Cowboy Cadillac

Crash 219's Cowboy Cadillac: This 1972 GMC Sprint may look like a Chevy El Camino, but it is much rarer. I have owned this one since 1980. It is a genuine Texas truck purchased in Abilene, Texas. After a sojourn down New Orleans way, it has finally ended up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Despite the appearance, it is not a restored vehicle. This is the condition in which it has been maintained except that it had to be re-painted as the result of being rear-ended by a VW Rabbit on the highway a few years back. I had stopped behind an eighteen wheeler that was making a left turn and the VW was doing about 50 mph at impact. Now a li'l ol' VW won't move genuine Detroit iron very far even if it does hit at 50 mph so the driver of the VW went to the hospital and his car went to the scrap yard. Despite having been "sandwiched", after a little sheet metal bending with a crowbar, my Detroit iron got home under its own power. I had the frame checked before I started trying to repair it, fearing that the frame had been bent. The guy running the machine said that even after the wreck, the front and rear wheels tracked better than a lot of brand new pickups he had checked. So I started out to fix it. I was lucky enough to find a tailgate, rear bumper and front fender from a fairly intact 1971 El Camino in a wrecking yard in New London, VA. The hood and front bumper came from a Chevelle. I could not find an intact 1972 grille so the present grille is from an earlier year. The truck was originally bright orange with silver rocker panels, but after the body work was finished, it was painted the present dark metallic red, a 1989 GMC truck color.

With 225,000 miles on it, most of the mechanical parts have been replaced at one time or another. The rear end is one of the few drive train components that has not been replaced or rebuilt. It is driven daily and used for actual hauling and towing. It should be noted that variable rate rear springs and heavy-duty air shocks are necessary if you want to use one of these glorified Chevelles for hauling or towing. Although I would never drive over the speed limit, the 350 cubic inch V8 still has the old Rochester 4-barrel carb and the engine has been sufficiently modified to be suitable for some very rapid hauling!