A life-long love affair with a 1975 El Camino

After some time apart, CAA Member Brad Wallace realized he missed his first love. “When I was 19, I bought my first new car: a 1975 Chevy El Camino Classic 400. I loved that thing,” says the fourth-generation farmer from Pilot Mound. “My girlfriend Heather and I would go cruising.” A few years later, after marrying Heather, he traded in his beloved El Camino for a practical family car. Regrets, Wallace says, he had a few. “I shouldn’t have traded it. I tried getting it back, but got nowhere. I assumed it was gone.” But thoughts of the car lingered: “I figured it was in a junkyard somewhere, but I kept my eye out… just in case.”

A quarter-century later in 2011, Wallace and his family were well into a busy harvest. Relaxing before a hectic day ahead, he sipped a morning coffee while browsing a local online marketplace. And there it was: a 1975 El Camino. “The same model and colour, and it was being sold in Winnipeg.” When Wallace called the seller, the serial numbers matched: “My name was on the warranty papers in the glove box. I lost all bargaining power then and there,” he chuckles. “I paid full price.”

Though in decent shape, the car showed its age. Wallace repaired the rust and gave it a fresh coat of paint. Today, he drives the car on special occasions and when he wants to go cruising with Heather. “Fate brought the car back to us; I think it was meant to be.”

Need some repair work done on your vehicle? Check out a CAA Approved Auto Repair Service (AARS) near you.

What was your first?

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