How bad could it be? '75 El Camino

[STINEY]

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/3130564013.html

What are the especially rust-prone areas of these? I'm familiar with '79-up G-body rust, but these are slightly different animals......



He sent a pict of the bed rust. Looks like it was Rhino lined at one point.

[TC]

I'd say go look at it, the price isn't bad...... Though once you get there you might realize they polished a turd........

[tardis454]

I remember those 73-7 cars, my friend had a 76 Malibu that was rotted in every place imaginable.
What I noticed was sheetmetal(like AMC's of that era)frame rot & the bumper rebars corroding & falling apart.
Looks like someone rhino-lined over a rusty bed floor...

[boxer3main]

I had a 74, steel was hit or miss.

my own was the toughest I have ever owned. 16ga with no paint. the engine was so quiet, you had to pay attention at redlights top know it was running. very very dense.

the 75 in the ad is thick, I can tell. the bed floor is seperate entity. I could ionly imagine a one piece el camino with the real steel. thats looking at 100 years even for a ninny southerner about rust.

the real steel crumples 14 inch cragars like plastic matchboxes...the bad ones cracked their own rockers and bent bodies. the same car. two worlds.

[anotheridiot]

mainly the bed and lower door and quarterpanels are usually bad on these years. take a magnet with you since its a pretty new paint job. If you are happy with the year and body style, plan to change the engine anyway, it doesnt look bad. since he has to sell you should probably be offering about 650. If you check underneath and see the lower control arms are swiss cheese and the floor boards rotted, you should probably move along. Really depends what you are looking for. a decent running 75 would probably be worth that much, so its buying it less engine so the body really needs to be there. Various problems with the dash point to wiring headaches. I'd much rather see bad paint and holes in panels to know what I am getting into. It definitely looks worth a grand now, so if the plan is to replace the engine and drive as it its a nice candidate.

[Beagle]

Do it!

My Name Is Earl Camino!! I've been thinking about one and Monica looked at me almost like this...

[mlcraven]

I recognize that look...received the same thing when I brought my El Camino home in 1996.

[mlcraven]

Seriously, those were good-looking cars and there are several nice examples of what can be done with them here on this site and in the various enthusiast magazines. The one thing I would say is there doesn't seem to be a shortage of them at affordable prices, so I wouldn't be in a hurry to buy the first one that comes along if you have any doubts whatsoever about the body.

[SuperBuickGuy]

check for rust behind the seat in the toolbox area... it's actually under the bed and accessed from the cabin - thus if it's rusting in the bed, good chance water is leaking into that area

not my cup of tea, but they certainly are unique

[milner351]

I don't understand the predominant female opinion of the camino / ranchero - but it seems overwhelmingly represented by the picture above.

It states in the add the bed is rusty - so - there's rust under it too. Probably worth looking at - IFF - your bride doesn't give you the above look just at the suggestion.