The "66 El Camino that I finally own" Thread
Discussion
Unbelievably, it is another two years since the engine in the Elk last ran (after a bit of a battle it has to be said, a couple of pages back) so thought it was time to see if it still works..
First though, I needed to finish plumbing the new radiator in, namely the trans cooler section. Unfortunately I cocked up on ordering the new unions somehow and they turned out to be too large, so they were filed in one of my many "may come in useful" boxes and I had another go at ordering, successfully second time around.
Made up the pipes to join to the flexible hoses
Threaded them into the rad, tightened up fairly gently as I didn't want to strip the aluminium thread, but felt as though the end of the copper had probably compressed slightly, so hoped for a good seal.
Added a little fuel to the carb as it was bone dry and tried to start. Second time she fired and ran cleanly straight away. Got out to check for leaks and immediately jumped back in and turned off - petrol everywhere from the fuel pump. Also some small drips from the trans cooler unions
Fortunately I had ordered a fuel pump after running last time, as it was dripping a little back then.
Dug out the new pump and removed the old pump, easy two bolts and two jubilee clips. Removed the threaded union from the old pump to transfer to the new one, hmmm...
That's not perspective, the thread on the new pump is quite a bit bigger than the old one.
Then it struck me - it looked about the same size as the unions I had consigned to the "may come in useful" box...
Perfect!
Buoyed by my good fortune, I fitted the fuel pump, and put an eighth of a turn on the two trans cooler unions
Re-started and checked for leaks. Fuel
Trans-cooler, still a little weeping but better.
At this point, I really should have removed the cooler unions and checked the mating face of the pipe ends for burrs etc., stopping them sealing.
What I did instead, was put another eighth of a turn on each of them, still really very little torque as I was only using a short, open-ended spanner.
However I was rewarded with the sickening loosening feel of a thread going past that point of no return!
My own fault and I suppose the risk you take buying cheap Chinese goods is that the material quality may not be great. Certainly I wouldn't have expected the thread to strip given the torque I was applying, but hey-ho.
Options
- remove rad and try to re-thread it, no guarantee of success or clearing it of metal filings completely afterwards
- remove rad, bin it and buy better quality
- fit external trans cooler
Went with option three as a small Mishimoto is only £36 delivered and will do the job fine, there's plenty of room to fit it and it has the benefit that if the rest of the radiator turns out to be junk, at least there is no risk of ruining the transmission with coolant.
How the day ended up
At least I got the engine running (and running well it has to be said) with no leaks, and I'll plumb in the Mishimoto when it arrives.
Ran it up to temperature without issue and was able to check out the interior heating / ventilation and fan operation with heat for the first time since putting all the dash back - all seems well, so a mixed bag update but I'll call it a
overall - just!!
First though, I needed to finish plumbing the new radiator in, namely the trans cooler section. Unfortunately I cocked up on ordering the new unions somehow and they turned out to be too large, so they were filed in one of my many "may come in useful" boxes and I had another go at ordering, successfully second time around.
Made up the pipes to join to the flexible hoses
Threaded them into the rad, tightened up fairly gently as I didn't want to strip the aluminium thread, but felt as though the end of the copper had probably compressed slightly, so hoped for a good seal.
Added a little fuel to the carb as it was bone dry and tried to start. Second time she fired and ran cleanly straight away. Got out to check for leaks and immediately jumped back in and turned off - petrol everywhere from the fuel pump. Also some small drips from the trans cooler unions
Fortunately I had ordered a fuel pump after running last time, as it was dripping a little back then.
Dug out the new pump and removed the old pump, easy two bolts and two jubilee clips. Removed the threaded union from the old pump to transfer to the new one, hmmm...
That's not perspective, the thread on the new pump is quite a bit bigger than the old one.
Then it struck me - it looked about the same size as the unions I had consigned to the "may come in useful" box...
Perfect!
Buoyed by my good fortune, I fitted the fuel pump, and put an eighth of a turn on the two trans cooler unions
Re-started and checked for leaks. Fuel
Trans-cooler, still a little weeping but better.At this point, I really should have removed the cooler unions and checked the mating face of the pipe ends for burrs etc., stopping them sealing.
What I did instead, was put another eighth of a turn on each of them, still really very little torque as I was only using a short, open-ended spanner.
However I was rewarded with the sickening loosening feel of a thread going past that point of no return!
My own fault and I suppose the risk you take buying cheap Chinese goods is that the material quality may not be great. Certainly I wouldn't have expected the thread to strip given the torque I was applying, but hey-ho.
Options
- remove rad and try to re-thread it, no guarantee of success or clearing it of metal filings completely afterwards
- remove rad, bin it and buy better quality
- fit external trans cooler
Went with option three as a small Mishimoto is only £36 delivered and will do the job fine, there's plenty of room to fit it and it has the benefit that if the rest of the radiator turns out to be junk, at least there is no risk of ruining the transmission with coolant.
How the day ended up
At least I got the engine running (and running well it has to be said) with no leaks, and I'll plumb in the Mishimoto when it arrives.
Ran it up to temperature without issue and was able to check out the interior heating / ventilation and fan operation with heat for the first time since putting all the dash back - all seems well, so a mixed bag update but I'll call it a
overall - just!!Thought I'd better bring this up to date after something of an absence!
Despite many hours wet sanding and buffing, I was never really happy with the paint finish I achieved on the roof, despite getting it to a standard that seemed to impress casual observers.
The thought of re-doing it didn't really appeal, and the prospect of doing that and then starting to prep the rest of the body, let alone paint it, just felt like an unending chore. Rather than do something about it, I stayed away from the garage, generally procrastinated and found other more pressing things to do, like collecting several expensive RC cars!
Finally, I was forced into action towards the end of last year when I discovered that my parents' garage, in which my '67 Camaro was stored long term, had become quite damp and as a result it was suffering badly. A plan was thus formulated.
Part 1 - re-assemble the Elk as-is, fit windscreen and make basically weatherproof and roadworthy. Move it to my barn storage, drive it a bit when the weather allows and see whether I rediscover any love for it.
Then based on that, make a decision whether to sell as running project needing paint, or get it professionally sprayed and keep / use / enjoy.
Part 2 - move Camaro to my garage, stabilize its condition, do welding, start LS conversion. DON'T attempt to paint it myself beyond primer! Progress on this can be viewed here
So to the Elk - fortunately I had already done much of the work needed to make it drivable - I think had the interior still been fully stripped out, I would have been very close to throwing it on eBay as-is and taking a hit just to get shot.
Fitting the screen was the biggest challenge, never having done a bonded screen before. Watched many videos first and then went for it! Due to the width of the car, I needed the assistance of Mrs 99t to help drop it into position, otherwise it was a straightforward process. I didn't refit the trim around the screen at this stage since it is very hard to fit without damaging the paint, plus I'm conscious that I may be stripping all the trim again fairly soon if I send it off for a respray later this year.
The bonnet was easy to refit with the help of a strapping stepson, and all the other little bits that had been removed or disconnected took a while but were otherwise without issue.
I taxed and insured the car, checked the levels and brakes, and took the Elk for its first drive since December 2016!
Amazingly I only discovered three small issues - the brakes are incredibly grabby when cold (to be fair, they were exactly like that when I first got the car, I have new shoes to go on the front, must fit them), secondly there is a small weep from the PS pump and thirdly the radiator fan was catching on its shroud under heavy load.
Removed the shroud to elongate the holes, allowing it to be repositioned in relation to the aftermarket radiator.
Thought I'd make a previous repair to the shroud less hazardous whilst it was off
Hardly perfection, but refitted with better clearance and at least now I shouldn't rip my hands on the repairs and catch Tetanus!
After that it had a brief chance to rest in the barn. And yes, I should have covered the bonnet and bumper better whilst they were stored in the garage as they are covered in 2k paint mist!
A few days later, I used it to help a friend dispose of a large "American" style fridge freezer, which fitted snugly between the wheel arches in the bed.
Air shocks pumped up to max on the rear, it barely noticed the weight.
It was a decent 50 mile round trip doing so and pleasingly it ran and drove very nicely with no problems at all
Despite many hours wet sanding and buffing, I was never really happy with the paint finish I achieved on the roof, despite getting it to a standard that seemed to impress casual observers.
The thought of re-doing it didn't really appeal, and the prospect of doing that and then starting to prep the rest of the body, let alone paint it, just felt like an unending chore. Rather than do something about it, I stayed away from the garage, generally procrastinated and found other more pressing things to do, like collecting several expensive RC cars!
Finally, I was forced into action towards the end of last year when I discovered that my parents' garage, in which my '67 Camaro was stored long term, had become quite damp and as a result it was suffering badly. A plan was thus formulated.
Part 1 - re-assemble the Elk as-is, fit windscreen and make basically weatherproof and roadworthy. Move it to my barn storage, drive it a bit when the weather allows and see whether I rediscover any love for it.
Then based on that, make a decision whether to sell as running project needing paint, or get it professionally sprayed and keep / use / enjoy.
Part 2 - move Camaro to my garage, stabilize its condition, do welding, start LS conversion. DON'T attempt to paint it myself beyond primer! Progress on this can be viewed here
So to the Elk - fortunately I had already done much of the work needed to make it drivable - I think had the interior still been fully stripped out, I would have been very close to throwing it on eBay as-is and taking a hit just to get shot.
Fitting the screen was the biggest challenge, never having done a bonded screen before. Watched many videos first and then went for it! Due to the width of the car, I needed the assistance of Mrs 99t to help drop it into position, otherwise it was a straightforward process. I didn't refit the trim around the screen at this stage since it is very hard to fit without damaging the paint, plus I'm conscious that I may be stripping all the trim again fairly soon if I send it off for a respray later this year.
The bonnet was easy to refit with the help of a strapping stepson, and all the other little bits that had been removed or disconnected took a while but were otherwise without issue.
I taxed and insured the car, checked the levels and brakes, and took the Elk for its first drive since December 2016!
Amazingly I only discovered three small issues - the brakes are incredibly grabby when cold (to be fair, they were exactly like that when I first got the car, I have new shoes to go on the front, must fit them), secondly there is a small weep from the PS pump and thirdly the radiator fan was catching on its shroud under heavy load.
Removed the shroud to elongate the holes, allowing it to be repositioned in relation to the aftermarket radiator.
Thought I'd make a previous repair to the shroud less hazardous whilst it was off
Hardly perfection, but refitted with better clearance and at least now I shouldn't rip my hands on the repairs and catch Tetanus!
After that it had a brief chance to rest in the barn. And yes, I should have covered the bonnet and bumper better whilst they were stored in the garage as they are covered in 2k paint mist!
A few days later, I used it to help a friend dispose of a large "American" style fridge freezer, which fitted snugly between the wheel arches in the bed.
Air shocks pumped up to max on the rear, it barely noticed the weight.
It was a decent 50 mile round trip doing so and pleasingly it ran and drove very nicely with no problems at all
Thanks for the update. What's that fan shroud made of? Plastic? Fibreglass? I think it'd have been tempted to repair if with a sheet of fibreglass fabric and some thin epoxy rather than having bits of wire and cable ties holding it together. It might also look neater and would stop the crack progressing.
some bloke said:
Sorry about the threadjack - nice mustang, I like those early notchbacks. I like the colour too. What are the plans?
Sorry OP! I love your El Camino was just joining the '66 gang.. Colour is actually a '67 colour - Lime Gold. I like it too..
Plans are to go through it and sort the issues the PO has created (reverse lights wired into the washer jets for example, or a nice new fuel hard line installed and badly kinked in the process. align the panels properly etc), mechanically sort it and turn it into a great driving fun car, then move it on I think.. I want to get into a '69/70 Fastback.
I should start a build thread for it..
Slowly working through the inevitable niggles arising after a long lay up, plus some that were already there and haven't improved with age...
In the latter category - super sharp brakes when cold, nearside front especially. So much so that any pedal application, no matter how gentle, resulted in full braking / a locked wheel on that corner depending on speed and surface. Certainly made maneuvering it between other vehicles getting it in and out of the barn an interesting exercise!
Strangely it always improved after the initial few (embarrassing) nose dive applications of the brakes.
Hoping new shoes would resolve it, I pulled the front wheels and drums, and took plenty of pictures of the location and colours of the various springs and linkages.
Pleased to see that both wheel cylinders were operational and leak free
Issue fairly obvious upon stripping down, the lining was well separated from the backing and presumably fully applying itself to the drum upon contact. No idea why it would improve with a little warmth in the brakes though...?
Cleaned the adjusters and fitted the new shoes, managed to get all the springs back eventually, some were a bit of a battle. Tweaked the adjusters until the drums just rotated freely over the new shoes.
Completely forgot to take any pictures until I'd put the wheels back on!
A test drive proved that the excess sharpness in the brakes had gone and after a few decent applications to settle the adjusters equally, the brakes pull her up strong and straight
In the latter category - super sharp brakes when cold, nearside front especially. So much so that any pedal application, no matter how gentle, resulted in full braking / a locked wheel on that corner depending on speed and surface. Certainly made maneuvering it between other vehicles getting it in and out of the barn an interesting exercise!
Strangely it always improved after the initial few (embarrassing) nose dive applications of the brakes.
Hoping new shoes would resolve it, I pulled the front wheels and drums, and took plenty of pictures of the location and colours of the various springs and linkages.
Pleased to see that both wheel cylinders were operational and leak free
Issue fairly obvious upon stripping down, the lining was well separated from the backing and presumably fully applying itself to the drum upon contact. No idea why it would improve with a little warmth in the brakes though...?
Cleaned the adjusters and fitted the new shoes, managed to get all the springs back eventually, some were a bit of a battle. Tweaked the adjusters until the drums just rotated freely over the new shoes.
Completely forgot to take any pictures until I'd put the wheels back on!
A test drive proved that the excess sharpness in the brakes had gone and after a few decent applications to settle the adjusters equally, the brakes pull her up strong and straight
Edited by 99t on Wednesday 26th July 14:26
A sad farewell to the El Camino yesterday - off to start a new life "down south".
Impending loss of storage and lack of time to do the bodywork justice were two key factors in the decision to sell. In addition, having used my C10 a few times recently to shift pretty heavy loads, the Elk's relative lack of payload was probably the deciding factor.
I will miss the way it sounds and drives, plus simply no longer having an El Camino in my life.
The funds will be poured into my Camaro build, so that is at least some consolation.
Impending loss of storage and lack of time to do the bodywork justice were two key factors in the decision to sell. In addition, having used my C10 a few times recently to shift pretty heavy loads, the Elk's relative lack of payload was probably the deciding factor.
I will miss the way it sounds and drives, plus simply no longer having an El Camino in my life.
The funds will be poured into my Camaro build, so that is at least some consolation.
Jhonno said:
Sad.. Looks like it was collected on a retro transporter though!
It was indeed - this wonderful beastie, a '58 I believe
In a "small world" moment, it turned out the owner of the transporter had also purchased it from Jim at Rock and Roll Motors, the very same place that the Elk came from!!
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