1966 Chevrolet El Camino 396 A/T Artesian Turquoise California black plate car

Chevrolet El Camino 1966 Description

Offering my 1966 El Camino 396 A/T for sale. BIN price is for the vehicle completed (hopefully by Christmas), r you can purchase it as-is for $30K, r anywhere in between for a negotiated amount.

Here are some details to get you started:

This car was built in December of 1965 in Fremont California and was delivered to Willows, a when new. I purchased it from the second owner, lso in Willows, n 1990. It was very stock and original and virtually rust-free, ith 66K miles on it at that time. Driven to roughly 74K miles before being disassembled.
As with many others, hat basically started out as a “Let’s just paint the exterior” type of project turned into a body-off-frame effort. My intent was never for it to be flawless show quality trailer queen, ore of a flashy cool car to cruise and enjoy, nd it ended up coming out pretty nice overall.
Here’s the basic OEM info on the car:
1966 Custom El Camino / 13680
KK / Artesian Turquoise
710 / Two-tone Fawn interior – bench seat
L34 / 396/325 HP
M35 / A/T – column shift - originally Powerglide (now Turbo 400)
STD / 3.07 NON-posi 12 bolt rear diff
N10 / dual exhaust
A01 / Tinted glass - all
N33 / Tilt Steering Column
N40 / Power Steering
J50 / Power Brakes
K19 / A.I.R. (Air Injection Reactor = Ca smog)
Z19 / Convenience group: lights, emote mirror (removed by second owner)
U14 / instrument panel gauge package with Tachometer
??? / dash mounted bullet clock
U63 / AM pushbutton radio
G66 / Factory air shocks
A39 / Deluxe seat belts
V74 / Hazard warning switch
Runs very well, ut so far has only been driven around my property while sitting on a box. Engine was properly broken in, tarts right up, hoke works great, hermostat functions properly, tc.
Let’s start with the bad news: Back in the 90’s I brought the born-with engine to a machine shop for a rebuild, long with several other big blocks I was working on at the time. I typically had blocks decked on my Hipo engine builds, nd they accidentally decked this engine even though they weren’t supposed to. Because of that mistake, pulled all my engine projects from their shop and never used them again. This project was then put on a back-burner for many years. So just for clarity, he block in the car is the original born-with engine block, ut has no numbers on the pad due to being decked. I do have the codes from the POP, nd maybe even a penciled impression of the original stamp somewhere in my files, ut I’m not a fan of re-stamps and preferred to leave the pad blank instead.
Most all the other components under the hood are born-with original as well: heads, ntake manifold, arb, istributor, ir cleaner base, omplete smog system (including hoses), xhaust manifolds, ll pulleys and brackets, lternator, tarter motor, omplete P/S assembly, aster cylinder, an shroud, tc.
Non original under-hood items: water pump (generic replacement), adiator, ower brake booster (I have the unrestored original), alve covers and air cleaner lid (I have the originals, eed to be re-chromed), blade fan and clutch assembly (I have the original 4 blade fan), ront end wire harnesses (new repro).
I replaced the original two-speed Powerglide with a three-speed Turbo 400 (which coincidentally was from a 1966 truck). The T400 was not offered in the Chevelle/El Camino until 1967, ut I prefer them to the P/G. I acquired OEM 1967 column shift linkage assembly, ick-down switch and bracket assembly, ear trans housing and driveshaft yoke, tc. in order to make this a clean OEM looking and functioning installation.
Original body panels, xcept RF fender replaced by 2nd owner, F fender replaced by me during resto (original had a tough dent to straighten on the front body line/nose, nd I had a much nicer straight OEM fender to use), nd the front below-grill valance panel.
Reproduction dual exhaust system with the correct staggered rear exhaust exits – it’s a bit too quiet for my taste.

Wheels are OEM 1969 Camaro SS 14 X 7 YJ rallys with Tiger Paw radials. I will credit the buyer $500 if I can keep the four wheels and tires (in case you already own or prefer something else).
This car was built with a large quantity of inspection paint marks all over the place. I duplicated a handful, ut stopped short of making it a circus car. I have pictures of most of the OEM marks in case you wish to reproduce them yourself…
What’s left to do:
Install the new tinted windshield and rear glass (on hand), nd trim (have all new repro trim, s well as the unrestored original trim).
Finish the interior installation – glue down carpet, as pedal, eat belts, ick panels (need to be painted first), ill plates, team the new headliner to remove some small wrinkles, ench seat needs to be recovered and installed (I have the new upholstery and new seat foam), pare tire and jack assembly.
A few troubleshooting tidbits I haven’t got to yet – slow air shock leak, ery small drip from P/S pump (I think it’s the pump to housing O-ring), M radio died (after installation, f course).
Paint (blackout) the bottom of the hood, ront end alignment, eadlight alignment, erify speedo calibration at higher speeds.
Paint the spare wheel and jack assembly, nstall a tire, tc.
Touch up the paint on some suspension items.
Finish restoring the original Ca black plates.
Probably a few more minor items I am not currently thinking of….
A little car history:
The POP shows Harold Hendrickson as the original owner, eing first sold on Dec 30, 965, n Willows, a. He was actually one of the guys who pioneered fighting fires with aircraft, y retrofitting an old WWII airplane with some water tanks. Way back when, tried to track him down but he had already passed away so I gave up that effort. On a research whim earlier this year, thought maybe he had some children I could find who might remember this car and would have some stories to tell. Tracked down his son, ary (who’s now into his seventies) up in the same area. Turns out Gary was actually the original owner of this El Camino, nd dad Harold’s name was most likely just used for financing purposes. It will be 50 years ago this December he first got the car, nd I promised him pics of it when it was done. He doesn’t do computers, o I need to print some photos and send them to him. He’s a vintage aviation guy just like his dad, ith many WWII planes on his roster, nd quite a few old cars to boot. Still drives his 1971 Ranchero that he bought new….
Regrets: If I knew this car was going to turn out so nice, would have had the body shop spend a little more time on straightening out the bottom of the bed and lower rear cab area. My plan was always to install a rubber bed mat and add a tonneau cover, ut now wish they put the extra effort in those areas to make the car even nicer.
Please email me with your questions, nd we can go from there.

I’m not interested in any trades, or any offers for others to help me sell my car.