[Good Frosty]

I bought a '69 327 El Camino for $100.00 a few months ago, I went to pick it up today. Its sat in a Garage in the dry for about 20+ years. But still has some pretty severe (common) rust. Both quarters are eat up to about the belt-line of the car, the bed has a few spots, and the floors are gone. The front sheetmetal and roof are pretty good, but there is some pitted rust around the glass, and a few dents in the roof.

It came with a replacement door and tailgate from another Elky, and the lady has another 3 El Caminos in another garage, I offered to buy some parts from her, off of a '69 307 Car, but she wanted to sell the whole thing, I needed two-headlight buckets, that cars headliner (Can I take it out, and put it in mine?) and that cars mirrors and window trim. My fenders have a little rust on them, so I might change that out if I have to buy the whole thing. I don't know what she wants for it, she has some guy pricing it for her, and he just slaps really high prices on everything, but I'm hoping its in the 100's. I also dug up a drive-shaft in a 70' El Camino (New, in the box), and two quarter-panels for the car.

There was no motor in this car, and no rear-end, I have another '69 which is donating its 12-bolt to this car, and my work-truck is donating its 350/350 to the project too.

Would I be better off to find a straighter El Camino though? I'm not looking to be numbers matching or anything, but I don't want to throw too much money into the car, and pretty much all of them have no quarters. I have some left-over paint too.

Or should I just invest this money in something else?

-GF

[poncho62]

Check out the other 3 Caminos..........You are best to start with as little rust as possible. You may end up paying a bit more, but will be a lot happier in the long run.

[50 chevy p/u]

You also need to check the frame where it starts to kick up to go over the axle. They tend to rust there as well.

[Kevin45]

Pics man...we need some pics!!!!!!!

[ChevyTruckGuy]

WOW, It hard to pass up a 100.00 car. Its not the rust it all about time and money. And if your up for restoring a classic.

Craig

[Good Frosty]

I can get pictures later.

There is no rust on the frame, the 12-bolt car is now a uniframe/stretched wheelbase car, the frame rusted loose, and when we took it off the trailer the rear wheels were pushed back a foot from the wheel wells, the front half of the frame just fell off.

The 70' Elky is out of my price range, and has a leopard print interior and some other mods (Back window spray-painted black) that I don't like, so its out of the question.

The white 69' 307 has both quarters shot, no motor, tin-floors, and someone beat one side of the roof up with a hammer or something, its just a parts car (Nice convertible though?) It has no rear-end.

The other 307 Camino has some rust on the roof, no motor, and no quarters, its pretty rusty and is a 71', and I'm not much for wanting "classics" but if I had the choice between a 71' and a '69, I'd go with the 69'.

My car needs some work, but It actually looks good. I'm going to get the two-panels from the building, and the parts from the other car (Which I might re-sell to put some costs away) I have a 72' Cutlass which is donating its bucket-seats, and there is a El Camino console in the building my car came from, so I may have a bucket-seat/column shifter car.

I need both sides of the floor, but not the transmission tunnel, so I'm trying to dig those up. If I can transfer headliners pretty easy, then that should help keep prices down, I'm thinking about re-using some surplus carpet that we ordered for out CJ5 a few years ago, its brown, but I can paint/dye it pretty easy. I might make my own door panels from 2-layers of cardboard and some black/grey fabric. I'll just punch holes were I need to and live with it. It dosn't have to be perfect. It has all the glass also, so I don't need anything there either.

The motor is not getting rebuilt, it runs pretty good, I might change the oil and clean it up a little bit, but Its pretty good as it is, do I need a 9-inch tailshaft though? I don't know if the truck on will work.

If it all works out, I should have it put together in a few months.

-GF