Re: 75 el camino project.

by pila Mon May 12, 2014 1:46 am

I had not ever heard of a fiberglass "skin" on a quarter panel ! I wonder where that came from.(?)
Can you save the original, or are you going to replace it ? I see that a new quarter is about 179 bucks, depending on where you buy it.

Keep up the good work ? We have to save these El Caminos ! Very Happy

by chevellelaguna Mon May 12, 2014 5:11 pm

Wow, the never ending quarter panel. I wonder what's under THAT one! I've never seen a fiberglass one either.

by riddick75 Tue May 13, 2014 7:42 pm

yea it shocked me when I was going over it...after I bought it, truth be told I thought it was gonna be way worse. Behind the car there are new quarters (in and out) off of one that was going to be junked.
75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp0413

basically they sawzalled the back of the car from the glass back for me, gotta figure out where Im going to scab them in but I do have them, think I picked them up for 250 or 200.

by chevellelaguna Tue May 13, 2014 7:54 pm

That's awesome! I hate dealing with used quarters though. Do enough of them at work!

by riddick75 Wed May 14, 2014 5:29 am

yea these had the landau cover so they are a little crispy under there but the inner wheel well areas are perfect on the donor quarters and mine was definitely used as a truck in its life, so less hammering those out.

by 77mali Wed May 14, 2014 6:04 am

Looking good.

by riddick75 Wed Jul 23, 2014 4:20 pm

been busy with working so much but have been making slow progress on the rear diff.
75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp0610

the carrier got a little ob longed. and the pin basically welded to the spider gears.
75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp0611

but all I got left is to set the pinion pre load crush sleeve as soon as I find a big enough socket. and then Ill paint it chassis black
75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1011

by 77mali Wed Jul 23, 2014 5:51 pm

Looking good!

by riddick75 Mon Sep 15, 2014 1:07 am

did some assembly this weekend. rear axle, springs, and wheels attached to frame
75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1210

front control arms attached, still working on compressing the front springs but have a plan.
75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1211

by Dinomyte Mon Sep 15, 2014 8:19 am

Looking good. Thumbs up

by driveit Mon Sep 15, 2014 12:00 pm

We used a spring compressor, with impact and air compressor to do mine. I was still hard to do, but we did it.

by Joe73 Mon Sep 15, 2014 12:28 pm

Use an internal spring compressor. Take it apart and slide the threaded part through your shock hole downwards. The thread only the bottom part of the compressor. Swing your lower arm as low as it will go. Slide the spring up into the frame and hook the spring compressor arms onto it. Rotate the spring so when installed you cover at least one but no more than one and a half of the holes in the spring pocket of the lower arm. Tighten the compressor enough to get the lower ball joint nut on. Then start releasing the spring compressor a little at a time. Hit the spring with a rubber mallet to seat it in the pocket.
Real easy job and you only get three scratch marks on the new paint. One on each side of the spring pocket and one in the center bottom where the shock bolt clip goes.

by 77mali Mon Sep 15, 2014 1:52 pm

Looking Good! What brand of bushings & ball joints did you get?

75 el camino project. - Page 2 691510

Used to be able to rent these at Autozone. Might still be available. I would suggest you get a good 3/4" drive socket wrench or use a pneumatic impact wrench- BUT BE CAREFUL either way.

by driveit Mon Sep 15, 2014 8:04 pm

Thats what we used on the front. Autozone, oreilly and advance I think have them.

by riddick75 Wed Sep 17, 2014 12:34 pm

got the springs in with some ingenuity

75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1212

the spring compressor I borrowed from advance auto. but it didn't seem to want to compress it enough so I ran to youtube and learned the strap trick being no weight. basically used the compressor enough to bring the lower to hold the spring a little, strapped the frame to the jack and started lifting, making the jack a press. worked like a charm.

75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1213

once the knuckle was nutted released the jack and all came out just fine, but after seeing how much pressure those springs are under its amazing that those ball joints can hold them all together.

And both the ball joints and bushings and even the springs are Moog from Rockauto, half the price than Advance auto and I get a discount from working there. Last I knew Moog were one of the tops unless their quality has dropped. I used them on my jeep and are holding up better than the other brands I had used before.

by riddick75 Wed Sep 17, 2014 12:42 pm

and here she sits all together. other side but you get the jist

75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1215

and my stand in rotors so I can mount wheels till I'm ready to get her on the road.

75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1310

and It is so refreshing crawling under a car/ frame and not have to worry about rust in every possible hole in your face

75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1311

by dynchel Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:19 pm

Looking real good buddy. Thumbs up

. No double hump cross member?

by 77mali Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:30 pm

You find a way to get it done or the only other option is giving up. Nice job.

by driveit Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:44 pm

"and It is so refreshing crawling under a car/ frame and not have to worry about rust in every possible hole in your face"

I can't wait to know how that feels. It will be so nice...

by Mcarlo77 Wed Sep 17, 2014 3:15 pm

Looks awesome! And, I think every person who lives in the Rust Belt can relate to the "rust in the face" comment. I've spent many hours under the Laguna cleaning it up with wire wheels & sanding pads and wished I would have had the space to do a frame off like yours. Nice job!

by pila Wed Sep 17, 2014 11:16 pm

It's gonna be really cool !! Very Happy

by riddick75 Thu Sep 18, 2014 4:20 am

dynchel wrote:Looking real good buddy. . No double hump cross member?

Yea Just doing the single, probably gonna have it dump out the side before the wheel.

77mali wrote:You find a way to get it done or the only other option is giving up. Nice job.

yea, nice thing about the internet, just gotta log on and see what other people have done. my back up plan was to mount the motor and hope that was enough weight. lol

Mcarlo77 wrote:Looks awesome! And, I think every person who lives in the Rust Belt can relate to the "rust in the face" comment. I've spent many hours under the Laguna cleaning it up with wire wheels & sanding pads and wished I would have had the space to do a frame off like yours. Nice job!

thanks, the space isn't glamorous but it fits the bill, its just a 10'x20' tent in the driveway. wish I had garage space to do the work in so I can do some stuff during the winter.

by riddick75 Mon Sep 29, 2014 12:06 am

Got the gear box rebuilt and I liked the color of the metal so I decided to clear it.

75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1410

did the rest of the steering linkages

75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1411

and put the motor and trans on the frame....kinda looks like a pumpkin for now. lol

75 el camino project. - Page 2 Imgp1412

by driveit Mon Sep 29, 2014 2:38 pm

Looking nice and clean there!

by riddick75 Tue Sep 30, 2014 5:37 am

driveit wrote:Looking nice and clean there!

yea she's slow going but getting there.

by Sponsored content