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

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

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 :).

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

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

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! :bigthumb:

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 :).

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.

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. [email protected]

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

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

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.

i never really looked for one

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.

my 1980 has stock 4 speed with 229 v6

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.

Anyone ever seen a factory 4 speed 4th gen (78-87) El Camino or GMC Sprint/Cabellero ? I saw a 1980 w/ a factory 350/muncie 4 speed/ 10 bolt posi./ a/c /ps/pb/cruise/ 6000 rpm tach/ full gauges/ console/ buckets/ light blue exterior/ dark blue interior with two little squiggle marks on the dash where it says el camino. they look kinda like this (ss) can anyone tell me what they mean. they kinda cover some of the el camino insingnia and im thinking about grinding them off if i can find an extension cord that will reach out to my driveway. its been bugging me since last nite when i traded three good franklins for it. oh ya it also has a square thing on the hood and a thing under the front bumper and wrapps around each fender that keeps hittin my new driveway when i pull in. if i cut it off will it still drive?

i think i see a 1980 350 muncie 4 speed elky w/ps/pb/ac/tach/full gages/buckets/console/tilt/cruise/scoop/front spoiler/lite blue on dark blue interior. bougt it late last night for 350.00 so if its not one of 420 made that year like i dreamed last nite i should at least scrap it and break even. its rough but its all there. took me 3 hours to drag it out of the trees and load it. got clean title.hers tag # 80 O2D 1AW80 K 110511
26V 21L 21U 29ML
A51 16 O753
i think there right but im old it was dark gotta go to work any one know about this cars true identity il be back in 12 or so to talk about it thanks

No Muncies in the fifth gen El Caminos. Saginaw 3 & 4 speeds only. I think GM was to cheap to use muncies. - Jon

I Have A Factory 4 Speed 1980, EL CAM ,,305, W/ The Org, {SAGINAW} Rebuilt Tranny, I Rebuilt Motor 2 , Still Needs Some Interior, But Org Seats R Good ,all Matching Numbers ,, NO RUST!! Im Selling It Due 2 Motor Cycle Acc, San Diego Calif, Email [email protected] Thx U This Answered A Lot Of Questions Ive Had For 6 Years !!! Thx U All

i had an 80 el camino ss, sounds weird but appeared to be factory original with 229 v6 3 speed stick, floor shifter, bucket seats, factory tach, front spoiler, interior ss emblems, 2tone paint with ss decals, unmolested but beat.

I own one 78 SS with a 4 speed 350 i have buildsheet

I own a 1980 El Camino, Royal Knight SS. I have the build sheet. Z-16 option car(SS) 305 4 spd M-20 Muncie, full gauges with tach, heavy duty sway-bars, originally 273 posi but i changed to a 348 ratio(much better with the M-20 tall 1st),(also changed motor to a '69 350 with factory 11-1 forged pistons,ported & polished 194 semi-open chamber heads, Victor Jr, solid lifters, etc.) tilt, manual windows, ps, pb, pulse wipers, 3 tone paint, facMCry tonneau cover, no console with 60/40 split bench seat, no header panel emblem, elcamino ss dash emblem, am/fm cassette, lower front spoiler. I also have a Gmc Caballero with a factory 4 spd that i picked up for parts.

I own a 1980 El Camino, Royal Knight SS. I have the build sheet. Z-16 option car(SS) 305 4 spd M-20 Muncie, full gauges with tach, heavy duty sway-bars, originally 273 posi but i changed to a 348 ratio(much better with the M-20 tall 1st),(also changed motor to a '69 350 with factory 11-1 forged pistons,ported & polished 194 semi-open chamber heads, Victor Jr, solid lifters, etc.) tilt, manual windows, ps, pb, pulse wipers, 3 tone paint, facMCry tonneau cover, no console with 60/40 split bench seat, no header panel emblem, elcamino ss dash emblem, am/fm cassette, lower front spoiler. I also have a Gmc Caballero with a factory 4 spd that i picked up for parts.

Like somebody else said, the manual gearboxes in these cars were by Saginaw. I believe the general stopped using Muncies in 1975(?) Anyway, my buddy bought a '78 factory 4spd base Camaro and we thought at first it was a Muncie and then even the BW Super T10.......but was ID'd as a Saginaw by the access cover bolt pattern on the side. There's my 2 cents.

I have a 1980 Royal Knight El Camino 305 4 speed. All original parts but needs to be restored. Original owner. At the time I ordered it, it was the only 4 speed in Canada.