hi , i'm new to this forum,and new to customizing cars.i spent all my life building and restoring pre 1916 motorcycles.i like original paint ,and i like building things that may not have existed ,but maybe should have. i saw this car a few years back ,and still cant get it out of my mind.it has the lines that i like from both cars used to build it,and in my opinion looks killer. so i finally bought the two door handyman ,in nice shape ,and a rusted out 59 el camino with a perfect roof.after alot of measuring i'm encouraged ,and discouraged. but i think i'm ready to cut.i was wondering if anyone here knows who built this black version ,and might be able to give me some much needed advice. thanks
thanks. at first it looked like a pretty good fit ,but the width of the door jams is off about 2 inches.i think this explains why the black car has a sectioned rear window. the bed trim is off the 59 too.
If you can't find the guy who owns or built that '57 Camino, all I can say is start measuring and figuring things out before you start cutting or 90% thinking/10%doing. On the other hand, it's probably a lot more rewarding doing the project on your own and have it done in your own personalized flare instead of copying someone else's work.
still haven't made the decision to go for it ,but knowing me ,i probably will. i got a great donor,cheap
After lots of measuring, get out the sawzall and get started. I love the looks of the black 57 and think that you couldnt take it anywhere without getting mobbed. If it is something you really want go for it!!
ya'll might change your mind when you see the handyman. i know there is a special place in hell for me if i hack the roof off this sweetheart. yet this wagon does nothing for me,and it has already been modified from stock.
Definitely, nice ride.Does look like a lot of work but well worth the effort . Just my opinon. Good luck. Whoa, just saw the wagon,,, pretty nice looking piece. Now not sure....must be one around to cut up in worse shape.
Okay you are right. I couldnt cut that car but I would keep looking for another one that needed more work. I keep looking at the black one in comparison to the blue one. It looks like the door is shorter like a 4 door front door, but the stainless seems to line up. Probably just the roof line fooling me.
Go find a 4 dr wagon don't cut that car for the amount of work you're going to have to do grafting a set of 2 dr doors will be the least of your problems
Greetings! Before you get to cutting find a 55-59 big back window truck cab and do some measuring, it will probably work better and would be "more original", Good luck, Mike. P.S., save your '59 elco parts for when you find a '59 caddy.
if the 57 wagon is your car, do what you want with it. note that you should look at saving all the bed tops sections off the el camimo also the door posts and the bottom or under the rear window areas. don't let "that car is to clean" slow you down. just make sure to do all the research and measuring before cutting. you should also collect all the stainless trim pieces to make sure you finish.
the nicer stuff you start with the better your chances of having something nice in the end. if you have the skill set to do the work in the first place. CUT THEM UP AND WELD THEM BACK TOGETHER.
I think they actually made more Tri 5 chevies than just about any other car ever, go ahead and hack up the wagon. If you don't it'll probably end up bright red with giant chrome wheels and tinted windows anyway.
i agree ,there is an entire frame work under the rear window that goes all the way down to ,and past, the top of the camino bed,which is the same hieghth as the wagon bed. the width of the entire inside frame on the 59 section under the window fits right into the inner body of the wagon.so far ,so good. but the door posts on the 59 are 2 inches wider than the door posts on the 57.meaning 2 inches has to be taken out of somewhere.
that explains it . i'm a fabricator ,not a car builder ,and this car is setup nice .454 ,with nice overdrive tranny, power steering/brakes ,disc brakes ,posi ,dual exhaust,air,killer radiator. mostly stock looking dash.for the cash i spent on it ,it would cost me twice as much to build a comparable car. after spending a fortune doing the el camino conversion ,then i wont have to spend another fortune.
One thing I noticed is that the square a piller doesnt flow with thw rear window. If you look at the pictures of the 59 its a piller has a sweep in it sort of an S. What if you cut the cowel and the A piller, door tops and the back window down into the box. You could probably measure the handyman and cut the inner box sides out of the camino to fit very well and simplify the build.
i dont know if its just me ,but i always liked the 59 camino ,but they lost me when they got to the front of the car. in my opinion the straight a pillar goes with the lines of the rest of the 57 camino better than the pillar from the 59. i think there is a certain semetry there.the overall factory look it what i want to achieve.
Too rad, but here goes: flip the rear window to have it angled towards the rear. Even if that's too rad, do use the longer door, the reference car has too short of a door to look right. Perchance you could use the '59 centre section and graft '57 front and rear, leaving the killer '59 windscreen but have the better front and rear sheetmetal. Don't know 'til you start hanging it to see... Cosmo
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