1967 396 Dragmaster El Camino, Drag Racing Historical Vehicle on 2040-cars
1967 Chevrolet El Camino 396- DRAGMASTER Dode Martin's personal daily driver shop truck from 1970-1995. Dode bought this factory 396 4 Speed Marina Blue with Black bench seat interior El Camino in 1970 less engine and trans. There just happened to be a nasty 440 Chrysler engine with a 727 automatic sitting in his shop, so Dode decided to fit it into the El Camino. A lot of parts custom worked by Dode back in 1970 are still on it, however the 440 and 727 were removed back in the late 1990's for a SBC conversion. The GM rally wheels were widened by Dode with chrome centers and gold rims. The rear trailing arms were boxed by Dode. Dode stitched up the door panels after personally painting the truck in traditional Dragmaster gold. Dode told me the gold paint is 1956 Chevrolet Grecian Gold and the red he used on his DART dragsters and the famous TWO THING twin supercharged SBC front engine rail is 1957 Chevrolet Matador Red. I obtained permission from Dode to place the DRAGMASTER decals on the doors and I planned to do a frame up build and incorporate more DRAGMASTER style to the El Camino with the red. I pulled the SBC and auto trans out and located a date matching fresh .040 over 396 block to match the truck. The block is included with the Camino. No trans. The original 12 bolt posi rear axle is still in it. The El Camino has never been wrecked, however the hood has some filler in the front peak due to Dode moving the truck in his shop while sitting on a bucket and tapping a work bench in front of him when he fell off the bucket. That happened before the Camino was painted gold. Dode told me the first paint he put on it was solid black around 1970 or so. The fenders, doors and rest of the body are original sheetmetal. There is very little rust in this El Camino- there is a little in the lower back window jamb.
There is a State of California label in the left door jamb that confirms a 440 Chrysler and Automatic were in it up to 1995, when the the truck was required to pass a smog check in order to sell it. Dode swapped out the 12:1 compression 440 for a more stock version. Dode told me the nasty 440 was sold to a MOPAR guy for a race car restoration. That 440 was likely part of the Dodge Chargers effort from the early 1960's. The next owner had a hot rod shop (Hot Rods and Custom Stuff; Escondido, CA) swap in a SBC and 700R4 for daily driving. I bought the El Camino in 2012 with intentions to keep it, however that was 2 weeks prior to my daughter being born and I have had zero time to work on it. I paid four thousand more for it then than I am asking for it here, so my listing price is absolutely as low as I am willing to sell it for. Last 2 pics were scans of prints Dode let me borrow from his personal files- they show the Camino as it was about 25 years ago. The black license plates were changed out by the DMV around 1995 based on documentation I have. The El Camino is also listed for sale locally therefore I retain the right to end the auction if no bids have been placed. |
Chevrolet El Camino for Sale
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GM recalling 316k vehicles due to headlamp faults
Mon, Dec 1 2014General Motors has announced a recall covering 316,357 vehicles globally, due to the possibility of sporadic or permanent failure of the low-beam headlamps. 273,182 of these vehicles are in the United States, while the remaining affected units are in Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere. This recall includes the 2006-09 Buick LaCrosse (pictured above), 2006-07 Chevy TrailBlazer and TrailBlazer EXT, 2006-07 GMC Envoy and 2006 GMC Envoy XL, 2006-07 Buick Rainier, 2006-08 Saab 9-7X, and 2006-08 Isuzu Ascender. In an email sent to Autoblog, General Motors explains that if the headlamp driver modules are not functioning correctly, "the low-beam headlamps and daytime running lamps could intermittently or permanently fail to illuminate." GM states that this problem does not affect things like high-beams, turn signals, marker lamps, or foglamps. As of this writing, GM states it "has not been able to confirm whether the HDMs in these vehicles caused any vehicle accidents." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been notified, but the recall has not yet posted to the government agency's website. Scroll down to read the full details in GM's email. General Motors is recalling 273,182 Buick LaCrosse sedans and Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Saab and Isuzu midsize SUVs in the U.S. for possible intermittent or permanent loss of low beam headlamps. Affected models are: 2006-2009 Buick LaCrosse sedans; 2006-2007 Chevrolet TrailBlazer and 2006 TrailBlazer EXT; 2006-2007 GMC Envoy and 2006 Envoy XL; 2006-2007 Buick Rainier; 2006-2008 Saab 9-7X and 2006-2008 Isuzu Ascender midsize SUVs. If the headlamp driver modules is not operating correctly, the low-beam headlamps and daytime running lamps could intermittently or permanently fail to illuminate. This condition does not affect the high-beam headlamps, marker lamps, turn signals, or fog lamps. GM has not been able to confirm whether the HDMs in these vehicles caused any vehicle accidents. The total population, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico and exports from North America is 316,357. The NHTSA was sent the Part 573 information for this recall on November 25. It has not yet posted to the NHTSA website. Featured Gallery 2008 Buick LaCrosse CXS News Source: General Motors Recalls Buick Chevrolet GM GMC Isuzu Saab SUV Sedan chevy trailblazer buick rainier isuzu ascender
GM reports third straight sales drop in China in 2020
Wed, Jan 6 2021BEIJING — General Motors' vehicle sales in China fell 6.2% in 2020, as the U.S. automaker suffered a prolonged slowdown in the world's biggest auto market. GM, China's second biggest foreign automaker, delivered 2.9 million vehicles in the country last year, the company said on Wednesday, for a third straight decline in annual sales. But sales have been recovering in the second half of last year, up 12% between July and September and 14% in the final three months. GM has a Shanghai-based joint venture with SAIC Motor, in which the Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicle brands are made. It also has another Liuzhou-based venture, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group, in which they make no-frills minivans and have started to make higher-end cars. Sales of its Buick brand grew 4% on the year and Wuling rose 9%, the statement said. Luxury brand Cadillac's sales increased 8%. Sales of GM's more affordable Baojun brand dropped 33% last year, while sales of its mass-market Chevrolet tumbled 30%. GM's delivery of 2.9 million vehicles in China follows 3.09 million vehicles in 2019, 3.65 million vehicles in 2018, and 4.04 million in 2017, for a three-year decrease of 28%.
Chevy's low-cost pedestrian avoidance to debut on 2016 Malibu
Tue, Jul 28 2015The mainstreaming of safety technologies that began on luxury vehicles will get a big boost from General Motors later this year. The General says it plans to offer 22 driver assistance systems across its product portfolio of 2016 models, starting with the redesigned Chevrolet Malibu - the one that we know will keep tabs on teenagers for the benefit of parents. Pedestrian avoidance will be another of its available options. Instead of kitting the sedan out with numerous and expensive radar arrays, the GM system uses the camera mounted next to the rearview mirror that is already used for the lane-keeping function. New software lets it detect pedestrians, and when it detects a potential collision with one, it can alert the driver and brake autonomously if the driver doesn't react. Eventually, engineers want to give it the ability to do the same with cyclists. Because it uses existing hardware updated with new code, GM says the application costs "a few hundred dollars." GM demonstrated the Front Pedestrian Braking preventing a crash with a dummy pedestrian at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. Automotive News reports that it will reduce the severity of impact up to 40 miles per hour, but "may not be of much use in collisions at higher speeds." That feature will also join the options list of the Cadillac CT6. The press release below has more on GM's driver tech soon on the way. Related Video: GM Paving Way to Smarter and Safer Driving at All-New Active Safety Test Area 22 crash-avoidance technologies offered on 2016 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models MILFORD, Mich. 2015-07-24 – Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac will offer 22 different active safety technologies across their 2016 model year U.S. lineups, ranging from driver alerts to those that automatically intervene and assist the driver in critical situations. Safety engineers will develop and test these and other safety technologies for products around the world at GM's new, 52-acre Active Safety Test Area at its Milford Proving Ground near Detroit. The $14 million facility officially opened Friday. "Our comprehensive safety strategy of helping customers before, during and after a crash continues," said Jeff Boyer, vice president of GM Global Vehicle Safety.