Finally bought an El Camino. Again.

rebelgtp wrote: In reply to Woody: I dunno I kinda like them

Meh... not a big fan of the Monte SS front.

I am big fan of flared fenders. Anyone have the Photoshop skills?

nicksta43 wrote: Fairly certain it should be a 200-r4

I thought so too... especially with it being so late in production. 86-87, most of them were 200s for the 3 speed and 200-4r's for the OD. But this one "sounded" like a 700r4. You know when you shift into drive how the clicks sound from the outside? That's how it sounded.

Could have been because I was right beside a wall. Of course, with 167k on the clock, who knows what someone might have stuffed in there?

I'll just leave this here to give you some ideas... http://laureneng.com/1290071.html

PS... My 11 year old would definitely approve of your choice. It is what he wants for his first car.

Woody wrote: I'm looking forward to this build!

Me too! It will probably not start until August or September, but I'll start a build thread. I've already been in contact with Schwartz to see if they want to use my Elky as a prototype for the G-body wagon frame. I doubt it will happen so I won't be holding my breath.

Thinking instead about an X-frame tranny crossmember and some other stiffening things.

gee now I REALLY want an El Camino!

Just poked my head under it today... it is a 200-4r. I was kinda hoping for the 700r4 because I could use the same driveshaft with the T56. Maybe I can find a G body with a 700r4 in a junkyard and snag the driveshaft.

I also need to start getting creative with rear axle choices. I don't want to pay big bucks for an aftermarket, but I also know there aren't many options out there for fabbing up.

I think this would be rad:

wow.. as much as GM loves to badge engineer.. they really dropped the ball on putting an el Camino in every division

In reply to JamesMcD:
I very much like that Pontiac. El Camino means The Road in Spanish.

The Pontiac was a LeMans denoting French
Le Rue means The Street/Avenue in French.

Yes, I could see it as The Pontiac LeRue

curtis73 wrote: Just poked my head under it today... it is a 200-4r. I was kinda hoping for the 700r4 because I could use the same driveshaft with the T56. Maybe I can find a G body with a 700r4 in a junkyard and snag the driveshaft. I also need to start getting creative with rear axle choices. I don't want to pay big bucks for an aftermarket, but I also know there aren't many options out there for fabbing up.

I'm pretty sure the General never bolted a 700R4 in a G-body. F-body, yep. Trucks out the wazoo. I think the B-body got it in some, but not the G's.

The metric 10 bolt is stronger than people give it credit for. From what I remember the Regal & Cutlass got a stronger (Olds sourced?) 10 bolt rear.

Aussie BW 9 bolt is disc brake, LSD and stronger than 10 bolt, available in 87/88 3rd gen Camaros.

BTW, utes rule

Rob_Mopar wrote:

curtis73 wrote: Just poked my head under it today... it is a 200-4r. I was kinda hoping for the 700r4 because I could use the same driveshaft with the T56. Maybe I can find a G body with a 700r4 in a junkyard and snag the driveshaft. I also need to start getting creative with rear axle choices. I don't want to pay big bucks for an aftermarket, but I also know there aren't many options out there for fabbing up.

I'm pretty sure the General never bolted a 700R4 in a G-body. F-body, yep. Trucks out the wazoo. I think the B-body got it in some, but not the G's. The metric 10 bolt is stronger than people give it credit for. From what I remember the Regal & Cutlass got a stronger (Olds sourced?) 10 bolt rear.

Well I've blown three of them. One of them with an stock LT1 285hp. The only thing I did was put stickier tires on. Wind it out in first, get a good chirp in second... immediately followed by the carrier being punched out through the cover.

The 7.5" is pure junk IMHO. It survives fine behind 80's smogger 155 hp engines, but anything over 300 hp with a little traction is a big no-no.

The Turbo cars (Regal and Grand National) and the 442 got the 8.5" rear. It is the only bolt-in upgrade. Because they are rare and everyone wants one, good luck buying one for under $700. The Monte SS and many later F-bodies got the 7.625", which is the same housing just a bigger ring gear. Plus the F-body has the torque-arm suspension so it would require modification.

The other issue is that almost every other axle out there is considerably wider. An Explorer 8.8 would be about the right width, but it will require welding bushing mounts onto the cast iron center section.

Put it this way... There is no easy answer for the rear axle. There never has been for G-body cars. I think what I'll probably end up doing is grabbing an 8.5" out of a B-body and narrow it.

Speaking of alternate front clips on G-bodies... I know the Cutlass was available with the Euro headlights instead of sealed beams. Does anyone know if any of the others were available with plastic bucket headlights. I have a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with sealed beam lamps.

How about an '83 Hurst/Olds themed El Camino with the paint scheme and Lightning Rods?

Wait, pretend I never said that....

scampers off to search Craigslist...

curtis73 wrote: Speaking of alternate front clips on G-bodies... I know the Cutlass was available with the Euro headlights instead of sealed beams. Does anyone know if any of the others were available with plastic bucket headlights. I have a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with sealed beam lamps.

The Monte Carlo LS had them.

damn now i want to find one and put a pontiac clip on it with 80's 16x8 trans am wheels, that thing is sexy.

i used to have the rims, used to have a 78 elky, etc... never thought of putting the two together.

I think the 88 Monte's were the only others to get them. They look tits.

I'm pretty sure the Celebrity headlights fit in the openings of the Monte SS and probably anything else with two rectangular sealed beams. At one time it was a pretty popular mod.

Was planning on swapping in similar headlight units on a '87 Eagle wagon to ditch the sealed beams too. Should have been a relatively straight forward swap but the Eagle trans gave up the ghost before that could happen.

Woulda looked cool.

I didn't mind sealed beams once I bought a set of GE super blue, but that was also the larger 1 piece lights. I'm skeptical of the light out put of an 80's euro/plastic unit myself, beyond more bulb option.

Those front ends don't just bolt on do they? My friend put a SS from clip on a cutlass and it was a pain In the neck, also looked like crap.

chandlerGTi wrote: Those front ends don't just bolt on do they? My friend put a SS from clip on a cutlass and it was a pain In the neck, also looked like crap.

That is not a G Body Cutlass. It looks like the butt end of a Malibu with a Monte nose.

Anyone ever see an SS nose on a Malibu wagon? Just curious.