Already told ya about the rear end I got under the "best rear end" thread. But I did even better on tires/wheels!

Two 215/65-15s similar tread but diff makers, 1/3 of tread left;
helped a guy down the street do a brake job on his truck
(mostly just guided him), he gave me these .............Free

Two 15 X 7 S-10 steel wheels (with the triangle cutouts in them)
at pull your part ........$4.95/ea ..............$9.90

Traded some IROC rims I didn't want to local salvage yard for
2 more matching S-10 rims ............Free

Local repair shop had a stack of tires sitting out by their big door
as I drove by, so I stopped and asked about them ..........
Four GR70-15 Firestones with about 3K miles on them (these are not old
tires, the guy had them on a truck he was restoring for about a year,
then wrecked it).............. $5.00/each.......... $10.00
(I have the other 2 sitting in my kitchen)

mount and bal 4 tires........................... $30.00

Went to the metal recycling yard, after 20-30 min looking, got
Four good trim rings (and 2 ft of 2in pipe for breaker bar) ........$8.32

2 cans Dupli-color chevy orange engine paint .....$5.67/ea ........$11.34

Total for 4 tires/wheels.........$61.56

that's them on my avatar pic

I WIN !!!!!!

P.S. Have the other 2 GR70s, and four 14 in rallye wheels with nice 225/60-14s on them that I will either trade for something else I want, or sell for the $$ to get somethings else. Was talking to the neighbor of the guy who gave me the tires last night, he has a wrecked S-10 Blazer beside his garage. Asked him what his plans for it were. He has the parts to fix it now, and after talking a bit, was glad to GIVE ME the crunched fender and hood (each bent about 12 inches in from front corner, rest is straight). FREE SHEET METAL to make something or use as patch panels.

:nanawrench:

Hey you coming to the EL Camino central meet in Carlisle pa?

Also congrats!

Won't make it this year Tuggy. I live in a small apt complex (21 apts). Landlady is cool with me and comes to see what I've done to the elco once in awhile, but I can only have it incapacitated on weekends (redid that rearend on my balcony on cut open, flattened cardboard boxes, when done, threw the boxes away, mess and all). This next weekend will put the rearend in and new parking brake cables. Memorial Day weekend (3 days!!) I have to put floor pans in it. Other weekends I will be building a visor and twin 71 GTO-style hood scoops with that free sheet metal!! (already have the cardboard patterns made) Then I'm going to relax for awhile!
(I will have to put a new exhaust on it too, before it will pass the vehicle inspection by July 1, and that will kill me, cause I will pay a shop full retail to do it!)
:beer:

Keyser your the shopping king when it comes to your El Camino.The wheel set up looks great and it's good to hear when people build from scratch,scrounging for parts modifying and painting,rather than turning the project over to a paid professional or thumbing through a catalog.Good for you.Sometimes the trip is as much fun as the destination.:joker:

As I've said on here before, I don't post my deals to brag, but to show the new guys that you can create a good looking ride without spending lots of $$.
And you're right, I love the building part a bit more than the keeping part. I have a long history of selling the done one to finance the new one. :crazy:
May end up keeping this one tho.

My elco was all in grey primer when I got it. 1st weekend, masked it off and sprayed on the black primer scallops (is too square a body for flames to look right, IMO). Then took 3 rolls of 3M bright orange pinstripe tape (1/8 th inch wide) to outline the scallops. Had to make it "mine" you know! (also, I HATE having what everyone else has)
:nanawrench:

Congrats on a sweet build. I too have a dog in this fight. Bought my 81 with insurance $$ 900. bux 100. tow home . 352.00 left rims 60 bux 4 four 15x7 ralleys pwder coated black new tires 500 bux 148 cash in whhels and tires two used flows installed 100. sold old flows 80. bux 20 $$ in exhaust rear say bar w hardware 20 1 inch nascar studs and lugs swap meet ect ect not bragging lots of hard work long nights:beer::beer::beer:

... it's good to hear when people build from scratch,scrounging for parts modifying and painting,rather than turning the project over to a paid professional or thumbing through a catalog...

What's wrong with turning the car over to be done? I've been working on my car since 1992 and had it deteriorate alot faster than I could work on it (can you say one step forward, two steps back). Now that I've turned it over to be worked (I am still very involved in the scrounging and definitely the design) I'll get done in under a year what I've been unabel to do myself in 18 years.

Don't get me wrong, I have alot of respect for those that have the ability, the time and the space to do their own work. I enjoy working on my cars.; but time spent working on my car is less time spent with my family; I have very little time with them already.

man i need to get you to go shopping for me. I will deffentaly check the yards around here before i check for new parts. in fact just pulled a serpentine kit off of a truck a buddy had sitting in a yard for $10 with everything i could get with it instead of the $500 + for a new kit.

Way to go consuela! Ya gotta look before you can find!!!!

:You_Rock:

Nice work.... "done dirt cheap" ......

LOVE getting DEALS - BARTERING & of course SWAP MEETS & FLEA MARKET finds...... and of course CRAIG'S LIST & to a "lesser degree" - eBay.

Another thing that cannot be down played is the "current trend" and "popularity" of low buck cars/rods with that old-time "back in the day look" (flat black/rat rod, etc).

Recently I have seen many low buck backyard built cars/trucks built like was done back then ..... back when most cars were "owner built" low budget showpieces of backyard ingenuity and hard-kuckle busting work.

It's been way toooooooooooooo long since the high-buck cars..... built by high buck shops have dominated the car/truck and also motorcycle world.

It's refreshing to see owner built rides becoming the "center of attention" again at car cruises, shows, etc..... crowds of people staring at them while walking past the high buck - pro built - turn key rides.

Things have changed ...... BTW..... we are heading to a BIG swap meet in Ohio this weekend (Canfield, Ohio)..... for us who "do-it-ourselves" ...... no explanation is necessary!!!!! :nanawrench: