In '85, when I was in Navy boot camp, my Company Commander had two nice Chevies, a '68 RS Camaro and a '68 SS 396 Elco. So I'm chatting with my squad leader about Senior Chief's ELCO, and I made the comment about wanting to offer him $3K cash for it (it was in primer), and as soon as Senior Chief walked out to take us to class, the squad leader told Senior Chief what I'd said. 1) I wanted to stick my size 14 so far up the squad leader's kazoo he'd taste bubble gum and dog crap; and 2) Senior Chief said "Not a chance," then laughed.
I've had different Rancheros since the new one I ordered in 71 when I got out of the Marine Corp. Later I had a 68, 77 and the 79 I've had for 26yrs. I don't care for the 60-65 downsized ones. That said there are a few years of the El Camino I wouldn't mind having.
I had a '65 Chevelle SS (not Camino) and loved it. Later I had a '72 El Camino SS and loved it. I tried to order a brand new '79 Black/Silver Ranchero GT but nobody would talk to me so I bought a '79 Black/Copper El Camino SS. I drove that car for 265,000 miles over 35 years and finally sold it. Now I have a Black/ gonna be Silver '79 GT....at last. In between those El Caminos I had a '66 Ranchero and a '75 GT and I am on my 4th '57 Ranchero
Well, I just have to disagree with the thoughts on the '68-69 El Camino. I always thought the front end was kinda ugly. The '73-'77 are the worst but the '76-77 are somewhat passable with the stacked headlights. I love the '59, '64-'65 and the '71-'72. All in all, I still think that Ranchero is the best bang for the buck as anything from'55 on up in Chevy goes for heavy money. My '75 GT rode like a dream and performed well. I am looking forward to putting lotsa miles on my '79 GT. My $.02
