El Camino a truck?

[cooperhw]

I know most will say no. Chevrolet calls it a truck. DMV calls it a truck. Wife calls it a Mullet. (Business in the front & party in the back).
I pose this question to the group. What defines a truck? Is it not that the vehicle has a bed in the back that you can carry stuff in? We call P series vehicles trucks? I started my El Camino build in the Alternate tinkerings section, but really, What defines a truck?

[davepl]

That's up to the reader. Depends on what you consider to be the official description.

They are licensed and treated as trucks. So legally, they are a truck.

In practical terms they are built on a car chassis, so for practical purposes, they're a car with a bed.

And in the final analysis, what does it share the most parts with? By far, the Chevelle, a car.

Others will have strong opinions in both directions, I'm sure!

[jsera]

I personally call it a truck. Not a very useful one as far as towing and capacities but still a truck.

[GR8-68]

truck1

noun
1.
any of various forms of vehicle for carrying goods and materials, usually consisting of a single self-propelled unit but also often composed of a trailer vehicle hauled by a tractor unit.

[GR8-68]

So really anything that you use to haul goods around

[bigrigpardo]

So by that definition my 3cyl Geo metro is a truck. Lol. I just had to.

[TeamEstep]

I had a '70 el Camino in High School. I always called it "my car". I didn't think of it as a truck.

[jeffahart]

A long time ago I was told. Trucks carry and tractors pull. It was an answer to my question where the term Semi came from, as I was talking to a guy who was real smart on big trucks. He said, semi tractor... carries and pulls, carries the front, pulls the wheeled end. Made sense to me as a bobbed semi cannot carry only, but who knows.

[undertaker72]

I have three elkys , a 59 a 65 and a 66 I have had about a dozen , here in Utah they all are reg as a car , they are on a car chassis , and same body tub , they are nice to haul a few items in , but not like a pick up, back in the eightys I even had a set of air boosters on the rear as I had a hitch and towed my 40 ford to the drags on a trailer a lot of times , I guess its just what you want it to be , but they ride like a car and I love them

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by cooperhw

DMV calls it a truck.

On the other hand, in Michigan a Suburban is registered as a station wagon, or a "truck wagon".

By way of reference the El Camino was designed and built by the passenger car group at Chevrolet Engineering (rather than by Truck Engineering).

K

[fecklessgadfly]

It's not really a truck, but it's more trucky than a car. Why don't we steal an Aussie term and call them Utes? From what I hear that type of vehicle is still pretty popular down under.

[100%Chevy]

Well,I have a 67 El Camino.
I call it a car.
Mines frame is longer behind the rear wheels than a coupe or sedan.More like the wagon frames.
It has factory air shocks too.
In 55,Chevy made a vehicle they called a truck,but is actually a wagon called a sedan delivery.
So,for me if it looks like a car-it's a car and if it looks like a truck-it's a truck!
Call it what you like!
And,what is a ute? (here we go again!)
Mike.

[fecklessgadfly]

A ute is what Australians would call and El Camino. It's based of the word utility, pronounced like flute, without the fl. They still use them there, pretty popular.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ute_(vehicle)

[B. W.]

No, it is not a truck. It's a cruck or a trar but it's definitely not a truck!

[trucks72]

What I have learned on this is: If you are a truck guy, they are cars. If you are a car guy, they are trucks.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by fecklessgadfly

A ute is what Australians would call and El Camino. It's based of the word utility, pronounced like flute, without the fl. They still use them there, pretty popular.

...

[geezer#99]

THey're not all chevy's or gmc's.
Here's an awesome ute!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga7Q8F3l5y0

[Ol Blue K20]

I have a 70, I call I call mine the " Elkie" or a car. It's a station wagon frame and body tub. It even has rear seat floor board under the bed. I love it but it's not much for a heavy load. DMV says it's a truck and makes me pay commercial fees. But we all know how bright tax agencies are......lol

[B. W.]

that's what they call "cammed"!

[slikside]

Originally Posted by trucks72

What I have learned on this is: If you are a truck guy, they are cars. If you are a car guy, they are trucks.

An astute observation...

I've never owned one, but I've always liked them. Especially a souped-up resto-mod version.

I'll go with car (I'm a truck guy), plus, as Keith says, they were built by the car division.

[70STOVEBOLT]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

...

The two WHAT?!

[70STOVEBOLT]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

I have a 70, I call I call mine the " Elkie" or a car. It's a station wagon frame and body tub. It even has rear seat floor board under the bed. I love it but it's not much for a heavy load. DMV says it's a truck and makes me pay commercial fees. But we all know how bright tax agencies are......lol

What do you mean it has rear seat floor board under the bed?

[feller]

I call elkys totally bad A $$, but my wife calls them silly. But this is coming from a truck lover who's mistress is a Monte Carlo. Lol

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by 70STOVEBOLT

What do you mean it has rear seat floor board under the bed?

There's a removable cover in front of bed under the back window. If you lift it up it's covering the foot well to the back seat. Some of them get converted to ice chests...

[100%Chevy]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

There's a removable cover in front of bed under the back window. If you lift it up it's covering the foot well to the back seat. Some of them get converted to ice chests...

"Smugglers Hatch"!
Mike.