my dad has a 69 true SS sitting in the garage for the last 38 years, it has ~5 or 6,000 miles on it and is begging for me me get it out of there. The odometer says 26k but he said its more like 5 or 6k because of the gearing. The original 396 has less then a few hundred miles on it, he swapped it out the first few months for another engine he had built. Im looking for some info on what the car would be worth as is, it would definitely need to be stripped down and built back up with new necessities such as brake, fuel lines, tank, engine would have to be overhauled with lower compression pistons, etc. but Im trying to get an idea of some prices. Hers is a quick pic of the engine bay I snapped today. let me know what you guys think.
The value totally depends on the motor. There were 4 variations of the 396. A 325hp, a 350hp, and 2 375hp versions. One had iron heads the other had aluminum heads. Look just below the alternator on the stamping pad and try to read the 2-letter code after the vin stamp. That will tell you what motor it is. Just do a goodle search for "chevy engine suffix “XX” " after you find the engine code.
Freshening up an engine is dependent on how well it was bagged and preserved. Even if it needs a lot of work, max would be $4k, to get it better than new. If you want to make it driveable, the things you need to change are the exhaust valve seats, and the compression. The stock heads don’t have hardened seats because fuel was leaded back then. They will burn up and sink over a long period of time. You might be able to drop the compression enough with a thicker head gasket.
Get some more pictures up! Hows the body look?
MAJOR EDIT:
Dude, that’s a '70 and that changes things a lot lol. Could be an LS6 454 those are worth some coin.
NUMBERS MATCHING?!?!?!?!
no gear swap in the world is going to put 20k on a car in 5 or 6k miles
post more pictures up!
It’s worth the 4K in my pocket i’ll give you 
lol
Without more pics its really hard to tell what condition its in.And yes thats a 1970.And if its been sitting that long its going to need a full resto.Just because its in a garage doesnt mean its not a rot box.Post more pics for more accurate price.
Well my dad told me that he would be on the thruway and the spedo would be buried at 55mph. Some other things he mentioned, the flywhell is a 40lb which said might need to be changed, tank has 3/4 102 in it that is probably jelly by now, cant find the carb, body and frame are solid.
in for more pics
Like Joelster said, it’s a 70. El Caminos are somewhat the bastards of the collectors. You either love or hate them. Throw a big block in one and it’s worth something to someone.
Does your dad have any of the original paperwork? Did you drop the tank and see if there is a build sheet on top of it? Pull off the seats and see if there’s anything under that?
Sitting in a garage, I’ve seen low mileage cars (4k on a 53 Plymouth) and the frame was completely dry rotted.
I’m interested in seeing more pics. Why can’t I find some finds like this for myself? 
↑ Will do. i am pretty sure its a 69 though. Why do you think its a 70??
100% positive it is a 70. 70 was the only year it looked like that.
68 and 69 looked similar but 69 had a horizontal divider in the grill. Not as large as the 70-72 front end.
70 had double headlights but no fog lights next to headlights.
71 and 72 had fog lights on corner of fenders.
But that is a big block Chevy. Looks like a MSD ignition coil, Mickey Thompson valve covers, and headers. Nothing too major. Hope you find the numbers matching carb and air cleaner since it looks like it has the hookup for the cowl.
I will get more pics of it tomorrow, I am pretty sure its a 69 though. It does have a 396 in it, plus it says it on the side of the fender. I believe the 70 is the most wanted and 69 is second, is that correct?
I’ll bet you ownership of the car it’s a 70 ! 
1969 front end
1970 front end
You might be right, the number 69 keeps sticking in my head,lol. I keep saying 69 but it might be a 70 now that i think of it. It was originally white with black stripes, i would like to paint it back to that original scheme.
My thoughts exactly… “Holy shit we’re going 200 mph in a school zone”
The 396 was available in 1970 too, so that doesn’t prove anything. But like others said from your pictures its clearly a 1970 front end, which is the nicest looking year in my opinion. What transmission is backing it up? Automatic, or possibly a rock crusher 4 speed?
I know its stick, not sure if its a 4 speed though.
The Hemmings Motor news site/forum may be of some help, quite a few old school muscle guys on there.
To be honest I dont know all that much about these but I got a buddy who is an expert on dad’s 69 true SS sitting in the garage for the last 38 years,so I’ll give him a call and bring him down to the shop so we can get a better idea of what its worth.
-Rick
I concur with the others, it’s a 1970 model. First year for the new 396, which actually displaced 402 cid. You could get them with either 325 horse (very common), 350 horse (also very common), or 375 horse (very rare, they cost almost as much as the new 454 cars did and few were sold).
If it’s an original trans SS, it’s a 4-speed, and is probably an M-20 Muncie. Get the VIN and the Protect-O-Plate information and we can help you further.