Take a good, close look at the 1983 El Camino in this original Chevrolet dealer film.
Car enthusiasts may be surprised to learn that despite its familiar presence in the gearhead community, the El Camino was never a particularly great seller for Chevrolet. In 1959, the first model year for the car-based gentleman’s pickup, volume amounted to around 22,000 units—respectable, but hardly earth-shattering. And in 1983, the year we’re featuring here, production totaled roughly 26,000 vehicles, barely a drop in the bucket compared to the numbers for Chevy’s full-sized conventional pickups as the American light truck market exploded. In late 1987 the El Camino, the classic niche market product, was quietly discontinued, as the big pickups became Chevy’s mass-market vehicles.
This original 1983 dealer film offers an in-depth look at all the El Camino options and features that year. Engine choices included a 5.0-liter small-block V8, a 3.8-liter V6 (essentially the Chevy V8 with two cylinders lopped off) and new in the El Camino for ’83, GM’s 5.7-liter diesel V8. Power steering, power brakes, and automatic transmission were all standard. Available trim packages included the two-tone Conquista, the Super Sport with racy wheels, graphics, and sport mirrors, and the kitschy Royal Knight, complete with giant hood decal. Video below.
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Interesting. When full-size pickups got gentrified, it wiped out the market for the Ranchero and El Camino. Still wish I could have my dad’s Ranchero though.
I remember passing by, then stopping and talking to a guy in NH who took an ’83 El Camino and swapped out a Bonneville nose and interior and replaced the badging with Pontiac’s. For a short period of time at Pontiac, Bonneville was their mid-sized car. I asked the owner about his car (he’d take it to car shows and listen to people reminisce about seeing those cars back in the day..lol) I took photos and sent them to Hemmings’ website. They ran a quick story about it. It might still be in their archives.
It’s a small point, but the 3.8 was a derivative of the Buick V8. The 4.3 was a SBC