I finally parked my El Camino so it could get some TLC. Has 119k miles on its 229 v6 and body.

I want to start by redoing all the body thats rusting/dented. The first place I NEED to start is the passenger door before it's totally gone on the bottom. I'm just out of high school with little experience in body work, or fabrication. Plus there is a dent on the left rear quarter where the body goes to the tailgate. Seems pretty solid there, how should I deal with this? My tailgate is pretty banged up, inside and out. Should I try to find a new one or just play with that one. Its not horrible by any means, mostly just little dents but still bother me knowing they're there. I would love, absolutely love to get a new rear bumper as my current is rusted, badly, on the bottom. Should I try to get it sent out and re-chromed, or try to find a new one. Theres so much to do that I guess i just really don't know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated guys, thanks

Tyler, start with the mechanical. Get the suspension, running gear and brakes all fixed up the way you want and then attack the rust followed by the dents.

I'm sure others will have more input but that is the order that I would do it in. HTH

Thanks for the reply, so you're saying getting it running in top order first. Makes sense I guess... the more expensive route to go first =p haha

I was thinking of dropping a 350 in it, who hasn't right? Saving the money while in college too will be a little bit of a challenge, but I'm not really all too engine savvy, this is really my first car that I've learned things on. Should I save up and get a turn key 350? or just a crate 350 because I do have some relatives and friends that would be more than willing to help put it in. Then I would also have to replace the tranny, and suspension and things like that. Is there some type of guide that someone may have made to make this easier for everyone else? it would help so much haha. Thanks again guys

I did mine the way 454elky explained it. I got the engine running first, then tackled the body and paint work. That way I could at least enjoy the car a bit between projects.

Which engine you use will depend on your time and budget issues, and how you want the car to perform. Personally, I liked the idea of being able to say I did all the work myself, so I built an engine from scratch.
It will cost a bit more, unless your able to find a good running engine and just add a few performance parts. I was able to get the parts together over a period of a few months, instead of having to shell out a wad of cash all at once. That worked better for my budget.

But a crate motor will get the job done much faster. You just have to have the money available.

DUDE!!!!

I knew I seen that picture before...... Don't mean to jack this thread but Nice Steve, I seen your Hell Camino on GEARS. Rock on man.

Later