1965 Chevrolet El Camino - Take The Ultimate Road Trip

The tool that was unanimously... read full caption The tool that was unanimously voted "Most Likely To Be Stolen by an Admiring Car Crafter" was our Ingersoll Rand 19-volt, 11/42-inch electric impact that shared duty with the 19-volt cordless light.	As the day wore on, it began... read full caption As the day wore on, it began to look more like a Department of Transportation work site-you know-one guy working and eight guys standing around. Clockwise from the left are Jim Peterson, Gene Callahan, Ed Taylor, Mike Lambert, Graham Smith, Nick Pellegrini, Craig Boone, (kneeling) Jeff Smith, and Kris Shields.	With the engine in place,... read full caption With the engine in place, we finally had a chance to appreciate the ProForm valve covers, air cleaner, and 100-amp alternator. The four-core U.S. radiator provided plenty of cooling with its high-density core partnered with a six-bladed fan, but we ran out of time to fit the shroud that would have helped even more.
This was Sunday, a mere 36... read full caption This was Sunday, a mere 36 hours before we were scheduled to hit the road. At this point, the car had barely 100 miles on it, all without the back window. We had only had the window channel repaired the day before using the Rustbusters metal spray process that we'll detail in an upcoming story.	Because we didn't have time... read full caption Because we didn't have time to paint the El Camino before we left, we protected the car with a Covercraft cover to keep moisture off the nonsealing primer until we could get it painted.	After we chased the sun away,... read full caption After we chased the sun away, we broke for dinner and had a chance to recharge for a few minutes. The steak, fries, corn on the cob (it's an Iowa thing), and garlic bread disappeared quickly. The guys who had to leave early missed out on a great meal!
After chasing a starter ground... read full caption After chasing a starter ground loop problem for an hour, we gave up just past midnight. Our Optima battery kept cranking long after we should have given up. Next morning, Jim dialed us into the lack of a ground screw in the dash that we fixed in about 10 seconds. This saved the neighbors from having to endure a 1 a.m. cam break-in procedure.		Graham drove the first leg... read full caption Graham drove the first leg while still getting accustomed to manual steering through the Grant steering wheel while deciphering engine data from the Auto Meter in-dash tach and gauges. We also used our Magellan GPS unit as a speedometer, compass, and odometer that's accurate to 9 feet!

Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Next

Discuss in Our Forums