The 1964 El Camino with a new intake manifold

Let's fire up that engine!..Take 1....Take 2....etc.

Well, we finished tightening all of the necessary bolts and added the proper fluids. Let's crank this motor over and see if she will run. This should have been a simple process, or so I thought. Travis, on the other hand, had other ideas. Apparently a couple of his alter egos decided to make appearances. Take a look at the videos to see what I mean.

Okay, let's try this again....uh oh!

One more time...concentrate, Travis, concentrate!!!

The Camino sports a new color

Well here are some pictures and a video of what we have been toying with on the El Camino. We, well Travis sprayed the El with a couple shots of the silver paint that we had chosen for the '69 Chevrolet C10. I have to admit it doesn't look half bad on the ol' Camino. We shined up the wheels a little and cleaned up the interior a bit. Now with the engine in place and running.....so far. We will concentrate a bit more on some of the other details that this gem needs in order to be a head turner. She needs a little body work and definitely a little better paint job, but we have the time to do all of that. The speedo gear on the Muncie 4 speed transmission is not working, so that will need to be replaced as well. Travis is contemplating ordering all new chrome molding for the ol' girl too. She is definitely going to be a great running machine when we are done. We will be sure to keep everyone posted on how things are going. Enjoy the photos and the video!

Back to the 1969 Chevrolet C10

Here are some of the pictures that we took while we were cleaning up the interior of the '69 C10. The truck had been sitting on the edge of a field for a few years and the mice and other varmints had made a pretty safe haven for themselves in the interior. The bench seat was gone, and a single seat from an early '70s Camaro was just sitting in the cockpit area. We took a vacuum to the whole thing and ripped out what was left of the original carpeting. Unfortunately, all of the wiring was useless as well as the duct hoses for the heater. We do enjoy the challenge though.

After we cleaned up all of the mess, we stripped the interior, especially the floorboards to make sure that we uncovered any problem areas that may be weakened by rust. We were fortunate to only find a dime sized hole in the passenger area that was quickly fixed with the welder and some scrap metal. After that repair, we proceeded to coat the entire floor pan area of the cab with POR-15. I love this stuff. Not only does it look good when you apply it, but it is supposed to prevent rust for the life of the product.

I ordered a new carpet kit from LMCTruck and also ordered a pair of the kickpanels with the stereo speakers in it. A carpet kit to cover the fuel tank was also installed. In the photos you will notice one seat that we have temporarily put in the cab. It is from a 2003 Ford F-150 and would've been a great addition to the cab, but it just sits a wee bit too high. We are looking for some different seats that will sit a little lower and allow us bigger fellas to have some head room. I will upload some more pictures as soon as we find some suitable replacements.

Time to switch projects.....what?!

>We took a break from the poor ol' '69 and went to work on the 1964 El Camino. Travis wanted a fresh engine and cam to be put into this girl, so away we went.  Did I also mention that Travis didn't like the white and primer paint scheme on the '64?  "Hey why don't we test it out with the paint that we had purchased for the '69?"  Sure, Travis...go ahead.  At least the Camino is one color and we were both happy with the color we had picked out for the truck. 

Did we sand down the El Camino to get it ready for paint?.....Nope!  Are we going to repaint it in the future....Yep!  However, Travis believes that with the new engine and performance of small block 400 that we installed, coupled with the Muncie 4 speed manual tranny, no one will even tell when he flies on by.  Uh huh......good thinking, partner.  I am sure they will only notice the long arm of the law trying to catch that shiny silver El Camino!  She is fun to drive though!  Wow!

This Camino has quite a story behind it, one that I will work with Travis on and get posted soon. This 1964 El Camino has been in Travis' family since it was brand new off the showroom floor. The '64 was passed from Travis' grandfather to his father down to Travis. What a ride! I will be posting some more shots of this beauty and some work that will be done to get her back into shape soon. Hope you enjoy the pics.

The engine is in!

Well, here is the engine. We had a 350 that was in need of some work, so we turned that mild, tired, worn-out 350 into a 383 stroker with a whole lot of shiny stuff! I would love to go into detail into what all is included, but Travis is the one who put it all together. I vaguely recall the terms "flat-topped pistons", "aggressive cam", "premium gas only because of compression", etc. What I do know is it looks nice and my wallet is a whole lot thinner! Travis does the ordering and yep, you guessed it.....I do the paying. Damn that guy! Thank goodness I have an understanding wife ;)

Travis did the welding on the doors.  I can't believe how many holes were in the door from various types of mirrors that have been in place on this old girl!  I think we counted 26 holes on each door....Sheesh!  Anyway, we had the grinder out and tried to smooth out the welds as best we could.  Still needs some work, but it will come.  We have our motivational ups and downs and our dream of turning this truck into a road worthy street machine in a few months has turned into maybe a year....or two.

Slowly but surely...

Much better than the grease encrusted chassis we started with.  We have coated the entire frame with POR-15 Chassis Black.  Hopefully we won't have any rust issues.....ever!  I kind of like the look of the cleaned up all black frame.  The brake lines haven't been replaced yet, neither have the lowered front and rear springs.  We are going to drop this truck a few inches to give it a meaner stance and are also hoping to lock up the rear differential.  Look out it is finally starting to take some kind of shape.....sort of.