1968 Chevrolet El Camino
This ’68 El Camino draws attention for its moody looks and low stance, but few who see it would guess what’s going on under the surface, as Nigel Boothman discovers…
Any El Camino is a rare sight on UK roads, which is perhaps why most of us wouldn’t spot the major difference this one has from all other 1968 examples. No, not the wheels – they’re 17in steels and despite being sourced from the US Wheel Corp., they’re only a mouse-click away. Not the paint, either…that’s a standard 1968 GM colour. Do you give up? It’s six inches shorter than standard. Yes, it’s lost half a foot from the overhang beyond the rear axle, though thanks to skilled panel-beating and a bit of old-fashioned leadwork to smooth the contours, you might never guess. You certainly wouldn’t get any clues by peeping into the load bed either, as the pressings inside there have been remade to the new length.
The car belongs to Rouven Dawson, whose potent ’68 Camaro RS/SS (gold, with black wheels and a black noseband) appeared in Classic American 265 in May 2013. For this El Camino project, he provided the inspiration while the perspiration came from Steve Harvey of Old School Speed in Farnborough. Actually that’s not quite fair – the two have known each other for years, so it’s become a collaborative process. And they both felt the rear overhang was just too long.
“We looked at side-views of the Camino printed out on bits of paper,” says Steve, “but the only dimension we could be sure of as a reference was the size of the fuel filler. So we cut a slice out of the photo and used the filler flap’s dimensions to translate that amount to real life. It came out as six inches, which was also the most we could remove and still use the original fuel tank.”
Rouven hadn’t been searching specifically for an El Camino but he had been after something that would make an exciting build, as he explains. “I had been looking for a suitable donor vehicle for a pick-up project for a while. A friend of mine, Aaron, who buys and sells American cars, told me about this yellow six-cylinder El Camino for sale, and a deal was promptly done.” Any doubts about who would do the job? Nope. “I always work with Steve. There’s not much he can’t do and he does extremely good work, paying close attention to the small details that make the big differences. The design brief was to create a reliable daily driver that combined all the classic elements of a muscle car with the advantages of modern technology.”
We reckon that’s only half the story. Rouven’s eye for detail as well as the car’s overall style meant that form would be just as important as function to the success of the finished build. But we can come back to that, because there’s an interesting tale to tell from the spec sheet. Let’s start by popping the hood. Under here is an LS3 crate motor putting out a meaningful 525bhp from its 6.2 litres. Considering it probably quadrupled the El Camino’s output, Steve says it was a remarkably straightforward installation, with an engine mount kit available off the shelf to get it resting securely on the El Camino’s cross-member. No ‘relief’ required to the bulkhead, though the inner wings were trimmed a little to allow Rouven’s choice of trick tubular suspension.
Further back, things weren’t so straightforward. “We used a General Motors 4L75E auto transmission,” says Steve. “It’s a big gearbox and we had to cut out part of the transmission tunnel, remake it and refit it before the installation would work.
But it’s worth it because it’s very strong and it gives us four forward gears with a lock-up, plus ECU control of shift points and even of shift speed. It meant I was able to add a ‘sport’ button for when Rouven wants to drive it like he stole it.”
The Elk’s original 10-bolt axle has made way for a much stronger Ford 9in (Chevy purists look away now) with Strange half shafts. Yes, you can beef up 10- and 12-bolt GM axles but the aim here is peace of mind. Steve fitted a Tru-Trac torque biasing differential to make sure the wide tyres share the burden of coping with that monster engine. “It feels just like an open diff as you drive around tight streets,” he says, “and Rouven lives in London so he doesn’t want to be fighting with a plated LSD. But when you put your foot down it stops all the power spinning away through one wheel.”
Wilwood discs and calipers came in a kit with servo and master cylinders of suitable size, so Rouven says he can now slow the go with total confidence. “The really amazing thing is the way it handles,” he says. “We went for a full Ridetech coilover set-up, and it just worked right out of the box. It rides firmly but not harshly and it goes round corners in a way that shouldn’t be possible in an El Camino. It’s like you’re in a weird twilight zone between an old muscle car and a modern Audi.” Steve concurs. “I think it drives like a modern car,” he says. “It hooks up, launches in a straight line and handles like something recent and European.”
Rouven finds that even with the large Nitto tyres it’s apt to leave long black lines when getting away from a standstill. He prefers the feeling of gunning it from 30 or 40mph and feeling it lunge forward to revs that would detonate a big-block muscle car. “It has loads of torque low down, but the redline is at 6800rpm,” he says. “It almost wakes up again at 4000rpm and goes harder still.”
So it stops, steers and goes as well as any updated muscle car could. What else have Rouven and Steve built in? Well, Rouven wanted a capable stereo so Steve created a large speaker cabinet to sit behind the seats, then coated it in acoustic carpet and fitted four 8in mids and four tweeters, before hiding a 12in subwoofer under the driver’s seat. Powering this lot is a pair of amps putting out around 1000 watts, the whole lot controlled by a trick head unit with a pop-out screen… where you can also view the feeds from the reversing camera. Well, El Caminos weren’t designed with parallel parking in mind.
“The seat was made by a company in the States called TMI Products,” says Rouven. “It’s still a bench but it’s formed more like bucket seats for the driver and right-side passenger, with sections of suede that locate you properly when you’re cornering fast.”
Air conditioning is another addition, and very welcome on hot summer days (remember them?) in the small cabin. It’s not just about luxury but about practicality; Rouven could have gone for a pair of bucket seats but he has a family and it’s nice to be able to fit two kids in there with him. Likewise the load-bed cover, something that he sourced and Steve cut down
to size, so it now fits the shorter bed just as it was designed to fit the standard length. You can hide quite a lot of old BMXs and skateboards in there.
The more you consider Rouven’s machine, the more boxes it seems to tick. The modern engine and transmission make for better long-journey economy than you have a right to expect from a muscle car and the driving experience is as relaxed or as dramatic as you want it to be.
It’s a blend of the best of old and new without being a compromise – it looks and smells like a Sixties muscle car but almost every shortcoming you could think of has been eliminated. Steve even took the cabin to bits again when the car was finished to eliminate a single annoying squeak. But both he and Rouven have very high standards… and quite a similar aesthetic.
“If there’s something about a vehicle that stands out,” says Steve, “it’s because it’s wrong. Everything on the El Camino looks like it belongs there.” That’s especially true of Rouven’s shortened load bed. Can you really look at the side profile and find anything wrong with the proportions? The plaque on the dash commemorates a hugely successful project: ‘OSS 68-18’ for the initials of Steve’s business and the 50-year gap between the car’s first build and the second. So is that their Everest, or do Hillary and Tenzing – sorry, Rouven and Steve – have more mountains to climb?
“Well, Steve is actually working on my latest project now,” says Rouven. “The truck concept really grabbed me so we’ve started a 1956 Chevy 3100 on a full Roadster Shop chassis with air suspension, a supercharged LSA motor and a six-speed manual.” We were going to ask whether the guys would be cutting six inches out of this one too, but now that we’ve seen the El Camino we’ve learned to trust their judgment. Whatever they decide for the 3100, it’ll be awesome. But such awesomeness isn’t free, so with that ‘68 Camaro to support and bills to pay, Rouven may have to part with the El Camino. Form an orderly queue! ★
“IT HAS LOADS OF TORQUE LOW DOWN, BUT THE REDLINE IS AT 6800RPM,” HE SAYS. “IT ALMOST WAKES UP AGAIN AT 4000RPM AND GOES HARDER STILL.”