One of the biggest letdowns of the last ten years was the day that we learned that Pontiac was not going to be bringing over a rebadged Holden Commodore Ute, on account of a sudden case of death. Pontiac had been spooling up for a 2010 model year launch, but when General Motors sank the brand in order to get government loans, everything, including the G8 ST ute, was sent straight to the bin without so much as a second thought. Unfortunately, that means that to this day, your options for ute ownership in America fall into three categories: you either find a 1987 or older pick-coupe, you pay an eye-watering price from one of the very few people in the country who are building US-legal Holden Utes, or you find a cheap station wagon, hack the roof off, and call it a day.

Nothing against redneck engineering or a late-model ute, but if we are going to make a selection, we will go with the classic. For GM fans, that means a Chevrolet El Camino, GMC Sprint, or GMC Caballero. Or does it? Whether it’s A-body or G-body based, it’s fairly straightforward to swap sheetmetal and turn a Chevy into an Oldsmobile, Buick or Pontiac, but you don’t often see people completely convert a car. What do we mean? Take this car: originally a 1976 Chevrolet El Camino, it’s now a phantom build of a 1975 Pontiac Grand Am ute, and it’s completely done. This wasn’t just a front clip swap: the doors, fenders, interior, hood, Endura front clip, rear bumper, wheels and a 455ci engine are all Pontiac, with the major body unit and chassis being the only remaining El Camino parts.



The want is strong for this phantom Pontiac, and we hope it finds a home with someone who appreciates the true purpose of this car and keeps it up. And we have a fun game for the person who ends up with it: how many times a month would you expect someone to come up to you and tell you about how their father, brother, cousin, or whatever had one just like it back in the day?