How’d that thing get in here? . . . .

No, not the big dead Kaiser. We can’t even pay Skippy the Salvage Guy to haul that thing away. It’s that bright citrus-colored Chebby sitting next to it that got our attention.

Okay, maybe we’re distracted by the nice temperate weather. Or maybe we’re thinking ahead to the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach this weekend, which we’ll be live-blogging (and videotaping!) for reasons beyond our comprehension. Or heck, maybe we’re just bored. Whatever, when we spied this Mandarin El Camino in our community lot yesterday, out came the trusty Blackberry cam, and the Blog-a-Day mandate was met yet again.

Judging by the bodywork, this Cammy’s a fifth-generation 1978-81 A-chassis model, a.k.a. Malibu/Monte Carlo, which almost surely came with the venerable 350 small-block and TH 400 tranny (Anybody remember what the GMC version was called? And yes, there was a GMC version), and while the interior and bed are still in need of a little TLC, this strikes us as a cool little project rig. If you like low-profile Malaise-Era SUTs, that is.

Yeeeea boy, 20-inch JJs wrappin’ 35-series Nexens will get our attention any time. As you can guess, we’re easily entertained in our declining years.

You can’t have an OG trail pimp without a Colorado Custom flamin’ billet steering wheel. Next upgrade: a replacement dash, maybe?

The two-tone Mandarin and Valencia Orange paint (no, we don’t know if those are the real names or not, we just made them up) is actually quite tastefully applied. This owner obviously hasn’t spent enough time with us, otherwise he’d have this puppy covered in camo wrap.