The General Motors Fremont, CA plant in Northern California Hello, In the fall of 1964, I had ordered a new red 65 327 powered El Camino from our local Long Beach Chevrolet dealer, Cormier Chevrolet. It was a special order as I was trying to get an SS version with the new 396 motor as built into the Chevelle sedans for my 65 El Camino. To no avail as that 396 motor was only designated to the sedans and not the El Camino models. (in 1966, the 396/4 speed/bucket seat version was available in the El Camino… go figure…) But as a new place for a college kid away from home court advantage came into being in 1965. I had to figure out places to make it more connected to my own life in Northern California. So, Fremont Dragstrip a few miles North on the freeway and the nearby GM factory plant where the El Camino got its start helped me associate with something. My brother was already enrolled in a college located in Los Angeles, so, now, I was 400+ miles away from home. Our paths were now on their own directions. I drove the daylights out of the 65 El Camino all over So Cal and into the SF Bay area when I moved there to go to college. By 1966-67, I was back in Long Beach to finish the last two years of school. My time in San Jose, CA always was an adventure as I did not know of any areas there. My exploration drives all over the Bay Area helped me get used to the new adventures and helped me settle into living in Northern California. To make my self feel more accustom to what I have been doing as a teenager in Long Beach and our local Lion’s Dragstrip, I went to the Fremont Dragstrip and while there, saw the exact place where my red 65 El Camino was born and assembled. Jnaki But, being a So Cal guy and the new experience of being away from home grounds played a big time blockage to being accustomed to the area and further college studies. My grades plummeted and it took a huge all night, every night study sessions, and even on some weekends to get papers written, research facts for all of my classes. All while the goal was to get the graded G.P.A. up to transfer level acceptance at the local Long Beach State College for the last two years. I barely made it, but the transfer and acceptance from Long Beach started the final and permanent experience that has lasted to this day, in 2023.
Hello J6, I knew of the L-79 and it was a special order on the Malibu Chevelles for 1965. But, when I tried to order it for the El Camino in 1965, I was given an emphatic, NO. Then, I just wanted a set of bucket seats and a 4 speed which was also available in the 65 Chevelle sedans. Again, a big NO. Finally, I wanted a new 396 c.i. motor and was told one last NO. So, it was a 327 powered auto transmission version with a Positraction rear end that was sitting in my driveway in the Fall of 1964. So, now I had my first dealer ordered car that arrived soon in Long Beach, as it was built in Fremont, CA. The funny thing was, I was going to go to college a few miles south of the GM Factory in Fremont, located in San Jose, CA. The Fremont factory was easily seen on the freeway next to it, that ran up that side of the big S.F, Bay. I finally drove over to see it up close and personal on one of my longer drives around the big bay area. Jnaki The odd thing that was mentioned earlier was that a friend of mine liked my red 1965 El Camino and wanted one for his Husqvarna 250 CC desert motorcycle. When I got home on breaks or vacation days from college, we took my El Camino to the desert to race our bikes. Then, in 1966, he got his own El Camino. But, now, it was what I wanted in the year previously. A bucket seat version, a big 396 c.i. motor, a 4 speed and of course, Positraction rear in the ordered package. I was instantly envious and our trips to the desert were varied by using two different El Caminos. What was with the Chevrolet dealer's + factory policies? We also went South of the border for a couple of beach/sand hills/dry scrub brush area scrambles races utilizing all forms of coastal scrub plus a distance along the ocean water line. It was completely different than the dry scrub areas of the Mojave Desert. It was a fun adventure. His 396 powered El Camino did the duty going across the border. YRMV
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