Nope…I was just chilling all day between riding my ruttman around or sitting under the tent in my chair
I’ve read that’s a huge problem. There are tons of threads on different boards talking about the browning of the raised whites. I’m not sure it’s a brand specific problem.
I currently have a warranty claim in at kelsey tire for goodyear poly cushion whitewalls that turned brown
My 71 SS454 Chevelle, the lowly LS5 365HP 4 speed. I was the second owner, had the build sheet. Something like 333 rear gear, it was just OK out of the hole but on the freeway that 454 just seemed to never stop pulling. Bought for $2000, sold for $2200 to buy my first Harley, a Sportster. Which one do you think I'd rather have back?
I have that exact same car currently and even in the same color..was yours cranberry red? Kind of the same. It's an El Camino. Bought it about 4 years ago from a family that had it since 1972. Completely original front to back....paint, wheels, complete drivetrain is original. It's pretty optioned up...LS-5 , automatic, tilt tach and guages, buckets and console, tilt, am fm, posi..its pretty crazy. Interior is dark saddle which I like over black which is so common. It needs restored..im slowly working on it. Only bummer is that it wasn't cowl induction or a stripe car. Both were additional cost options in 1971..even though it was standard on a 1970 SS 454. I'll probably add the stripes. I'd never put an offshore flapper hood on this car.
Mine was red not the cranberry color, sure was a fun car Cowl induction, no power steering, no console, M21, posi. Your photo of the build sheet reminded me, oh yeah, the stains from the seat springs. Got to see a gold 70 SS El Camino Brass Hat car today at a friend's car lot. [got a lesson on that one, had no idea that these existed]. Didn't seem to be an option missing. The blue car was at a cruise night recently, super nice. First time I raced the Chevelle, super nervous, wound er up tight and dumped the clutch, DOH! In reverse, got my shit together and took off after the girl driving a 69 Camaro, couldn't quite run her down, 40+ years ago, my wife and I are still friends with her. The days of misspent youth were a lot of fun, but they sure went by quick!
Johnny...if I'm not mistaken if you had a 4 speed in a 1971 SS 454...the only 4 speed was a M22. It's a close ratio of course like the M-21. My car has been parked since 1980 after a minor fender bender. The seats were pulled then and the carpet too. It's the least rusty car I've ever had. Luckily the previous owner saw the build sheet and stuck it in the glovebox. Mice chomped on couple corners of the buildsheet...but is amazingly intact and readable. My dad worked at GM Van Nuys plant and probably had a hand in building this El Camino...they didn't build Chevelles at Van Nuys too often, 1971 was one year they did. Because my dad was a GM employee, I bought a few brass hat cars myself. The most notable was a 1984 Z28...HO 305, red with grey interior and t tops. What was special was I ordered the 4 wheel disc brake rearend with 3.73 posi. From what I understand it was a very rare option. It was a great car. At the Van Nuys Plant they only built Chevelles and El Caminos in 1964 and 1970 to 72. After '72 who knows...
Deuces the Magnum looking SS wheels were a 1969 and 1970 thing on Chevelles and Camaros SS cars. I like them both...but the 69-70 SS wheels were 14x7. The wheels you see on my car are it's original wheels..new for 1971..theyre 15x7. I have all 5 original wheels. Imagine a full size wheel and tire like that as a spare behind the passenger bucket. You wouldn't think there would be room...but there is. Mine was still in place....with its orignal bias tire yet and a saddle vinyl cover that matched the interior. I was going to do some day 2 stuff with it..5 spoke mags, fly eye air cleaner...cal custom valve covers..but just don't have the heart to change out original stuff. This El Camino is the most documented, numbers matching, rust free, muscle car I've ever owned. Thats saying something..here in SoCal I went through rare cars like candy...like hundreds of them. But each had an issue. Nice car, wrong engine. Numbers matching but rusty...it was always something. This car is perfect to me.
I dont have a HAMB friendly car these days, but I can add a picture to this thread. Really liking the new area. My 69 AMX 390/auto from the late 70's. Finally saved up enough money for some TA's so I decided to let the smoke out of my soon to be ex off brand tires.
Man I love AMXs...ive had two..both 390 4 speeds..wish I kept them. Ill have to have another one day..
Since we are talking 70's street machines... here is a taste of my '77 Fairmont. Life down under as a reformed Street Machiner in my youth. Heading for wine country. Getting into a 14 hour interstate drive home on leave. Hitting the cruise scene on the Gold Coast. Trying our some larger rear tyres !!! Got myself a high rise manifold ?? 1977 Fairmont luxury.... New suspension and some traction bars...
3.36 is a 10 bolt gear. My car has a 3.31, which was the standard 12 bolt rearend for a SS 454, turbo 400 car and my car thankfully has the posi option. Code on my rearend is RVC. RV for 12 bolt 3.31 posi C for Buffalo NY assembly of the rearend. Just realizing this now...it strikes me odd as my El Camino was built in Los Angeles. I guess parts to build cars came from all over the country no matter what plant. The Van Nuys GM plant had railroad tracks that ran through the property of the plant..so I guess it was easy to just send a railroad car full of rearends out west.
Only 3 assembly plants built the el camino between 1964-72... So it really isn't odd for you to have a Buffalo, NY rear. Most Chevy 12 bolts rears came from Buffalo... Just like all Big block chevy engines (396,402,427,454) came from the Tonawanda Engine plant in NY. Baltimore, Maryland Kansas City, Missouri Van Nuys, California were the only 3 to build the el camino.
You are exactly right. I apologize for the typo. Fremont CA was the Chevelle/ El Camino assembly plant. Van Nuys built the Camaro. Thanks for the correction.
No apologies necessary brother...we are all here to learn from each other and have fun. When you omitted Fremont from your list, I thought...I know they built Chevelles there in the 60s, but maybe not El Caminos? I had to check my info to see. The assembly plant code in the vin of cars built 1965-69 for Fremont is Z...thats all we're used to seeing in SoCal. In looking at my info, on a side note Fremont only seems to have been an active plant for GM from 1965-69 unless my lists were wrong on that. Weird. Incidentally that's why I like 1964 and 1970-72 Chevelles and El Caminos. They were built at the Los Angeles (Van Nuys) plant. I'm partial as my dad worked there for decades. I toured the Van Nuys plant as teenager in the early 80s and it was the single most loudest place I'd ever been in. The clanging was relentless. My dad worked at GM from 1958 to 88...he started at the Tarrytown plant in New York. His first job was climbing in and out of 1958 Chevys with a no doubt heavy polisher to polish the dash tops. Imagine doing that for 8 hours? In the 50s he got a couple family members jobs there...they all quit after the first day. They couldn't hang.
That is a cool story. I know a few guys that worked in the Atlanta, GA plant. They said the same as far as the noise and commotion going on. I admire anyone that could work in that environment for several hours a day for 20-30+ years. I have a good friend (2nd owner) of a 66 El Camino built in Fremont, CA. Lived its whole life in Arizona. The El Camino... Not him. Here in NC now.
thanks - its fixin to get engine swapped for the 4th time… 250/LS3/LSX whipple/ 540 BBC in waiting… heres where we began
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