Straight Six: 1965 Chevrolet El Camino – Sold?

August 1, 2022, Update – We just confirmed the listing for this “Classifind” expired, so with no replacement found we’re assuming this ride “Sold?” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call us directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

July 6, 2022 Update – The private seller just lowered their asking price again by another five hundred to land at the current ask of $24,500.

June 24, 2022 Update – We noticed the private seller just reduced their asking price by three thousand dollars from $28,000 to $25,000.

Historically, the Chevrolet El Camino has been a very polarizing classic car. Enthusiasts either love or loathe them, and even among fans of the brand, there are many who like one generation over another.  Most of the Chevelle-based Utes found their way into the hands of enthusiasts who swapped in more powerful V8s and bucket seats for a more practical street machine. Bucking that typical trend is this nicely restored and highly detailed 1965 Chevrolet El Camino originally listed in June 2022 on Craigslist in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). The seller reports that his restored El Camino is an unmolested and rust-free 50K-mile example complete with its original PROTECT-O-PLATE and warranty book and its factory-installed 230 cubic inch line-six connected to a three-on-the-tree column-shifted manual transmission. The private seller takes the liberty of calling his El Camino “original” when it really should be labeled as a numbers-matching restored example.

Currently offered for $24,500 (the original ask was $28,000), Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the collector car market, confirms the ask is slightly above the one-year rolling average of this guide’s summary for 1965 Chevrolet El Caminos sold in the past rolling twelve months.  By clicking on the green dots in the graph below, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you evaluate the price of the truck featured here:

As a second data point, the  Collector Car Market Review Online Tool reveals the seller’s ask falls between this guide’s #2 Very Good” estimate of $25,700 and its #1 “Excellent” appraisal of $35,200.

After a four-year model hiatus and seeing Ford’s success with a Falcon-based Ranchero, in 1964 Chevrolet reintroduced an all-new, mid-size El Camino based on the new Chevelle. The 1964 El Camino relied on the Chevelle’s two-door wagon architecture forward of the B-pillars and carried both “Chevelle” and “El Camino” badges. Unlike the Chevelle however, Chevrolet initially marketed its new El Camino as a utility model.

Initial engine offerings included six-cylinder engines of 194 and 230 cubic inches with horsepower ratings of 120 and 155 horsepower, respectively. The standard V8 was a 283 cubic-inch Chevrolet small block with two-barrel carburetor and 195 horsepower with optional engines including a 220 horsepower 283 with a four-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts. Added to the El Camino’s options list during the course of the 1964 model year were two versions of the 327 cubic-inch small-block V8 rated at 250 and 300 horsepower —the latter featuring a higher compression ratio of 10.5:1, larger four-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts. Early second-generation El Caminos also featured air shocks in the rear, as well as fully boxed frames.

The 1965 El Camino received the same facelift as the 1965 Chevelle, with a more pronounced V-shaped front end, and a higher performance L79 version of the 327 engine rated at 350 horsepower that was also available in Chevelles. Most of the other engines were carried over from 1964, including the 194 and 230 cubic-inch Turbo Thrift sixes, the 195 horsepower 283 cubic-inch Turbo-Fire V8 and 327 cubic-inch Turbo-Fire V8s of 250 and 300 horsepower.

The Fast Muscle Car YouTube Channel features this 1966 vintage commercial comparing the Chrveolrt El Camino to the Ford Falcon:

The coolest feature of this 1965 Chevrolet El Camino for sale is the fact that all of the previous owners avoided the urge to swap out the original 230 cubic inch inline-six and three-on-the-tree manual for a more powerful V8 combination.  This is a highly detailed, entry-level example that simply looks great. About the only thing we would do is make sure the wood in the bed isn’t hiding any serious damage.  That’s highly unlikely, but in our humble opinion, it detracts from the rest of the look of this otherwise stock 1965 El Camino.

Here’s the seller’s description:

Show or go: What would you do with this restored 1965 Chevrolet El Camino?  Please comment below and let us know!