1965 Pontiac GTO Chief Camino: One man's 10-year quest for perfection

(Please note, this is book published on a specific car for the car's owner from materials first published in Musclecar Enthusiast. It published in a small-book, landscape format, 8 inches wide by 6.25 inches high.)In 1964 Pontiac introduced the modern muscle car, the GTO. By its traditional definition, a muscle car is the installation of a big-block V8 installed in an intermediate or compact American car. While some can make a case that the 1957 Rambler Rebel was the first true muscle car, it is generally acknowledged by most automotive authorities that the 1964 Pontiac GTO is the first true muscle car. In 1965 all of the GM intermediates received all-new body shells and the various divisions-Buick, Chevrolet, and Oldsmobile-all introduced their own variations on the theme. And at Chevrolet, there was a unique variation, the El Camino which was a two-door Chevelle station wagon with a pickup cab and bed. Pontiac never offered a Tempest-based version of the El Camino but that hasn't stopped Ron Lindemann, a Pontiac enthusiast from building his own. Over a 10-year period, working in his home garage, he built what he calls the GTO Chief Camino. Using mostly Pontiac body panels to construct the bed, using only the roof and door frames from an El Camino, he has built a stunning phantom, a car that Pontiac could have and should have built.