Team Chevelle banner

Paulie's 69 El Camino build

56K views 466 replies 26 participants last post by  BigBlockPaulie 
#1 ·
Hi I'm Paul Sochocki and have a 69 El Camino I'm building-up from a rolling chassis. I started with it that way to have less in the way knowing most of it would be canned anyways.

It was a typical eBay vehicle that looked okay until you opened it up and strip it down. Thankfully it was a Texas car and had good metal. It still needed floors but was sound and had a straight frame. Pretty isn't a word that came to my wifes mind.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2618/4125871782_0af479ec31_m.jpg
 
#2 ·
As I stripped it, the floor looked pretty bondo'd up and taking a wire wheel to it showed the hack-job somebody did to make it look okay for sale.

Sheet metal screws and bondo; yup...
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2571/4126058988_a6beaf4073_m.jpg

At least the replacement panel that was screwed on over the swiss cheese floor was full size. Once I popped the replacement panels out I bought a harbor freight sand blaster and went to town on the interior and some of the bed. I converted it to run soda and did the sheet metal.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2660/4126002680_6705e084f8_m.jpg

I prepped both to leave a half inch around the panels, threw some sand bags on it and welded it down. I sealed the floor with epoxy primer.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2763/4126316250_d2fee95106_m.jpg :thumbsup:
 
#3 ·
This is a fast forward posting to save alot of the boring months.

With the body stripped and epoxied, I focused on the drivetrain. This El Camino will look stock but underneath things are quite different. I made some calls to different frame shops and the prices where insane so I picked C.A. Chassisworks to get the rear frame from and took the plunge.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2764/4430400250_1daee5d6e5_m.jpg

I went with there four inch frame because of it being technically a truck with a bed. (but would never refer to it as one) I didn't want twisting with the lighter race 2"X3" frame. The weight in back was okay. The next choice was do I run a ladder bar or a 4 link set-up. The Pro Street Eliminator 4 link was made for the lighter frame so I had to mix and match the front brackets. I still wasn't sure I could do this even with the parts in front of me, but with a lot of prayers for wisdom and a stack of car books I took it on in my single stall garage.
 
#5 ·
I hope that maybe these posts might help somebody read and learn and be encouraged what can be done with meager means. I had a battle plan before I started but the details of how and when I could come up with enough to get to the next step has taken a lot of time; (and overtime $$).

Away with that O.E. frame !
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4068/5121534431_79022d5b19_m.jpg

Now that there is no going back I cut out the frame and lines. With that out of the way, I went to work on the new frame, my garage floor is good but not perfectly level so I lugged a spare 3/8" inch steel plate from a printing press home as a welding table for the frame.
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4049/4609895213_9ef274385a_m.jpg
Sorry the pictures are small thats how they load... Go to my flicker build page link for larger shots.:):)

I had to plot the car measurements to the floor with a plumb bob so I could find the center and work from there. The new frame came out great.

I bought a Dana 60 and stripped down.
http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1285/4704200623_889d36fa7a_m.jpg
 
#6 ·
The rear; I cut off the ends and realized how much thicker the tubes are on that beast. I bolted the 4 link brackets together and ground out there hole to go over the larger Dana tubes. At this point, getting in touch with the rear-end shop about narrowing, I had to have the rims, tires and brakes in hand to get the right measurements before they would start. Saving for that was not planned right then, so I got to wait more:hurray:
 
#7 ·
I had all the tire and rim measurements picked out before so I could weld-up the new frame, but had to get them. The "If bigger is better" kicked in and ended up with 18" wide Mickeys and now 15X14" rims.
So much for sticking to build plans:thumbsup:
http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1183/5100192509_016694b1e5_m.jpg

Now I get to cut up my new "really proud of" frame to fit these bigger rubbers underneath:noway:

With all parts and measurements in hand, I loaded my boxes and rear housing to run over to the rear-end shop. They said two weeks before they could get to it so I'd get to chill and get some breather time.

Two months later I was so glad to get er home.http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5032/5865075056_cfd4c5b26e_m.jpg
 
#13 ·
Later I framed-up the bed with 1"x3" to reconstruct the missing bed. Still have to find somebody local to roll me some tubs out of 16 or at least 18 gauge. The store tubs are bendable with your fingers not to mention rocks flipping up, not good, maybe in a trunk they have there place.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6168/6200828647_4ed2da3d43_m.jpg
 
#14 ·
I bought a 4L80 out of a truck to build up, but by the time everything was added up with rebuild, converter, PCM, shifter and transbrake it was really expensive and realizing pretty boring to drive, I shifted over to something manual. Just about the time I learned about the T-56 out of camaros I started looking at a Magnum for that 700hp rating. Then found Quick Time makes a mechanical linkage bell for it now.:beers:

Newest piece is the T-56 Magnum and Quick Time bell.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6052/6868354460_7131f75727_m.jpg

I had to grind some off a boss of the t-56 front area for it to seat; in case somebody does this too. Check at the eight o'clock postion, it will rock at the 10 and 4 o'clock. Dremel the top edge until a slip of paper is tight all the way around the bell mounting ring. The Magnum is a close ratio #11009 and the bell is #6023P Racemart has the bell, I got the T-56 and bell locally at a Tremec distr. race shop that deals with Ferds. I actually had to guide him with GM parts cause they deal in Ferds. We both are learning as we go.

I still have a flexplate on the motor but can bolt them together and see how things fit.

Turns out they won't go in the car together. My valve covers hit the firewall before the kick-out oil pan clears the frame. The motor has to go in pretty flat.
 
#15 ·
Guess I haven't said anything on the engine. I bought a 454 4 bolt block and had the shop mag it, square deck it, hone the mains, and bored it .060 over and hone it with plates to the pistons, the crank is a Eagle 4340 4.25" stroker. The rods are Manley 4340 H-rods. The pistons are SRP 23mm dome. Rings are Total Seal. RollMaster billet chain, SFI balancer. ARP studs in the caps and heads. CompCams cut me a billet 'blower' cam. A mechanical roller with 254/262 and 628/631 lift, 114 spread for nitrous. Dart single plain, Mighty Demon annular 850. MSD pro billet dist. The heads are 781 iron ovals they bowl worked using 2.19 1.88 REV valves. The heads are for now and sorting out the car N.A. AFR Heads suggested their 315 magnums; that is what I'll shoot for later. But the heads have the best Comp has; everything is comp. pro stuff. Actually, just the block and heads are GM. The GM block is the only weak link that concerns me holding up okay. ENuff said; it's nice.;)
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2539/4126402332_93de0ef48e_m.jpg
 
#18 ·
Thanks Steve, I'll try. I like the big rubber look too. I'm limited to bias ply with these rears; kinda kicking myself now. I had planned on the S/R Sportsman Radials, should have stuck with radials but I wanted max traction, but didn't realize how few bias tires there are left. I don't like the skinnies up front. I'm redoing the front end later, might do some Touring.
 
#20 ·
I was reading a chassis book on how to set-up your driveline phasing and remembered back when I was transfering my measurements of the car to the floor with a string bob/plumb to figure out my new rear frame and rear-end locations, I was wishing there was a laser tool like those spinning laser levels you see now, that would help, rather than remeasuring to see if I was straight or square. Now that I'm ready to weld-up a Art Morrison tube crossmember for the transmission, I gotta go through that again. Then I looked for some kind of laser pointer online and couldn't find much shy of a grand. I knew what I wanted to do so I fumbled my way through tonight and made some pointers I can use on the yokes. Waste two mintues and see the video on U tube.

http://youtu.be/RBYaAkQMSE0

Maybe they sell something but I couldn't find it. I still have to use the magnetic angle finder to get degree measurements for one plane but front to back I can use these pointers on the second plane so they are phased.:confused: You open a panadora's box when you change everything.
 
#21 ·
This weekend I worked on the transmission cross-member. The stock one doesn't work with a T-56 without modifying it and it's bulky. I was looking at the X-Factor cross-members American Powertrain had for a Camaro and emailed them last year when they would do one for a Chevelle and they said it was not ready. I looked again and they got some thing I could make myself instead of that nice aluminum one for the other cars. G-force is nice but too Heavy. Then I found Art Morrison had a heavy wall tube C-member with exhaust rise and weldable. That was it. 80 bucks too.

I have the trans in position and I'm holding up this long c-member up against the frame and holding the bracket against the mount; fine. Weld it up and go back under to see how much of the ends I have to cut off for it to fit up into the frame and realize once it's up level the mounts to high. #*! -gotta cut the mount off, and flip it to the bottom. Idiot ! Ha, Learn from my mistake. I used Energy Suspension engine/trans mounts, the trany mount for me was visible about 1/8" below the frame viewed frame to frame. It comes with brackets for each side to unbolt the C-member easily.
[URL="http://
[/URL]
 
#23 ·
Ha Ha Ken, that's so true. I guess if we knew it all, it'd be kinda boring. I'm trying today to get the engine/trans lined up front to back so I can get my side to side position of this cross member. String bobbing the car again to the floor to find center, then I can see how much the engine is off-center, to the side.
 
#26 ·
Nice build thread, it's gonna be a handful.
 
Top