My fire wall has been repainted however I want to replace the forty year old markings that where on it before repaint.
I have two questions. First, what would the production worker have used to mark it? Second, what would this marking mean to the next guy on the line? It is clearly the number 13.

dashboard wrote:

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My fire wall has been repainted however I want to replace the forty year old markings that where on it before repaint.
I have two questions. First, what would the production worker have used to mark it? Second, what would this marking mean to the next guy on the line? It is clearly the number 13.

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I bet it's the remnant of 43 to match your paint code. My '67 GTO has the paint and interior codes on the firewall. They used a grease type pencil at the factory. You should've asked Denny. They probably have them ... I didn't see your other post(s) about going up there until after the fact, but if you make another trip, let me know so I can order new carpet for the '66...

dashboard wrote:

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My fire wall has been repainted however I want to replace the forty year old markings that where on it before repaint.
I have two questions. First, what would the production worker have used to mark it? Second, what would this marking mean to the next guy on the line? It is clearly the number 13.

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 they sell some kind of crayon for this at the restoration sites.  Do a search for Quantum gas tanks,  not sure of the spelling.  On a 66 they sometimes indicated  the model number like 13817 and also the trans like M21, maybe  engine like L34 

I remember Brads car showing Z15 or Z25 on his firewall. Which is the code for SS equipment.

It’s looking more and more like the truck it once was. The more pieces go on the more complete it looks every time I see it. Sanding with 3000 grit is done and now they are finishing the buffing and polishing.

Tailgate trim is on however one piece needs to come back off as it’s installed (my fault) upside down. Door, fender and, hood alignment are as good or better then when it left Van Nuys back in October 1971.

Today I dropped off a load of parts that should keep Matt busy for the afternoon. Had to replace several pieces of chrome, Angie asked me “you are not going to put that scratched up old chrome on that new paint are you?”. Once the glass, chrome and trim are installed, we will come to a work stoppage as we wait on parts that are on back order. I’m waiting on the clips that hold the chrome below the back window. We need to have that piece before the bed liner is sprayed so we can test fit it.

Matt’s a perfectionist, as I said he owns a Chevelle and has an AMX that I really want to see this summer. When we run out of parts, Matt has another project to work on, a 1970 Dodge.

You certainly made the right call going back to the stock green color. I think it looks great without the stripes.

Quick question Kevin. What paint code did he use for that rear black color? Is it a base coat/clear coat finish in that area or just something like a straight semi gloss black color?

John D wrote:

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I could've sworn I labeled those tailgate pieces "upper" & "lower", and put up ^^ arrows on them...

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John, you marked the clips for the trim pieces, but these trim pieces are new. I’m not real happy with the fit of the new ones so I’m going to work on the old ones and see if I can get them good enough to install.  

Chris R wrote:

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You certainly made the right call going back to the stock green color. I think it looks great without the stripes.

Quick question Kevin. What paint code did he use for that rear black color? Is it a base coat/clear coat finish in that area or just something like a straight semi gloss black color?

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 Chris, It is a mix of gloss and flat 60/40 to make simi-gloss. Three coats no clear. 

dashboard wrote:

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John D wrote:

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I could've sworn I labeled those tailgate pieces "upper" & "lower", and put up ^^ arrows on them...

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John, you marked the clips for the trim pieces, but these trim pieces are new. I’m not real happy with the fit of the new ones so I’m going to work on the old ones and see if I can get them good enough to install.  

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I have yet to see repro trim that meets the standard of original. JR Custom Plating in Forest Lake can restore your originals to look like new. Not cheap but the best option for the level of your restoration. I have a few pieces of repro trim on both the '66 Chevelle and '67 Camaro and it is really cheesy too.

  Surprisingly most of the aftermarket stuff I’ve picked up has worked well. The inner fenders bolted right in, window trim needed just a little tweaking but looks good.  Bed corners fit ok, but then the originals never fit too well.

  I’ve seen J&Rs work and it is excellent, it is however prohibitively expensive, at least for my budget.  If I used them I would have had to cut the budget somewhere else.  I did not want to cut paint work and I can’t cut engine work.

The windows are installed and the door seals are tight; has a real nice thump when you close the door. I finally remembered to get a pix of the wire loom shield in the door jam; it should work well for plans and additions.

Well so much for NOS stuff, I picked up a set of chrome bed pieces, the long ones on the bed, last year from Brad. We opened up the thirty-five year old package today; one is almost an inch shorter then the other. One measures 58 5/8” and the other 57 11/16” the original moldings that came off the truck measured 58 3/8“. I called Denney at Auto City and had him measure one he had in stock; it measured 58 3/8”.

Going to be making another trip to Auto City tomorrow if any south-side guys need anything.

I talked to Craig last week and he needed some rollers for one of his manual window regulators. Ill get in touch with him tonight and pass on the info that your making another run to ACC.

Gotta say... I really like the El Camino raised fender lips better than the coupe's flat ones.  I'd even consider leaving off the chrome fender trim since they look so good.    Did it come with the chrome trim originally?

The coupe's always look so unfinished to me without the chrome trim without a raised fender lip.  Looks o.k. on the Heavy Chevy model without the trim though since it's supposed to be a stripped down model (rubber floor mats, painted drip rails, bench seat, etc.) IMO. 

Stan,

The El Camino came in two basic models, Base and Custom. The Custom up grade was required for the SS package and included, wheel well moldings as well as other chrome trim (really stainless), carpeting, vinyl seats, headliner upgrade and mirrors.

Base model was $2880.70
Custom model was $2959.70

Back in the day the $79.00 difference was a lot of money. I don’t think the wheel wells on the Elky changed at all from 68 through 72. With the long uninterrupted body lines aft of the doors it really needs the wheel well trim to help break it up, I think.

Jim,

Next time you are in the cities let me know we can do lunch and take a look see.

Thanks again Kevin. Here ya go.

  Sprayed in the bed liner today; Jason called this morning and said they where ready to spray the bed liner and wanted me to approve the color match. Stopped back latter in the day to check it out and get some pixs; I like it. A toned down, lighter texture than you would use in a real working pickup, but never the less very durable.

  It looks good, more of a semi-gloss but the chrome acts as a divider or brake in the body line; reminds me of the old sprayed on vinyl tops.

  One more polish and buff, nine more pieces of chrome and it should be home (weather permitting) before the weekend. Then we start putting it back together.

The color matching bed liner is a nice touch. Now you can actually put stuff back there and not worry about it so much.

Kevin, gotta ask... do you even think about that 'other' muscle car in your garage anymore these days? 

Thats a Ford product. Dont encourage him.

  Wow, tough group. Mike, I cannot believe your beating on my ride.

   It is a very comfortable car on a long trip; trunk holds two suitcases a set of golf clubs and a cooler. We took it out to the Rocky Mountains and cruised from Glacier National Park to Yellowstone then stopped by Mt. Rushmore on the return leg. 

    Stan, I was really starting to enjoy all the space in the garage, room to do things, guess I have some ‘mind making’ up to do.

  John, the Elky will return Friday weather permitting, I dropped off the last parts today and they just needed to finish buffing.

-- Edited by dashboard on Wednesday 22nd of February 2012 09:11:25 PM

That one should be relegated to the "winter" muscle!  

Sorry Kevin I didn't mean to offend you with my winter "beater" quip.   Truth be told I would love to own any of the 3 retro musclecars.  Shannan prefers the Camaro then the Challenger.  Right now I would prefer the Boss 302 Mustang but any mustang after 1969 does nothing for Shannan.  From a driving and safety stand point I think that the modern muscle cars are so far ahead of the old ones that it's even hard to compare them.  If it wasn't for the emotional attachment and the "cool" factor I associate with my classics I would probably prefer driving a modern musclecar.  I'm afraid if there was one in my garage my classics would only be used to go to shows and that's only if I wasn't too busy driving the modern car to even get them completed to that point.    

  Mike, you’re right the new cars are far safer, much faster, have exceptional handling and you can stop them in a straight line or a turn. Best of all if they ever breakdown (mine has not) you simply call the 1-800 number.
 

  I think over the years I’ve developed a sort of love hate relationship with my Elky, every time I drive the Mustang it affects that relationship just a little, but the Mustang has never seen snow.

Kevin, somehow I think when you have the Elky back on the road, it won't be like a new muscle car, but will be close with the 5 speed, re-freshed engine, AC, etc.! 

Other than crash safety, there's nothing that Mustang can do that the El Camino couldn't also do with the right combination of bolt-on toys.

dashboard wrote:

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Last year I replaced the forward anti-sway bar, going from 7/8 to 1 ¼, installed stiffer shocks and a rear anti-sway bar. Wow, what a big difference, it no longer feels like a bus going around a corner.

However, it is not the world class-handling ride you have Derek. My pocket book is just not that deep.

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Once you recover from this years CAC, start saving your change in a jar everyday and next winter we'll throw a set of tubular arms and coil overs in the front and you'll be right on his bumper....

  Elky came home this morning; I was hoping for a little sunshine as I have yet to see it in the sunlight. I spent the day cleaning and painting small parts. Once I finish detailing the trim pieces the reassembly starts.

  Hopefully we can get started on the engine later next week, if CE can get the shop back in operation. If not, I may have to implement engine plan B, right now, I don’t have a plan B.

  Stan just for you, I had them paint the steering column.

Looks good Kevin!  

Thanks for sprucing up the column.  That would have stuck out with everything else all nice. 

If you are just changing the cam to a hydraulic roller, we can do that in a day at your place and get it back in the car. No need to break in a roller cam.

What kind of work are you planning to have done to the engine Kevin?

Page 1, Post #1

I should have asked. Are you getting any machine work done? I dont see a reason why you couldnt put in a new rear seal and a different cam at home.

  Chris, I want to upgrade to a newer style valve guides, some oil is getting past the current ones, then want it run on the dyno and tuned. Here is my research to date.

I guess I need to contact that new welder guy up on the north side.

 GM ZZ 502 hyd. roller camshaft:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12366543/

Correct GM valve springs:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12462970/

Timing chain set and cam retainer plate (again all GM parts):
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-12371053/

GM melodized distributor gear that you have to use w/the steel billet cam:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ACF-10456413/

A bronze tipped fuel pump pushrod due to the steel cam. Lifters and pushrods http://www.competitionproducts.com/Howards-Street-Retro-Fit-Hyd-Roller-Lifters-Chev-BB/productinfo/91167/

http://www.competitionproducts.com/Howards-Perf-Series-C1010-Pushrods-3_8-7640_8595/productinfo/95220/

If it comes down to it and time starts to get short I can assemble it in the garage.

The ZZ 502 cam and the timing chain set are NOT compatable with a Mark IV block. They are direct replacements for Gen V and VI engines. I know you have a newer LS6 engine but I don't know if it is still a Mark IV block or based on a Gen V. That is critical to getting the right parts. You can find a similar roller cam, lifter and spring set and double roller timing chain set in the aftermarket world for the Mark IV.

Scandia is a long drive from Eagan, but Aaron's Machine will do any necessary head work and set you up with the correct cam and components for what ever block/heads you have. I encourage you to give Aaron a call for advise/pricing. Once the engine is reassembled, maybe the dyno shop will be up and running again to tune it.

Phone:

(651) 433-9920

I totally forgot this all seemed to get started from the simple removal for making improvments to the engine.

The LS6's were the Mark IV design and were out of production as a crate motor long before the Mark V motors came out in the early 90's (1990 I believe). So really, there were no LS6 motors made in the Mark V design as LS6 motors have a fuel pump boss and Mark V and up does not. Ive also heard a lot of good things about Wheeler over the years as well.

  Like I said research to date, appreciate the suggestions. My engine will go to CE for a number of reasons. They have an excellent reputation, they have done work for other club members and they have all been satisfied, it in my back yard and because I shook Randy’s hand and said he would do the work.

  If it takes a little longer, I’m ok with that; it is not going anywhere soon. I’ll check on the 502 timing chain; that suggestion came from a New York engine builder that has converted several XAA LS6 engines to hydraulic roller cam set us.

  Chris what I want to achieve is a BB that has some Butt, but also has good street manners and will cruise at 1950 RPM with the air on.

O.K. Dashboard... cut loose with the update and pics.  We know you've been busy re-assembling since you've had the Elky back home for a few days now. 

Besides, I want to see some color in it other than all that green! 

Not much to report that you can see in photos. John (the wizard) D stopped by, and we installed 90% of the interior. Rewired the reverse lighting switch from the steering column to the RS 500 trany that has the rev light switch in the trany and installed the new brake booster.

Then we finished installing all exterior lighting and she’s as we say back on ‘ships power’ everything works including the heater/AC blower. Of all things the headlight buckets kicked my a$$, not only where they pita to install but who would have thought the one with the large ’L’ stamped on it really belonged on the right side.

Installed the wiper/washer assembly and then removed all the forward brake lines and port valve to clean up the frame for painting.

On the good news side, I drop the heads off tomorrow morning; CE will be doing the heads while I am doing the frame.

Awww - you're too kind.

The wiring "stuff" was a piece of cake, and I used to tear-down and re-assemble at least 4 car interiors daily (on an off-day).

The TOTALLY SCARY part was re-attaching the drip rail moldings! All of that gorgeous new paint only a "sproingggg" away from being wrecked. I appreciate your trust!

The headlight bucket thing was a matter of viewpoint... LH from the front, or from the driver's seat - who knew?

John D wrote:

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Awww - you're too kind.

The wiring "stuff" was a piece of cake, and I used to tear-down and re-assemble at least 4 car interiors daily (on an off-day).

The TOTALLY SCARY part was re-attaching the drip rail moldings! All of that gorgeous new paint only a "sproingggg" away from being wrecked. I appreciate your trust!

The headlight bucket thing was a matter of viewpoint... LH from the front, or from the driver's seat - who knew?

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Car is looking great again.

Maybe you had the bucket upside down and it's really a totally irrelevant 7...