Chevy Hid Its 450-HP Big Block In Roughly 500 Utility Coupes In 1970
These days it’s not hard to get the keys to a performance truck — you can just go down to your local Ford dealer and order an F-150 Raptor, for example. Truth is that performance trucks became a thing in the ’80s and ’90s, and there has been a pretty solid market ever since. But back in the ’60s, fast trucks were kind of an oxymoron. Not many people dreamed of hauling hay during the week and dominating a drag strip on the weekend, without changing vehicles. One muscle machine changed all that, however, and it would go down in history.
The Chevy El Camino Had Humble Beginnings
The El Camino may be seen as a cult muscle car wagon these days, but its origins predate even the muscle car genre itself. Roadster utility vehicles had been doing the rounds as light workhorses in the 20s and 30s, but the idea had never really caught on as a big selling civilian transport. The Ford Ranchero of the ’50s changed all that, showing that a two-door ute could sell well, and Chevy was quick to counter with the 1959 Brookwood-based El Camino, a finned monster with a surprising turn of speed.
The triple-carb V8 was timed to 60 mph in seven seconds, showing that drag racing prowess and dry wall carrying capability could indeed mix. The first gen only ran for two years, and fans of this intriguing type of new Chevy had to wait until 1964 for the second El Camino. This was officially the start of the muscle El Camino, and the start of the model being a left-field fan favorite. Engines on offer went from base six pots all the way up to a Corvette-sourced 350-horsepower, 327-cid L79 small-block and Chevy’s new 396-cid big block in 1966. Few people would have thought the El Camino could get more extreme . . .but it did.
The El Camino Got Chevy’s Maddest Engine In 1970
Arguably the most recognizable El Camino arrived in 1968, based on the Chevelle sedan and station wagon and sporting a longer wheelbase. The third-gen El Camino looked mean and muscular, like the coupes of the time, and it was crying out for the maddest and baddest engine that Chevy had in the warehouse. The SS 396 El Camino was launched in 1968, looking the business with a blacked-out grille, hood bulge, and a 325-horsepower 396-cid Mk IV V8. Two years later, Chevy introduced the infamous LS6 option. This 450-horsepower, 454-ci unit gave this car/pickup the kind of performance that people would expect from the very top-spec muscle cars, just with an extra 38½ cubic feet out back.
The LS6 El Camino Was A Hot Rod For The Hardware Store
The legendary LS6 El Camino was wilder even than its Chevelle cousin, because you didn’t have any bodywork to push that 450 horsepower and 500 lb-ft into the asphalt. So, if you dropped off a few bags of cement and then put your foot down, wild uncontrolled burnouts would have been the likely send-off from the building site. SS El Caminos were offered with either a four-speed or Turbo Hydra-Matic, and the 454 was available with goodies such as bucket seats and cowl induction.
Why The LS6 El Camino Only Lasted A Year
The 454 option lasted from 1970 to 1972, but the LS6 was a one-year-only engine in the El Camino. In 1971 and 1972, SS 454 El Caminos featured the LS5 V8, dropping to 365 hp, then 270 hp, respectively. By 1972, the glory days of a 450 hp pickup would have seemed like a distant memory, with the whole muscle car scene falling off a cliff edge in the face of an oil crisis and emissions regulations.
How The El Camino SS LS6 Stacked Up To Its Arch Rival The Ford Ranchero GT 429
Ford wasn’t going to let the El Camino get all the headlines at the end of the ’60s. Its arch rival, the underrated Ranchero GT, was quietly getting beefed up, with three 429-cube four-barrels on the menu for 1970. Buyers could choose from the N-code 360 hp 429 Thunder Jet, the 370 hp 429 Cobra Jet, and the full-fat 375 hp Super Cobra Jet. Torque varied by 429 variant, with 480 lb-ft for the Cobra Jet and 450 lb-ft for the Super Cobra Jet.
When it comes to rarity, the Ranchero may have an even better claim than the El Camino. It is estimated that roughly 500 El Caminos were equipped with the LS6 engine. But this is positively mass-produced compared to the Ranchero GT 429. Hemmings quotes the Marti Report as saying of the 3,905 Ranchero GTs built for 1970, just 153 had the 370hp Cobra Jet 429, 75 of them were automatics, and just two of those 75 were fitted with a Traction-Lok rear. On the drag strip, there wouldn’t be much in it, with Ranchero 429s running mid-to-high 13 seconds, and the LS6 El Camino capable of runs in around 13 seconds.
Buying An LS6 El Camino Is Surprisingly Cheap — But Wait Til You Hear The Prices Of Ranchero 429s
The 1970 El Camino LS6 is an absolute collector’s favorite, with examples causing a lot of excitement every time they come to auction. But it is a relative bargain compared to some of the rarest muscle cars. Hagerty Valuation Tools puts the price of good condition examples at a reasonable $68,000, but when a low-mileage four-speed 1970 Chevrolet El Camino LS6 came up for sale in 2020 at Mecum, it fetched $110,000. The problem, inevitably, will be finding one of these rare vehicles on sale in the first place. A 1970 Ford Ranchero GT 429 4bbl Super Cobra Jet is even cheaper, with Hagerty putting the good condition price at just $26,700. That’s a lot of muscle for not a lot of cash.
Sources: Hagerty, Hemmings
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