1972 Chevy El Camino - El Cheapo, Part 4

The toil began by tearing...        read full caption The toil began by tearing the car apart as far as we could, benefiting us twofold. First, it saves huge bucks to avoid paying high bodyshop labor rates to do simple mechanical work. Second, the further the car is torn down, the better the paint job will turn out--especially if the shop masks the trim rather than removing it. Every masked seam is an opportunity for a future paint chip or for the old color to peek through immediately. The downside is that taking the car apart means you need to keep track of the fasteners, which we did with resealable freezer bags labeled with a marker. Stripping the car this far down means more cost in replacement weatherstripping and trim, but it&8217s really, really worth it. We even recommend removing most of the interior.

After disassembly, we took...        read full caption After disassembly, we took a few trips through the coin--op car wash, spraying the deepest hidden dirt out of every crevice. The cleaner the car is when it goes into the paint booth, the less dirt ends up in the paint--so deliver it as clean as possible. We also scrubbed every surface with green Scotchbrite pads to get rid of greasy fingerprints and knock off as much loose paint as possible. The harder an area is to reach, the more important it is to scrub clean.

At Gonzalez Auto Body, progress...        read full caption At Gonzalez Auto Body, progress ensued: New Original Parts Group floorpans were installed, rust spots were repaired in the fenders and quarters, and a major gack in the quarter--panel was evened out. For the full details, see the following articles: "How to Replace Floorpans," Dec. ´99; "Fender Rust Repair," Jan. ´00; and "Basic Quarter--Panel Repair," Feb. ´00.

In the past, we’ve had...        read full caption In the past, we’ve had cars painted with all the bodywork in the condition shown. Bad idea--all the sanded edges show through, and as Gonzalez proved, there’s a lot more smoothing to be done. After hitting the entire car with 180--grit on a dual--action sander, the Camino got its first of four coats of PPG’s NCP 280 gray primer surfacer mixed with NCX 285 hardener. These are low--VOC, California--legal materials. Just before the primer, every spot of bare metal was sanded to eliminate even the lightest beginnings of surface rust, then the car was wiped thoroughly with PPG Wax and Grease Remover and lint--free towels.

The primer fills in sanding...        read full caption The primer fills in sanding marks and slight variations in the height of the sanded surface, but it still needs to be block--sanded to make it dead flat. Black paint is misted over the primer as a guide coat while block--sanding with wet 180--grit paper. High spots in the sheetmetal are revealed by areas that become sanded to bare metal, and areas where the black guide coat is not removed are low spots. This is the most time--consuming portion of the job, and hence the most costly. The more you pay, the more block--sanding you&8217ll get. Gonzalez blocked the car three times.

We didn&8217t expect it for...        read full caption We didn’t expect it for the price, but Gonzalez removed the doors to paint the jambs. He says that it’s the only way to get the jambs fully sanded so they don’t peel and it’s also the only way to get full coverage of the paint. Once the jambs were painted, the doors were installed and realigned, then the jambs were fully masked. If the shop doesn’t take this step, later coats of paint on the body will leave a fine overspray and make the jambs look flat and dry. Even if you&8217re painting a car and not changing the color or painting the jambs, insist that the jambs are well masked to avoid primer overspray.

After the last coat of primer,...        read full caption After the last coat of primer, the surface was carefully inspected for pinholes, which were then filled with a polyester--based spot putty and sanded smooth. The final wet--sanding is done with 400--grit to remove all the swirl marks from the 180--grit.

Finally, the floor of the...        read full caption Finally, the floor of the paint booth is hosed down, the car is blown off with compressed air, then wiped down with wax and grease remover, and painted Hugger Orange. The paint is PPG&8217s Concept CLV line of California--legal urethanes, which Gonzalez reports lays down smooth and reduces the need for color--sanding. The Camino got five coats of color so it can be sanded in the future, but we omitted that step to save bucks up front.

As soon as the car came home,...        read full caption As soon as the car came home, we were all itchy to start bolting stuff on and immediately found our first blunder. While bolting on the new rearview mirror, we discovered that we hadn’t asked Gonzalez to fill a big hole left by the previous Taiwan--special sport mirror. Good thing the new gasket covered it. OPG offers two mirrors for ´69--´72 models: U.S.--made versions for $49.95 and imports for $29.95. We went cheap, but the mirror head was so loose it was useless. OPG said the mirrors have a lifetime warranty and happily traded it for a good one. We cut costs in half by installing an outside mirror only on the driver side.

We bought our own masking...        read full caption We bought our own masking paper, tape, and sandpaper so we could black out the scummy cowl, firewall, and frame. After sanding, we wiped everything down with The Eastwood Company’s Pre--Paint Prep in an aerosol can because we’ve found the stuff to all but eliminate fisheyes if you let it dry enough before painting. Likewise, our favorite black paint is Eastwood’s Underhood Black that dries quickly to the perfect eggshell finish.

Our ´72 originally came...        read full caption Our ´72 originally came with those chintzy plastic inner fenderwells that were all cracked and worthless. Goodmark recently started repopping metal versions, so we added a set to the Elco. Deep into the installation, we discovered that reusing all the old rusty fasteners we’d worked so hard to keep was a big waste of time. One of the J--bolts broke as we were tightening it and gashed our fresh fender paint, so we gave up and got an OPG Front End Fastener Kit for $44.95. It doesn’t have every single bolt you&8217ll need, but all the weird and critical stuff is there. Way worth the expense.

Here&8217s a tip from Gus...        read full caption Here’s a tip from Gus Gonzalez that really paid off: When installing the fenders, add a protective layer or two of masking tape to the edges of the fender and door to prevent chipping the paint when you unavoidably smack them together. Reduce the tape&8217s adhesive qualities by sticking it to your pants a few times before putting it on the paint.

The next big thrill was dropping...        read full caption The next big thrill was dropping our Harwood fiberglass hood into place and ogling the enormous 4--inch cowl. Look for an entire how--to story in this issue.

Don&8217t even consider painting...        read full caption Don’t even consider painting a car well without pulling out all the old weatherstripping and installing new stuff. Masking it off ends up looking hideous. OPG offers two levels of weatherstripping kits. We didn’t really need the rear bumper seal, rubber stopper kit, hood--to--cowl seal, hood insulation, or A--arm seals in the Stage II kit, so we saved $165 with the less complete kit. The door seals are the nice and soft foam Metro brand, and they snapped in so nicely we didn&8217t even use glue.

The new window--run channels...        read full caption The new window--run channels are more of a hassle. Begin with the most forward channel; leave the door part of the channel out so the window can move rearward a bit. Roll the window up, then reach through the inner door and feed the channel into its groove, pushing it up from the bottom until it’s about an inch above the sheetmetal. The channel slides better if you wet it. Next, roll the window down about halfway, making sure you don&8217t pinch the channel in the guide. Now you can easily pull the rest of the channel up, snap it into place, and trim it to fit. Roll up the window the rest of the way, and reach through the inner door to snap the lower part of the channel into the window guide. The door part of the channel is easy to install with the window rolled down.

The outer window fuzzies snap...        read full caption The outer window fuzzies snap easily into factory slots in the sheetmetal. The end with the extra chrome trim goes forward--align the front end first, then check to see if the back end needs to be trimmed a bit to avoid chipping the paint as you snap it into place.

We sanded the entire bed with...        read full caption We sanded the entire bed with 80--grit, wiped it down with Eastwood Pre--Paint Prep, and sprayed it with Duplicolor Truck Bed Coating. The Duplicolor product sprays on thick and leaves a nice, slightly textured, just--right--glossiness finish. However, spray it from too far away and it gets very rough and flat--toned, then cargo scrapes it shiny and it looks bad. With proper application, it looks right and touches up easily. It took five cans to do the complete bed.

To save money we eliminated...        read full caption To save money we eliminated every emblem and trim piece possible. By polishing with fine steel wool, we were able to reuse the door handles, rear turn signal and backup bezels, and front and rear window trim. We tried to rescue the bed trim, but much of it was dented, and the local polishing shop wanted more to fix it than the $249.95 price of OPG&8217s complete bed--molding kit. OPG won.

Man, costs start to add up!...        read full caption Man, costs start to add up! Our old rear bumper was totally gonzo, so we took advantage of one of the newly available reproductions from OPG. We were able to reuse all the plastic lenses at the back of the car by polishing them with Meguiar&8217s Plastic Polish. New ones would have been $166.20.

For the front bumper, we again...        read full caption For the front bumper, we again went with Harwood fiberglass. It weighs just 3--4 pounds! Gonzalez painted it straight PPG aluminum toner (DMD 690) with a clearcoat, which turned out to be the perfect color. We mounted the bumper with the stock brackets--cleaned and painted Eastwood black--by first installing the brackets, then marking the holes from the backside so the bumper could be drilled. We mounted it with an OPG bumper--bolt kit that also had enough pieces to do the rear bumper. The Harwood bumper was $149, and Gonzalez didn’t charge extra to paint it, so it&8217s a deal.

By now, most of you have noticed...        read full caption By now, most of you have noticed that we swapped the front end from a 1972 to a 1971. All that’s required is changing the grille, headlight bezels, and turn--signal lenses and bezels. Our 1972 would have needed at least a new grille and signal lenses at an OPG price of $199.95 at the cheapest. The new 1971 parts cost $438.30 total. That’s a $238.35 extra expenditure, but we think the 1971 looks so much better that it’s worth it. It would have cost another $86 for the factory chrome that’s supposed to be on the 1971 grille, but we painted the trim areas Hugger Orange instead. Note that we did not blindly turn the Elco into an SS. Tech tip: Remember that the fender extensions, turn-- signal bezels, and turn--signal lenses for Chevelles are not the same for El Caminos and wagons for the 1971-1972 model years. They won&8217t even bolt into place properly.

Scope out the black stripe...        read full caption Scope out the black stripe down the side. We just couldn’t live with the standard SS hood Band--Aids, and instead chose the 1969--model stripes. They’re available in white, black, or red from OPG. The El Camino versions will fit 1968--1972 models, but the Chevelle ones won&8217t work properly on 1970--1972 models because of the fender bulges added to those cars. Look for a one--page story in this issue to show you how to stick the stripes properly.

Paint your car, and all of...        read full caption Paint your car, and all of a sudden everything else looks pretty dingy. We couldn&8217t shoot the car for the magazine with fresh paint and grody old swap--meet Cragars, so we stepped up to 15x4 and 15x8 Weld Rodlites with 28x7.50--15 Mickey Thompson Sportsmans up front and massive 30x12.50--15 ET Streets on the back.

Wow--Gonzalez Auto Body turned...        read full caption Wow--Gonzalez Auto Body turned our total turd into an impressive street machine! We’re still swallowing hard at the total investment of $5600, but we rescued a $400 junker, made it respectable, and we know what’s under the paint. For the price, it’s better than buying a nicer car to begin with.

You can’t paint your own car. OK, maybe you can, but that puts you in one of two categories: guy with more time and skill than the rest of us or guy with a really ugly paint job. We long ago faced our ineptitude for bodywork, and most readers tell us they don’t do their own skilled labor, either. Because of that, this year’s paint--’n’--body blowout will show you the grunt work you can do to lower the price and improve the quality of a paint job farmed out to a local shop. It’s what you asked for.

Readers also told us that when it came time to color our El Cheapo 1972 El Camino, they didn’t want to see a penny--pinching hackjob. Lots of you realize that nothing makes a car cheesier than a 10--cent repaint; when buying a car, we’ll take wasted original paint over a halfhearted redo every time. That’s why the Elco’s new clothes are way better than cheap, nicer than average, and far less costly than perfect. Our goal was to reveal the steps and the price of a paint job an average guy would give a street machine he cared about. Still, it’s probably more on the credit card than you’d expect: At $5,609.28 not including our new wheels and tires, that’s a big wad o’ bills. But in typical Car Craft reporting, that includes all the bodywork and every little chingus from start to finish, including the materials, weatherstripping, chrome, trim, and restoration extras from Chevelle specialist Original Parts Group (OPG). It’s all listed in the story, and so are the steps we took to save bucks where possible.

Step one is finding the right shop. We did that with Gonzalez Auto Body, which you’ve seen doing all the rust repair and bodywork on the El Camino over the past few issues. Owner Gus Gonzalez was perfect for us for several reasons. First, he has a passion for keeping older cars on the road, and Gonzalez Auto Body is one of few shops in our area willing to paint an entire car.

Importantly, Gus knew we wanted a good job that would last but that we weren’t willing to pay for full--on show quality. He let us ask all kinds of questions and showed us other cars he had painted at a similar quality level. Most shops don’t want to work within a budget, but Gus underpromised and overdelivered for what we paid.

We also looked to Gonzalez because it’s a PPG--certified shop. Durable paint relies on quality materials from bare metal on up, and each layer of primer, filler, sealer, paint, and clearcoat needs to be compatible with the next. By using the appropriate PPG products bottom to top, we knew there wouldn’t be a problem.

Finally, Gus put up with us changing our mind on the color at least four times. We were originally going to go yellow or white, which tend to hide more flaws than reds, oranges, metallics, and dark colors. Happily, the El Camino’s body came out straight enough to paint Hugger Orange. It’s not perfect, but it’s just what we needed. See what you think.