Chevrolet El Camino Reviews

They are prone to rust behind the rear wheels in snowy areas.

There is rust along the rocker panels.

The doors sag when open.

The dash is cracked.

All other problems were due to errors made by former owners.

I loved the first one so much that I got a second one. That speaks for itself.

They handle good on dry roads as long as you are steady on the throttle in turns. The Super Sport I owned, had a Corvette engine put in it. With the right power, they are incredibly fast. You have really good visibility in every direction when you are in one. The Super Sports had a gauge cluster, meaning if something goes wrong, you know it instantly. The idiot lights in the regular ones can't get close.

They do have bad points though. They are so light on the drive wheels, that they lose traction quite easily. That is why you have to be careful in turns, they can fishtail on you if you don't know what you're doing. They are fair weather vehicles in my opinion. I took one out in the snow one time, and they spin and slide all over the place.

The doors are so heavy that they sag after just a couple years of everyday use. The dashes crack in them a lot.

For a while, my engine timing was wrong, and for some reason the shaking was affecting the steering. The low profile of the vehicle makes fitting a large engine in one difficult.

Also the slanting bed rails make it impossible to put a toolbox in one. The rear window is so low that a toolbox without sides will break the glass. I also think that they should have had a manual transmission option on the Super Sports.

In my opinion they are great. I have owned a regular El Camino and a Super Sport, and I like the Super Sport better. All El Caminos make great toys if you take good care of them. I drive my Super Sport as a daily driver, and it is just too much for it to take without having maintenance done often.

Nothing at all has gone wrong with this car, the only thing that happened is I let my girlfriend at the time drive it, and she ramped over country railroad tracks and bust a hole into the oil pan.

This is pure American Muscle right here... the best of the best, true American spirit. It is a very comfortable ride, very smooth. Engine can stomp anything around... (I can bury the 85mph speedo like it's nothing).

Complete tune up and water pump, all hoses and all belts replaced at 125000 right after I purchased just as a precaution.

Seat and carpets were pretty hammered when I got it.

So I did a full custom interior with Thunderbird Turbo Coupe seats.

Seized motor at 160000 miles. This motor was a fresh rebuild right be for I purchased the car. I saw the receipts.

Front and rear brakes complete, new rotors, drums, calipers, drums, pads etc. 160000.

Transmission went at 165000 miles.

Catalytic converter replaced at 166000

AC compressor went at 167000, had to change whole system for newer style Freon.

Radiator replaced at 180000.

Alternator replaced at 185000.

Had to do front brakes again at 195000.

Had to do rear brakes at 200000.

Had to replace master cylinder, rear brake cylinders and power servo at 200200.

Catalytic conveter replaced again at 200200.

Alternator again at 202500.

Rear wheel bearings need to be replaced at 203500.

I purchased this vehicle to replace 2 different ones. I had a 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe and a 1985 Toyota SR5 PU. I then went through the El Camino and updated the interior, added a body kit, upgraded the suspension, and had it painted. I also had the motor checked out and had all belts, hoses, and fluids changed.

I then sold the Toyota and began to drive the El Camino as my main transportation.

I was sorry almost right away. The engine seemed to not have even as much power as my Toyota had, but it used gas like crazy. I kept taking it in for checkups and was told that it was running perfectly.

Then stuff started to break!

I am very happy that I kept the Tbird as I went back to using it as my main transpotation and only used the El Camino for hauling stuff. I have since put over 235000 miles on the Turbo Coupe and it is still going strong.