1985 Chevrolet El Camino Super Sport — True Factory SS with 305 V8 and 700R4 Why This Car Is Special The 1985 Chevrolet El Camino Super Sport occupies a specific and well-documented place in American automotive history. By 1985, the El Camino was in its final years of production — Chevrolet would discontinue it after 1987 — making this generation increasingly collectible as a genuine survivor of a body style that no other American manufacturer has replicated. The car-based pickup concept, first introduced by Chevrolet in 1959, reached its most refined and fully equipped form in these mid-1980s A-body examples.

What makes this particular 1985 Chevrolet El Camino Super Sport worth paying close attention to is the factory SS designation itself. The Super Sport package in 1985 was not a performance upgrade in the traditional muscle car sense — it was a factory appearance and trim package that included specific exterior graphics, SS badging, sport suspension tuning, and a front air dam. Chevrolet did not offer the SS package to every El Camino buyer, and finding a documented factory SS example with the original drivetrain intact is meaningfully different from finding a base El Camino with SS emblems bolted on later.

This car is the real thing. The VIN on this vehicle encodes that it was assembled at the Fairfax, Kansas plant, which was one of the primary assembly locations for the G-body El Camino during this era. The model year and plant codes confirm this is a legitimate 1985 model year production vehicle, not a title year discrepancy. 1985 was also the first year the El Camino came standard with the 700R4 four-speed overdrive automatic transmission, replacing the older three-speed TH350.

That transmission upgrade was significant for drivability — the 700R4's overdrive fourth gear drops engine rpm noticeably at highway speed, making a 40-year-old V8 truck-car genuinely comfortable on the interstate. Features List - LG4 305ci 5.0L V8 engine - 700R4 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive - Factory Super Sport trim package with SS badging and graphics - Factory tachometer - Front air dam / front spoiler - Dual exhaust - Power steering - Power disc brakes - Air conditioning - Tilt steering column - Cruise control - Power windows - Power door locks - Factory SS floor mats - Bench seat with center armrest - Wood-grain interior trim - AM radio with custom auto sound head unit and Bluetooth integration - LMC ash tray cup holder console addition - Custom dash cover with embroidered El Camino script - American Racing Torque Thrust wheels - Spray-in bed liner - Chrome front and rear bumpers - Clean undercarriage Mechanical The engine under the hood is the LG4 305 cubic inch V8, displacing 5.0 liters. In 1985 trim, the LG4 was a Rochester Quadrajet-fed small block rated at 150 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque.

Those numbers look modest by modern standards, but the torque rating matters more than the horsepower figure in a vehicle like this — the LG4 pulls cleanly from low rpm, which suits the El Camino's dual-purpose character well. The 305 small block is one of the most well-supported engines in the classic car hobby, with parts availability that is essentially unlimited and a rebuild cost that remains very reasonable. Paired to the LG4 is the 700R4 four-speed automatic.

This transmission is a significant upgrade over what earlier El Caminos carried. The 700R4 provides a 3.06 first gear ratio for reasonable off-the-line performance, and a 0.70 overdrive fourth gear that keeps the engine spinning around 1,600 to 1,800 rpm at 65 miles per hour. That combination improves fuel economy and reduces long-distance fatigue compared to the non-overdrive transmissions of earlier years.

The 700R4 has a well-known reputation in the enthusiast community — it responds well to a basic rebuild, and every major drivetrain parts supplier stocks components for it. The dual exhaust system is visible and intact in the underca