1970 Chevrolet El Camino SS review from North America

The water pump bearing was noisy, so I replaced the entire unit.

The driver's door lock could be difficult to unlock with the key.

The air shocks were shot, I'm not sure if they were factory installed, or if they were aftermarket.

It needed a valve job due to worn valve guides at about 45K. (This was a common problem with the early Chevy big block engines.)

The factory engine was powerful, but performance mods were added anyway. The factory heads needed a valve job, so a 3-angle job was performed, and bronze guides were added. Factory cam and gear-set were replaced. A Comp-Cams 268HE was installed. An Edelbrock 2P-180 intake was installed also. Factory carburation was retained. Exhaust was replaced with Casler headers and Thrush Turbo mufflers.

After these performance mods, this car's 0 - 60 times were in the 5.5 second range. (factory 3.73 posi-traction unit aided the quick acceleration!) I've had many cars over the years, but this was the fastest of them all.

The handling of the Camino was OK, but not great. It only had a small front sway bar. A larger front and rear bar, and stiffer front springs would have made a big difference in cornering ability. The tire technology in the early '80s was nothing like today. Low profile 16 or 17 inch tires would have made a huge difference.

Highway mileage was about 16MPG; around town was a big??

Lots of nice accessories: Air Conditioning, power windows and door locks, power steering and brakes, comfortable seats, courtesy lights, 4 speed transmission. Nice instrument package too. The factory radio was so-so, and it was replaced with a Pioneer AM/FM cassette deck. A set of Spark-o-matic 6"x9" speakers (remember those) was added to supplement the dash mounted mini speakers. What do I remember most? It was FUN TO DRIVE!!!