84 El Camino (new project)

I had planned on nothing major until the new shop is up, how hard could that be????????? Well, I guess I don’t do cold turkey very well.

I have found that not having a project under construction led to sever withdrawal symptoms I tried doing simple things….. replacing the turn signal switch on my daily driver and upgrading the stereo…..doing the disc brake conversion on the 64 Ford…….even a tune-up on the wife’s car. Nothing seemed to help :( :( :(

I finally folded yesterday I just couldn’t take it anymore :CRY:…………..I bought a car err truck or whatever :confused: an 84 El Camino

Anyway the story on the truck is that a friend of mine inherited it when his dad passed away a few years ago. His dad had had El Camino gone thru shortly after he bought it ….to include the drive train, suspension, interior and paint (really cheap paint job….so dead now chances of it buffing out are nill).

My buddy is the type that is VERY hard on vehicles both on the bodies and the drive train. He managed to blow the rods out thru the block and oil pan on the drive back from Texas and ended up having it flatbedded back to Arizona where it sat outside for a year waiting on an engine that he could never seem to find. When he went thru a divorce I volunteered to provide storage until he got back on his feet (I hate to see something just sit and rot out here, especially a nice interior).

Well I’ve been storing the truck for 5 years now and ran into the guy over Christmas. Long story short, I ended up buying it from him. It’s rust free and except for a couple of dings pretty straight and other than the engine it should be mechanically sound. It’s got the majority of bells and whistles V8, AT/PS/PB/AC/Tilt/Cruise

I plan on putting the LT1 I pulled from the 72 Vette in it and probably a quick paint job then a For Sale sign in the window.

I justify this by telling myself it’s not REALLY a major project, just an engine and paint job. I should make a fair amount of money on it to put right back into the shop fund. SOOO this all makes perfectly good sense :D :D and I do not really have an automotive addiction to cars (how can I this is a truck) besides it’s just one……how am I doing on self denial???? :whacked:

Looks really solid, Mike. It should be a good moneymaker. Don't feel bad, I'm doing the same thing right now. I hope mine sells for a decent $$$, too.

Love that body style and it looks like this camino is solid. That picture of the interior looks great. Very well preserved truck. can wait to see it Finished! Don jr.

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Originally Posted by Mike P

……how am I doing on self denial???? :whacked:

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You're peggin' the meter!!!!!!!!!!!!

It all sounds perfectly good and very justifiable to me.. But then, I'm the guy who drives three hours for a good cup of coffee and a nice apple pie to justify looking at a car part advertised on Craig's List!!

Have Fun,
Glenn

Well I got a little time so I got the engine pulled out today. I almost forgot how much darn junk and wiring there is to disconnect on these.

I don't figure there is much use in doing a post mortumn on the 305 (I was told this happened at 75 MPH on the interstate :eek: )

Does make checking rod bolts easier I guess :3dSMILE:

Hey, looks like a lot of the chebbies I've seen that try to go fast!!!!! That inspection window in the bottom of the pan could be really handy to keep an eye on the rest of the rods try to escape!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Mike P

Well I got a little time so I got the engine pulled out today. I almost forgot how much darn junk and wiring there is to disconnect on these.

I don't figure there is much use in doing a post mortumn on the 305 (I was told this happened at 75 MPH on the interstate :eek: )

Does make checking rod bolts easier I guess :3dSMILE:

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Wait..................that wasn't supposed to do that was it?:whacked:

um... your piston is missing.

"....um... your piston is missing......"

Naw, I'm pretty sure that's most of it's still in the pan :LOL:

Shouln't a 7 cylinder get better gas mileage? Weld up the pan and fire it up!

Ya know what Mike? I once considered doing one of the box car Elky's like yours with a set of '69 'Maro door panels and quarters.......... but then, I am a sick and twisted individual!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:

Wowzer Zowzer!

What ever happened, that puppy got real hot. Something rubbin' real hard or perhaps a lack of oil to reciprocating pieces. It's a nice shade of blue, eh?

Even a Chevy small block won't operate long without oil!

I severely abused a lot of solid lifter Chevies to as much as 9500 RPM, but this only happened on a 307 I ran out of oil.

Not really my fault. I had just bought back a '63 Nova 4-speed car. He had pulled the "loaded" 327 for his '55 drag car, replaced it with a smoking 307, then sold it back to me very cheap.

....and he told me to keep an eye on the oil. I thought it would surely go 30 miles to the house. At 70 MPH, it locked up, and slid the tires. I found a rod through the block, and one through the pan! .......just like yours!

Knowing the guy I got it from and the amount of oil/road dirt residue I would also guess it probably leaked pretty good and he ran it out of oil too.


".............. but then, I am a sick and twisted individual!!!!!....." Dave, I knew that, it's one of the things I really like about you :eek::LOL::LOL:

Looks like it just needs a new oil pan. Quick fix.

Well it lives......the engine is in and it moves under its own power. I'm waiting a new center link and tires before I actually put it on the street for a test drive.

My big plans for having the body shop that did the work on my Dodge truck went up in smoke......they closed. Apparently over extended on new equipment over the last couple of years and the work dried up. I really hate seeing that but I guess it's getting common all over.

As I haven't had real good luck with other body shops and I'm gun shy after the Plymouth, it's plan B time. The only real body damage was the hood drivers door and tailgate. I found a perfect hood over the weekend and might have a line on a door and tailgate......I can do sand and paint :D

Did you get those '69 Maro door skins and quarter panels ordered yet, Mike??????:LOL::LOL::LOL:

Dave if I had your skills I'd be tempted :LOL: You can't tell when good body work has been done.....you can always tell when I have done body work :(

Well. I guess I can call this one almost done (still a bit of buffing to do on it). I'm pretty happy with the way it came out.

I've put almost 2500 miles on it since I got the engine in. Other than finding out the old radiator wasn't quite up to the AZ heat while runing the AC (cured with a new aluminum radiator and HD fan clutch) it runs great.

It spent the last week in the shop getting sanded and preped for paint. I cheated and changed out the hood and tailgate for ones that didn't need any body work) and managed to do a decent job on fixing the dent in the passneger door. The door woork would have probably taken a real body man about an hour, but I have at least 15 hours in it. Anyway it got shot earlier this week including spray in bedliner (in a blue tint).

It also became official today after I got all the trim back on........the wife claimed it ......so much for the big sale :rolleyes:

Oh well, we talked it over and the 81 Firebird that had been her backup car will go on Craigs list next week and that money will go into the shop fund.

Mike that sure was a big diamond in the rough . Big change to it seeing it shot and out side painted . Really good looking car think I would have kept it also your wife made a good choice .

Looks really nice Mike!!!!! I'd say Mom has herself one very fine driver!!!!

Looks great. Nice paint and body work. With that vette engine should be a nice ride for your wife!

Very nice! Definately I can see why she claimed it. That powder blue has "Avon delivery vehicle" written all over it!:LOL: Seriously, really nice job.

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Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Hey, looks like a lot of the chebbies I've seen that try to go fast!!!!! !

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Almost sprayed the morning coffee all over the monitor on that one! :LOL:

Mike P., NICE JOB! Sincerely, That looks terrific! What a difference.

The wife has been driving the El Camino a couple of weeks now and really likes it except (why is there always and except???????) she was not real wild about riding around with a weeks worth of groceries and Wallyworld "stuff" in the front seat with her :rolleyes:

They make a pretty nice affordable tonneau cover for these but I really wanted something a little more secure and durable but unfortunately the fiberglass covers go for about $1100 plus shipping (which aint cheap either).

I figured I'd go ahead and try my hand at building one so that's pretty much how I spent the last 2 1/2 days. It's made in 2 sections, the rear hatch that lifts (4' long) and the front section which is stationary (about 2 1/2' long). I used 3/8" plywood with a 1" thin wall square tubing frame under it and covered it top and bottom with sprayon bed liner (with no texture and tinted a little lighter shade than the body).

The cover fits snugly in the back and covers the tailgate handle. It has a locking flush mounted latch in the cover that completely secures the bed when closed and locked.

It's not show quality but actually looks pretty decent and I have the option of covering it over with thin sheetmetal painted body color if I get tired of the textured look. All together I have a bit less in it than I would have in a vinyl cover and most importantly Donna’s happy with it.

Looks great Mike!!!! If you don't like the textured look, some thin padding with vinyl glued to it would probably look good, too!!!!

Nice fab job! It loks like it fits tight. Love it when your able to make something yourself, that will probably outlast something store bought!