some background on this car. many years ago, when my parents were still dating, my dad had a 1971 El Camino SS 454. simply put, the truck hauled ***. until something happened. what happened? i have no idea, my guess is some sort of wreck. this is whats left of it.
http://img707.imageshack.us/i/189970...268740110.jpg/
(id much rather have this one. besides the missing engine, numbers matching SS 454.)
after that, my dad bought a new El Camino. 1970 with a mere 350. turbo 350 trans with lightened flywheel, racing clutch, im not sure, i cant remember exactly. but i do remember he got it off a friend who raced cars, and after getting a new, stronger trans, he literally gave this one to my dad. he constantly bragged that the shifting was so smooth, you wouldnt notice it unless you payed attention. up next was an edelbrock 4 barrel carb, giving it a huge set of lungs to breath. again, another truck that hauled ***, even though it was almost stock.
and again, something happened. around 2-3 am one night, a screwdriver in the lock, followed by tearing apart the steering column. we never saw the truck again until a few weeks later, when my dad saw it torn apart in the driveway at some random persons house. call to the cops, 10min later, few people under arrest for grand theft auto. we got the truck back. but only after they had stripped the car bare. we were left with a rolling chassis. the cops claimed we didnt have enough proof that the engine sitting on the engine hoist, nor the bucket seats, nor the almost complete el camino interior for that matter.. all sorts of el camino this and el camino that.. we had no "proof" that it all came out of our truck. (wasnt the factory engine, numbers didnt match) these guys probly got away with parts worth more than the fine they got for stealing the truck! awesome legal system, eh? >.>
well, after that, my dad bought a chevelle, pulled the engine out of it, and threw it in the el camino, sold the chevelle, then gave up on the el camino. over 10 years later, it was still sitting in our back yard, half built. until i got it.
sadly, i didnt think of taking any sorts of pics until after i had it torn apart this far. but, heres the pics of what i have so far.
the truck as it sits as of march 15. sadly, thats how its still sitting 2 weeks later. ill explain later.. yes, i have a hood, just not in the pics.
pulled the engine. at first, we were thinking of just rebuilding the carb, then turning the engine over by hand.
that is until we saw this... 10+ years of water inside the cylinders will do that to an engine..
after that, i decided to work on cleaning up the fenders. as with alot of classics, theres alot of rusting right behind the tire, on the bottom of the fender. well, this fender had a lil more problems. was in a wreck before my dad bought it. they threw on body filler as thick as a saggy man-boob. (and we all know it has to be thick for a man boob to sag
luckily, we still have the '71, along with most of its parts. hurray for replacement fenders!!
and theres the rusting on the new fender. but this section would have to be replaced on both new and old, but the new one doesnt have 20lbs of body filler on it.
the driver side fender. sanded, bit of my body filler (in reasonable amount!) and then primered. was spraying it with some underbody to protect the inside when my can ran empty. thus why its not on the truck yet.
old fender extensions were cracking, and completely breaking, so again, thank you '71 donor truck!! took me an entire day just to sand smooth ONE extension.. so many small curves, and without the proper tools, nor knowledge.. improvisation!
the interior is actually in rather good shape. the seats are out of a monte carlo, which has a matching bolt pattern, (and i like these seats better, actually) the carpeting is in good condition. the only reason its all torn apart like this is because i found rust pitting in the floor when i was cleaning it all out. gotta get some sheetmetal and do some cutting/welding. almost the whole dash needs to be replaced though. or whats left of it, at least.
and lastly, the ironic carb. edelbrock 1405, 4 barrel carb. everybody who sees it, drools over it. im not car savvy enough to understand just how great this one is, but im not stupid enough to get rid of it. was the very first thing i rebuilt, and now im rebuilding the whole truck from the ground up.
work has came to one hellofa halt because im so ridiculously broke atm.. no job, and im trying to go to college >.< so sadly, any money put into this truck, such as 7$ for spray-primer and underbody, or 250$+ for cylinder boring... doesnt look like its gonna happen.. just glad i have 95% of all the parts for it. 75% of which are duplicated from the '71