V8TV 1969 El Camino SS Project

[Kevin O]

Look what the delivery truck dropped off the other day... the next V8TV project 1969 Chevrolet El Camino!

This one is another complete build, and we'll post all the video and pics here and on our main V8TVshow.com site. 

We're working up the plan now, but expect a Hugger Orange SS with a tall-deck Donovan aluminum big block under the hood mated to a 6-speed manual, with trick suspension and brakes to match the power!   

LOTS more to come!

[Kevin O]

The '69 Camino arrived at the shop on a big transport rig, but even after adding gas, it didn't want to fire up, so we winched it off the trailer to see what was what. 



At first glance, it's not too bad...




We were liking the CA plate, this usually means minimal rust, but can still mean lots of work.   Cars in dry climates often see much more use than rusty areas, and while they don't rust as much, they can get pretty beat up and be hiding many secrets under multiple paint jobs.





Inside it needs a little help!





But at least it has 3 pedals!    Manual cars are fun!



Big block Chevy under the hood, our guess is a 454 of some sort.    It appears to have a few speed parts on it, but we're not planning to reuse much, if any...



And here's a sample of how Western cars can rust, also.   We're expecting to see more of this once the tear-down starts! 

But it does have a 12 bolt rear end, which is nice. 

[Kevin O]

Ok, into the shop to see what we've got to play with.   Not a bad green, but the paint prep and quality are a little suspect...



As evidenced by this giant section we were able to peel off the car like it was wrapped in vinyl.    Can you say poor surface preparation?   The primer was barely scuffed, and it was releasing dust as the paint peeled off.   Not a clean surface to spray.   And the paint mix seems wrong as the stuff peeled super easily.   You can't rush the details if you want a good, lasting paint job!



Never did hear it run.   The engine had fuel, but the ignition system no make sparky. 



Body filler crust bubbles



A little more butchery.. hard to tell here, but the striker was pushed into the quarter panel and filler was somewhat spread around the mount area... we'll investigate this one more later.   This is a safety item, kids.. not something to glaze over!



Bed does not look terrible, but it's wearing a home-applied bed liner, which is probably hiding quite a bit of ugly.    The tailgate fit was inconsistent left to right, with uneven gaps, but that's pretty common.    At least the opening wasn't overly large or too narrow and pinching the gate.



Speaking of inconsistent gaps, this door had blown out hinges and terrible fitment.   It's impossible to fit a door with worn hinges, so we'll replace all those. 



The SS hood shows lots of evidence of heavy filler work, note the wavy light reflection...



Careless seam sealer job in the drip rails.   



Awful fit of trim around windshield.   This can be a really hard thing to get right, which is why we always fit the trim before the car is painted so the metal and trim can all be made to work together.    The last thing you want is to install the glass and trim after paint and get this kind of surprise.   

[Kevin O]

Painted trim is kind of odd, but we're going to use the short "eyebrow" trim on this one, so this is gone.



Some kind of nasty stains in the roof paint.



Not too bad looking from the bottom, not rusty, which is great!  



OK, this is fun!   When you strip out the sway bar mount bolt, just torch a hole in the frame and put a nut inside!    One of many little frame repairs we'll make on this car...



Excellent use of washers in the transmission mount!   Looks like someone cut one side of a 2x2 square tube and stick welded it to the cross member, then had to fill the void with washers.     Yep, another fix to come here, too!



This is what happens when your trick exhaust system gets in the way of a lazy person who has to fix a universal joint or a trans.   Don't bother A: making the exhaust system serviceable with removable sections or B: taking down the system to slide the drive shaft or trans out.    Just torch it off and hammer it flat, then booger weld it, 'cause that's easier!



Upper shock mount torn thanks to air shocks and this 'Camino haulin' heavy loads!

[dieselclam]

What kind of a mad man would want a car like that?    Oh yeah, it's mine.  History: I've wanted a 1969 hugger orange SS El Camino since I was 15:  In 1973 a friend had one that I was in love with and offered to sell me his for $1,500.  It had a an L71/L89 aluminum head engine in it and of course my dad said, "over my dead body."  The "I gotta have one" feeling would last 36 years.  After leaving home when I was 19, I bought a '69 and was about to start the cloning but got seduced by a 1969 Corvette Roadster and sold it.  As much as I loved the Corvette, I still wanted a hugger orange El Camino.  A couple years later, the corvette was completely worn out, the kids showed up and muscle cars became something that I used to have.  However, the itch for a 1969 El Camino was continuous until I bought this one, 36 years after my dad put his foot down.  Well, God rest his dear soul, he's been dead since 1997, so I take that as being his seal of approval.  So for now, let's call this car the "36 Year Itch."  Maybe a vanity plate someday, "36YRICH."  

This car came with endless promises via phone calls across the continent that ALL of the rot had been cut out and there was no bad metal on the car.  Hmmm.  Another liar screws an honest, hard working guy.  So I chose V8-TV to do the resto-mod because of Kevin and Kelle's honesty, integrity, and vast knowledge.  I based much of that opinion on the videos they did of the 1969 "496" Chevelle Convertible project.  I figure it's pretty hard to be a crook when you film everything the way they do- which is reality and not sugar coating.  That's the next best thing to being there supervising, which I don't have time for.

So ladies and gentlemen, please join the great folks at V8-TV on this project by providing your comments and suggestions while I figure out how to scratch my "36YRICH." &nbsp; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/_-ClvSEBpg8" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/_-ClvSEBpg8</a> (External Embedding Disabled)

[Kevin O]

Kelle Here:  I'm laughing sooooo hard right now.  Only at the video, not at the hacking to the car. 
Thanks for the laughs.

[Kevin O]

Nice!    Hopefully this car will cure that problem.    Maybe we can get a sponsorship from

[Kevin O]

Back to the car...

Frame appears to have some filler on it... hmm...



Nice hole in inner fender



Trans gear oil sludge



"Custom" radiator core support... nice torch work here.   Increased cooling capacity?



Always good to have improper fasteners and missing washers on things that spin really fast!



Good use of brass exhaust manifold nut as spacer for steering bracket

[Kevin O]

A little door shell crust

[Kevin O]

Butchered up door latch release mounts



Torch strikes again, this is the steering column support plate that's been "expanded"



This is nice... all though it is called body "filler," this hole in the fender was completely filled in with body filler.   They just kept pushing more in until it reached the inner structure, then sanded it down and painted it.   Who needs steel?   Plastic never rusts, right?







Getting down to the shell..

[Kevin O]

Speaking of filler, let's look at the bedsides..





Looks like filler over trim holes, but the filler mix was still soft!   It never hardened!   Must have been a nightmare to sand gooey body filler!    Unreal. 

[Kevin O]

Moving inside, take a look at the craptastic 4-speed trans tunnel install!



Yes, that is torn steel held in place by galvanized roofing flashing and slot head screws!   Fabrication at its finest. 





More extra holes in the firewall

[Steve Firebird]

Wow!  The person that did that crap needs to be strung up!
At least the V8TV crew can make it all better for ya. 

[dieselclam]

Once everything is documented on here with all of the great photos, I'm going to e-mail the guy with this web site to let him know that he's now known as a worthless hack and a liar who deserves all the terrible publicity and nasty comments that anyone posts.  It's the least I can do for a repeat offender/crook who is out to scam others as well. 

[Qball]

My goodness!  That El Camino has more holes than a Catalina swiss cheese car.  You should be able to hold a class in sheet metal repair after this bad oscar is done.  Best of luck and looking forward to another transformation.