1966 El Camino

[Yelcamino]

I never started a thread for my El Camino so I figured I'll post updates as they come along.

As a refresher, this is how the Elky has been for the past five or so years...



It had the Global West Negative Roll front suspension with B-body spindles, Baer Brakes, a Currie 9" rear, Intro Pentia wheels and Nitto rubber. Overall my wife and I have been very happy with this car and it's performance not to mention its great street manners.

Like anything, eventually it gets a little stagnant, so we decided to make a few changes.


First on the list was swapping the B-body spindles for a pair from ATS along with a new pair of GW UCAs designed to work with the new spindles.

Here are the B-body spindles...



And here are the ATS spindles...




Once that was done, I reassembled the brakes and installed the Forgelines leftover from the Chevelle and aligned the front end...





I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!


I didn't stop there. Last fall the thermo switch for the electric fans finally died so I installed a Spal fan controller...






I also picked up a set of window cranks and door handles from Clayton Machine...





These things are pure jewelry and worth every penny! Interestingly, the door handles are a bit long for the early A-bodies...





I talked to Clay about it and he's in the process of making shorter handles. I assume the shorter version will be available for sale, but I can't confirm that. Maybe he'll comment.

Wanting to keep the interior fresh, I replaced the Arizen seats with a pair of Sparco Torino II seats.




Don't worry, at least one of the Arizen seats was put to good use...




That's it for now. I'm sure I'll come up with some more things that will need updating soon!

[Mr. Anderson]

Love it Herb! Those wheels really change the car too.

I've got the seats for my Elky sitting in the "living room" right now, and have been thinking how cool it would be to set it up with a wheel and pedals for GT5.

[Tiger]

Ciao Herb,

as always good work! how come the car seems so much lower.

the Intro Pentias dont happen to be 18x11" and 18x10" with the correct backspace for my Chevelle do they?

[Yelcamino]

Love it Herb! Those wheels really change the car too.

I've got the seats for my Elky sitting in the "living room" right now, and have been thinking how cool it would be to set it up with a wheel and pedals for GT5.

Thanks Eric! My wife bought us a PS3 w/ GT5 for Christmas and driving cars with our thumbs wasn't much fun. About a month ago I was in the basement looking for something and I saw a couple of bed rails on the ground next to the seats and the idea to build a game seat popped into my head! GT5 is a lot more fun but for some reason I haven't improved my skills much!

[Yelcamino]

Ciao Herb,

as always good work! how come the car seems so much lower.

the Intro Pentias dont happen to be 18x11" and 18x10" with the correct backspace for my Chevelle do they?

Thanks André,

The Pentias are 18x10 and 18x8. I don't know what backspacing you need but these have 5.5" and 4.5" respectively. They actually fit on my Camaro.

One other thing I changed (no pictures) are the tail pipes. The old ones were from a kit and if I lowered the rear too much they would contact the axle on bumps. I found a little shop near me and had new tail pipes made so now there's plenty of room for the ride height I want. The rear Forgelines are 19" so that's probably making it look even lower.

[Vinz68]

Looks great Herb!!

[David Sloan]

Killer elco. As always!!

[oestek]

Great upgrades Herb! The handles look killer!

[The Stickman]

Great car, great color, great build.

[Tiger]

Thanks Herb but they wont work (not that you ever said you were going to sell them...:o)
I need between 6" and 6 1/2" backspace both front and rear.

ciao

[clay johnson]

Herb...Those wheels made a huge difference, and great choice...I have a similar style on my '07 Suburban, but they're I-Forged. Yes, as I mentioned, we're making shorter window cranks and will be for sale in a week or two. I'll get another set out to you at no charge. The shorter versions will be our standard length from now on.

Clay

[tommycomfort]

That's it, we're buying a PS3 and building a cool seat thing too!!! As always we love the El Camino and your work is a blast to follow.
Tom

[Yelcamino]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the positive feedback!

[THE TECH]

Good looking camino!

[Yelcamino]

Herb...Those wheels made a huge difference, and great choice...I have a similar style on my '07 Suburban, but they're I-Forged. Yes, as I mentioned, we're making shorter window cranks and will be for sale in a week or two. I'll get another set out to you at no charge. The shorter versions will be our standard length from now on.

Clay

Thanks Clay, and I really appreciate you making the shorter window cranks!

[Scarelane]

Man I'm not a Camino fan, but yours sure is cool! Looks great!!

[bonecrrusher]

That is awesome!!

[Yelcamino]

Again, thanks guys! My wife, Carol, drove the Elky at RTTH last September and had a blast! She's looking forward to more track time this season so I wanted to make sure her ride was current; adding the new wheels was a no-brainer! The window cranks and door handles were a little surprise for her and the fan controller was necessary. After a good wash, detail, and wax, it should be ready to go!

[CruizinKev]

looking good!

[69projectKAOS]

up until now i never liked El Camino`s but DAMNNNNN this one is soo sick! the forgelines set the car off perfect, and the stance is spot on! love it.. -Dom