Glad you found a 348, that’s just what it needed. Any idea how you are going to handle the pinholes in the floor? I’m enjoying the progress, keep up the good work.
I’ve bought a cheap bead roller and I’m going to see what I can do with it as soon as I’m done with the parts car. The corrugated bed surface seems better than the sub floor, so hopefully I can just clean that up a little when the time comes.
I finished murdering the 59. Just kidding. It’s off to live on a farm in Idaho where it can run free with other 59s. I was going to part it out but a guy wanted the whole thing. Lucky guy had a roll back so no come alongs for him. I did some horse trading with the deal and got some nice goodies for the El Camino. The carbs are wrong but there are conversion kits for the outside carbs. I’ll probably run progressive linkage instead of trying to track down all the factory vacuum stuff.
I’ve been pecking away at the ElCo. Processing all the parts car chunks took some time. I got another 348 so now I’ve got 2 stuck Ws. I got a decent deal on a Lakewood scatter shield but it’s for an early Nova. I need move the clutch window. A local H.A.M.B. member is parting a 60 poncho 2dr and I got a decent seat frame. The trim is missing so I’ll need to track that down. I repaired and modified the passenger wheel well from the Bel Air I parted last winter. I *think* sedans and El Caminos/wagons used the same stamping but it was trimmed differently. Then I cut the bed subfloor out. I’ve been beating on the driver’s wheel well and it’s starting to take shape. I want to get the subfloor back in and epoxy primer down before the weather turns. It’s getting cold at night.
Wow nice build I have a 1960 El camino I replaced the smugglers floor also mine had rust in the door hinge pocket where the door bolts to the body. I removed the door and managed to do a good repair through the pocket were the hinge goes into the pillar. One thing with owning 1959 to 1960 El caminos unless you are loaded you learn how to fix rust . I like your home made patch panels I bought a bead roller also the smugglers floor I bought but the passenger floors I will give a go later on. The car has had the floors repaired properly but they are thin in some areas so need to do round 2 .
I’ve been doing a lot of time consuming boring stuff. Sort parts, blast the best ones, paint them. I laid out all my ‘60 springs and chose the best ones. Here they are with fresh paint and a bunch of other goodies too. Both the Bel Air and the ElCo were 6 cylinder cars so they didn’t have a front sway bar. I have a pair of sway bar LCAs from a V8 4dr post 63 Impala I killed 10 years ago but I can only find one of them. I think the other must be behind my lathe in my storage garage. It the only place I haven’t checked because it’s hard to get to. Between family stuff, the kitchen project, and ElCo rust repair, I’ve kinda been shoveling boxes onto my coupe as they arrive without even opening them. I finally opened everything to see where I’m at. I need an idler arm, fittings for my front springs, and some wheel bearings and I can put the front end together. The 59 348 is still stuck and it’s pissing me off. There’s not going to be an easy way on that motor. It’ll need a full rebuild. $$$$$ The 58 348 is worse. If I’m going to drive this thing in June, I’ll need a different plan. I’m going to bang together the 4 bolt 350 with vortec heads and get this thing on the road; that’s the whole point of this exorcise. A 348 can go in it as money allows. Maybe 348 the following June… This one neighbor keeps giving me dirty looks like he’s got a problem with the car pile in my driveway. It’s the alley, there’s no HOA here. Keep moving and go graze somewhere else.
We did the same thing on a '59 Elky for my grandson. Took us 2 yrs but we rebuilt every part of the car. He can now build a complete car from scratch.
That neighbor looked really interested actually. If you would just try and make friends with him you might have a helper for life and wants to be in the garage with you everyday. From 6am to 7 pm. My female 1/2 coyote was like that. Everyday no matter what was going on. This is going to be fantastic! Can’t wait for June! So lucky 2-348 engines. I can’t even find 1 affordable one.
It got cold and I’ve been fighting paint that won’t stick all winter. I’ve never had this much trouble rattle cans in my life. I cleaned up and resealed the better of the two manual Saginaw steering boxes. Power would be nice in the future, but I have this and it’s paid for, so… It was full of rust colored sludge and water, but the guts seemed good. The part numbers for the pitman shaft seal out in the world all seem to be wrong, Luckily I found a seal that would work after actually measuring things. (Imagine that). Here are the numbers in case someone else ever decides to do this. Figuring this out was a pain and wasted time shipping stupid little seals. I had to make the paper gasket, no one seems to sell it loose. I chose the best center link body and the best internals and built a part. I finally put some stuff together.
I put some more stuff together. The Scarebird brakes were easy to work with. The auction site shock relocation brackets were not. They interfere with the clutch linkage and are too short for the suggested shocks. I added a height, a hole, and a bend and got something that fits better. Paper mock up vs original. I got some parts cut, had a friend with a brake help a little, and got a good part with all the travel I need.
The bed is still a mess. That the trans tunnel, and the temporary 350 are next after the front suspension. I’m not happy with the Saginaw 4 speed and the shifter position. i scored a 63 T10 and the proper scatter shield instead of the Chevy II one. The 63 T10 came in a 5 gallon bucket. At this point I have complete ‘60 T10 in my coupe, a ‘62 T10 with a weird output for aluminum V8 Buicks and Oldsmobiles, and this 63 one. I’ve got a 63 SS with a Saginaw 4 speed. The coupe needs to give up its 60 box, and the 63 needs the right trans too, so I guess I’m still buying t10 crap. Coming soon Still stuck
What about throwing some Evaporust in the cylinders or just sticking the whole engine in a barrel of citric acid or even molasses. Might as well knock out the freeze plugs first though. Then dunk it in another barrel of baking soda and water to neutralize.
I’ve got it soaking full of various oils right now. Eventually I’ll take it all the way apart and get really serious. There’s a layer of crust almost like a layer of ice inside the water jacket where the top of the coolant was for 40 years. It’s wild. Right now, I just wanna drive it even if it’s got a boring old 350 in it.
Getting it out and on the road is the main idea. You'll get the W-motor ready, and can do the swap then. Meantime you'll have plenty of miles behind the wheel of a cool car.
Never saw this thread before today, but I love it! Shocking there's good X-frames in a junkyard, here in Saltworld that would be unheard of and that '59 4 door would be considered a "solid project, just needs a rear clip..." I like what you're doing. It's really hard not to get carried away on a quickie beater project, the deeper you go. I went through this on my '57 Chevy build. Functional and cheap, those are the goals. I'll be following along from here on out.
There's still a surprising amount of this stuff in yards up here but it's getting more scarce. If that '59 had been a flattop, I would be welding a rear on it. I've got it bad for '59 flattops. I like your tri five 2dr conversions. I really want to try one on a 56 or 57 sometime. Thanks man! White with red guts must have been a pretty car.
Your 59 looks great Nads. I remember the build from the Los Boulevardos forum (if I’m remembering right. )
This is kinda like sticking all the parts of you 1/25 scale kit together before you paint and glue them. Then the tear down Mains The worst bore. It cleaned up. After a hone and some POR 15 engine enamel. I brush painted it for some reason. It doesn’t look bad, but it doesn’t look good. It reminded me of that Testers Orange enamel. Goes on like honey.
On that stuck 348, I ran into similar situation with a SBC 400. I have a pump oil can with a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone. I'd put a couple of good squirts in each cylinder ever week or so. Then, give it a couple nudges on the balancer. I had a plate that bolts where the pulleys go, so I could put a 15/16 wrench on it. That way, I could jerk it back and forth. Shorten the story, eventually, it freed up, and fully rotates.
The Jalopy Journal
