Truck Thursday: 1987 Cadillac Cad Amino

Kamil Kaluski

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cad amino rear
We all love El Caminos here at Hooniverse and many of us still cry over the 2010 Pontiac G8 ST pickup that could have been. Like the Solstice, hundreds of people would bought and it and easily pull GM out of a bind. But no, GM decided to kill Pontiac and the modern El Camino with it. They did not attempt to badge it as a Chevy, which it should have been from the beginning, and the whole thing died a quick death.
Thankfully there are numerous people out there who share our El Camino fetish and those people properly convert boring sedans into cool male dork symbols. This Caddy happens to be a great example of such car.
Thanks for the tip, Larry!

cad amino front
From the ad:

1987 Cadillac Cad Amino custom – $8500 (W Las Vegas)

*Cadillac custom 2dr pickup – RWD Brougham
*5.0 L. 307 cu Reman. eng. w/200R4 auto/overdrive – receipts in hand
*CRAGAR chrome rims 15″ MUST SEE
*Full power w/gauges added – A/C upgraded 134
*Rare Custom – NO TEXTING – NO TRADES

cad amino bed

I’m not sure if it has a tailgate but I really don’t care. What I could whine about is the fact that a coupe version, with longer doors, would look so much better and be more functional, but I won’t. Assuming it is running well, what do you people think about the price?

Source: San Diego Craigslist

About

Kamil Kaluski

Kamil Kaluski

East Coast Editor. Races crappy cars and has an unhealthy obsession with Eastern Bloc cars. Current fleet: 4Runner, Integra, Regal, Lada

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23 responses to “Truck Thursday: 1987 Cadillac Cad Amino”

  1. Windbüchse Avatar
    Windbüchse

    Love that rear overhang!

    Reply
    1. Cool_Cadillac_Cat Avatar
      Cool_Cadillac_Cat

      It’s funny, when we lived in Portland, OR, I had an ’85 Fleetwood Bro d’Elegance (also had a two year old Suzuki Grand Vitara I bought new, in CO, but hated that trucklet), and when we were house shopping, if the driveway were steep, I’d pull in to see if either end dragged. If so, the house was immediately written off.
      I wrote off more than I thought I would, initially. Many times, both ends would hit, albeit not at the same time.

      Reply
      1. Windbüchse Avatar
        Windbüchse

        I have the same problem on my BRZ and it isn’t even lowered….

        Reply
      2. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
        SlowJoeCrow

        You should see some of the driveways in Bend. My neighborhood is built on volcanic outcroppings and lots of the driveways have a “knuckle” in the middle so even my Saturn SL2 can ground its muffler.

        Reply
  2. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    Looks like a repainted ‘Flower Car’ from a Funeral Home to me….
    These were quite common in the 50’s and 60’s , although they have somewhat faded in popularity

    However, you can still get them. Even today a Flower Car has to be a Caddy for some reason.
    http://specialtyhearse.com/model/metropolitan-flower-car/

    Reply
    1. Wayne Moyer Avatar
      Wayne Moyer

      I was going to ask if this was just a flower car conversion since it has the classic car tags on it.

      Reply
      1. Guest Avatar
        Guest

        I also think it started out as a flower car.

        I found this pic online of a Cadillac flower car from the same era, and while it’s a pretty grainy picture, it still shows very, very similar lines.

        http://www.hambly-funeral.com/flower_car.jpg

        Reply
  3. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    Neat one, but it always bothers me when the conversion results in the space available being less useful than before. Still, it could be worse.
    https://data.motor-talk.de/data/galleries/0/175/2542/74550216/208514185-w988-h741.jpg
    https://data.motor-talk.de/data/galleries/0/175/2542/74550216/208514186-w988-h741.jpg

    Reply
  4. weasel (ducks and runs) Avatar
    weasel (ducks and runs)

    Seats cannot be moved because cabin too small.
    No space because spare wheel.

    Reply
    1. Krautwursten Avatar
      Krautwursten

      Movable seats … are you one of those people who expect to ever sell their project cars again?

      Reply
  5. Kelf Avatar
    Kelf

    Short hood, long deck?

    Reply
  6. Cool_Cadillac_Cat Avatar
    Cool_Cadillac_Cat

    This blue one is lame. If’n you’re gonna do this, do it correctly.
    Please note, this one has a proper tailgate. Also a 500 C.I.D. motor putting out about 200 HP…maybe. Many torques, however.

    Reply
    1. Fuhrman16 Avatar
      Fuhrman16

      Were these offered from the factory?

      Reply
      1. Cool_Cadillac_Cat Avatar
        Cool_Cadillac_Cat

        Nope, but dealers could send them out to be modded when new, and the OEM warranty remained in effect. Same goes for the station wagons of this time frame, too. Those were harder to find, though there were a couple in my neighborhood growing up.
        I grew up in Dallas in the 70s and 80s, so these weren’t an altogether rare sight.
        The one above, the dark gold/beige one, I was pumped when I saw it, but then I spotted the stupid aftermarket grille which was a huge thing back then. It was damned clean.
        Having owned a ’73 Coupe DeVille for a few years in the 90s (I miss that car), I can tell you single digit MPG is it, no matter what.

        Reply
        1. salguod Avatar
          salguod

          I saw one at the Arthritis Foundation show a few years ago. The conversion added something like $8K to the price.
          It does have a cool in bed trunk decades before the Ridgeline plus a storage space under the bed behind the seats.

          Reply
  7. Krautwursten Avatar
    Krautwursten

    So many cars in the world, not enough lifetime to turn them all into utes. This bad MSPaint mockup would probably be my dream ute project, ’61-62 Buick Special wagon, especially considering no El Camino existed in those years.

    Reply
    1. Sean McMillan Avatar
      Sean McMillan

      that would be pretty cool, but something needs to be done to the rear of the roofline. maybe back glass and rear roof section of a four door flat top to give it a better flow.

      Reply
      1. Krautwursten Avatar
        Krautwursten

        Obviously, but my kung-photo is weak. I’d probably attempt to use the tailgate glass from the same wagon but rotated 180° so that it creates an inward curve, and then just model pillars around it, maybe with a slight overhang on the roof. And by modeling I mean taking it to a body shop so they can do it because I don’t know the first thing about body work.

        Reply
    2. Guest Avatar
      Guest

      As an excuse to actually used the Photoshop I paid for, here’s your ute with the cab back of a 1964 El Camino.

      Reply
      1. Vairship Avatar
        Vairship

        Very nice!

        Reply
      2. gerberbaby Avatar
        gerberbaby

        how/why did you put rear doors on the ute? I’m not sure what I think about it…. a cool way to get into the bed, but, hmm

        Reply
        1. Guest Avatar
          Guest

          Actually, I just just forgot to Photoshop those out… Whoops!

          Reply
        2. Guest Avatar
          Guest

          Fixed it!

          Reply