So this weekend I went on a road trip to dispose of my dogs ashes (died 3 weeks ago) up outside of jackson, CA. A lot of rural areas out there.

Anyhow on my trek back, I noticed a bunch of yards with elcamino's covered in dirt and otherwise.

Anyhow, the "jewel" i think I found was a 75 elcamino, with a 350 with a new set of heads th350 not sure what kind of rearend. Engine looks to be in pretty clean condition. 4 tires w/ less than 1000 miles. OD reads 86k but who knows, Interior need alot of work, and the body needs some missing trim, and probably both rear panels will need to be replaced due to rust near the bottom.

The thing is, he bought it for his son too restore but his kid has no interest in doing it. He paid 1400 and sticker is at 500 for sale, after talking to him, he's like the engine and tranny are worth at least 300...

Thinking I might be able to get it for 3-400 out the door.

Things I'm wondering, could I transplant the 350 into my 305 81, what about smoging issues in my lovely state of california?

what generation is a 75 considered, I'm assuming 4th, and how tough are parts to find for these, specifically body and intererior.

I pretty much figure I can't go wrong with it for less than 400, heck the tires are worth that much.

The other alternative, is to start restoring it instead of my 81, and not have to deal with smog issues anymore.

You are correct, 75 is 4th gen and parts are not very easy to find. Please let me know if you decide to buy it and part it out, I am looking for a 75 grille and maybe a few interior pieces.

Edit: As for smog in California, it's 75 and older. It used to be 30 years and older but they just recently stopped it at 75.

Was the 350 sold new in 1981 El Camino's. If not, you may be out of luck with the People's Republic of California.

as far as I know, the largest motor sold from the factory in the 81 is a 305.

Are there any commonalities between the 81 and 75 that I will be able to swap parts from and between.

After my initial purchase of the camino, I have already begun to regret getting one that is past the 75 year for smog and upgrade option issues.

the 75's interioris in pretty bad shape, the truck bed has little rust, but the botton of the rear panels has a couple holes, so I would definetly need to find those.

There is another elcamino I found up there that has been sitting in the woods since my friends folks bought the property next door in 78, the last time this vehicle was registered was 91. But it is also an early 70's model, and that one I might be able to get for free, short of getting it towed home to a place where I don't have room to store it.

Anyhow, I'm still thinking about it. Gonna focus on getting my current one smog legal by the end of the month to get my daily driver secured,then I'll start thinking about my new project car :)

Thanks for the input.

For the fourth generation Elky you can get a lot of fiberglass pieces like fenders and hood and even a "Body" made from fiberglass at Show Car parts. As far as trim, what ever you can locate at a bone yard is what you have to choose from. No one makes the trim other than the bed trim. You can find some metal pieces for it that are new but Repops not OEM stuff. Interior pieces are available, most of them, none of which are OEM parts except the Window felts which GM still makes.