NZ 68 El Camino Pro Tour Build

[Simmo]

Having owned an HSV Maloo (an Aussie late model GTO with a bed for hauling) for a while, the LS bug had well and truly bitten. The new car thing was cool, but got old fast...and the depreciation sucked too. I wanted to have the same sort of power, mileage and reliability, but with something muscle car period but a heck of a lot less common than an old Holden.


73136


First it was a 69 Camaro or nothing, but being impatient Gen Y guy and with the logistics of viewing/purchasing/shipping a 40+ year old car half way across the globe became apparent.....I saw an ad for a mildly tweaked 68 El Camino about 5 minutes drive away and figured why not! They’re less common than a Camaro over here and a heck of a lot cheaper and for some reason people in this part of the world love their utes.

I've now poured too much hard earned $$ into cars and bikes than my conscience can handle, so part of the challange I want to run with this is that I don't want to throw heaps of day job cash at it, which will involve some restraint, personal development (read- DIY) and a lot of wheeling and dealing along the way to pay for gear (my parts shuffling skills far outweigh my fab skills). Another twist with this one is I was involved in a rather serious motorcycle incident 6 months ago, from which I was lucky in the respect that I lived, but mobility isn't as flash as it used to be, but you heal and adapt so that's the name of the game now! With that behind me, (and I’ve most definitely “pus*yed out” to an extent) this car has to have safety incorporated wherever possible as we all know these vehicles fail abysmally in this area so I’d appreciate ideas on how to incorporate this as much as possible as the build progresses.

So here goes the plan as it stands now:-

1968 El Camino Malibu Custom

-N/A LS3 shooting for around 500 rwhp initially, will investigate what form of FI is the flavour of the month when the time/need comes.
-T56 Magnum.......or a locally sourced TTI SEQUENTIAL :fingersx:
-Strange 9 inch/35 axles/S-trac...GMR would be nice.
-Forgeline ZX3R's 18x10 & 18x12
-Narrowed and mini-tubbed rear, going for an OEM bed appearance.
-Custom adjustable rear clip, 3 Link w/UMI roto-joints & watts for location.
-In talks with Scott for one of his C6 A Body front clips.
-Cage
-Extinguisher System

68343

[HELLCAMINO]

Nice.......another Elco on here:headbang:!

[John Wright]

Wishing you a fast recovery...and glad that you are still with us.

Keep us posted on your progress. My grandpa had a 67, and a neighborhood friend had a 68...lots of good memories in those vehicles. Can't wait to see how yours turns out.

[CruizinKev]

cool project! good luck with it and also wishing a fast recovery :twothumbs :twothumbs

[Simmo]

Cheers for the well wishes guys. Being off work gives me plenty of time to gather parts for the build and get inspiration off the likes of this site! Speaking of cheap parts, I've been scrounging around and found these:-

A car dealer had these Recaros in a people mover so I tracked down some stockers for him and these owe me a sweet $350 USD. I love the bench seat but I cant imagine you'd fair well if you were rear ended, or in any accident for that matter. Pretty keen to run some form of harness as well so these should go nicely

[Simmo]

Found a local guy who had Supercharged his new HSV GTS so I picked up the LS3 intake, fuel rail, injectors and full exhaust (2 1/2 in) for $200 USD. By the time I sell the exhaust the intake and exhaust manifold should be free :)

I want the exhaust manifolds for a FI engine thats brewing in the back of my head, they might not be suitable looking at the angle of the primaries but you can't go wrong with free! The intake I may/may not need but the proceeds will definately help out with other stuff.

(note the 4x2 car stands I've just build up - owe that idea to guys off this site as well, cant believe I never thought of it!)

52267

[Simmo]

deleted

[Simmo]

Got good money for the old SBC & T350 so I'll be putting that towards a donor wreck, that way I'll have everything I need and can part out the rest to offset the wreck cost.

Dunno what the PO was thinking with the red cowl...


52271


52272

[bonecrrusher]

Hmmm - I spy vaccum controlled valves on that exhaust - the Corvette Z06/Zr1 has a similiar setup in them.

Love the Aussie stuff - have a Commodore aka G8 myself as my daily driver!

Look forward to more updates.

[Simmo]

Hmmm - I spy vaccum controlled valves on that exhaust - the Corvette Z06/Zr1 has a similiar setup in them.

Love the Aussie stuff - have a Commodore aka G8 myself as my daily driver!

Look forward to more updates.

Yeah what do they call them...bi modual or something like that. I havnt had a chance to read up on the purpose yet...probably a back pressure device like most sportsbikes have these days.

Have read every page of your Vette Build up too... Bad :) I'll have to get a C6 one day :smoke:

[rmk600]

Love the older El Camino's! Nice build so far. Looking forward to more progress updates.

[LeighP]

Good luck with your project...love that model El Camino.
Word on the roll bar design.....think about where you put that main loop....anywhere near your head and even a small accident on the road might end up causing you or your passenger nasty head injuries when your head flails around and smacks the tubing. Not much room in that cab to fit a conventional bar....you may have to fabricate something that molds closely to the body and put trim over the top of it.

[Simmo]

Yeah totally hear ya. A mate of mine builds them and has a bender. With the El Camino I could set it back quite far from the occupants, plus I plan to mount the seats as low as practically possible to keep away from the bars. I'll be running the Recaros but they rules here are a bit funny when it comes to harnesses so if I cant find a way to have harnesses legally I think even a bar is going to add more risk than benefit. I'm losing a bit of sleep trying to come up with it now lol.

[exwestracer]

Will they let you run a 5 point as long as the stock belts are in there too?

[Simmo]

Will they let you run a 5 point as long as the stock belts are in there too?

Thats a good question. That is the type of logic that things run with over here, I'll find out!

[Simmo]

I really like this:-

52644

52645


Ray - any hints/tips building this type of cage?? Sounds like you've built a few in your time! I'd probably leave the door bar a little higher for a little more side impact protection. I have to have at least 30* between the main hoop and the rear down bars so thats probably the trickiest bit.

Are their any cons to building it bolt in, incase the body was ever needed to be raised off the frame again? Or just cut it and re-weld? Or is there another solution I havnt thought of concerning future frame offs.

Oh, and does anyone do a kit similar for A Bodys?

[Simmo]

Well I've had a little bit of progress lately. Was going to trailer it down to a mates workshop and lift off the body but had one of those lightbulb moments! Found a loooong old railway sleeper out back and managed to fit it into the roof cavity, and wrapped a chain block around it. Needless to say I've since bought an engine crane lol.


53549


A few bourbon's later we had the rear supported and wheeled the body out.


53550


I'm surprised at the amount of room I've ended up with...it's still far from ideal though lol..

Eagerly awaiting first parts arrival ex USA...any day now!...

[bonecrrusher]

Looking good man what's the specs on the wheels?

[Simmo]

Hey, they're BOSS 338's 18x8 4.5" BS, 245/40's, & 18x9.5 5" BS, 295/35's

Not a big fan of 'chromes' myself so they're up for grabs locally. As you can see I've got a bit of clearance on the inside, so I think some 10.5 or 11's with 6-7" BS are in order (no scraping on the outside either, has rolled gaurds though).

G8's looking good BTW!

[Simmo]

Today was a good day:-

53737

53738

53741


So much for the original plan of a quick re-spray in time for summer!

[Simmo]

Not much material progress lately, but plans are certainly in the works!

56972

To fill in time I bought a donor for cheap to part out. Going to use the LS1 for mock up to eventually swap out for the LS3/L92. Shame it's a 4l60, still on the hunt for a T56 so I can start fabbing a new raised tunnel.

For those familiar with LS wrecks, the crank hasnt been hit, and it wasnt a roll-over....anything you guy's would recommend checking out before I turn it over?

[67speedfreak]

Look forward to seeing the rest of the suspension !

[Simmo]

Yeah it's been on the back burner in the past few weeks, got another donor but this time it has a T56 so should now have most of what I need for mock-up....once I get to it haha.

Plans are in the works for the rear end, we have a stupid rule here (well at in least my interpretation), designed at the hot rod crowd, where if you replace more than 40% of the frame with non OE equipment you have to re-register as a new scratch built kit car...and of course pay the additional costs associated. So the with the incorporation of a cage, the aim is maximum performance possible out of a "factory" frame.

[67speedfreak]

Cool , sounds interesting !

[john31s]

I just read through the entire thread and it looks like its coming together nicely. If your still looking for a cage look at this: http://www.ridetech.com/store/tigercage/.

[Simmo]

I just read through the entire thread and it looks like its coming together nicely. If your still looking for a cage look at this: http://www.ridetech.com/store/tigercage/.

Aint it funny how the going together's always more of a challange than the coming apart!

That Tiger Cage sure is a nice piece, I'll keep it in mind...it's the down bars I have to come up with a solution for....trying to avoid going through the rear glass or the panel below.

These guys have done it so might be worth a closer look:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXls17iRaHg

[Simmo]

Picked up this....


59074


To get this....


59075



59076




Parting out farmer style...

[scherp69]

Looking good Chris. Can't wait to see some more pics.

[dsapper]

Couple of things. If your keeping the T56 the best shifter I ever used (and I tried quite a few in my vette) was the calloway one. Very satisfying shifts, short throw, I love it.

You asked about the 6x, I have one and love it. Its a great trans and the paddle shifters are awesome. I don't like the fact that you have to engage and dissengage the paddle shifters with a button or switch somewhere. Other than that its great.

Great build!

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Dont see to many elky builds should be pretty sweet when your done with it..

[Simmo]

Thanks for the info and encouragement guy's. Life's been in the way for the last month, but getting back on track now. Be putting in another order for stuff ex US of A so pretty soon I'll have more parts than I know what to do with :yeah:

My leg's recovery is going to be up to the task of a clutch (yay for me!) so I'm going to run with the a manual.

A T56 Magnum is the front runner at the moment, but budget allowing I do have access to a locally built sequential that is currently campaigning in our version of Aussies V8 Supercars with good results. A mate has one in his 800hp 20B RX7 drift car and has offered to take me for a spin...hmmm sequential, just what I need for my "disability" lol.

73134

[Simmo]

Well, over 6 months since an update....life and logistics!

Finally got around to having a rendering done, and Shawn hit it out of the park IMO. Awesome to finally have something on paper as PT builds are few and far between over here so it's hard to explain the build philosophy....the render tells a lot more than a thousand words in this case.

So the plan for 2013 will be the mini-tub, 3 link and cage, get it rolling and have the major sheetmetal work done all ready for drivetrain fitment later in the year... "touches wood lol"


68384


Santa came early this year:-

68383

[Simmo]

Okay, so things have been progressing along lately.

I think I have a severe case of scope creep...nearly every part on the last two pages won't find it's way into the build, but i should re-coup most of my funds in the local market. I'm going to have to sharpen my project management skills to get this build done in a timely manner, so I've come to the conclusion that finding the time to get my fab skills up to scratch to build my rear end will likely take till the end of the decade, and I want a top knotch job so I've farmed it out...using parts money of course!

The rails have been modded for more kick up, my original intention was to run a factory rail profile but my builder suggested the above to maximise available bump travel at a low stance we needed to kickem up, and so it is done. The trade-off is the bed protrusions, but we'll do our best to hide these under new OEM style wheel tubs. The added benefit with the latest front sub plans is that we can make all this play nice and have a great stance to boot :smoke:

Why not just get an aftermarket full frame you might ask? It's a good question, and the answer is not straight forward, but I'll summarise with local rules, regulations, certification and more rules. Plus no current full frame offers what I want (No compromise El Co specific 3 Link and ability to run 315's up front) and trying to get some of the "big guy's" in the frame industry on the other side of the world to be interested in one off's over this side of the world has it's own unique set of challenges.

Here's some of the results:-

73668

73669

[Simmo]

The El Co has a lot more scope to minimise compromises in the rear end due to the expanse of space under there, so we're going to use it!



736727367373674

[Simmo]

Upper link is about as robust as they come, plenty of adjustability too which I think is lacking from some of the stuff currently on the market. The rails have been brought in about 2 inches a side making ample room for 335's and decent drag radials when the desire to switch to drag mode beckons.

73675

73676

[Simmo]

4130 links with UMI Rotojoints on the lower arms (nice pieces BTW - cheers Ramey). Rod ends will more than likely occupy the top spot.

We went with equal length for all 3 links and a centered upper link. I toyed with the idea of running an offset but my builder nets good results with their touring car centered so for once I'll let the fabricator make the call as opposed to me via some thread I read on the internet :idea:

The extra length should yield stable and predictable manners on track, and it's not like I don't have the space! Note the factory boxed El Co rails, granted they're 40 something years old but by the time everything is tied together with a cage it should be a rigid mofo.

73677

[Simmo]

These came in from the laser cutter yesterday. Again I'd love to take the credit but I was going to run a Fays2. This assembly will be significantly lighter (mind you, we don't harbor as many lawyers as you guys do either lol) and is proven in track circles here and looks dam trick.

Housing arrives in the next few weeks so that's the next on the to do list.

73678

73679

[Tweak]

Hey Chris, builds coming along nicely.
I'm another kiwi based down here in Napier and have my 68 Camaro project currently on it's way to NZ. Lands on the 8th April in Auckland.
I would be interested in your ls1 t56 donor once you have used it to mock up, that's if you don't want it. Might help to free up some funds. It's just what I'm wanting for my project.

Cheers
Damien

[derekf]

That rendering is gorgeous and I dig your design direction.

[Simmo]

Hey Chris, builds coming along nicely.
I'm another kiwi based down here in Napier and have my 68 Camaro project currently on it's way to NZ. Lands on the 8th April in Auckland.
I would be interested in your ls1 t56 donor once you have used it to mock up, that's if you don't want it. Might help to free up some funds. It's just what I'm wanting for my project.

Cheers
Damien

Good to hear from someone over this side, be good to see some more LS muscle over here......great minds think a like I say! So is the plan for a street/track car or a bit of both? You'll have to get a build thread started to represent :headbang:

I moved that motor and box a while back but come across them fairly regularly so shoot me a PM when the time arrives. Looks like I'm not the only one who's going to be busy over winter!!...I'm @ the Mt BTW.

[Simmo]

That rendering is gorgeous and I dig your design direction.

Thanks! No doubt things will change as the build progresses...but always open to new ideas

[Anchor]

Dude this is awesome. I can't wait to see it progress further!!

[Tweak]

Hey Chris
Yeah, will start a build thread once I get it. Thinking it will be a track inspired street car, with just enough pro-touring in it to have a lot of fun. Invest in making the thing Go, Stop and Corner, but leave it mainly stock looking with a few tweaks.
Busy winter for sure out in the man cave. Build will probably take 14-16 months a reckon, all things going well.$$ Get the three big ticket items out of the way (roller, susp./brakes, eng./trans) and should be good to paint come Feb 2014. That's the plan anyway, lets hope it doesn't turn pear shaped.

[Simmo]

Some on here call it "Streetfighter", but yeah, minimalist with strong running gear seems to be the direction mine's headed too.

I've given mine 5 years, of which I have just under 4 to go.....I have a cool 3 link but that's about it so got to get my arse into gear to get in done in 10 haha.

Look forward to seeing the build thread!

[Simmo]

Dude this is awesome. I can't wait to see it progress further!!

Thanks man, saw your Nova build a while back too, insane with two snails adding to the mayhem! :scared:

[LS1MonteSS]

I'll be keeping an eye on this build as well! Looking awesome so far!!