Yelcamino 2.0

[Yelcamino]

Welcome to the build thread for my '66 El Camino. It's 2.0 because I never had a thread for the first iteration. Some of you know me and my Camino, some don't, so here's a little background...

I bought Yelcamino from my friend in the summer of 1997. It was an original Arizona car with about 90,000 miles on it. It was fairly rough but not terrible.



Before this car, I had never done a frame off build of anything so there was a huge learning curve. The first order of business was getting it disassembled and fixing the problem areas.



While the body work was being done, I had the chassis at home so I could detail the frame, install the suspension, and build the engine and install it. Once the body was ready, I brought the completed chassis to the shop and they put the two back together.



After that, the body and paint were finished. Here it is in the sun with the new paint for the first time in 2001.



Carol and I were really pleased with how it turned out! I spent the next year or so getting everything working and reliable.





We took it to a lot of events and in the process got a lot of exposure. So much so that it made a couple of magazine covers and features.

Chevelle World, October 2003



Popular Hot Rodding, March 2004



Chevy High Performance, January 2005



Auto Tuning World, October 2009 (this is a mag from Poland)



Fast forward to 2012... I retired from the Coast Guard after 24 years and started working at ridetech. In 2013 I hurt the 454 while on Gingerman at the Motorstate Challenge. It was shortly after that I bought my '63 C10. Since the engine was hurt and needed to be gone through and freshened, Yelcamino graciously donated it to the C10 project in the hopes of getting something new and improved.

Its patience has finally paid off, because now it's getting a fresh crate LS3!



The LS3 is getting a new cam, springs, retainers, pushrods, timing set, trunnions and valve covers. In addition to the LS3, Yelcamino will be getting new brakes, tires, and an update on the Forgeline wheels.



At the moment, she's on the lift while I open up the trans tunnel so I can get the driveline angles where they should be.





That's it so far. I hope to have all the updates done in a timely matter... we shall see!

[andrewb70]

Herb,

Great to see this!

Keep cutting that driveshaft tunnel back. You'll need it so that you can raise the back of the trans more and have reasonable operating angles on your u-joints.

Andrew

[Yelcamino]

Herb,

Great to see this!

Keep cutting that driveshaft tunnel back. You'll need it so that you can raise the back of the trans more and have reasonable operating angles on your u-joints.

Andrew

Don't worry Andrew, I'm cutting it out all the way to the rear bulkhead!

[bootlegr]

Just cut it all out...lol. Good luck with the swap. Looks like fun.

[analyte]

Herb, I'm subscribed and ready to follow along!!

[Yelcamino]

I got some cool boxes in the mail yesterday...

[analyte]

Ah, the first of many that will come..

[MattG]

More please...

[Yelcamino]

Ah, the first of many that will come..

Hopefully, the Baer boxes will be the last of many that already came.

[Yelcamino]

More please...

How's this Matt?

[Yelcamino]

It’s been about a month since I updated my thread so this is what I’ve been up to…

Following the Baer brake upgrade, I installed an Aeromotive fuel system that consisted of a Phantom in-tank pump, filter, and regulator.







I need to finish the wiring for the sender and pump but for the most part, it’s good to go.

Next up are the headers. The first set I bought were Doug’s (D3336-B) and they seemed to fit pretty good until I raised the back of the engine into position. That's when the collectors came in contact with the floorboards. So back to Summit they went.



After some internet research, I settled on a set of American Racing Headers (ABLS-64178300HR) in stainless. These headers cleared the floorboards with plenty of room.



The passenger side slid into place easily and cleared everything. The driver side went in with some fidgeting and once in place the #7 primary tube contacted the lower control arm rear mount.

In hind sight, I probably should have sent them back but I made the driver side fit by trimming off the back side of the control arm mount. Once I’m done with fitment, I’ll weld in a new back piece.



I think this may be a case of “one size fits all – we hope” for the older applications. At the very least, I have my doubts that ARH trial fit this model in an early A-body. There was plenty of room to position the #7 tube to clear the control arm mount but for whatever reason they didn’t do it. Aside from that, they clear everything else and look like a good quality header.

Next on the list was to modify the trans cross member for the exhaust.



I got the ball rolling by mounting the cross member to the work bench.



I cut out the offending sections and welded in the tubes.



Since the tubing I used was a thinner wall then I would have preferred, I cut the bottom of the tubes off and welded the cut off sections to the back side of the other tube halves for reinforcement. I also added a pair of gussets to each tube section. It feels pretty solid and gets the job done. I may do something different down the road, but until then, this works.



Now it's time for some engine work. So yesterday I swapped out the stock LS3 cam for a custom Comp grind. I also replaced the stock single row chain with a Comp double roller set, replaced the LS3 chain tensioner with a LS2 version, and upgraded the trunnions.

Comp Cam on the left, stocker on the right.









I still need to check valve to piston clearance and install the new springs, retainers, and pushrods.

Slowly but surely Yelcamino 2.0 is moving forward.

[Paraman1]

Do you have any pictures of how far back you cut the trans tunnel ? I may have a T56 on the line and am curious how much I should plan on cutting out of my 64 El Camino .

[454bug]

Great upgrades Herb!!

Your stable of vehicles are getting finer all the time!!

[Yelcamino]

Do you have any pictures of how far back you cut the trans tunnel ? I may have a T56 on the line and am curious how much I should plan on cutting out of my 64 El Camino .

No current pics, but I cut mine all the way to the rear bulkhead. I still need to trim some off from around the top of the bellhousing.

[Yelcamino]

Great upgrades Herb!!

Your stable of vehicles are getting finer all the time!!

Thanks Ray!

[Paraman1]

No current pics, but I cut mine all the way to the rear bulkhead. I still need to trim some off from around the top of the bellhousing.

I guess I am just not sure what you are referring to when you say the "Bulkhead" ? Did you have to go beyond the rear wall of the cab and into the smugglers trunk ?

[Yelcamino]

I guess I am just not sure what you are referring to when you say the "Bulkhead" ? Did you have to go beyond the rear wall of the cab and into the smugglers trunk ?

Sorry, bulkhead is a shipboard term for wall. So yes, I cut to the rear wall of the cab but not into the smugglers box.

[bmbrzmn101]

Herb. great detail on this thread. Keep shooting and wrenching for the other Elky owners like me to show us the problem areas before we start on ours. Such a good looking truck, can't wait to see more.

Chris

[Yelcamino]

Herb. great detail on this thread. Keep shooting and wrenching for the other Elky owners like me to show us the problem areas before we start on ours. Such a good looking truck, can't wait to see more.

Chris

Thanks Chris! I'll try to keep it moving along!

[Motown 454]

It's looking good Herb, a lot of nice parts.