Rich Adler says he grew up around cars. His father was into racing, and Rich had lots of opportunities to work on the race cars with him. His father had a heating and air conditioning business, and one day he got a 1966 Chevrolet El Camino for doing some work for a customer.

In 1988, Rich inherited the car and started to work on it to make it his own. The El Camino came with a 396 cubic-inch engine and a four-speed transmission. Rich says he pulled the engine out almost immediately (his dad was a fan of the 427 engine). Due to an injury, he couldn’t drive stick anymore, so he wound up putting in a TH400 transmission.

Over the years, Rich says he started to accumulate the parts to bring the El Camino back to its original shape. One of the fenders came from Alabama, and the quarter panels came from California. Rich recalls that some of the damage to the car was caused by the previous owner cutting the roof out to install a sunroof, using a storm window out of a door. It wasn’t a very good job, and it leaked, causing some serious rust damage.

In 2008, Rich gave the car to his brother, Rob, who did a complete frame-off restoration. Rob is the owner of The A-Team Speed Shop in Tinley Park, Ill. The El Camino’s frame has been stripped and powder-coated, and the suspension completely rebuilt. A Wilwood 4-wheel manual disc brake system was installed, along with updated, power-assist steering.

The engine is a 540 cubic-inch Merlin block with a 10.1:1 Eagle rotating assembly. New Dart heads and a 670 lift roller cam were installed. Engine work was done by Rob’s team. Up top sits a 1040 CFM Pro Systems carburetor on an Edelbrock hi-rise intake manifold. An MSD ignition system supplies the fire to the cylinders. Headers and a custom dual exhaust help the engine breathe.

The TH400 transmission has a 3500 stall speed converter, built by Coan Engineering in Kokomo, Ind. A Moser 9-inch differential unit with a 3.73:1 billet gear assembly gets the power to the wheels. The wheels are 245/445ZR 18’s up front and 295/45ZR 18’s on the rear. They are mounted on Billet Specialties aluminum mags. To keep it cool, an aluminum radiator was installed.

Southwest Custom Interiors reupholstered the El Camino. A custom console was added, along with an Auto Meter gauge cluster and a B&M shifter. JT Engineering, located in Elwood, Ill., is responsible for a lot of the fabricating needed to put this restomod together. Route 66 Motorsports in New Lenox, Ill. did the bodywork and the paint—a 2009 GM yellow.

Rich says he loves his El Camino because it reminds him of the times he helped his dad work on the car and going racing with him. He admits he can’t take all the glory on the restoration. For that, he gives the credit to his brother, Rob. He enjoys taking the ’66 classic to local shows and cruise nights. This beauty will be with the family for a long time.

If you have a car you would like to see featured in Classic Wheels, contact Rudy Host, Jr. at Classic.Wheels.Rudy@gmail.com.