Thinking Of Doing A Throwback To The 70's Theme With The El Camino...
Back in Black said
Nov 13, 2013
...for next year only. A little background. An old car fanatic buddy of mine in Duluth used to run this annual event called The Cruise For Cancer. It's along story how all this came about but the gist of it was for a small entry fee, you would get a T-shirt, sticker, and then cruise around Duluth for the day and raise hell. All the collected monies from the car folk and businesses that sponsored the event went to a juvenile cancer patient in Duluth. It got to be to big and too much stress for he and his family to handle so the last one was in 2003. After a 10 year hiatus and a heavy guilt trip laid on him by his oldest daughter, he revived it this past September and intends to continue next year. Judy and I went with the Viper. It's a great time and I highly encourage you to go up and participate. Anyways, this event always brings out the old car nuts in the area and this year was no different although there are not as many as there used to be. By the end of the day, I was really regretting not taking the El Camino instead. Several people asked me about it. It was originally owned by a, let's say, colorful business man up there and the car was well known.
Anyways, my old friend John Peterson was on the cruise. I haven't seen him in 10 years. He is the guy I credit for planting the hot rod bug in me after one hair raising ride in his '68 Chevelle back in the summer of '81. At one point he asked me if I ever considered turning it back into what it was in the early 70's. I told him I was not at all interested in doing something like that. Well, fast forward to now and I'm actually considering it. What put this all into motion was a guy contacting me through Cardomain.com, where I have my build of the El Camino and it's history chronicled, asking me if I wanted to sell some of the performance parts on the car. He was mainly interested in the front suspension components. I have been wanting to make a change anyway so I sold him everything except the brakes.
The days of corner carving with this thing are over so I've been tossing around different ideas on what to do with the car. I haven't made up my mind but I was thinking in the interim, I would do a throwback/tribute/retro type theme with the car for next year only. I would make it look like it did in the early 70's when the original owner was bracket racing it. Call it a 40 year tribute. It will be fairly easy to do. The hardest part will probably be replicating Schmuck's Truck graphics in vinyl. I think it would be kind of fun. The trend these days is to modernize old muscle cars. I'm going to do just the opposite. I'll take it to Car Craft, Hastings, the Cruise For Cancer in Duluth, and even a drag strip or two.
Here's what it would look like. I'll even stick the lower side moldings back on.
Tell me what you think. Dorkey idea or should I do it?
Lost in the 60s said
Nov 13, 2013
Go for it !!!!!!!!!! I like those aluminum slot wheels.
When you mentioned a colorful guy in Duluth, I thought it might be Jeeno Pauluchi.
Back in Black said
Nov 13, 2013
Not quite that colorful but I wouldn't be surprised if they knew each other well.
Derek69SS said
Nov 13, 2013
Who's out of control? :p
I like the idea... kind of sad that I won't get a chance to chase it around BIR, though.
Back in Black said
Nov 13, 2013
Derek69SS wrote:
... kind of sad that I won't get a chance to chase it around BIR, though.
You had plenty of chances!
Lost in the 60s said
Nov 13, 2013
Back in Black wrote:
Derek69SS wrote:
... kind of sad that I won't get a chance to chase it around BIR, though.
You had plenty of chances!
He can chase the Viper....
Scott Parkhurst said
Nov 16, 2013
Needs side pipes...but I dig it!
SShink said
Nov 16, 2013
Keith, what were your E.T.'s back in the day with that setup?
Back in Black said
Nov 17, 2013
SShink wrote:
Keith, what were your E.T.'s back in the day with that setup?
I never raced the car when it looked like that Stan. I have no idea what kind of times Sonny and his son ran back then but I was told the car was mostly stock except for rear gears and headers. I ran 11.85@118 in Oct. '06 at Rock Falls the way it sits now. The second owner (the guy with his name on the doors) ran a best of 11.36@116 in it with a L88 427, powerglide, slicks, etc. He ended up pulling the 427 out of the El Camino, had some speed shop work their magic on it, put it in a tube chassis '69 Camaro and went 9.90's. I still remember hearing him fire that thing up. It lit up the neighborhood. LOL
This is what it looked like when my Dad bought it in 1981. No engine or trans and the interior was totally gutted. I sat on an egg crate and steered while my Dad towed it home.
Back in Black said
Dec 3, 2013
Front suspension out and on it's way to California.
-- Edited by Back in Black on Tuesday 3rd of December 2013 11:35:57 PM
Lost in the 60s said
Dec 4, 2013
You gonna replace with tubulars or go back to stamped arms ??
-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Wednesday 4th of December 2013 06:58:56 AM
Back in Black said
Dec 4, 2013
Going with the original stamped pieces unless something else comes along.
Lost in the 60s said
Dec 4, 2013
After driving the car with the handling package, you may be disappointed going back to stock. I would throw a set of Global West or Speedtech uppers on to retain some of the handling you had....
dashboard said
Dec 4, 2013
Mitch raises a good point. Going all the way back to stock may be more retro than you want.
Back in Black said
Dec 4, 2013
I'll throw a really big sway bar on the front.
-- Edited by Back in Black on Wednesday 4th of December 2013 06:38:31 PM
...for next year only. A little background. An old car fanatic buddy of mine in Duluth used to run this annual event called The Cruise For Cancer. It's along story how all this came about but the gist of it was for a small entry fee, you would get a T-shirt, sticker, and then cruise around Duluth for the day and raise hell. All the collected monies from the car folk and businesses that sponsored the event went to a juvenile cancer patient in Duluth. It got to be to big and too much stress for he and his family to handle so the last one was in 2003. After a 10 year hiatus and a heavy guilt trip laid on him by his oldest daughter, he revived it this past September and intends to continue next year. Judy and I went with the Viper. It's a great time and I highly encourage you to go up and participate. Anyways, this event always brings out the old car nuts in the area and this year was no different although there are not as many as there used to be. By the end of the day, I was really regretting not taking the El Camino instead. Several people asked me about it. It was originally owned by a, let's say, colorful business man up there and the car was well known.
Anyways, my old friend John Peterson was on the cruise. I haven't seen him in 10 years. He is the guy I credit for planting the hot rod bug in me after one hair raising ride in his '68 Chevelle back in the summer of '81. At one point he asked me if I ever considered turning it back into what it was in the early 70's. I told him I was not at all interested in doing something like that. Well, fast forward to now and I'm actually considering it. What put this all into motion was a guy contacting me through Cardomain.com, where I have my build of the El Camino and it's history chronicled, asking me if I wanted to sell some of the performance parts on the car. He was mainly interested in the front suspension components. I have been wanting to make a change anyway so I sold him everything except the brakes.
The days of corner carving with this thing are over so I've been tossing around different ideas on what to do with the car. I haven't made up my mind but I was thinking in the interim, I would do a throwback/tribute/retro type theme with the car for next year only. I would make it look like it did in the early 70's when the original owner was bracket racing it. Call it a 40 year tribute. It will be fairly easy to do. The hardest part will probably be replicating Schmuck's Truck graphics in vinyl. I think it would be kind of fun. The trend these days is to modernize old muscle cars. I'm going to do just the opposite. I'll take it to Car Craft, Hastings, the Cruise For Cancer in Duluth, and even a drag strip or two.
Here's what it would look like. I'll even stick the lower side moldings back on.
Tell me what you think. Dorkey idea or should I do it?
When you mentioned a colorful guy in Duluth, I thought it might be Jeeno Pauluchi.
Not quite that colorful but I wouldn't be surprised if they knew each other well.
I like the idea... kind of sad that I won't get a chance to chase it around BIR, though.
You had plenty of chances!
He can chase the Viper....
Keith, what were your E.T.'s back in the day with that setup?
I never raced the car when it looked like that Stan. I have no idea what kind of times Sonny and his son ran back then but I was told the car was mostly stock except for rear gears and headers. I ran 11.85@118 in Oct. '06 at Rock Falls the way it sits now. The second owner (the guy with his name on the doors) ran a best of 11.36@116 in it with a L88 427, powerglide, slicks, etc. He ended up pulling the 427 out of the El Camino, had some speed shop work their magic on it, put it in a tube chassis '69 Camaro and went 9.90's. I still remember hearing him fire that thing up. It lit up the neighborhood. LOL
This is what it looked like when my Dad bought it in 1981. No engine or trans and the interior was totally gutted. I sat on an egg crate and steered while my Dad towed it home.
Front suspension out and on it's way to California.
-- Edited by Back in Black on Tuesday 3rd of December 2013 11:35:57 PM
You gonna replace with tubulars or go back to stamped arms ??
-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Wednesday 4th of December 2013 06:58:56 AM
After driving the car with the handling package, you may be disappointed going back to stock. I would throw a set of Global West or Speedtech uppers on to retain some of the handling you had....
I'll throw a really big sway bar on the front.
-- Edited by Back in Black on Wednesday 4th of December 2013 06:38:31 PM