Chevrolet El Camino 1972 and Oldsmobile 442 1970 Convertible – Fresh Restorations

A 1972 El Camino and a 1970 Oldsmobile 442 convertible do not have much in common on paper, one is a truck, the other paced the Indy 500, but both left the factory with genuinely serious engine options. Fresh restorations of either one are a serious undertaking. Here is what made each of these cars worth the effort in the first place.

We love both of them!!

Restoring one classic muscle car is a project. Restoring two at once, from two different GM divisions built two years apart, is a statement. One of these is a truck that thinks it’s a muscle car, and the other is a convertible that once had the honor of leading the field at Indianapolis. Both left the factory with genuinely serious engine options, and both are the kind of cars that reward the restorer who gets the details right. What actually sets these two apart under the sheet metal?

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The El Camino’s Surprising Range of Engines

The 1972 El Camino could be ordered anywhere from a modest 250-cubic-inch six-cylinder up through 350, 402, and a full 454-cubic-inch V8 rated at 270 horsepower, a wide spread that let buyers pick anything from a work truck to a genuine street performer. It was also the year Chevrolet built more El Caminos than ever before, with 57,147 units produced, available across base, Custom, and SS trim levels. Because 1972 was the first year horsepower figures reflected net rather than gross output, those numbers actually looked lower on paper than earlier, more powerful-sounding Chevelle-based trucks, even where the hardware had not changed much.

The 442 That Paced Indy

The 1970 Oldsmobile 442, meanwhile, carried enough prestige to pace the Indianapolis 500 that year, with a 455-cubic-inch V8 making up to 370 horsepower in W30 trim. Oldsmobile built 19,330 442s for 1970 across Convertible, Holiday Hardtop, and Sport Coupe body styles, with roughly 3,100 buyers stepping up to the forced-air W30 package and its aluminum intake, fiberglass hood, and 4-speed Hurst close-ratio manual. A correctly restored 1970 442 convertible in W30 spec is one of the rarer combinations from Oldsmobile’s muscle car era.

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