I like posting build threads, so I'll give it another shot on this new O/T section. Unless ya'll would rather hear about my Scion? My first car was a '64 El Camino. It was a hand me down from dad, who had been driving it a couple years after wrecking his '64 F85 (yeah, I have one of those somewhere too). It wasn't a very nice car but I loved it. But it's long gone now. 10-12 years ago I built a pretty fun '66. Bolt on suspension stuff, 9" rear, corvette disc brakes, 383 and T56. I did a bunch of little modifications because I geek out on subtle stuff. But I never got it really sorted out before I sold it, moved and got married. I've gone through quite a few cars since then, but always wanted another one. A guy I know had been messing with this '64 for a while then decided to sell it, so I bit. I probably should have looked it over much more than I did, but I really liked the original gold paint. My goal was to build it into a daily driver with all of the power and features I had in my then daily 2012 Sierra. I bought a bunch of good parts to get as much of a head start as I could and found a 6.0 and 4l60e in good shape. I blew it apart, did a kinda lazy job of replacing the floors (including the bed floor) and undercoated it, smoothed and painted the firewall, had the frame blasted and powdercoated, and bolted on a bunch of better suspension stuff. I've got coil-overs all around. It still has a lot of rust in the A-pillars and around the rear window I need to fix. But I have donor pieces for most of that, so now I just need the time. I took a week off a couple years ago between jobs to get the body back on the chassis and haven't done anything with it since. I've been (kinda) focused on the '28 in the mean time...but that will change soon I think. I have been tinkering with some dash panel design stuff here and there.
Knocked out some damage on the passenger quarter panel. It could stand some more work but I don't want to mess up the paint any so I'll live with it. The seat is out of a mid '00's Impala...60/40 split bench with fold down arm rest and a nice low back once the headrests are removed.
And the rest. Originally was going to run the 17" rally wheels but ended up stealing them for an S10 I was daily driving. I was pretty tired of those wheels after that one so went back to a tried and true torq thrust D. I need a smaller front tire but I like it a lot.
Man that’s killer…I miss having something like that to drive to the swap meets and flea markets with the Wife
I really dig this....great job...been there, As I was looking through the pics I was going to make mention to stay away from the poly body mounts and stay with rubber --- I hope you did. as I got further down, I see the body on the frame! When I did the same on my '65, I could never get the body to sit "right" on the poly body bushings....I threw them away, bought new rubber ones and re-set the body down with no issue. my body mounts were toasted! Nice job, I love the 64 & 65 el caminos
Thanks! I did use original style mounts, mostly because I didn't want anything to be too tight and create rattles or squeaks. El Camino frames are already stout enough. I want a nice comfortable quiet ride. But it's good do know I avoided a lot of fit issues too!
Nice "64 My '64 is a no rust older build that needs some love. What brand of tubular A arms did you use?
Looking good! I remember conversing with you some on Dogfight when you were building the '66. Did you do anything special on the steering? It looks like a power steering box. I assume a 12:7:1 instead of the stock ratio?
Nice build, love 64-65 El Camino’s. There is this one sitting in a neighborhood near work where I take a lunch walk. I’ve talked the owner several time, he plans to fix it up (he’s retired) but haven’t seen anything done. Heard it run one day, sounds good but not for sale. That’s a 64-65 Malibu convertible under the cover, I think he said it belongs to his brother.
Thanks guys! Its been a while but I'm pretty sure they're Speedway. But I did upgrade to better balljoints. Pretty sure its a CPP quicker ratio box. But yeah, been a couple years since I bolted it up!
Thanks! Here's the thread on that one. But don't get use to the way it is, it's getting a makeover. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/d̶a̶d̶’s̶-my-57-210-sedan-pictures.118632/page-4
I wanted a full array of gauges in this car, but that is hard to do with the stock gauge panel. I also wanted to incorporate my a/c switches, louvers, and a radio/nav screen into the dash. I started with a reproduction panel and got my measurements. Then worked on layout and designed a new face panel insert for the whole thing. From that I drew up a backer which I had laser cut from .125 aluminum. I shaved the front and back of the reproduction panel flat, getting rid of the gauge and switch opening lips and all of the mounting areas on the back side. I'll cut out the areas where the new gauges and switches, etc. need to stick through, then panel bond the backer to the whole thing. Then the new face panel will set over the front of everything. It'll make more sense once it's done, and the face panel is currently on its way from the 3d printer. These gauges are from Marshall and look really nice, though I don't care for the bezels. The slot above the two center gauges will hold an indicator trip for turn signals, high beam, parking brake, and a check engine light.
Great work!! Early 80’s. Traded my 6 cylinder 3 speed 62 Nova for a 65 El Camino to my father in law. Always liked those years! My first frame repair. Bought a buzz box and boxed in the rusted frame right behind the cab.
Way Cool dash You should manufacture and sell that. It's a lot cooler dash , with the AC vents and switches and the screen, than Classic Dash, or Dakota Dash sells for '64-'65 Chevelles and El Caminos I mounted a VDO six gauge set in my ‘64 El Camino dash.
The 3d print showed up. I got it wrong in a few areas but it was still close enough to work. I might change some things and have another version printed later, but here's this for now.
I used those same Marshall gauges in my '72 El Camino. I like them. I wish the odometer wasn't red led though. I put a 5.3 with a 4L60E in it. Its been my daily driver for 5 years now. Are you going to run the stock computer or an aftermarket one? I used the Megasquirt MS3. I sold my '65 two weeks ago. Your thread makes me wish I kept it. The only rust in mine was the quarter panels. They were toast.
Looks great! Has a factory dash look to it. Did you paint it black or was the printer material black?
I got a standalone harness from High Performance Injectors (which was really nice BTW), and intend on having them reflash my factor computer for a baseline. There's a place not far from where I work that can do a dyno tune for me eventually. It was supposed to be "charcoal" but is actually more of a dark blue. I'll clean it up a little and shoot it and the whole dash insert piece (save for the chrome lip) a charcoal/dark grey color.
My son tuned mine on a dyno too. I put a LS2 cam and valve springs in before installing the engine. I also have the Trailblazer intake manifold. I was 320 @ 5600 rpm to the wheels and still climbing but I was running out of injector so we stopped the pull.
I'm not looking to make a bunch of power with it, just dependable daily driver levels, halfway decent gas mileage, and the ability to tow. It's a stock truck 6.0 aside from the LS6 intake. Of course the ease of upgrades on it are one of the main reasons I picked this engine, and maybe someday I'll want more out of it. Some of the other stuff I've got waiting for it are a really nice Griffin aluminum radiator, a Vintage Air "monster" brushless electric fan, a vintage air Gen IV a/c unit, American Autowire classic update kit, an '80's GM tilt column with ignition switch, and a ton of other misc. stuff. The rear axle under the car is the stock one but I don't plan on keeping it. A 9" would be nice and easy....but I have some ideas on fitting an early SN95 8.8 in there.
I have often wondered about an 8.8 in an A body. I used a 8.5 ten bolt from a 72 Cutlass and a Yukon posi. The rears from the Olds and Buick 71 and 72 A bodies had bolt in axles like a 9 inch Ford. Your 64 is going to be nice.
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