There’s A 1978 Chevy El Camaro Pickup Up For Auction … Wait, A What?

By Gary Gastelu |

Sep 23, 2025

It’s business in the back, party in the front.

A Chevrolet Camaro pickup will soon be offered for sale at the Mecum Auctions Indy Fall Special event, but it’s not exactly what it appears to be.

The car is a custom creation that combines a 1978 Chevrolet El Camino with the front end of a 1969 Camaro.

Considering the two models are a decade apart and built on different platforms, their bodies mesh well thanks to the handiwork of its Ohio-based builder, Jim Hedges.

The El Camino interior retains its original look, but has been upgraded with a Holley digital instrument, a Shiftworks horseshoe shifter and a retro-style Bluetooth-compatible radio.

Power comes from a very modern GM supercharged LSA V-8 engine, like the one used in the last Camaro ZL1, that’s equipped with a Holley EFI system. It drives the 17-inch SS rear rear wheels through a 4L60 four-speed automatic transmission an 3.73 rear end. Four-wheel disc brakes handle the stopping.

A painted bed, a functional tailgate with a Camaro tail panel and “el Camaro” badging are the icing on the cake that helped the car win several awards this year including Best El Camino at the Bowtie Nationals and a class victory at the Piston Power show. The car is slated to cross the block in Indianapolis on Saturday, Oct. 4.

Chevrolet, of course, never built a factory Camaro pickup, but some folks at the automaker were thinking about it, and not all that long ago. During development of the sixth generation Camaro that launched in 2016, a designer drew one with a bed.

Chevrolet Camaro Pickup Sketch — Credit: GM

“Within the Design studios, we dream big and explore every idea, even imagining fun new takes on beloved classics. Here’s a sketch that was too cool to keep to ourselves.,” GM design said in an Instagram post featuring the sketch.

And it wasn’t that much of a stretch. While the sixth generation Camaro shared its Alpha platform with the Cadillac CT4 and CT5, the fifth generation model was engineered in Australia on the Zeta platform that was also used for the Holden Commodore, which was sold in the U.S. as the Pontiac G8 and Chevrolet SS with redesigned front ends.

Along with the primary sedan model, the Commodore was sold as a two-door pickup similar to an El Camino, which was called a “ute” and popular in Australia at the time. Ford also made one, but both have since been discontinued and replaced by traditional midsize pickups.

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The last Camaro was built in 2023 and the model is currently on an extended hiatus with no plans to reintroduce it soon. GM President Mark Reuss has speculated that if the model does return, it won’t be a two-door car or ute, but likely a sleek four-door sedan.

That’s not to say we won’t possibly see a pony car pickup truck in production. The Ford Mustang Mach-E proved that you can successfully put the Mustang’s face on an SUV and Ford may be trying it again with a pickup.

The automaker is working on a new low-cost electric pickup that’s going on sale in 2027 and a teaser image of it covered by a sheet suggests it may bear a striking resemblance to a Mustang, although Ford has confirmed it will be a four-door model.