See each build: the '69 Camaro · the '70 C10 · the '73 Nova
An El Camino is a Chevelle with a bed, and that's the key to building one. From 1964 on it shared its chassis, drivetrain, front sheet metal, and most of its interior with the Chevelle and Malibu, which means everything we know about GM muscle cars carries straight over: the LS swaps, the suspension and brake work, the paint and interior work you'll see on our '69 Camaro. The bed is the part that makes it a truck, and the part that makes it an El Camino.
We work on the second generation (1964–1967), the third (1968–1972, including the SS cars), the fourth (1973–1977), and the fifth (1978–1987) that ran on the G-body platform. We haven't published an El Camino build yet, so the proof on this page is the GM muscle-car and truck work it borrows from. If you bring us one, it'll be the first one on this page. We're a family shop in Pelham, Alabama, south of Birmingham, and we take in cars from anywhere in the lower 48.
New to how a build goes? Start with how it works. Just want the drivetrain? See engine swaps.
The right color, the right trim, the 283, 327, 350, or 396 gone through so it runs the way it did new. Rust repaired in metal, gaps set before paint, interior to factory pattern. The path for a documented SS or a car that's been in the family.
The body stays stock. Underneath: fuel injection or an LS, an overdrive automatic, disc brakes, a suspension that doesn't wander, air conditioning that works in August. A car-truck you take to the hardware store on Saturday.
LS or LSX power, coilovers at all four corners, a modern rear end, Wilwood brakes, custom wheels, a stance that fills the wheel wells, and a hand-stitched interior. The same recipe as our '69 Camaro, with a bed.
Every build is billed on time and materials, scoped around your car, your budget, and how you'll drive it. Nothing above is a package with a fixed price.
Rebuild the original small-block or big-block, or swap in LS, LSX, or LT power with the fuel system, harness, and cooling to run it. Overdrive automatic or a modern manual, and a 12-bolt or 9-inch-style rear end that can take the torque.
The A-body and G-body chassis take modern suspension well: coilovers front and rear, tubular control arms, sway bars, and a quick-ratio steering box. Disc brakes at all four corners when the power calls for it. The same parts we ran on the Camaro bolt into the same kind of frame.
El Caminos rust in the floors, the rear quarters, the lower doors, and especially the bed floor and the seam where the bed meets the cab. Metal first, then paint. Bed floors replaced or lined depending on whether the truck part of the car is going to get used.
Bench or buckets, stock pattern or custom, stitched in-house. Dakota Digital gauges, a custom console, Vintage Air. The cab is a Chevelle cab, so anything we can do in a Chevelle we can do here.
Not one we've published yet. What we have built is the car it's based on, in every way that matters for the work: the LS swaps, suspension, brakes, paint, and interiors on our GM muscle cars and trucks. An El Camino is a Chevelle underneath, and the first one through the shop will go on this page.
The 1968–1972 cars are the most wanted and the most expensive to start with, especially the SS. The 1978–1987 G-body cars are the cheapest way in and take an LS swap and modern suspension well. The 1964–1967 cars sit in between. The right one is the one you already have or the one you can't stop looking at.
A full build typically runs 12 to 18 months once it starts; an LS swap on its own is typically 30 to 45 days in the shop. Condition, scope, and parts move those, and you'll get a window once your car is scoped. Details on how it works.
Yes. We take in cars from anywhere in the lower 48, and the build runs the same way with weekly photo updates. The nationwide restoration page covers transport and what to expect.