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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:03 am Post subject: how "original" are you?
seems like a good topic of discussion. how many members here have ECs that are original [original engine, trim, etc.] or fairly close?
mine was pretty much bone stock when i got it, something i didn't think i would ever see in any old car. in going through the paperwork that came in the glove box, i have determined that the 97k mile engine and tranny are still in, but at one point in the mid 80s the second owner had the rear end rebuilt [gotta love people who hang on to stuff like maintenance records]. in "personalizing" my el camino, i have changed to non-stock ralley wheels and taken out the AC and de-smogged the engine compartment. i will be adding headers and duel exhaust, and probably a few more upgrades, but i have decided to hang on to anything i take off the car so as to make it restoreable in the future. not that i think i might take it back to stock myself, but looking at the rising value of these cars in today's market, it might make sense to hang onto it all. _________________ Rob Tabish
Missoula, Montana
77 El Camino
83 Toyota Landcruiser
81 Honda CB900F
81 Honda CB900Custom
I don't usually get prime vehicles to work with so keeping things original is never an issue. I just do what I want within reason. I get an idea in my head of what I want and go that route.
Mike _________________ "That the automobile has practically reached the limit of its development is suggested by the fact that during the past year no improvements of a radical nature have been introduced." (Scientific American January 2, 1909).
Necoa #: 1999
Location: 16(CO,MT,WY,UT)
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: 192
Year: 1967
Model: El Camino
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:36 am Post subject:
I have all the original parts for mine. They just never made it back on when it got reassembled.
Engines under my work bench and the trans is out in the storage shed. So they are close to the elky. Does that count?
Thinking the engine and trans might end up in a t-bucket I have been planning on doing. But need to get the final stuff on the elky done first.
Necoa #: 572
Location: 10(IL,MN,WI)
Joined: Jan 28, 2003
Posts: 3615
Year: 1984
Model: El Camino
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:28 am Post subject:
I bought my Elky from the son (second owner) of the original owner. The only thing not original on the car was the tailgate, which the son had replaced...reason being his dad had cut holes into the tailgate and installed BIG tailights into it...seems the dad was concerned about getting rearended because of the 5th gens lights being so low to the ground. When I finish my Elky (yeah right like that's gonna happen anytime soon) there won't be much left that's original other than the rear clip, floorpans, frame, roof, firewall, glass, dashpad, radiator support, wheelwells, and fenders. Some people place to much emphasis on the word ''original'' at times. When the musclecar era died...the word "original" became less important. There are very few 4th gens and probably even fewer 5th gens whose value would decrease because of any modifications that had been done to them...providing that those modifications are done correctly and not a hack job. _________________ "The day we lose our will to fight is the day we lose our freedom" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8
Another 'original' here. Matching motor, tranny, and rear. Of course, everything has been rebuilt and warmed up a tad, and personalized with a bit of the shiney stuff. _________________ Mark
1972 Elky Picture Album
i am betting that 4th gen cars of all types will be going up in value in the next 10 years. i base that partly on....well, they really have no where to go but up , but also on the fact that pre-73 cars are all in the $10,000+ range and getting out of the reach of "hobbyists". as the number of available REAL cars gets smaller and smaller, people will get past what issues there might be with mid 70s stuff and they too will start to appreciate in value.
thinking that maybe 20 years down the line, all that may be available for people like us who like tinkering with cars will be all the plastic fantastic junk we are being forced to drive now is kinda disheartening. i remember back in the 70s mom drove the boaty monte carlo and i was a proud owner of a 69 le mans i paid $500 for. now that le mans is probably worth way more than a high school kid could afford, and there are several web sites for montes specifically, and A and G body cars in general.
i have tried to take an interest in newer cars, really i have. i did an SCCA build up on a beretta GT, and did a few mods to a mid 90s cutlass supreme, but to tell the truth, for the amount of work and money that went to those cars to get what i wanted out of them, i would have been much happier with an older car. _________________ Rob Tabish
Missoula, Montana
77 El Camino
83 Toyota Landcruiser
81 Honda CB900F
81 Honda CB900Custom
Necoa #: 572
Location: 10(IL,MN,WI)
Joined: Jan 28, 2003
Posts: 3615
Year: 1984
Model: El Camino
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:32 pm Post subject:
I'm not saying that 4th and 5th gen Elkys or for that matter, any older vehicle in nice condition won't increase in value over time...they most likely will. But don't assume your sitting on a gold mine, just because you have an older car that happens to be in nice shape...in fact, in most cases what's keeping it in nice shape is the fact that the "original parts" are being replaced or upgraded with newer or better equipment...and in turn increasing it's value. That still doesn't mean your ever going to get back what you invested into it. I also think that the value of the true "original" muscle cars has now topped out at least for quite awhile with the economy being what it is. I actually feel sorry for some of the Barrett-Jackson idiots who blew $100,000+ on an original numbers matching muscle car...I think they're in for a rude awakening. My son has a 1971 Monte that's been appraised at almost 4 times what the sticker price was when new...it's not an SS and it definitely ain't original (although mostly original in appearance)...if it was an all original numbers matching 1970 SS 454, it would be worth a whole lot more...but with the economy being what it is, he can't find a buyer to pay even 75% of the appraised value. I'm willing to bet that if was feasible to buy let's say a brand new Vette and stick it in a controlled environment and YOU could be around to resell it one hundred years from now...you would be dissapointed at what you think the car is worth compared to what you get offered...why? Because the cars that are made today are crap! We live in a disposble society and that includes the cars made today...doesn't matter who makes them. Here's a good example, I'd rather pay $35,000 for a nice 1970 Mach I then go pay $45,000+ for a new 2008 Mustang GT...10 years from now how much you think the Mach I will be worth compared to the GT (if it even survives that long). The Mach I may not appreciate in value much more than the $35,000, but you can bet that GT will depreciate in value. _________________ "The day we lose our will to fight is the day we lose our freedom" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8
Last edited by theelcaminofactory on Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:55 pm; edited 2 times in total
Well my 1986 El Camino is no were near stock. I have a 396 big block in it that has around 540 HP. I also have Chip Foose Nitrous rims. Flowmaster exhaust with custom tips and 4 brand new speakers. Looking into putting a Iroc daytona/turbo hood. The body it self is stock with never any rust on it. _________________ El Camino Nation the second best El Camino forum on the web http://elcamino.freeforums.org/portal.php
Necoa #: 572
Location: 10(IL,MN,WI)
Joined: Jan 28, 2003
Posts: 3615
Year: 1984
Model: El Camino
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:15 pm Post subject:
Tuggy24g wrote:
I have a 396 big block in it that has around 540 HP. I also have Chip Foose Nitrous rims.
What are those like nitrous injected or what? I sure would like to know how you got 540hp out of a 396 and it's running on pump gas...what's the engine specs? _________________ "The day we lose our will to fight is the day we lose our freedom" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8
i like thous nitrous rims, i want my 68 all primer black with chrome trims and something like thous chrome foose nitrous rims 22's in the back 20's in the front, cant wait, its guna look mean. thats after i get my 327 to hit 400 hp or more hopefuly. i hope this will all be done by 2010. im 20 and this is all i care to invest in
right now its all stock 327 pretty sure its a power glide 2 speed 10 bolt rear end nothing was done to it but front power disck breaks and the riping off the ac system. the motor is completely stock the interior is fresh, carpet, seats, dash, head liner all of it is new black on black paint and interior all the emblems are there it was T boned on the driver side so the door is off another elky undernieth the door and to the bottom right is caked on bondo which i want to get sand blasted the whole body and have the body done properly oh ya and the rims are original too havent seen any of you guys with thos yet. i wish i could show you guys some pics but i cant figure out how to post them.
tuggy24g. hom do you get all that power to hook up???
i drove a 79 with a 454 in it that was out of thos ss chevy trucks. with the throtle half way down i was burning rubber already _________________
[img]http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr19/loom1
The Mach I may not appreciate in value much more than the $35,000, but you can bet that GT will depreciate in value.
sadly, there is no guarantee that in another 20 years, $35,000 will even be worth $35,000. you keep it in the bank, and maybe it collects interest, or the value of the dollar goes down, or maybe the bank folds, FDIC or not.
i am sure most of us are part of this hobby because we like the hobby, not because of the potential for economic gain. unfortunately, there are those, like the barrett-jackson crowd, who dont build or work on their own cars and can afford to pay what ever it takes to get what they want. that is why the prices have gone up the way they have, IMHO. people don't "work" on cars anymore, they install stuff, and they show off, but i bet most of the stuff you see at shows are a combination of different professional's work done at the biddiing of the car owner.
if you rebuild the engine, and you paint the body, and you can even bust down the tires and change them out yourself, you have more of my respect than if you have the most pristine car on the street that you paid someone else to fix up for you. _________________ Rob Tabish
Missoula, Montana
77 El Camino
83 Toyota Landcruiser
81 Honda CB900F
81 Honda CB900Custom
im with rtabish on that one, for me im stuck in limbo i want to do all this on my own as in rebuilding the engine i know its not too hard i mean i know how a motor works and all but i dont have the right mechanical education to contimplate it, i would love to be some ones apprentice not to work in your shop or any thing well may be but to just show me the ropes. young and eager _________________
[img]http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr19/loom1
Necoa #: 10393
Location: 9(IN,KY,MI)
Joined: Nov 06, 2007
Posts: 104
Year: 1982
Model: El Camino
Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:06 pm Post subject:
The glass in mine is original
Having said that, it was also taken out and re-installed.
I greatly admire those who rebuild and preserve their original cars. I just do not have the patience to spend years hunting down and paying a small fortune OE parts.
I much prefer to modify the cars I buy, maybe 'cos their pretty beat up when I get them anyway. _________________ Growing old is compulsory - Growing up isn't!
My 86 is bone stock original. Other than the normal replacement things like tires, battery & other maintenance things. I've replaced the pinstripes due to the sun baking them. I've also replaced the the headliner & sunvisors due to the headliner drooping. I still have the original spare tire thats never been on the ground. Original paint still looks great thanks to some wonderful paint products. Had a young fellow tell me he really liked my E/C today. _________________ 1986 El Camino "Conquista" 305 V8 4BBL Automatic
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mom drove the boaty monte carlo and i was a proud owner of a 69 le mans i paid $500 for. now that le mans is probably worth way more than a high school kid could afford, and there are several web sites for montes specifically, and A and G body cars in general.
[img]http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr19/loom1
