Member: Howie Poulter

Car: 1966 El Camino

El Caminos have always had a soft spot for me. I remember as a teen seeing El Caminos in my area of Toronto and thinking what a neat car/ truck ?? they were. In 1969, I was working my first real full time job and continued to work part time pumping gas at the local Supertest station. A friend of the lead mechanic at the garage, got a new four speed Marina Blue/white hood stripes SS396 El Camino. I can’t remember which horsepower version it was, but it was a nice ride and I sure would have liked to own that vehicle. I could not afford an El Camino at the time but did buy a 69 Swinger 340 Dart, but that’s another story.

Fast forward to the spring of 2002 and a friend of mine, Don Tipping, who had purchased an Oregon based 66 big block El Camino a few years before had grown tired of the vehicle. It was offered for sale to me at a fair price and I could simply not pass up the opportunity to finally own a big block El Camino and diversify my GTO car collection. A deal was struck and the ElCo moved garages.

The ElCo was originally Tropic Turquoise with a Medium Fawn Interior and was equipped with the Custom trim package, tinted windshield, radio, power steering, power brakes, 3:73 positraction , powerglide and the brute 396/360 horse engine. The story goes that the original owner had purchased the SS El Camino to tow his Air Stream Trailer and indeed it was equipped to tow with a rear hitch, electric brake controller and Air Lift Rear Coil Air Bags with remote fill valve. My friend even used it to tow his drag car for a couple of years before he performed the restification. It towed beautifully of course with the 360hp 396 under the hood, however, the column shifted powerglide had to go.

Don performed most of the work that included a frame off restoration and an exterior and interior colour change; from Turquoise and Fawn to the retina burning base/clear Torch Red exterior with Black interior. He also replaced the original bench seat with correct 66 buckets. The Powerglide was ousted and replaced with a Turbo 400 with a floor mounted B & M Shifter. A tach, gauges and Blaupunkt in dash sound system were also added at this time. Front disc brakes were added, stainless exhaust with Corvette tips under the rear bumper, custom built Aluminum Rad and separate Trans Cooler. Although the engine is basically stock, including ceramic coated exhaust manifolds, it does have an HEI Distributor, Holley Performance Mechanical Fuel Pump, Edelbrock Aluminum Water Pump and Aluminum Intake with a Holley 650 Double Pump Carb.

The El Camino was in excellent shape prior to the restification and needed only minor sheet metal repair; the bed of the truck looked like it had never been used ! No dents, no scratches ! The “SS” Hood was added although El Camino’s were not available as “SS’s” until 1968; a nice touch that adds to the uniqueness of the truck. Being in the plating business, Don also replated or buffed all trim to as-new condition.

Since I purchased the ElCo in 2002, I have added the Torque Thrust Wheels with larger BF Goodrich TA rubber, a later year Chevelle rosewood steering wheel, Vintage Air, full tinted glass and a serpentine belt system to the engine. The engine compartment is highly detailed with polished alternator & compressor cases and a billet aluminum overflow catch can and evaporator for the A/C. The A/C system was installed with all compressor lines hidden from view to keep an uncluttered look.

The El Camino runs and drives beautifully and has excellent acceleration. We have enjoyed it very much as a reliable and unique cruiser and took it to the Woodward Dream Cruise in 2004. We also frequent a number of local cruises in our area and the old El Camino always draws a crowd as not too many 66’s are around these parts.

Future plans are to continue to enjoy the vehicle for many years to come. We may at some point return the exterior color to the original Tropic Turquoise as it is a beautiful color and I do have a 454 sitting on a stand in my shop which may work it’s way with a few tweaks in to the old El Camino!

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