El Camino SS

[Ratchet]

Just wondering about a mid 80’s SS that a friend has for sale. I know the car (way over priced) and it’s faults (hidden from his sales pitch) and want to know if they have any value above and beyond a standard El Camino.

 

[69hurstolds]

The SS version of anything normally has a premium price tag associated with it due to the limited number of them made, assuming the comparison is between cars of the same condition. Because normally, the SS is an additional option package or even a separate model costing more, that changes the car's "attitude" as it were. It's the old "all EC SS's are Elky's, but all Elky's aren't SS's". So it's a far fewer number of SS cars, er, trucks, than the SS's with other options.

By the 80s, that premium difference wasn't ALL that much though since most of it was cosmetic than under the hood. Say, if it were a 1970 454 SS vs the general run of the mill '70 El Camino, there's a greater differential, there in power, performance, and thus, overall desireability. By the late 70s and 80s, a 30-50 HP differential was still huge between performance models vs. base models, but when you're hardly breaking 200 HP in just about anything, after coming out of the original HP war, it is more, shall we say, lackluster.

It's always only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I know that may not help, but for 80s cars, it's more condition vs. content. For example, a clapped-out EC SS that's rusted out with old cat pi$$ in the seats will likely bring you far less than a pristine, low-mile version of the same EC in the base model.

 

[Ratchet]

The SS version of anything normally has a premium price tag associated with it due to the limited number of them made, assuming the comparison is between cars of the same condition. Because normally, the SS is an additional option package or even a separate model costing more, that changes the car's "attitude" as it were. It's the old "all EC SS's are Elky's, but all Elky's aren't SS's". So it's a far fewer number of SS cars, er, trucks, than the SS's with other options.

By the 80s, that premium difference wasn't ALL that much though since most of it was cosmetic than under the hood. Say, if it were a 1970 454 SS vs the general run of the mill '70 El Camino, there's a greater differential, there in power, performance, and thus, overall desireability. By the late 70s and 80s, a 30-50 HP differential was still huge between performance models vs. base models, but when you're hardly breaking 200 HP in just about anything, after coming out of the original HP war, it is more, shall we say, lackluster.

It's always only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I know that may not help, but for 80s cars, it's more condition vs. content. For example, a clapped-out EC SS that's rusted out with old cat pi$$ in the seats will likely bring you far less than a pristine, low-mile version of the same EC in the base model.

Thank you so much. I am aware that the SS package is cosmetic rather than performance based. I’m not that impressed by decals n stripes. Thanks again.