High-performance pickup trucks are pretty common today. Ram makes the 1500 TRX, Ford has the Raptor series, while Chevrolet offers the Silverado ZR2. But things were quite different back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. While the Big Three were stuffing high-power V8s in muscle cars, the trucks weren’t part of the “horsepower wars.” However, both Ford and Chevrolet offered high-performance cars with beds.
I’m talking about the so-called coupe utility models. Essentially two-door wagons with open cargo beds behind the front seats, these contraptions became a thing in the late 1950s. That’s when Ford launched the Ranchero, and Chevrolet followed with the El Camino. Both pickups got beefed-up V8s from their platform siblings during the golden muscle car era.
Initially built on GM B full-size underpinnings, the El Camino was moved on the midsize A-body platform in 1964. Based on the Chevelle, it came with a 396-cubic-ich (6.5-liter) big-block V8. When the midsize was redesigned for the second generation, the El Camino did not get the bigger 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) mill. However, the pickup got the range-topping 454-cubic-inch (7.4-liter) LS6 on the options list in 1970.
Equipped with a four-barrel Holley carburetor and other upgrades compared to the equally big LS5, the LS6 came with a whopping 450 horsepower and 500 pound-feet (678 Nm) of torque on tap. It was the most potent production engine then and retained its status until the high-performance big-block era ended in 1972. An expensive option at the time, the LS6 wasn’t particularly popular. While Chevrolet sold more than 600,000 Chevelles that year, only 8,773 left the factory with a 455 V8 under the hood. Only 4,475 of them were range-topping SS 454 LS6 models. That’s only 0.7% of the total production.
No official statistic includes info on how many of these cars were El Caminos, but most experts agree that only about 500 pickups got the LS6. With fewer survivors still around, the 1970 El Camino SS 454 LS6 is a rare classic. The Shadow Grey example you see here is one of maybe fewer than 200 that still run and drive as of 2023.
Showcased by Chevelle SS expert Patrick Glenn Nichols, this LS6 went through a detailed restoration and looks like it could spend its retirement years in a museum. The metallic grey paint and the black stripes are flawless, the chrome trim shines like new, and the interior is 100% true to 1970 specifications. The pickup is not entirely original, though, featuring several reproduction parts.
However, the numbers-matching engine and transmission are still under the hood. And this is a big deal since many LS6 cars lost their original drivetrains. This El Camino also sports a bench seat and optional bumper guards, likely making it one of fewer than 50 units in this configuration.