GMC Sprint: The Other El Camino

Steve discovers a first-year 1971 GMC Sprint. After a decade without an answer to Chevy’s El Camino light pickup, Pontiac-GMC dealers get a break. But why does this junkyard inmate wear a GMC 5500 DIESEL fender badge? Watch the video and solve the mystery.

[@mikethatguy27]

I don't think anyone knows more about automobiles than Steve here! It's just amazing. I love watching the auto auctions just to hear him go through the details of every car. A true Automobile Historian💯🙌

[@willhorting5317]

Admittedly he is very knowledgeable. However, having watched him on the Barrett Jackson auctions, I have caught him giving incorrect info. It's very rare that he does. But it does happen. He definitely knows much more about 99% of vehicles than I ever will. Where I sometimes catch him giving incorrect info, is on '47-'55 (1st Series) and '60-'66 Chevy pickups.😎

[@barnabyjones5161]

He knows next to nothing. He's full of more wrong information than a liberal.

[@mikethatguy27]

@@barnabyjones5161 and yet here you are watching his videos. Nice try , take your hate and misinformation somewhere else. 🙌✌

[@jameswhite9025]

@@mikethatguy27 I absolutely love Steve's videos and knowledge base but you're under the impression Steve just throws this info out there off the cuff and does no research before he talks about the cars? It's not a live broadcast. While he's extremely knowledgeable he simply can't have all these figures, specs and car values bouncing around in his head, especially say the original MSRP on a Hudson or Sunbeam Tiger or Maserati TC. Hardly "hate" or "misinformation" which Will Horting was quick to point out he is indeed very knowledgeable but we are all human and on occasion make mistakes.

[@mikethatguy27]

@@jameswhite9025 my comment wasn't towards Will Horting, as you can clearly read the name it was meant for (It was towards a clown who deleted his comment) And yes Steve is not perfect nor did I ever say he was. But the guy knows more than just your average auto parts employee

[@robertelder300]

Great video, Steve! I owned a 1973 GMC Sprint, dark forest green with a beige vinyl top. It had a 454 CID Rochester 4bbl., power windows, brakes, AC, and a 3 speed column shifted automatic. My father bought it at Hopkins Pontiac in Peterborough NH and I took over ownership when I was stationed at Holloman AFB New Mexico in 1976. Great car...drove it down to NM and back to NH. It was the only "hot rod" I ever owned- topped out at 115 mph on the straightaways outside Alamagodo NM!

[@maxxcherry6955]

I've never seen or even heard of a Sprint till now. Thanks !

[@carmudgeon7478]

Oohh, an Isuzu Amigo in the background.😳

[@aijeMnairdA]

I just bought a 1972 GMC Sprint all original matching numbers 350/350 2bbl. Can’t wait to go through it and bring it back to its former glory. You and the comments have blessed me with some much needed knowledge on these cars. I believe some 6473 or so were only produced in 72’ making this survivor a great rare gem.

[@buffdelcampo]

Steve, you are so full of good information, but you missed something about the fenders. I had one of these that had a wrecked front end. I bought used fenders for a Chevelle and they didn't fit. The difference is the Chevelle fenders had pooched out pseudo fender flairs but the station wagons and El Caminos didn't. The Chevelle fenders won't match up with the leading edge of the of the El Camino doors. I bought a second front clip from a wagon and it fit right up. It was a great car. I just loved the GMC Sprint!

[@robertludwig1278]

YEP STATIONWAGON ELCAMINO ONLY - YOU BEAT ME TO IT, SUPRISIED HE GOT THAT WRONG

[@grabasandwich]

@@robertludwig1278 Did he take down the Camaro vid after a bunch of people said real split bumper cars only had round signals?

[@corvairjim1]

​@@grabasandwichnope. It's a year later and I just saw that one a few days ago. Let me tell you, I cringed through the whole video!

[@guylr7390]

That’s a great junkyard Steve. Right next to the Sprint was a rather rare Honda CB750A automatic.

[@davidgutierrez-yc4eu]

Lol, great video. I had a '71 307 three on the tree. The air cleaner cover said hi-torque 307. I was told all they did was add weight to the flywheel 😀. All i know is between me and my subsequent family members we put over 300k with only a timing chain and gears service/replacement. It had 112k when i dug it out of the weeds behind a building in an industrial park the business belonged to a painting contractor but they had gone belly up and this was the only vehicle that didnt sell at a liquidation auction 3 years earlier. Just sitting for three years and it was clear it had been a work vehicle. Had a big rack welded on from tailgate to front bumper. Could only open the hood about 2'. After removing the rack and some basic maintenance that sprint was indestructible. Was in my family after me for a decade. Greatest GM ever. 🙂

[@spankyham9607]

Always fun to learn from you Steve.

[@Damone7653]

I love Steve's videos because they are very informative and short... sometimes being long is not good.

[@ricksaint2000]

Thank you Steve Get well soon

[@thomas9079]

Awesome video, thanks for sharing this with us Steve. I purchased a 1971 GMC Sprint in 1987. I was the 3rd owned, it was mostly stock without the original wheels, had a 350 Invader, TH350 Trans (on the column shifter), functional cowl hood w/flap, The color was red with white stripes and white vinyl roof with beige tan interior. I rebuild the 350 motor to almost stock specs (spelling?) and added new heavy duty springs and shocks, ball joints and control arms with a 1 and a quarter inch front anti-sway bar and 1 inch stabilizer bar in the rear [painted blue, can't remember the brand now] which did not come with the truck new. I bought it for 7 grand, I put 14 grand into the truck with high end $3,000 stereo and a alarm system and paint & body work, shift kit, etc. Asked $14,000, sold the Sprint for $12,000, [without the stereo and alarm] in 1994. Had a lot of fun for 8 years and could keep up with Porsche's around corners. Thanks again and I hope you and your dear family have a wonderful week!! [[ P.S. I used to have a video I found on the internet that had the exact same color combo but with a 454, they deleted it. The 454 on the grill was painted red, my 350 on the grill was painted white. Do you know anything about that or if that is correct? You are the best Steve! ]]

[@jessenewton8568]

pretty sure the 350 emblem on the sprint was yellow

[@P_RO_]

@@kurtlamprecht93 Have to agree on the possibilities, but most Porsche owners in the US can't drive them to anywhere near their potential. Just a status symbol here. I never got to drive any of the 'exotics' like Ferrari, Lambo, etc but I've driven almost everything else. Nothing I've driven corners nearly as hard as a 911 but you gotta know how to drive it; it's either gonna scare the crap out of you or put the biggest smile on your face you've ever had 😁😍👍 Oh if the customers knew what us mechanics were doing in their cars 😉

[@johnmcnamara4880]

love all your videos! just a heads up, el camino and wagon shared the fenders, the cars used different fenders on the 1970 to 72s.

[@goratgo1970]

True, found out early on (1997) when parts opportunity arose - forward fender brow more angled so couldn't use headlight surround.

[@gertraba4484]

Yup

[@nastybastardatlive]

He said that.

[@robertnussberger6449]

The 1970 had a 70 Monte carlo bumper

[@AreaThirteenThirteen]

El Caminos, Rancheros etc were basically just station wagons of the same era with the rear top cut off to make a truck bed that really couldn't haul as much weight like a truck but they were cool nonetheless.

[@scottwethington8486]

Your knowledge is beyond all Encyclopedias!!! I love when you get blind folded and can just tell a car from the rain rails! AMAZING!

[@davidgriffiths5897]

i need to see this

[@neebob2]

Very interesting . What caught my attention was at the end their is a motorcyle in the background that appears to be a honda 750 2 speed auto clutch that is also kind of rare and interesting .

[@2000TA]

My dad had a '71 Chevy Concours (Chevelle Wagon) that was Ascot Blue, when I was a kid. So the '71 has always held a special place with me. I have recently found it, 30 years after he sold it.

[@toTheWatcher]

I love these little learning moments! I almost bought a sprint recently, but held off for a 70 elco that never materialized.

[@markalton4610]

I like weird stuff. Being ive never heard of the sprint until today I would definitely have bought it. You got the guys contact information?

[@toTheWatcher]

@@markalton4610 yeah i like the odd stuff too, but i really want a quad light which that gen of Sprint doesn't offer. Unfortunately that Sprint is gone otherwise i would have bought it when that 70 elco deal fell through.

[@markalton4610]

@Ban this youtube yeah I feel that. I own a 65 LeSabre and a ‘63 power wagon. I can’t really shop for either one of those

[@kenlelon369]

I'm 66 El Camino owner very interested in this subject. Glad somebody like you did it - very good stuff!

[@rayinpau.s.a.6351]

Hi Steve , goes to show that you learn some thing new every day . I never heard of or seen one of these Sprints .

[@MMavrundo123]

Steve know his cars I enjoy watching I learn something new every time I watch.

[@njcivicwagon1]

Wow. Never new that. Thanks for sharing Steve

[@francisjaniewski5990]

Good work Steve! I've only seen 2 Sprints in NW Indiana, and I'm now retired. Keep up your journey love your commentary on lost classics.

[@keithmabe6015]

Thank you Steve...

[@michaelbowen8281]

Man you have so much knowledge on so many vehicles I would love to know a quarter of what you know. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge on these videos

[@ruanecrummett9261]

I grew up with El caminos my father had many they are my favorite car thanks for the great video steve

[@geoffkeller5337]

Thank you for the great videos. So many interesting vehicles there. The white station wagon, gold 2 door car, Dodge D100 and a motorcycle.

[@Ray56z]

Good vid. Living those years I never seen a GMC Sprint.

[@cwie2968]

Keep the videos coming Steve. Awesome job 👍

[@afoolandhismoneychannel]

I like that you touched on the inter-corporate rivalries that were so prevalent at that time. People today seem to think that car makers were one big happy family back then (I'm looking at you, Plymouth owners with Dodge bumblebee stripes on your cars!!) but that couldn't be further from the truth. The fact is that Dodge and Plymouth were almost bigger rivals to each other than they were to Chevrolet, Ford, etc. Might be fodder for a future video, Steve! Enlighten the noobs! 😎

[@corvairjim1]

That's right! Chrysler let Richard Petty go over to Ford in 1969 instead of letting him go over to Dodge so that he could drive an aero-bodied Daytona instead of the slick-as-a-brick Belvidere/Road Runner/GTX. Petty called their bluff, jumped ship, and spent the year in a Torino. Plymouth got the message and rushed the Superbird into production, primarily just to get The King back into one of their cars!

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

Man I remember those very well! My brother had one of those in the mid 70s! And used to use it to haul iron fences that he used to weld in his shop. His was blue also!👌😎👍great content!

[@stephinepaul7483]

Yep. Got two of these here. One with the Small Block 350 and one with the "Invader" 454. Both are Automatics. Had them since the late 80's.

[@charlesgambrel7058]

Thanks a lot for the videos pretty cool how you just pick something out and give us a rundown on some history

[@P_RO_]

An old buddy of mine who loved El Camino's bought a Sprint and may still have it, haven't heard anything from or of him in ten years or more, just kind of lost touch. IIRC it was gold- I do remember it had a small V8 which he described as "gutless". Only seen a few others, quite a scarce car.

[@WildBillFlysRC]

Our friend is building the Caballero 😎.

[@thejackofalltravels8267]

A good friend of mine in Vegas had a 66 elcamino and a 63? Tempest convertible with an aluminum v8 and the whacky transaxle. Loved the land of no rust . I lived in the Berkshires once upon a time, great videos

[@randyauer7303]

Another great video Steve get well soon

[@Sleeperdude]

I didn’t realize they made these

[@chrisulrey7649]

So funny Steve. Snow on the ground and your in a t-shirt. Signing off, Phoenix.

[@garagedweller7159]

Ya'll are a hearty bunch up there,snow on the ground and a short sleeve T shirt. Great video as usual.

[@bulbman2564]

I saw one at a car show a couple days before this video came out, never new about it but it's a great automobile.

[@solracanidem2948]

Always a pleasure! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@davidgriffiths5897]

this cant be more perfect... i just picked up a 77 GMC Sprint last weekend lol

[@chrislutsogn7102]

Love this show

[@sprint6855]

The GMC V6 was 305 or 351 in the light truck line. It was made in much larger displacements for the heavy truck line.

[@lewismocaby3646]

Great video,my first car was mom and dads 72 ElCamino they’d had since I was about 3. Dad had bought a parts car to do a body swap which turned out to be a GMC Sprint. Still have that car although totaled after an extra long shift at work. Have has boatload of ElCaminos and Chevelles and really dig seeing your videos on those cars. 👍

[@flyingfortressrc1794]

Great information I never knew.

[@morgenhoop]

Good stuff, Steve!

[@carsmartsmedia2324]

My brother had an Isuzu Rodeo just like the one behind you! Cool SUV's you never see anymore.

[@humbleme6974]

My labor had a blue 72 sprint 454 swivel bucket seats when I was much younger I use to help him work on it

[@clutchkicker392ison5]

Luv the "where'swally" aspect of lookin at treasure in the background

[@MikeBrown-ii3pt]

In my small town, for many years the Pontiac/Cadillac dealer had no association at all with GMC trucks. We had a separate, full line GMC dealer. They sold everything from the lightest pickups all the way up to class 8 semi tractors. Some time in the 1980s, both the Pontiac/Cadillac dealer and the GMC truck dealer were bought out by the single line Oldsmobile dealer. The Olds dealer kept the GMC light duty line but spun off the medium and heavy truck line to another place a few miles away. Both of those dealers still exist today.

[@sindrelangvatn7295]

Learn a lot from you. How can you remeber all this.

[@davidwright3390]

The front fenders on el camino 68-72 only interchange with the wagons not with the coupes or 4 doors

[@mjmcomputers]

Very cool!

[@martywilkinson6722]

I learned to drive in an early 80's GMC El Caballero!

[@miller7759]

Ahhhh a Mullet Mobile. We just finished restoring a 68 Big Block SS 4speed Car. Garnet Red with Black racing stripes and factory 15×8 rally wheels.

[@ScottDLR]

My FIL had a 71 Sprint. Never have seen another one.

[@genogeno6643]

Got a 74 SP (454 and Swivel seat package) Its getting some handling and horsepower done to it at a shop 4 miles from this yard right now!

[@gideondingle9363]

I have a 77 Sprint.I bought it about 2 years ago 4 $800 and it had a camper shell and some American Torque Thrust mags in it.It was sitting in a guys driveway 4 7 years.The date code is 6/77 which is the kast month if the model year,so it's gotta be 1 of the last ones built.1978 was a totally different smaller body style.The Cabarillio came out in 78.I remember when these were new.

[@SchneiderClassics]

really cool to see

[@dougackerman4182]

Neat video Steve

[@HotRod-wv4vm]

Thanks for the video. Looking at that front clip reminds me of the mercury monarch and the ford variant whose name escapes me

[@mc2whls]

@ Hot Rod 1949 That would have been the Ford Granada.

[@HotRod-wv4vm]

@@mc2whls right thanks

[@countryautobody7079]

way back in the mid 80's my parents had a 73 GMC sprint it was tan with wood grain on the sides of course my dad put some big and little Cragars on it .

[@justinmyslive4108]

My Uncle had a 71 GMC Sprint. Brown with white racing stripes, 350 Invader under the hood, TH400 Trans and side pipes. She was a sweet ride. It would burn rubber in all three gears

[@jeffbell9305]

Loved my 71 GMC sprint . Mine had the 350 Invader, Frame rusted thru about 1994 .Gotta love Iowa rust

[@davidgriffiths5897]

nebraska here i picked up a 69 impala that came from iowa i have rust holes in my frame tsk tsk also my 77 sprint has a new sun roof thanks to rust

[@izzydizzy1115]

In 1969 I completed a summer long GM/Chevrolet training session in Tarrytown NY. After which they took us on a tour of the Chevy plant in Tarrytown where we watched them assemble "Big" Cars (Caprice, Implala, Bel Air, Biscaynes) on one side of the plant, and on the other side they built full size pick up trucks, both Chevy and GMC on the same assembly line. Of course the trucks shared the same frames and suspensions and basic sheet metal, but things like the grilles, lamps, tailgates and badges were changed accordingly. Sadly a few years later, the plant was demolished and GM eventually closed the Training center at the end of the 90's.

[@ldnwholesale8552]

All 'real' Holden utes had the backseat mounts under the floor. From about 50 to 71. Later were in effect a full chassis with leaf springs. Through to 84. Then came in 91 coil sprung Commodore utes, a wagon with the roof cut off!!

[@watsisbuttndo829]

And then they were gone.......(removes hat and bows head).

[@Barry101er]

Never knew about this model! Had a 69 Ranchero for a bit, in the mid 80s. Someone had converted it to a Hurst 3 speed on the floor, fun car

[@dirtystockcardriver]

I only carried the Motortrend channel to watch junkyard gold. I like roadkill garage too, but mainly junkyard gold. I officially canceled my streaming service last week because I was paying $35 a month for maybe 2-3 re-ran episodes a month. The point of my story is, PLEASE KEEP UP THE JUNKYARD CRAWL 😁

[@BobBob-je9hs]

Awesome automotive history 🇺🇸💪

[@onlyactingup]

Thank you Steve for bringing up the fact that these were based on Ford Australian models from the 30 40's. They were built in Australia's Ford 50s GMH till 2017 when GM said FU Australia and stopped manufacturing.

[@zeon5323]

The big block narrow angle V6 motors were great!

[@dustinwilson1981]

I had a '73 Sprint I drove in high school. Had a 350/th350 combo. Factory air and factory tach dash vehicle. Was a fun car until friend I went out cruising and some drunk ass backed into the door. I was living it up with my camaro/Monte ss wheels on it (had Rocket Racing mags prior). That Lil sprint got me around. People didn't like it because they said it looked like a drug dealers car, when in fact, was the exact opposite. Good times.

[@aliassmithandjones9453]

my friends grandmother had a Sprint. It was the only one I ever knew of

[@bryanphipps9131]

Awesome, always wanted one of those varriants. Also the later Chevy engines were TurboJet, early ones were TurboFire.

[@MikeBrown-ii3pt]

Small blocks were Turbo-Fire, big blocks were Turbo-Jet. I believe that the Jet-Fire Steve mentioned was an Oldsmobile.

[@79tazman]

A friend of mine has a 1973 GMC Sprint he has owned it before he was old enough to drive but he has a 73 Laguna front clip on the car it looks awesome

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Seen a few of those Sprints still running around in the 1980's.

[@EdgarRiverHernan]

Thank you

[@396M21]

The GMC emblem was also used on Sierra and Sierra Grande PU's and the V6 was a "305" CI.

[@RC-cc4rv]

Get well Steve!!!.

[@billcarrell8622]

Proud owner of a '71 Sprint SP 350. Happens to be for sale too.

[@andrewmonaghan8487]

Love the el camino's , don't see a lot of them here in Australia, Yes Stevo we have the UTE , The Ford xa xb xc falcon utes from the 70's are similar , I have a 1977 xc ute the closest I can get to an el Camino, thanks for the look at the GMC , Didn't no there was one , would love one of those, wouldn't be a lot of them here in Australia let alone in the USA ? Cheers

[@70stunes71]

Interesting information, much of which has been lost in time

[@jimr3179]

Yeah you are right.The interiors do look identical.That one looks just like mine!

[@mikecostello1727]

Loved the vid, I have never seen the "unicorn" that's very interesting GMC..

[@corvairjim1]

About those front turn signals: I think the difference between the El Camino/Chevelle lenses and the Sprint lenses is just a matter of color. As I recall, the Chevys had amber lenses with clear bulbs. The GMC, with the white lenses, probably had amber bulbs. Just something to differentiate between the two.

[@kurt2022]

Oh I remember that one, my dad's hog farmer partner on standardbred race horses in the 70's owned a a sprint and pulled a horse trailer with it. If I remember correctly it was gold and had 400 emblems on it.

[@monaroboy124]

As an Aussie, hearing Steve call it a Ute shows how much he knows, onya mate!

[@P_RO_]

Coupe Utility. You had them long ago, it took us awhile to catch up. Americans have always preferred pick-ups, yet what most of them ever haul in private use could be done just as well with a Ute. Sometimes we're not sensible here, hope you can overlook that 🤣 And as we define them, there is still one Ute sold here: The Honda Ridgeline is a unibody and has no frame, and to us trucks must have a frame, so that actually makes it a Ute!

[@b.s.adventures9421]

No on the fenders interchanging. They are not the same as Malibu or Chevelle except for the wagons. The car’s fenders had a bulge that tied into the door starting in 1970. The ElCo and wagons had flat sides because they were basically a carry over from 68-69 with a revised front clip. Great Info and content regardless. I Remember finding a 71 sprint SS abandoned in front of a burned out trailer house in middle of nowhere Alaska in the 90s. It had all the original dealer paperwork in the glovebox including the window sticker and protecto plate. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I think it was a 300? Horse 350ci with an auto trans and “posi” . I remember it being a highly optioned white car.

[@MadMalibu71]

I always had this idea to put a 70-72 El Camino front clip on a 68-69 Chevelle then take it to a show and see reactions...

[@MikeBrown-ii3pt]

They also use the same windshield as the wagon/300 series Chevelle and, if memory serves, the front doors and door glass of the wagon/300 series.

[@b.s.adventures9421]

@@MikeBrown-ii3pt the window frame on the Elco was a different shape than the wagons.

[@heatherbuzzell2982]

i bought the tach & gage dash from that sprint back in 97 olace had a lot of gutted mobile homes with nice cars stashed in them

[@falconman9554]

You mentioned that GMC v6. I always found thoes intresting. They were a 302 CI engine if I recall..and there was always rumors that the valve covers were painted plaid from the factory.

[@justinstearns9723]

Smallest of the GMC V6s was a 305, and they went up to a 478. From there, was a 637 V8 based on the same architecture, and a 702 V12 that used parts from the 351 V6. There was also a diesel version of them, called a Toroflow. The plaid valve covers were supposedly a dealer add on to signify that they had received an update for a valve train issue I believe. There are plenty of plaid valve covered ones out there.

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Forgot about those. Always wanted a Black Knight myself! Man I miss my 78 El Camino. That it didn't have that stupid emblem sticking up on the hood but was incorporated into the grill made a huge difference to me at least.

[@BakedRBeans]

I also had a 78 El Camino. Bought it in 1985, and drove it until 2005. Twenty years! It had almost 100,000 when I bought it. Had to get the trans rebuilt right away. It had about 250,000 miles when I traded it in. Original 350 engine barely ran at that point. I don't miss it, cause it turned into a maintainance nightmare. Barely made it to the used car lot. Turned out the car lot owner was a collector who loved El Caminos- I hope he had fun fixing everything on it. I probably wouldn't recognize it today, all fixed up.

[@gthomer1231]

i saw one of these at a car show a few years ago

[@TairnKA]

I had a concept of mounting the spare tire in the back seat foot well (passenger side), with a fiberglass cover and hydraulics (in other foot will) that would raise it over the bed side for easy access. ;-)

[@mostlypeacefulmisterputin]

That’s a testament to how rare these are…I had always thought the Caballero was the only GMC version

[@GoodOlRoll]

It was. The Sprint was discontinued after 1977 and the Caballero took its place starting in 1978.

[@urbanurchin5930]

I had a boss back in the early 2000's that had one - it is the only one I ever remember seeing. Actually kind of rare, production numbers for 1971 : 5536

[@markustaylor1889]

Crazy I’ve never even heard of one but I wasn’t alive back in those days

[@grabasandwich]

1:03 interesting! Reminds me how GM of Canada made the Acadian Invader (still on the Nova platform I believe)

[@numba1cam]

Cadillac also made a high end El camino variant in 1976 called the mirage. Only 204 were ever produced but theyre pretty neat looking vehicles.

[@BakedRBeans]

Wow. Very interesting. I thought all those were hand-made.

[@nicksnarski5973]

Great video the front fenders work on station wagons only not the 2 door models.