Currently I’m restoring an El Camino -69. I want a car that performs well on the track and at the same time is nice when cruising. Now I'm searching for a good compromise.

To keep the weight low and in the right place I’m going to do the following:

Lt1 engine with 4l60e transmission (Maybe a ls1 with t56 in the future).
Front fenders and hood in glass fibre.
Bed floor pan in aluminum and fuel tank in plastic.
Battery moved behind the passenger side.
The complete “smugglers box” removed.
A lot of other things also removed.
Eventually front and rear bumpers in glass fibre.

To make the car perform well I’m thinking to add these following items:

Stage 2 plus kit from SC&C
Edelbrock upper rear arms
Polyurethane bushings to control arms
Springs, shocks and eventually sway bar/bars

I’ve been looking at a lot of different solutions on springs, shocks and sway bars. I’m afraid that the car will be “bumpy” and not comfortable when cruising if I buy the wrong stuff. Now to the questions:


For the shocks I want Bilstein or Hotchkis. I know that the Hotchkis is a revalved Bilstein. From what I’ve heard the Hotchkis is better for racing, but I don’t know. Do you guys think that Hotchkis shocks will make my car uncomfortable when cruising?
I’m thinking to lower the car a little bit and I have found two spring solutions that seem pretty common. One kit from Hotchkis and one from Eibach. Do you think that the spring rates on these kits are going to work well with my car? I have seen some adjuster kits you could add if the springs to short.
I have also looked at different sway bars and it’s seems hard to know which one that suits you. Any suggestions about swaybars front and rear and how thick they would be if needed would be welcomed.
I hope you understand my problem and can give my some suggestions on which parts I need. I appreciate all the help I can get.

I’m leaning towards bilstein shocks and eibach springs. Could that be a good combination? What anti-sway bars do you guys think is working well with this setup?

If you are planning on buying a Stage 2+ then I suggest buying a package from Mark. Her will run up your long long distance figuring out what is right for your car... better email lol. Seriously he can get you set up with a full kit, probably Hellwig bars, Spc springs and IDK for shock but as far as I know thats a great all around setup.

Currently I’m restoring an El Camino -69. I want a car that performs well on the track and at the same time is nice when cruising. Now I'm searching for a good compromise.


Lt1 engine with 4l60e transmission (Maybe a ls1 with t56 in the future).
Front fenders and hood in glass fibre.
Battery moved behind the passenger side.
The complete “smugglers box” removed.
A lot of other things also removed.

Stage 2 plus kit from SC&C
Edelbrock upper rear arms
Polyurethane bushings to control arms
Springs, shocks and eventually sway bar/bars

I’ve been looking at a lot of different solutions on springs, shocks and sway bars. I’m afraid that the car will be “bumpy” and not comfortable when cruising if I buy the wrong stuff. Now to the questions:


For the shocks I want Bilstein or Hotchkis. I know that the Hotchkis is a revalved Bilstein. From what I’ve heard the Hotchkis is better for racing, but I don’t know. Do you guys think that Hotchkis shocks will make my car uncomfortable when cruising?
I’m thinking to lower the car a little bit and I have found two spring solutions that seem pretty common. One kit from Hotchkis and one from Eibach. Do you think that the spring rates on these kits are going to work well with my car? I have seen some adjuster kits you could add if the springs to short.
I have also looked at different sway bars and it’s seems hard to know which one that suits you. Any suggestions about swaybars front and rear and how thick they would be if needed would be welcomed.
I hope you understand my problem and can give my some suggestions on which parts I need. I appreciate all the help I can get.

So are you building a car to go fast or cruise nice
I'm confused

It's a compromise. I want the car to perform pretty well on the track and at the same time be able to do some cruising. Like a BMW, good handling and at the same time nice when cruising.

I will send a mail to Mark like you said Matty B. It would be perfect if he could design me a complete kit to start with.

It's a compromise. I want the car to perform pretty well on the track and at the same time be able to do some cruising. Like a BMW, good handling and at the same time nice when cruising.

I will send a mail to Mark like you said Matty B. It would be perfect if he could design me a complete kit to start with.

Save your money and just go with the LS engine and T56 to start and THAT will save weight. Glass hood and fenders are JUNK and not worth the time and money compare to the gains of the better engine. New suspension components will reduce the weight and improve performance. An NCC club member had a 70 BB 6spd Elcamino with all the suspension tricks that kept up with C5 Corvettes on a roadcoarse and did very well at the track. He also did PowerTour and drove that car everywhere. That was an ALL STEEL car with full interior street legal as can be. So to strip a car and put junk parts on to go fast is not what you need to do to get what you want.

Derek69SS can give you details of what that car had.

If I like the car with handling and everything I'm sure that I will install a LS1 engine with t56 in the future. An lt1 with transmission is just 1/4 of the price that a LS1 drivetrain cost in Sweden, that’s why a Lt1 drivetrain going in my car now.

My fenders and hood was very rusty, that’s why I'm going with glass parts. I have already bought the fenders and hood for a company in Sweden and I'm very pleased with the results. There is some work left on the parts but I'm sure it will end up nice. The fenders and hood was way cheaper then order steel parts from USA.

The dream would be a car like you talked about daveseitz, that’s my goal. I will ask Derek69SS what parts they used.

Thanks for the comments, I hope you will keep posting tips.

I did my 69 eclo with bilsteins and Eibach 1.5 drop springs all around with an airbag on the right (squat ) side. No hop brackets on the uppers.

I wish I'd have just ordered the drop springs in the front, I feel the rear is a little too low. I would rather have had some stock springs in the rear for a cool raked look. Now I got to sort it out. What do I do with the rear Eibachs, shim maybe??

SK