© 2017 Power Automedia. all rights reserved.

In today's SUV boom, Simen is the price to enter the white-hot market segment. Compared with the four-door truck, the standard cab truck has also had its liver shredded. Back in the early 1960s, the situation was just the opposite. Chevrolet El Camino and rival Ford Ranchero are only sold as two doors, and the two car/truck hybrids have never added a cab model or four-wheel drive.

Who knows whether adding a four-door car will lead to a sales victory for Chevrolet or Ford. Back then, two-door two-wheel drive versions were everywhere in the American suburbs. These two competitors really paved the way for the truck boom we see today, which combines the practicality of trucks with the luxury of cars.

Definitely not what Chevrolet thought of in 1965. Image: Dave Cruikshank

El Camino has a party in front and business in the back. For the general contractor, this is the perfect outfit to bring to the job site, and then hand over the keys to his wife so that she can pick up mulch and geraniums in the local nursery on weekends.

What we are here to provide you is the 1965 El Camino factory that is closest to the appearance of the factory you will see. At first glance, this may seem like a clumsy proposal, but as you can see, Dean Toso's El Camino, known as "Mordor", is sleek and smooth, and now, taking the whole gang for a ride. Dean and his wife Cyndy have three children, Erik, Dylan and Colin, who are from Fountain Valley in California. Dean is an oil worker who worked for Chevron in El Segundo for many years, but has now retired.

He purchased El Camino in 2002. This is a stagnant project, and the owner has lost interest. When Dean took over, the old Elco had become a four-door. It has a black primer and a set of semi-hoop aftermarket IROC wheels.

Although this car is drivable and looks like it is today, it still takes a lot of work to get the rig to the state you see here. The former owner mixed the front half of a station wagon in the middle of the back door with the half of the El Camino at the A-pillar. Elco even attached a rendering of the famous car designer Steve Stanford (Steve Stanford).

Dean and his friend Jeff Baker decided to become the co-owners of the rig, and in 2007 they began to advance at full speed.

LS looks like at home. It may not be a fire-breathing monster, but it definitely allows El Camino to get on the road quickly.

The body is separated from the frame, and the guys start to do business. Dean wanted reliable power, so he chose a 330-horsepower 5.3-liter LQ4 Chevrolet V8. The two supported this with a 4L60E automatic transmission. The engine was placed in a 1965 Chevelle frame with 24 inches grafted in the middle. The MagnaFlow exhaust system has been modified to accommodate the new longer chassis.

From there, suspension and brakes used a bushel of the best aftermarket products. The front suspension uses Detroit Speed ​​shock absorbers, Classic Performance Products (CPP) lower control arms and a larger swing lever. CPP coil and 10-bolt rear end with 3.73 gears are fixed to the stern fortress. CPP disc brakes always provide a reliable stop when the anchor point is dropped. A two-piece drive shaft with a support bracket provides power to the apron in the middle of the chassis. The rig rolls on a set of Rushforth wheels, the front wheel is 18×8, the rear wheel is 18×9.5, respectively wrapped in Toyo Proxes tires, respectively, 234/40 and 255/45.

The body was sandblasted, and the rotting front fender was replaced with Original Parts Group (OPG) parts. With the exception of the roof seams, Jeff completed most of the bodywork. After several attempts to tame the stubborn hump that refused to be compacted, the roof seams have been bent and warped. John Bingham, a metal repairman, was called. He cut out a piece of new metal, cut out the old metal, and soldered it in the new tin. The problem was solved after about three hours. The crisis has been avoided.

Around 2008, Jeff gave up his shares in the building. However, he continued to contribute his talents to "Mordor." When the car body left the frame, Jeff primed the Elco, and then asked the big cheese painter Pete Santini to paint the car with a Ford tint called Smokestone, a one-year-only color. After painting, the car body was put back on the frame, the Dynamat was placed everywhere, and the door was suspended again.

However, in Dean's view, this car is missing something. To solve this problem, he decided to add another color above the waistline. The added hue is House of Kolor Candy Apple Red. The aforementioned Steve Stanford is not only a talented artist, but also a versatile stripper. In fact, he streaks and finishes Jeff's sparkling gold leaf work that separates the two colors.

Inside, Dean now has a passenger compartment twice the size. He asked Jesse from California Automotive Interiors to do the job. Dean sewed a beautiful black seat and door card with a tailor-made OEM appearance. He also added some customization details. Dean did the rest, including the headlines. In keeping with the OEM atmosphere, the 1965 Impala console and Budnik banjo steering wheel added some subtle but effective touches.

It took about a month to straighten out these problems. But since then, Dean is now just driving and enjoying cars. He likes the attention that cars receive. He even thought of some adjustments he would implement in the future.

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Surprisingly, "Mordor" was completed in 2009 and attracted a lot of attention at the Goodguys Pleasanton event at that time, but it never appeared on the pages of car magazines. However, last summer, Power Automedia named Dean's El Camino ChevyHardcore.com's 2021 Grand Ontario Convention Center Route 66 Crusin' Reunion Editor's Choice in Ontario, California. If you have never been to this show, put it on your wish list. Who knows, you might see the "Mordor" court in the shady streets of the historic downtown in Ontario, California.

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