"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 .




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 .

[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 .

[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 .

[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 .

[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