SIDE SHOWS

THE CHEVELLES AND EL CAMINOS

The Chevelle and El Camino Owners NZ Facebook page threw the word out that they were looking to have a get together for some photos, so we decided we’d head along too and check it out.

The Facebook page was started by Paul Ross, who imported a ’72 Chevelle back in 2011, having spotted one locally and fallen in love with it, despite wanting a Camaro at the time.

“At that time, there appeared to be not a great deal of Chevelles visible in New Zealand, and, in reality, all most people talked about were Mustangs and Camaros. Kiwis did not realize the demand and popularity of the Chevelle in US, particularly the ’70 with the LS6 and 454 engines,” recalls Paul. “I can always remember John from Transam Shipping saying to me that he could get me a ’66 for $16K.

However, in a relatively short period of time, they escalated quickly in price, and he said to me later, ‘I just wished I had filled containers with them’.

Unfortunately, now they’re becoming out of reach for many here in New Zealand.”

With so few Chevelles around — in Paul’s