Chevrolet El Camino third generation 1968 to 1972

This red 1970 El Camino SS wears its black stripe and vinyl top the way Chevrolet intended: parked among the muscle cars it was built to run with, not tucked away in a garage. Underneath the truck bed is a full Chevelle SS drivetrain, and across five model years Chevrolet pushed it from a 325-horsepower newcomer to the 450-horsepower LS6 454 before emissions rules caught up with it. Read on to see how the numbers changed year by year — and why the VIN tag matters more than the badge.

Most trucks were never meant to be shown off in a grass field next to a lineup of muscle cars, and most cars were never meant to haul a load of lumber. Chevrolet split the difference in 1968 and kept splitting it for five more model years, and the red example pictured here — parked on a sunny afternoon with its black vinyl top and factory-style SS stripe catching the light — is proof the formula never really went out of style. What changed year to year, quietly and then not so quietly, is the story worth telling.

⚑ Featured Gear

Start Car Conversations →

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

A Chevelle Underneath, a Truck on Top

Chevrolet El Camino for 1968 is still on the Chevelle platform, and the trim features it sports — both inside and out — are borrowed from the Malibu. Optional choices include carpeting, cloth with vinyl, an all-cloth bench seat, or the vinyl Strato buckets with a center console. Other optional offers that year include posi-traction and front power disc brakes to increase stopping power. The high-performance SS is introduced in ’68 with two choices: the basic 396 cubic-inch engine producing 325 bhp (242 kW), or a version putting out 350 bhp (260 kW). Back on the options list is an engine not seen since ’66 — the L78, supplying 375 bhp (280 kW), equipped with solid lifters, big-port heads, and topped off by the Holley 800 cfm carburetor bolted to a low-rise aluminum intake. All models come with a basic three-on-the-tree standard, but an automatic and a four-speed are available as options for the Super Sport in 1968.

A Rounder Front Clip and the 350 Finally Arrives

For the 1969 model year the changes are minor ones: a slightly rounded front clip, with the four-headlight setup connected by a chrome bar in the grille, and slotted front openings holding the clearance lights. The interior gets four round instrument pods, and optional equipment now includes power windows and power door locks. The tried-and-true 350 V8 becomes available in the El Camino for the first time. SS models display the SS emblem in a blacked-out grille, with the engine sitting under a double-domed hood. The base 396 carries over at 325 hp (L35), with a 350 hp L34 and the 375 hp (280 kW) L78 still topping the SS396 lineup.

The LS6 454 Changes What This Truck Can Do

The El Camino for 1970 gets a more squared-up look outside, and the interior receives a makeover as well. Select models can now be ordered with the largest power plant in the entire GM arsenal, the LS6 454 cubic-inch engine, putting out 450 hp (336 kW) and producing 500 ft-lb of torque. That combination lets the El Camino run the quarter mile in the 13-second range and reach a top speed of 108 mph (174 km/h) — figures that put it ahead of most dedicated muscle cars of the era, let alone anything else with a bed. The SS396 still displays “396” emblems, and the basic engine is nominally unchanged, but it has actually been bored out to 402 cubic inches (6.6 L).

Emissions Rules Start to Bite

In 1971 the El Camino gets a revised front clip, with the grille now holding two double-lens headlights and the bumper holding the parking lights, turn signals, and side marker lights. The EPA order for the ’71 model year is to reduce emissions, so lower compression and the exhaust-cleansing catalytic converter drop the output of every GM engine across the board. Power is further reduced with the addition of GM’s “A.I.R.” system to the exhaust, which does help with emission reductions but comes at a real cost in performance. The LS6 454 is gone, never to return as an option, and the newest addition to the lineup is a rebadged “GMC Sprint,” sharing the El Camino’s lines and drivetrain under a different nameplate.

The Quiet Last Year of the Third Generation

Other than the El Camino’s side marker lights moving to the fenders in 1972, there are no other obvious changes. Horsepower ratings take another visible drop as the industry switches to more accurate net figures, though actual output is no different than the ’71 models — a distinction that trips up a lot of casual shoppers today who assume the on-paper drop means a mechanically weaker engine. The SS package itself could still be paired with several different engines that year, but only the 454-powered cars carry the tell-tale “W” in the fifth VIN position, making the VIN tag one of the fastest ways to confirm a genuine SS454 at a show or a sale.

What a Red SS Like This One Represents Today

The car pictured here wears its black stripe and black vinyl top the way SS396 and SS454 El Caminos were meant to be seen, parked among other muscle cars rather than tucked away in a garage. Aftermarket wheels and a set of raised-white-letter tires suggest an owner who drives the truck rather than trailers it, which is exactly how most of these cars lived their working lives before the collector market caught up to them. Because the El Camino shares its chassis, drivetrain, and much of its sheet metal with the Chevelle, values have historically tracked a step or two behind its two-door coupe sibling, which makes clean SS396 and LS6-equipped trucks one of the more approachable ways into genuine early-1970s big-block performance.

Living With One of These Today

Because so much of the El Camino’s running gear is shared with the Chevelle and full-size Chevrolet trucks, parts support for engines, suspension, and brakes remains strong even decades later. The bigger challenge tends to be the bed structure and the transition panels where the cab meets the cargo area, spots that trap moisture and rust faster than the rest of the body. Buyers chasing a numbers-matching SS should pay close attention to that VIN “W” code and to cowl-tag decoding, since the El Camino’s dual identity as both a Chevelle and a truck has made it an occasional target for less scrupulous re-creations over the years.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Republished by Blog Post Promoter