That fact is confirmed by the build sheet, which also indicated this to be one of only 544 El Caminos built with the M20 Muncie four speed manual transmission. Built at the Kansas City, MO Leeds assembly plant the fourth week of July 1979, the vehicle’s VIN indicates it was built with the 305 cubic inch V8 (the largest engine option available for the 1980 model). This very rare 1980 Chevrolet El Camino Royal Knight has been a part of the present owner’s portfolio for almost three years and presents as a great example of combining sportiness and luxury. It was the predecessor to the 1978 Black Knight package, offered for only one year when the threat of a lawsuit over ownership of the name caused GM to make the change. From 1979 through the 1983 model year, the Royal Knight was the top trim level of the Super Sport (SS) package. Powertrain options over the years spanned the gamut from small six cylinder to massive big-block V8’s with three and four speed manuals and two, three and four speed automatics backing them. The El Camino could be optioned with both appearance and performance packages. GM’s coupe utility concept proved popular with the American motoring public and since 1964 was offered in a number of trim levels over the years. That continued through the 1987 model year, which marked the last time an El Camino rolled off a GM assembly plant line in the United States. The El Camino nameplate was resurrected for the 1964 model year, with the coupe utility now based on the mid-size Chevelle/Malibu platform. In response to Ford moving their Ranchero to the new compact Falcon platform in 1960, Chevrolet’s coupe utility offering for 1961 was based on their Corvair van. Coupe utilities were all the rage in Australia in that era and US automakers were quick to jump on the bandwagon.Īfter selling over 22,000 units in the introductory year, sales for the 1960 model dropped by more than one-third and GM executives dropped the El Camino from the 1961 Chevy lineup. Famed GM designer Harley Earl supposedly began throwing around the idea of producing a coupe utility in the early 1950’s, several years before the El Camino was introduced. Variations of the coupe utilities came on the scene in the 1930’s but did not catch the American public’s interest. The concept was not new, dating back to the roadster utilities of the 1920. Like the Ranchero, the El Camino was derived from modifying a station wagon body (in this case the newly-designed Brookwood) to create a vehicle that was not quite a pickup and certainly not a passenger car earning the industry designation of “coupe utility”. BK Auto Auctions Proudly present a rare documented Royal Knight with a very rare four-speed manual transmission originally built for the Canadian market! Only 544 El Caminos in 1980 were four speeds, and how many of them were Royal Knights?!Ĭhevrolet introduced the El Camino for the 1959 model year in response to Ford’s Ranchero that had entered the market in 1957.
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