Anyone ever seen a factory 4 speed 4th gen El Camino ?

[78stick]

Anyone ever seen a factory 4 speed 4th gen (78-87) El Camino or GMC Sprint/Cabellero ?

[a1supersport]

Yup. Saw an original 78 Elcamino 4-speed, and a couple of original 78 Malibu 4-speeds. I had an 84 Caballero that was converted to 4 speed...took the "standard" parts out of there and put it in my 78 ElCamino. Did you find one, or do you plan on making one? When I took the 4 speed parts out of the Caballero, they didn't look like home-made parts. And since no one was manufacturing these kind of parts for this type of car...at the time...I'm thinking maybe, just MAYBE, the 4 speed parts from a late-70's Nova is what I was looking at. The last Nova's (75-79) were very similar as far as sub-frames and suspension. And the Z-bar, and pivot ball (mounted to the frame), as well as the linkages that I had, fit TOO perfectly. After I sold the ElCamino, I was able to get a hold of a Nova parts catalog, which had pictures of a complete 4 speed conversion for 75-79 Novas...and wouldn't you know it...these parts looked exactly like the parts I had in the Caballero. Sorry for the long story...hope I didn't put you to sleep .

[78stick]

Nope, I had one though so I was wondering how rare they were. Mine is the only one I have ever seen.

[comp]

it's worth the time to find the #'s i haven't seen a factory one

[GMCSprint1971]

I've seen a lot of the "newer" Caminos. I can't say I've ever seen a 4-speed in your year. Sounds like a rarity. All the ones I've seen were Autos, which sucks... I want a 4-speed again myself. Good Luck and Happy Wrenching!

Remember 'Camino's were made to haul ass...So get to it!

[a1supersport]

Ok y'all...here goes . Did a search on Google, and found some info on 4-speed ElCaminos and Caballeros, unfortunately, on another forum . There's a book out by John Gunnell, "Standard Catalog of Chevelle and ElCamino-1964-1987". Says here, 7,661 Caballeros were produced in '78...4% of which were 4-speed, which is a little over 300 total. 54,286 ElCaminos were produced in '78...3.3% of them were 4-speed, which is just under 1,800. 1981 was the last year for any manual trans. ElCamino. I'd tell you the other Forum's name, but that would be disrespectful to this one. So I'll leave it up to you to find it, have fun .

[406Elcamino]

I have an 80 El Camino factory 4 speed. Had a V6, 4 speed, A/C delete and a 2.41 posi. Now it has a 327 that I had built for dirt track racing ,a T-10 4 speed and a Moser rear end with a 3.89 posi center section. Gonna get a 406 and a muncie when it warms up. It's a blast now though.

[wsweber]

Originally Posted by 78stick

Anyone ever seen a factory 4 speed 4th gen (78-87) El Camino or GMC Sprint/Cabellero ?

I have a 1978 original El Camino with a posi. I also have the original build sheet that came with it. Its is black with camel interior and has a 273 posi. wsweber@cableone.net

[wsweber]

Originally Posted by wsweber

I have a 1978 original El Camino with a posi. I also have the original build sheet that came with it. Its is black with camel interior and has a 273 posi. wsweber@cableone.net

It has an M-20 that came out of the factory. It has a 350 cubic inch with out air.

[7D8SS]

Originally Posted by 78stick

Anyone ever seen a factory 4 speed 4th gen (78-87) El Camino or GMC Sprint/Cabellero ?

First things first. The 78 to 87 Caminos are referred to as Fifth genners. I have a 78 with a factory Saginaw 4 speed. As was previously posted, it is my understanding that approx. 1700 were produced. Jon

[Spoot]

I have a 1980 El Camino that came from the factory with an M-20 Saginaw 4-speed and a 305 with a 4bbl carb and air conditioning. It still runs the original Saginaw, but has a 350 with a Rochester Quadrajet.

[Φ-╒ast_Lane-Φ]

i never really looked for one

[dmfnded]

yep! got a co-worker-is 76 years old-that has a '78 Elky,4spd,350.car is in really nice shape.Has a couple of rust areas-small on the rockers behind the doors.Interior has bucket seats and console.has a really good paint job and the bed is not beat up and bed has been repainted.has a nice set of rims on it also-not original,but they compliment the car.i think he's trying to sell his for around $7,000.I think the car is worth that and i would jump on it,but got 2 already and projrcts out the wazoo!
I'm in Oklahoma(Tulsa) if anyone is interested in that car.

[oxeicher]

my 1980 has stock 4 speed with 229 v6

[relic7680]

according to the standard catalog of chevelle, '78-'81 Malibu/El Camino/Caballero were available with the column shifted 3spd and floor shift 4spd....'82 and later cars were only offered w/automatics.