"Half-Fast" 1964 El Camino

[Paraman1]

Hello all , I recently picked up a 1964 El Camino and will be looking to update the suspension then the drive train and eventually getting it into paint . It is currently running the original rebuilt 327 with a TH350 transmission and a 10 bolt open diff with 3.08 gearing . A prior owner updated the brakes with disks in the front and a power brake booster . It came with American racing 5 spoke wheels running 225/60-15 Falken Ziex 612's which unfortunately don't have enough backspace to keep the front from rubbing . I have spent the time I have had it thus far just getting it running and driving correctly so I can enjoy driving it during the summer and then working on it over the winter . Since I don't have a road course anywhere close I am not looking to build a race car with blinkers but more of a refined muscle car that can hold its own on the curvy mountain roads near by .

I used to shoot competitively and was on a team that called itself "Team Half-Fast" since we didn't take ourselves to seriously and as I don't want this car to become so serious its not fun I have given it the same name .

[Bonehead]

64/65 Elk is on my bucket list of builds. Theres just something about those year Chevelle/El Camino that I absolutely love. Looking forward to your build!

[woodside783]

Nice start

[rrelco]

I absolutely LOVE my Elco! it handles better then a lot of cars out there....stay focused and do it!

[Paraman1]

Quick update , I rented a Wheel Fit tool and used it to figure out my backspacing . To be honest it probably wasn't needed but it at least confirmed what previous measurements had indicated . If it had been my tool I probably would have started modifying a few things and added some washers but it wasn't . Now I just have to decide whether I want to order custom wheels or just get some corvette knock offs and spacers . Just so you all know you can fit a 275/40-17 under the rear using a 9.5 inch wheel with 5.5-6.0 inches of backspacing . I will probably go deeper as I intend to upgrade the rear brakes to disks and my understanding is that most disk brake kits tend to push the wheels out 1/4 inch . On the front I will be running a 245/45-17 on an 8 inch wide wheel . I tried the 9.5 inch with the 275 wide tire and while it will fit the tool confirmed what I had been told about it rubbing on the sway bar at full lock . With the 245 and an 8 inch wheel 5 inches of backspacing looked like a happy medium between not rubbing the fenders and missing all the suspension parts .

Sorry I didn't take any pictures but it wouldn't have been any more exciting than watching the video .

I did take a pic when I mocked them up just to keep it fresh in my mind how it would look .

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Sorry no pics from the side but I am working in a 1.5 car garage with lots of stuff in it ... LOL

[liquidh8]

nice, I have a 64 ragtop, and a 65 elky. Subscribed

[mustang351]

Where were you able to rent the wheel fitment tool from?

[dusterbd13]

nice to see another 64 elky build.

was it you was helping on the other forum?

[Paraman1]

nice to see another 64 elky build.

was it you was helping on the other forum?

Yep , that was me .

[Paraman1]

OK , not a lot of what we could call "photographic progress" . The car was really hard starting when it got warmed up and it got progressively worse until it left me stranded . Amazingly enough nobody in the Treasure Valley had a new starter in stock and when I ordered one it came in incorrect so I finally folded and bought a remanufactured one . Problem solved and I was able to time it and tune it correctly . I then loaded up all the stuff I got with it and hauled it off to the swap meet where I made a few bucks and punted the front tires I had bought for it as they were actually a little shorter than I wanted . Came home from the swap meet and ordered the correct size fronts .

I also had a friend come over and help me pull the rear window out and replace the seal as it was leaking really bad .

Right now I am not sure what I am going to do from here . I have a few grand saved and want to buy my wheels now as the front drivers side rubs really bad since they don't have enough backspacing . I am also trying to buy some seats for it so I can ditch the split bench . The whole car leans to the drivers side about 3/8 of an inch which I believe is due to worn body bushings but I don't know for sure . I have another set of coil springs for the front which I may swap out to see if that fixes the lean but I don't think it will so new body bushings may be the break in project for my Dads new lift . I also have a new tach and speedometer so I am thinking I need to purchase the rest of the gauges I need and spend a weekend building the new dash . Other than that I would like to drive the snot out of it while saving up money for the suspension and brake components which will be this winters project .

[Paraman1]

OK not a lot has gone on with the Elky but I have been gathering up some parts here and there for use in some winter projects . First up I picked up a set of Hedman Elite shorty headers so I can keep the exhaust pulled up high and tight as I hate nothing more than my collectors getting torn up going over speed bumps (and the speed bumps and dips in my neighborhood are HUGE). I also picked up some carbon fiber valve covers and a performer intake . My plan with the intake is to have it powder coated gray to match the valve covers . Last but not least I picke up some Autometer gauges to swap out the speedo and Tachometer . Now I just need to find a 4 gauge cluster to swap out my dummy lights and gas gauge into the center hole of my dash . Looking at Speedhut gauges but we will see what comes my way . No picture of the intake as it is dirty and old but here is some of the other cool schwag .

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[Paraman1]

I recently found a set of TTII's on ebay for 770 shipped that looked like they would work on my Elky . Got the tires mounted up today and they fit . Specs are 17x8 with 4.81 inches of backspacing on the front with a 245/45r17 BFG KDW-2 , 17x9.5 with 5.5 backspacing on the rear with a 275/40r17 BFG KDW-2 . The rear is fairly tight but I can get my fingers in between the tire and the fender well . If and when I have the money to order custom wheels I will run a 6 inch backspacing as that would have centered it perfectly . Still leaves me some money for a few other projects and gets rid of the rubbing issues .

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[Paraman1]

Not much to update in the way of real work going on but more parts are on the way . I ordered a UMI Stage 4 suspension kit this morning and parts should start shipping in the next week or so . The only thing I changed in the kit was going with 1/2 inch tall ball joints on the LCA as well as the UCA . I also opted for black powder coating instead of the bright orange .

This pretty much emptied my hot rod fund for a while but I have this and 3 or 4 other projects that will only cost me time and gaskets to do while I am saving for a brake kit .

My Dad just added on to his shop and installed a lift while he was at it so I am excited to finally do something without having to lay on the ground :)

[Paraman1]

Couldn't get over to my Dads this weekend so I put it up on Jack stands and got the rear springs , Rear lower control arms and shocks installed . I was not able to put the frame braces in as my exhaust is in the way and I held off on the upper control arms since I don't have a torch at my house to remove the old bushings .

I was pretty surprised at how much lower it sits with the new springs , I will have to roll the fenderlip some more at the back in order to gain some clearance there . This weekend I will start disassembly on the front end .

Here is a pic of the rear tire now and if you scroll up you can see how much different it is than the old setup .

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[dusterbd13]

now that's a proper ride height for one of these.

how bad was doing the rear LCA's? gonna have to do all the bushings in mine.

[Paraman1]

I completely replaced mine with UMI tubular LCA's with delrin bushings on one end and roto-joints on the other so I didn't have to swap any out . Removing and replacing them was pretty straight forward doing just one side at a time so the diff doesn't "roll" out of position . I did the top bolt first and mine moved a bit to the rear so I just used a ratchet strap to pull it back into position and put the lower bolt in .

Sorry not a lot of install pictures as I was really focused on getting it back onto the ground so I could close the garage door for the night .

[Paraman1]

Got most of the front suspension pulled apart today and most of the drivers side put back together . Starting to wish I had exercised a little patience and used my Dads lift but its not been to horribly bad . Just wish my Air compressor had a little more oomph so I could actually use my impact gun for disassembly and reassembly . Hoping to get front put back together tomorrow and then take lots of photographs .

Hope your all having a great weekend !

[Paraman1]

Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure . The first picture is what we are replacing , the guy who owned the car before me evidently had 3 cans of spray paint left over from other projects so small parts got painted either orange , blue or yellow . Second pic shows the Viking double adjustable shock , sway bar , a bit of the springs and lCA and a filthy rear diff which will be getting rebuilt over the winter hopefully . Third and fourth is the front suspension with hideous blue , orange and yellow parts mixed with new UMI parts . Eventually everything will be black or gray . Last pic is obviously the UCA . Pictures aren't that great but I am not a photographer , heck I am not even a mechanic just took a lot of shop classes in High School and built a few cars and motorcycles with my Dad over the years .

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[dusterbd13]

are those 67 brakes? looks like dual piston calipers and the 66-67 rotors.

and im jealous of coilovers.

[Paraman1]

I have no idea what the front brakes are off of . I assumed it was a 68-72 conversion but really don't know . The previous owner didn't know much about the history of the car .

Hopefully I can replace all that stuff next year but haven't really researched much beyond The Right Stuff Detailing Big brake kit . I am kind of all over the place with this thing as I have ADD gone wild sometimes :)

[dusterbd13]

im rocking ls1 Camaro fronts with wildwood h pads. damn thing stops!! and the conversion was cheap!

well, when its running it stops....

[Paraman1]

I have been meaning to look into the LS1 brake conversion front and rear but getting my Daughter off to college , work and this suspension has been eating up most of my time . Did you document it in your build thread ?

[dusterbd13]

Yes. Quite a while back, so you might have to dig.

[Paraman1]

Got it back on the ground , still have a lot of work to do adjusting the suspension , getting the ARB hooked to the LCA's , etc. , etc. As you can see I had to put a couple blocks of wood under the tires in order to get the jack back out but we are getting close . For those of you who think this kind of work is beyond your ability you can see I did it in one bay of a garage and used basic hand tools to get it done . The most exotic tools I used were a pickle fork and a torque wrench .

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[dusterbd13]

The height looks about the same as my hotckis setup did before I stripped the truck. Looking good.

Do you have the bed moulding?

[Paraman1]

I have all the bed molding but the long rail pieces are in pretty rough shape .

[Paraman1]

After a morning of pounding on fender wells and adjusting then re-adjusting shocks we put it on the ground and drove it around the neighborhood . The ride is stiff like a Corvette but seems to handle fine . Still need to get it aligned before I get it out and really hammer on it but I am really liking it so far .

Here is a before and after shot .

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[dusterbd13]

Where were you rubbing?

And you'll be really shocked by wat a difference the right alignment makes.

Stance looks spot on from over here

[Paraman1]

The front uppers were rubbing the fender wells and the rear tires were rubbing at the back of the opening . Just rolled the lip a little further in the back . The fronts are going to have to come out and get trimmed but we smashed part of it out of the way so we could drive it :)

[Paraman1]

Aaron Oberles seats out of his 65 made their way across the country to my 64 . Not much else to report as work and my Daughters stint in the ICU has taken a lot of my time and energy lately . 104993

[dusterbd13]

Nice. 4th gen firebird?

Ill keep your family in my prayers.

[Paraman1]

The seats are out of a 98 Firebird . I got them wired up tonight and played with the adjustments until the fuse burned out ... LOL

Thanks for the prayers , she spent 2 days in the ER and then 5 in the Pediatrics ICU with Enterovirus B68 . Amazingly enough a week later she was challenging her Mom to walk over 10K steps a day while she was running about half of hers . She has Asthma but played competitive Softball for the last 4 years so she is in really good shape and that really helped her bounce back . We feel really blessed that it wasn't any worse .

[Paraman1]

After seeing the Ring Brothers 66 I have been playing with the idea of having a custom logo made up for my grill . Since my last name is "Neff" I have been toying with the idea of borrowing the Neff clothing logo and having one made up as a badge . What say the masses ?105843

[Paraman1]

I have been spending some time getting the body ready to shoot into primer and trying to find some of the chrome pieces I am missing . Today my Dad surprised me with a bit of an early Christmas present by fixing the dents in the original grill and hood spear and then repolishing the hood spear . He has about ten hours into them so I was pretty thrilled .106440106441

[jimstonemaker]

Looks like a fun project. Stance looks good.

[dusterbd13]

What trim are you missing?

[Arctic_Ragtop]

Nice build so far, subscribed ! I just received a UMI Stage 5 for my '65 Beaumont. Much like you I will be doing it in way too small of a garage with basic hand tools. Keep the pics and updates coming.

[Paraman1]

What trim are you missing?
I am missing the pieces that go down around the wing window on the side windows (if you look at the side view of the car you can see its missing) and the bed mouldings all the way around as well as the tailgate emblem . I am also missing the trim across the bottom of the rear window . Some stuff I am just deleting like the rocker moulding and wheel well trim but some stuff I have to have.

[Paraman1]

Nice build so far, subscribed ! I just received a UMI Stage 5 for my '65 Beaumont. Much like you I will be doing it in way too small of a garage with basic hand tools. Keep the pics and updates coming.

Thanks ! They had just come out with the Stage 5 when I got my kit . They made me a great deal on the Stage 4 and it met all my needs as well as my budget .

[Paraman1]

Well its been a while since I have updated anything . Its been a lot of sanding , running 700 pounds of sand through the sand blaster , picking seam sealer out and welding holes shut . Today we finally started moving back forward and POR-15'd the smugglers trunk and the bottom of the lid for the smugglers trunk . I am hoping before my Birthday , March 20th , to have it put into primer so I can start driving it this summer .

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[Paraman1]

Not sure if it counts as real progress but after 8 weeks I finally got my grill pieces back from the painter . Not really his fault as he managed to completely destroy his knee stepping off his front porch but I am as glad to have the parts back as I am that he is recovering enough to go back to work .

[Paraman1]

Well after a lot of distractions I finally got the Elky shot into White epoxy primer . Spent a lot of time sanding and messing around this winter , fixed the transmission leak , replaced the rear frame crossmember and lots of other little things . Sunday we will start putting the bumpers and other parts back on so I can start driving it . I still have to replace the brake master cylinder but I feel better having it in one color and not having to worry about it rusting anymore . 110691110692110693110694110695

[Paraman1]

Sorry but the pictures all loaded in reverse order :)

[bootlegr]

no problem, we have reverse

[dusterbd13]

Damn white looks good on this.

Im also digging your wheels.

[Paraman1]

Damn white looks good on this.

Im also digging your wheels.

Thanks ! I am still chasing down electrical gremlins and an oil leak in the engine compartment that I can't locate but am having fun . I also still need to get my brake Master cylinder swap done , just haven't got enough time in the day with all the overtime I have been working .

[analyte]

Just caught up on your build. It looks great, and I can't wait to see if trimmed out.

Kerry

[dusterbd13]

just wanted to let you know that your truck now has me hunting a set of torque thrust 2's for mine.

sooooo right on there.

[Paraman1]

Fixed the wiring gremlins with a new rear wiring harness and hunted down a phantom oil leak today . Then my Dad and I went out and drove it like we stole it .

Driving this car makes driving fun again , like when I first got my license and couldn't wait to jump in the car and go somewhere , anywhere for that matter .

I got more thumbs up and little kids coming over to tell me they like my car today than just about any other time I have driven it . Its funny because all I see are the things that need done and they just see Fast and Furious :)

[Paraman1]

Cruising Craigslist when I saw this 5.3 for a decent price . I guess the sickness has begun .

[Paraman1]

Not a super huge update but I bought a 12.7:1 rebuilt steering box from a company called Carhex a while back but due to putting in a lot of overtime at work lately my schedule just hadn't allowed time for working on the El Camino . Well this weekend being the first one I have had off in a while I cruised over to my Dad's and we put it up on the lift and swapped the box out . It only took about 2 hours to do the steering box swap even with a trip to Oreilly's to pick up some power steering fluid . The biggest difference is that it is now just over 3 turns lock to lock versus the roughly 4.5 the old steering box had . It also feels a little tighter which may be just because the box is brand new but it's not the old single finger steering now . A lot of people have commented that they felt like their A-body was twitchy after the swap but after the 15 mile drive home from my Dads on the interstate I can say that I didn't notice any real difference . The real difference was on the roundabouts and sharp corners I never had to go hand over hand to complete a turn . A big thanks again to Carhex for supplying a quality rebuilt factory steering box at an affordable price (190 bucks with the 50 dollar core charge).

[Paraman1]

Well as summer comes to a close I again have a big old list of winter projects . I just put the car up on jack stands and pulled the wheels and tires off . I believe my neighbor is going to buy them for one of his projects and I will be upgrading to 18 inch wheels to accommodate larger brakes than I originally intended to put on the car . The fronts have already arrived and look like they will work fine .

As long as we are talking about brakes I will be replacing the master cylinder , all brake lines and front brakes are being upgraded to 340 MM Corvette brakes via Kore3 .

The rear differential (non-posi , 3.08 geared diff that has a slight leak and a bit of a whine) is being replaced by a completely rebuilt 10 bolt with an Eaton posi and Richmond 3.55 gears which has been powder coated black . It is currently in a crate on its way from Illinois .

In the interior I will be moving the shifter back from its current location that was great when it had a bench seat but now requires you to lean forward in order to shift . I am also looking at some different seatbelt options as the original lap belts just don't do it for me . Everyone has an opinion on what is right and what is safe and since I don't want to hear them I am just gonna leave it at "Its getting changed".

I will try and ad pictures as the progress occurs .

[HandOverFist]

Michael - It appears yours and my project will be nearly identical with the exception of mine being a '67. I came to the same conclusion on backspacing using crude measurements only. I plan on using the same width 17" wheels as you did with probably nearly the same tire sizes. I'll likely be using these wheels... http://circleracing.com/90series.htm

Do you think I will have any rub with a 2" drop using the 5" and 6" backspace? I'm considering keeping the drums on the rear.

[Paraman1]

Do you think I will have any rub with a 2" drop using the 5" and 6" backspace? I'm considering keeping the drums on the rear.

You should be fine with that backspacing . My vehicle has a 1 inch drop in the rear but I am not sure how much in the front since I have simply just adjusted it to where it looked right via the coil over shocks . With the 67 you could probably get away with a 5.5 inch backspacing on the rear since the rear tire won't tuck up into the rear fender well like the 64-65 does . After putting the rears on my car I have about an inch of clearance to the frame on the inside so an extra 1/2 inch should center it darn near perfectly .

[Paraman1]

Pulled the rear diff today to make way for the new diff that should be here tomorrow . I will also be installing the UMI upper control arms that I never installed when I did the rest of the suspension upgrades . I can't believe how much overspray there is everywhere . I guess now is a good time to clean all these parts up before installing the rear end :)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/11/Diff20gone-1.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/paraman100/media/1964%20El%20Camino/Diff%20gone.jpg.html)

[Paraman1]

And this showed up today . I have Wednesday off so maybe I can talk my Dad into helping me put it in .

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/11/New20Diff-1.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/paraman100/media/New%20Diff.jpg.html)

[Paraman1]

UMI uppers are in but since my Dad is leaving town for a week it may be a week or two before I can get the new diff in . I also cleaned a bunch of overspray off the lower suspension components .

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/11/Upper-1.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/paraman100/media/1964%20El%20Camino/Upper.jpg.html)

[Paraman1]

Decided on holding off on the diff install until I could get my rear brake components in , mainly because once the diff is in the car I don't have enough room to remove the axle on the passenger side in my garage . My order from Kore3 showed up at the shop last week and today I got to go open it and check everything out . Nothing earth shattering here but I finally have everything I need to do the diff and next weekend we will be pulling the axles so we can turn the ends down and install all the brake components . A few more weeks and it should be in . Hopefully after Christmas I can order the fronts .

Obligatory Brake porn pics included :)

[MOREHORSEPOWER]

Nice build !! My son and I are getting ready to do a 64 Chevelle for him . I am east of SLC so we will be keeping a eye on your build .

[MTZ28]

Great car, great name. So did you run the 325 mm rotors and upgrad to the 340 mm rotors? If so, I'm anxious to see how big of a difference you noticed. I really like your cars stance.

[Paraman1]

Great car, great name. So did you run the 325 mm rotors and upgrad to the 340 mm rotors? If so, I'm anxious to see how big of a difference you noticed. I really like your cars stance.

It actually had a GM disk brake conversion similar to the 68-72 Chevelle with a leaky master cylinder . Sometimes it stopped great and sometimes I thought I was going to get into an accident .

The new setup is a Wilwood 7/8 Master cylinder with no booster , Wilwood prop valve , Kore3 Z51 front and rear brakes . I still have to build brake lines and do a lot of other work but I am hoping that I can accelerate the schedule soon since my work schedule has finally slowed down .

[Paraman1]

It feels like I go in slow motion on this thing but made a little progress recently . Kore3 Z51 up front installed and yes the wheels fit .

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/02/Kore3201-1.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/paraman100/media/1964%20El%20Camino/Kore3%201.jpg.html)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/02/Wheel20fits-1.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/paraman100/media/1964%20El%20Camino/Wheel%20fits.jpg.html)

[Motown 454]

Nice!

[Arctic_Ragtop]

Nice job on the paint and keeping this thread updated with lots of good pics. The Kore3 brakes look great. One lesson I learnt relatively early is to buy the stuff I actually want from the start, rather than compromising and buying what I really wanted down the road. Might have to spend a bit of time on Tobin's website ;)

[Paraman1]

Got the new rear diff squared away today . A big thanks to my Brother for coming over and welding the tabs on and a big shout out to my Dad for loaning me the brake line tools I needed to shorten and re-flare the lines .

[MTZ28]

Looking good, did you ever decide on some new wheels?

[Paraman1]

Looking good, did you ever decide on some new wheels?

I ordered 1 Vision 142 5 spoke from Summit yesterday to see if it will fit . If not I will send it back and eat the shipping . Seemed like the best way to make sure they would fit before ordering all 4 wheels .

[HandOverFist]

What wheel is that you posted above in post #62? That is a good looking wheel.

[Paraman1]

What wheel is that you posted above in post #62? That is a good looking wheel.

Vision Wheels Torque 143 , I bought them a while back and the longer I have them the less in Love with them I am . If the 5 spoke wheel doesn't fit then I will get the matching rears and they can be a place holder until I can afford something else . If the 5 spoke fits then I will off these at the swap meet .

[HandOverFist]

Vision Wheels Torque 143 , I bought them a while back and the longer I have them the less in Love with them I am . If the 5 spoke wheel doesn't fit then I will get the matching rears and they can be a place holder until I can afford something else . If the 5 spoke fits then I will off these at the swap meet .

I'm trying my best to stay with 17" wheels, but those 18" 143's really appeal to me.

[Paraman1]

It has been a while since I updated anything here but its really been a hell of a year. First my Wife got very ill and was in the hospital for an extended period of time and then when she got out her mother became very ill and passed away. Shortly after that her company decided they no longer needed her services and a 25 year career was ended. After finding herself a new job she decided that my services were no longer needed and thus a 25 year marriage was ended. As I wrap up the year from hell for me my company is looking like they also no longer need my services anymore but hey I work in construction so I kind of saw this one coming. In the meantime the El Camino has languished a bit but I look forward to putting this year behind me and moving on with some work on an old friend. Stay tuned for some updates over the winter and hopefully a spring launch into a much more driven vehicle.

[HandOverFist]

Get busy buddy...I'm wet sanding atm. :cheers:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/10/frontend20001_zps3xqm89rh-1.jpg

[jettback50]

Man...that is one hell of a year. Hoping things turn around for you. At least there is plenty of work in construction right now so that should not be that painful of a transition. Good luck to you.

[Paraman1]

So a friend of my youngest Daughter is a huge gearhead and Loves my El Camino to death so he came over to help kick me in the ass and get this thing going back in the correct direction. We got one of the seats installed , the rear differential cover on , filled with gear oil and pinion angle set , new wheels and tires put on and sat back onto terra firma after over a year of being a pro jack stand car. To celebrate I charged the battery and fired off the motor (bad gas and all) which fired on the first long crank since we had to get gas pumped to the carburetor.

My neighbor took the 3 tailgates I had as well as a new skin and put together one tailgate for me . Its not perfect so it matches the rest of the car great. As soon as I get a little free time I will take it out to my Dads and shoot it into the same epoxy primer as the rest of the car.

I forget just how low this thing sets and how bitchin it looks sitting on the ground. I am still struggling to get the brake master cylinder to bleed properly so the car will be going to a friend of my Dads shop to get the final fiddling with the brakes done. At this point whatever it costs feels like it will be worth it in order to drive it this summer.

[Cheveezy]

What wheels are those in post #74?

[Paraman1]

What wheels are those in post #74?
Vision Legend 5 spokes.

18X8.5 front and 18X9.5 rear

[Cheveezy]

Vision Legend 5 spokes.

18X8.5 front and 18X9.5 rear

Those look great. Do you have the backspace? Do they rub at all? I have a 65 Chevelle and really like those wheels!

[Paraman1]

Those look great. Do you have the backspace? Do they rub at all? I have a 65 Chevelle and really like those wheels!

I am just going by memory but the rears are 6.1 backspacing and the front is 5.125 (I believe).

I have UMI upper and lower control arms, a UMI sway bar and Kore3 Z51 brakes and no rubbing even with a sizeable drop over stock in the front and rear. The rear inner fenders have some massaging via a BFH and someone who didn't care (AKA my Dad) and its still a bit tight. I say all this to let you know that it may or may not fit your specific application.

[Cheveezy]

I am just going by memory but the rears are 6.1 backspacing and the front is 5.125 (I believe).

I have UMI upper and lower control arms, a UMI sway bar and Kore3 Z51 brakes and no rubbing even with a sizeable drop over stock in the front and rear. The rear inner fenders have some massaging via a BFH and someone who didn't care (AKA my Dad) and its still a bit tight. I say all this to let you know that it may or may not fit your specific application.

Thanks! I have UMI suspension all the way around as well.

[Paraman1]

After over a year I finally got to take it out and test the new brakes. I don't fully trust everything (I have changed a bunch of things since last I drove it) but so far so good. The old gas smelled horrible so I siphoned out most of it to use in my lawn mower and went and topped off the tank with some 91 octane. So happy to be driving it again!!

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[HandOverFist]

You might regret that lawnmower decision...

[Paraman1]

You might regret that lawnmower decision...

Have you read my signature line? Pretty much the story of my life ... LOL

[USAZR1]

Glad to see you and your Elky back together,again. It's looking pretty good,pal.

[MOREHORSEPOWER]

That most be the best filling in the world !!!

Enjoy the summer !!

[Paraman1]

So shortly after getting this bad boy up and running again Wilwood recalled my brake MC so back on jackstands it went and as I tried to put the pieces of my life back together after the divorce the El Camino took a back seat for a while. I decided this is the year it gets done the way I want it so with a budget of 10 grand I am jump starting the project with an LS swap. Parts are inbound and the credit card is getting a workout.

I picked up a 26K mile LS1 with a T56 for 5000. It also has a Wilson FAST intake and a 90MM Wilson throttle body as well as MSD coil packs, I am going to dig in a little deeper to see if it has a cam as well and if not I will probably do a cam swap before stuffing it into the car.

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[Paraman1]

Well as luck would have it my 27000 mile gem of a motor showed me its ugly insides about 3 days past when I could return it for a refund. When we pulled the pan off to swap on the Holley 302-2 pan I found metal, lot and lots of metal. Evidently the #3 crankshaft bearing had spun and ate itself then spit itself all over the insides of my motor. Hopefully the guy I bought it from is going to honor his "Parts Only" warranty as I drove it half way across the state to a trusted engine builder yesterday. 151564151565

[Paraman1]

It’s been a while since I posted any progress. Let’s just leave it at it’s been a long strange trip. I was able to get Half-Fast on the road this summer with the help of a small local shop. 1700 miles since August and things are getting tuned a little better on each outing.

We put a small Titan 1 cam in the motor while it was out and it runs as good as it looks.
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Dakota digital gauges for the win.
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Straight Slikky shifter with a Speed Dawgs "County/Prison" shift knob to shift gears through the T56.
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This was the day we were able to start it for the first time in over 4 years.
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[Paraman1]

I have a picture of when I bought the car in about this location so it seemed appropriate to go back to the scene of the crime.
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In Idaho we can run Year of manufacture plates and it just so happens that I have quite possibly the coolest 1964 plates with one of the coolest stories in all of Idaho.
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[Paraman1]

The 1A (Ada county) number one license plate is traditionally the plate given to the Idaho Governor. However in 1964 my Grandfather won a civic award and got the plates as part of the award. I grew up hearing about the plates but it wasn’t until he passed that my aunts found the plates in a briefcase along with a newspaper showing him receiving the plates. My uncle was able to get a photograph from the newspaper archives as well. 204774
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[chunger]

Great to see this project didn't die! What ever happened with your engine - did they warranty it or did you have to fix it out of pocket? Either way - glad you got it on the road!

[NCSU68]

I love this build and it is great to see the plate and the family history behind it!!! Awesome job and enjoy!!!

[GTO Jack]

Love those early A-bodies. Can you share with me what power steering lines you have. I have the same set up and like that OEM look. Thanks.

[Paraman1]

Great to see this project didn't die! What ever happened with your engine - did they warranty it or did you have to fix it out of pocket? Either way - glad you got it on the road!

They paid for the parts and I had to pay for the labor. I was literally 1 day past the return period.

The builder bored it out .0005 which was the smallest amount possible. We also swapped the cam out for a Titan 1 from Cam Motion.

[Paraman1]

Love those early A-bodies. Can you share with me what power steering lines you have. I have the same set up and like that OEM look. Thanks.

I had the hoses built at a local hydraulic hose company that specializes in heavy equipment.

[Paraman1]

After setting a record for the number of days below 60 we took it out for a cruise with a friend today. This thing rides and drives soooo nice. Now to replace the 8 year old tires so I can really fling it into the corners without feeling like I am driving on marbles.


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oAR9FibGDtQ