Member: David Smethurst

Car: 1968 El Camino

I have heard and read stories about guys finding the car of their dreams hidden in an old barn. I would think how lucky they were to come across such a find and never thought that this might happen to me.

A fellow I had worked with years before had a contract to clean out a dilapidated shed on a Victoria property that was to be sold in an estate sale. The old gentleman, a collector of many things, had recently passed away and the family not living nearby had hired the company to take away all the “junk”.

Fortunately the contractor thought that the car he found under piles of junk might be of some interest to someone. He knew I was a “car guy” so gave me a call and attempted to describe to me what he had found. His description was enough to convince me that I needed to take a look at the car. I thought it just might be worth saving from the crusher.

The car had been removed from the shed and towed to the contractor’s property. When I arrived to take a look at the “shed find” I was pleased that the car was a ’68 El Camino. Years ago I had owned a big block ’68 Elky and often thought of getting another ’68 to keep my ’64 El Camino company.

The “shed find” El Camino was a small block ’68 that had been parked in the shed for twenty three years. Over the years many items had been stored on and in the El Camino and mice and raccoons had made the car their home. The Palomino white paint was badly pitted by the animal droppings; however, the 58,000 miles on the odometer and the expired ’77 license plates were more than enough to perk my interest.

I lay in the mud and checked the floor pans and frame and found them to be solid. The only rust was the lower front fenders and behind the rear wheels. The dealer sticker on the tailgate was from a Chevy dealer in Albuquerque New Mexico. I later found out that the owner had bought it in New Mexico in 1970 before heading north to Victoria BC. I bought the El Camino right there and went home to tell Valerie about the great car I had just purchased. When the El Camino arrived home the following day on the flat bed truck Valerie didn’t see the same beauty as I did. She had that “what have you done now” look on her face!! Sure glad that I have an understanding wife as do most of us car guys.

I managed to get the 327 275 hp fired up after its 20 plus years of rest and soon found out that it had a burnt valve. The powerglide tranny performed flawlessly and the 10 bolt posi rear end appeared to be in good shape. The burnt valve might have been the reason why the car had been parked and left in the shed. I replaced the valve and installed a L79 cam and lifters. I started it up and it ran well but wasn’t idling right so I replaced the power valve spring and the low mileage 327 ran like new.

It took lots of elbow grease and deodorizers to clean up the interior before taking the car out for a drive. Before the El Camino could do some cruising I had to wait through the complicated process of getting all the paper work sorted out before the car could be registered. Once on the road I started to make a few changes. The first was to add a big block hood and then to spray on a little primer.

The following year I took my car to Danny Kulai in Nanaimo and he stripped the paint and did some minor rust and dent repairs some that were caused by piling junk on the El Camino. The car was painted a ’71 Buick colour, Bright Blue.

When the El Camino returned home Valerie and I put on a seat upholstery kit, headliner and carpets. I cleaned up the door panels, window visors, dash pad etc, and dyed them. We then started driving and fixing the small things. I put in Auto Meter Gauges to monitor the engine, installed a neat aftermarket washer pump, and lower ball joints. I bought a set of American Racing Torque Thrust Ds and tires to replace the bias ply tires that were on the El Camino when I purchased it. I also added a rear sway bar and changed the front drum brakes to a stock disc brake set up. The car has proven to be a nice driver, as on our trip to Wetaskwin last summer the car performed flawlessly. This winter I plan to replace body bushings and front and rear bushings.

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