The GMC version of Chevy’s popular El Camino, today’s Ni Price or No Dice Caballero, offers a V8 and a stick. The cabin needs some work, but other than that it looks solid. However, will the price put it on shaky ground?
The used sports car market is all over the map. Right now, MGBs are having a hard time cracking $15,000 on a good day. By comparison, the similarly sized Triumph TR line (with the notable exception of the TR7) can easily handle a third more. Datsun S30 Z cars are now attracting crazy amounts of money, after years of being relatively affordable. It’s a similar story around Porsche’s 911. Good luck finding one for under $20,000 that doesn’t suffer from a bore score and seven years of deferred maintenance. When it comes to something that wears a Ferrari badge, $100,000 feels like a bargain basement. That made the $75,000 price tag on yesterday’s 1990 Ferrari 348ts something worth our attention. Sadly, that attention didn’t evolve into interest as you all wrapped up the Maranello miracle with a narrow ‘No Dice’ loss of 54%.
When is an El Camino not an El Camino?
In stark contrast to yesterday’s boutique beauty Ferrari, today’s 1979 GMC Caballero is rough and ready, although it matches the 348 in having a V8 engine paired with a manual transmission. Come to think of it, they both also share a unique wraparound style rear window, so maybe they would make for happy driveway companions.
The Caballero is a Chevy El Camino in all but name. Both models used the same body-on-frame design, which is unique to the pair, despite sharing everything before the A-pillar with Chevy’s Malibu. General Motors made little effort to distinguish the GMC from the Chevy. The only indicators are the small, almost inconspicuous GMC emblem on the grille, a second one on the center of the steering wheel and an understated Caballero lettering on the dashboard in front of the passenger seat.
Those minor detours aside, this is all a tour of downtown Chevyville, right down to the Malibu wagon’s rear bumper that conveniently houses the taillights, bringing the rear flanks and tailgate together in a smooth, uninterrupted design. This fifth generation of GM’s car/truck is perhaps the nicest of the bunch, if not the best-proportioned version of the form factor ever.
Factory fitted with four gears
More Chevy bits can be found under the hood. That includes a 350CID small-block Chevy V8, backed here by the rare option of a four-speed manual transmission. According to the ad, that 350 has a new carburetor and intake manifold. Factory additions include air conditioning and a tachometer in addition to the wide speedometer. We’re not going to discuss production here because of the new carbs and intake, and because the factory ratings from when this car was new could only serve to depress and frustrate.
It would have been nice if the seller had shown us some under-the-hood photos of the engine and its accessories. As it is, we get a lot of outdoor shots. This shows that the body is straight and that the paint is in quite good condition. The car rides on aftermarket alloy wheels which someone at some point thought would be a good idea. This Caballero would really benefit from a set of good, period-correct Rallye-style steel wheels. Other than the take-it-or-leave-it problem and a broken turn signal lens in the front right corner, there’s nothing obviously wrong here. The seller notes some minimal rust under that great rear window, but the photos don’t show anything serious.
It shows its age
The interior is a different story. The car reportedly only has 83,000 miles on it, but it is almost half a century old. To be honest, 1970s vinyl interiors were never meant to last this long, so this one holds up and is commendable enough.
The main problems are splitting seams on the bucket seats, a massively warping center console armrest, wear on the dash edge from too many knees getting in and out, and the total surrender of the carpet paint on the bottom of each door.
On the plus side, everything else appears to be in good working order, and the car comes with electric windows, a tilt steering wheel and an aftermarket head unit in the dash. Rubber floor mats add a bit of industrial flair, but may not be to everyone’s taste. According to the seller, the car “runs, drives and stops great,” and as an added bonus, he claims all the lights are in good working order.
Very good?
A clean title means that this Caballero has kept his nose out of trouble all those years on the road. The asking price for this interestingly chosen and arguably handsome non-El Camino is $5,600. The fact that it is branded as a GMC and not a member of the Bow Tie Brigade could be a plus due to its uniqueness and rarity, or a minus as it could be considered an outlier.
What is your opinion on this car/truck with an asking price of $5,600? Does that feel like a deal for this Caballero as presented in the ad? Or does the tired cabin make this not the one to pick up?
You decide!
Nice prize or no dice:
bend, oregon, Craigslistor go here when the ad disappears.
H/T to the blightofgrey for the connection!
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