I recently purchased my second 1987 El Camino and noticed that this one has the same annoying banging noise as the last one. The frame rail on the drivers side is too close to the body and makes contact on bumpy surfaces. The area in question is located by the body mount just forward of the drivers side rear wheel. I have temporarily put a pc of heater hose between the frame and body this eliminates the banging. Anyone else have this problem?

I had a similar problem, and found that my body mount bolts were loose. Check it out! It's a real easy fix

The body mount rubber has gone weak, allowing foe more movment between the body and frame. Time for some new rubber body mounts. Mine does the same noise in the same spot. VERY annoying :mad: Yet another, "winter project"!

Thanks Guy's. Were talking about a very original 1987 with 22,000 miles. My last one had 65,000 miles when this noise started. I hope it's loose mounts. Will check and advise back. Regards.

Does it sound like it's coming from the joint where the cab meets the bed? If so, that's the same problem that I have. Mine sounds like it's right behind me. The noise happens on bad bumps, but mainly when the chassis flexes (like in a turn or going over speed bumps).

I removed the bolt for the body mount just forward of the left rear wheel. I noticed only a very slight distortion. So I started the bolt back into the mount and placed a wedge between the body and frame, gave it a couple of whacks with a hammer to increase the space between body and frame and retightened the body mount. Ahhhh a nice quiet ride now. I may order a complete new body mount for this location if the problem returns.

Glad I have found this thread !
Today we set to work to eliminate the banging noise on my -76 classic.
And yes, the rubber was all broke with just a tiny amount of material
keeping it from departuring from the car.
We removed the front piece of the bed to get to the upper part of the
bolt, went well.
The other side of the bolt, under the car, couldn't be reached, we just
couldn't figure it out.
Then we realised that the previous owner must have cut of the frame rail,
due to rust, and welded a new solid piece in it's place but without making
any access holes in it.
Is this the case? There just must be a hole in the rail so you can reach
the bolt with a wrench, right ?
If so, it looks like we will have to drill/burn/cut a new access hole.
Anyone have any tips. Where to place the hole for example, the other
side has received the same treatment so it's no use as reference.

Thankful for any tips!
http://www.farfarsfavoriter.com/~oskar/mountingpoint.jpg

I would use a 1 1\4 inch bi-metal hole saw. Just try to center it under the bushing, drill a pilot hole, go slow and use cutting oil. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES! If you get metal in your eye pass a magnet over it. The nut on the upper end should be a cage nut that hopefully hasn't broken loose. When I replaced my body bushings on my '81 Five of ten bolts broke off.

Thanks chev67!
Some people have suggested torching a hole in the rail, but I
like the drilling approach better. There shouldn't be any cables in the frame.
How many mounting bolts/bushings are there on a -76 ?
I'm thinking I might as well go ahead and replace them all if it's not too much
work. Anyone have a nice blueprint of their location, like the one of
the 5th gen. mounting points ?
5th Generation Body mounting points (http://www.elcaminocentral.com/article-35--0-0.html)

There are 14 mounting bolts for the cab and bed assembly. I don't know how to post the picture from the 74 factory service manual, but if you give me a fax number, I'll be happy to fax the picture to you.

Sorry for derailing the conversation, but I just gotta say, hillbilly, your Elky looks pretty sweet. I like the gray on gray color scheme.

You may now return to your regularaly scheduled discussion.

####, it's a swedish fax number so I don't expect you to
send the picture, but it would really appreciate if you did.

Thx deangod, it was repainted 2 years ago and it looks like they did
a good job, at least no pieces coming loose.
That shot is a bit annoying, you see what part is missing, top trim rail of
the bed door. Finding a replacement here in Sweden is virtually impossible.

A bit dark, but here is another shot of my -76 classic:
http://www.farfarsfavoriter.com/~oskar/caminofront.jpg

I have no comment other than to repeat what someone else said. That is a really nice looking ride you have!

Thanks bgstk, got your fax.
I will probably only replace two of the bushings right now
'cause they had to be machined, man made, didn't find an importer
for this part in Sweden.
It's gonna feel akward, and very satisfying, driving around in my elky
without the banging noise. It's been there since I bought it.

When I replaced my body bushings on my '81 Five of ten bolts broke off.

How did you fix the broken bolts? Both my #6's are gone (broke). #7's are looking thin. 8O

Nice looking Elky Hillbilly, let us know how this turns out. I haven't looked at mine yet (74 Elky), but I have seen the front two, and they look somewhat dry rotted.
Can't you order parts from Stateside?

Thanks Caveman,
I probably can order quite a few parts from the States that I need for my
elky, but I try not to since the shipping cost is quite juicy. Shipping by
boat is cheap, but who wants to wait 3 months for parts and not all suppliers
can arrange this.
I'll keep you posted on the progress.