Jim was shopping for a daily driver / commuter car at a local dealership when he spotted this 1968 El Camino tucked into a corner of the lot, covered in a thick layer of dust. He was curious, so he asked the dealership office what the story was behind this forgotten looking El Camino.
He found out that while the previous owner was in the process of a restoration project he had unexpectedly passed away. His widow was having the dealership sell it for her, and Jim was interested enough to buy it instead of the car that was the focus of his trip.
While it was considered a “driver” this 1968 El Camino was not safe, so Jim towed it to his shop and started digging into it. This project would become a complete rebuild, transforming it into a fast street and strip car. Jim sourced a Blueprint 496 stroker and coupled it to a TCI 6X transmission, converted it to rack & pinion steering, and lowered the suspension ride height. He chose to keep the body and interior appearing virtually stock, but refreshed bits where they were required with new parts.
Upon completing his project with the ElCo, Jim would proceed to run an 11.7 second quarter mile time at nearby Rock Falls Raceway, with his goal now to break into 10 second times, but still retaining the street drivability he was going for.
