It wasn’t until the glorious year of 1959 that GM joined Ford in offering a car-based truck. Where Ford had the Ranchero (introduced in 1957) GM did not give the world the El Camino until 1959, and even then it only survived for two years before going on hiatus until 1964. With car guys looking for any and every way to build a custom ride, it was only a matter of time before someone rewrote the history of the El Camino.

Today’s eBay Find of the Day is a 1957 Chevy Bel Air hacked, cut, and modified into a 1957 El Camino. Looks rather like a Nomad minus the rear roof if you ask us. Can you dig it?

With a 1966 427 big-block under the hood, you bet we can dig it. This completely custom ride was made from the parts and pieces of a ‘57 Chevy Bel Air, arguably the chromiest of the 50’s Chevys. This 425 horsepower engine is mated to a Muncie 4-speed manual transmission, and Corvette brakes work with a modern suspension to give this unique El Camino some handling abilities.

The fit and finish work looks great, and the flaming hood paintjob is a nice touch on the otherwise glossy black body. There are definitely hints of the short-lived Chevy Nomad in here, and we can’t help but think that, had GM built an El Camino in 1957, it would have looked a lot like this.

Makes you wonder what other cars, like say, the Camaro, might have looked like had they come out a decade earlier.