Story Photos
 Jim and Donna Grose have kept the 'shop truck' they used at their business in California for several decades. The couple continue to enjoy the glistening yellow El Camino. Photo by Brenda Blevins McCorkly
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People and Their Wheels: Jim and Donna Grose's 1966 Chevrolet El Camino
Friday, November 14, 2008 11:44 PM PST
By Brenda Blevins McCorkle
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E-mail this articleBackground: Jim was born in Longview. He grew up locally, attending school in Kelso. Donna is a California native. They have been together for more than 40 years and they have three children, Jimmy, Dawn and Judy. In 1963, when Jim was 17 years old, his family moved to Santa Rosa, Calif.That’s where he graduated from high school. He and several other family members moved to Castle Rock in 2003.
While the Groses lived in Santa Rosa, they started D&J Auto in 1979. Before they moved to Castle Rock, they sold the business. They recently reopened it in Castle Rock. Donna also works at the Castle Rock Pharmacy.
Their wheels: A 1966 Chevrolet El Camino they acquired in the late 1980s. They used the vehicle as their shop truck for several years in California.
“I bought it from a Chevrolet dealer who had bought it brand new for his father-in-law,” Jim said.
The man’s relative was a teacher at a junior college in Santa Rosa, Jim added. Eventually he got too old to drive, and his son-in-law approached Jim about the vehicle.
“He said I needed to own it,” Jim said. “I said I didn’t really need it.”
The dealer was insistent.
“He dropped it off and said we would just trade it out at a later date,” Jim said. “I was like, well I can handle that pretty easy.”
It worked out all the way around for both men, he said.
“I never did pay for it,” Jim said. “I did so much stuff for him that he never came for the money. I kept reminding him, and he said, don’t worry about it. I just want to see it done.”
And that’s what Jim did.
Donna picked the car’s color. It was a choice that caused her husband moments of dismay.
“When I walked into the paint booth, and there was no chrome on it, no wheels, no glass, I stood there and looked at it,” Jim said, grinning. “The sun was gleaming in through the back doors of the paint booth, and this thing just screamed ‘Good morning!’ ”
That much yellow was almost painful to the eyes. Then his view changed as they put the vehicle back together.
“But Donna was right like always,” Jim said. “We put all the chrome on it and stuff, and you can see what she did. The car’s been painted 20 years.”
Jim put a 383 complete roller and stroker motor in it. In addition, the car has power steering, power disk brakes, factory air and a 12-bolt posi rearend.
“It has all the amenities,” Jim said.
The vehicle is fun to drive, he said. The couple enjoy the looks the brilliantly painted El Camino gets when they are out and about in it.
“I guess we didn’t realize how nice it was until we got out here and started looking around,” Jim said.
He gives kudos to his wife for her choice of paint.
“She just loves the car,” he said. “Yellow is her color. She’s into yellow.”
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