good Luck!

I didn't mean that the car couldn't have that much money into it- I'm sure it probably has much more than $7k in it.

But I also know there is a MAJOR difference between the ammount of money someone invests in a car and the ammount of money that same car is worth when its time to sell.
I had well over $20k in my 69 elky and it sold for $6k. Was i happy about it? No, but I needed to sell the car, and that is what it was worth. I bought my 70 elky for $8k- I know for a fact the guy who sold it to me had JUST spent $2500 on interior and $5k on body work the 2 or 3 years prior to selling it, and that is not counting anything else he did... But once again, he got what he could out of it.

Its an unfortunate Fact of life with these cars. If you have to completly re-do your car- When the time comes to sell, unless it is truley something rare, you won't get your money out of it. Only way to make money in this game is buy something that is complete and hold it for a few years and sell. Or better yet- Fix up one and don't sell! :)

I just meant that in MY opinion- THAT price for THAT car is too much.

Another thing to consider when putting several thousand bucks into a resto or performance car is the fact that you're driving and using it too.
Spent over 20 grand on several restos and sold them later for much less, sometimes less than half of what I had invested. But the bottom line was the fact that I built them myself, and got years of use out of most of them.
And, of course, these were not low mileage, mint cars. I have seen several on ebay and around the country priced the same as an all original, low mileage car.... and they aren't it.
All and all, I have to say building a car, (or even buying one built,) driving it, being proud of it, and later selling it for less than you paid or have invested still beats buying a new car that loses several thousand in value the second you drive it off the lot and wil never in it's life last long enough to be a classic.

FYI This car was bought at $7950. I thought I had it at $7000 but a last minute bid took it to the high price. I think he paid too much!

Anyone finding a 70 or 71 in great shape let me know.

Yes the fact is that many of us are going to spend more on our El Caminos than we could ever recover by selling. I have bought old Corvettes kept them for awhile, sold them and made money on the sale but the Corvette was always in good condition and the previous owner took the hit on the restoration. On my 1979 El Camino I have already spent more money on it then I will ever be able to sell it for but I really enjoy the car and modifying it to my specs makes it special and valuable to me.

What about the claim that it's an original CA "black plate" - that plate looks like a white Nevada plate to me, so you're not going to get the black plate except as a souvenir. Of course if you're not in CA it's a moot point, but here in CA the original black plate is a highly desirable item, with many older cars still wearing them. They can be transferred with the vehicle to a new owner, and add considerable value to the vehicle.

All cars registered in California in 1969 or before were "Black Plate Cars"
That doesn't mean squat. Like stated above unless you live in California it's a moot point.
And E-Bay really needs to offer a spell checker!