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Discussion starter · #54 ·
Right on! That looks fantastic!!

I'm himmin and hawin about a rotisserie. They're expensive. I've tried to find one used, but no luck so far. Couple guys gave me leads but they were gone before I could do anything or they were too far. Not sure I want to spend the money.
I found the used market for rotisseries to be "hot" as well. The problem is the shipping cost. Mine was $999 for the unit, and then ~$300 for shipping.
So my thought was "I can use it for my project and then sell it." I'm confident I can get near list price for it on Craigslist, they don't last long.
So, I paid $300 for the use of it for my project. Well worth it.
If you have multiple projects in the future, then different math.

But, having it to use is pure joy! No way I would've gotten the same level of detail etc. If I had to do it laying on my back.
 
Discussion starter · #58 ·
Yeah the shipping is astronomical. I'm considering it. I'm having my car blasted in a little over a week so we will see how things look after that. I don't know if my garage is tall enough.
Do you happen to know the tallest height you deal with? I imagine with the car on it's side it get's tall.
I only plan on having this one project. Wife wants a 69 Chevelle but that won't be a project, but a driver.
I went to the shop and gave it a spin and measured the highest point, 7' 1" (85 inches.)
Hope that helps.
 
Discussion starter · #59 ·
Yeah the shipping is astronomical. I'm considering it. I'm having my car blasted in a little over a week so we will see how things look after that. I don't know if my garage is tall enough.
Do you happen to know the tallest height you deal with? I imagine with the car on it's side it get's tall.
I only plan on having this one project. Wife wants a 69 Chevelle but that won't be a project, but a driver.
I got the Tuxedo 3000 model. Very happy with it.
 
Discussion starter · #61 ·
Feels like good progress. Got the inside of the cab shot in SPI Epoxy primer.
I was going to shoot it Sunday, but then my son needed help putting brakes on his daily driver. Good Fathers Day stuff, worth the delay ;)

Here is what I started with in April of 2020 (rust city!) Yes you could step right through the floorboards, and WHT was that fiberglass patch on the trans tunnel o_O. And notice the nice dash mod, gotta love it:

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Here it is with new sheet metal on the floor, dash, back of cab and the new trans tunnel for T56, all shot in SPI Epoxy primer:

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Discussion starter · #67 ·
If you lay out sheets of sand paper and spray them with water, it's like sand under your feet.

Choose your beach wisely. 360 to 600 grit is comfy. 80 to 100, not so comfy.
I've got a 90 lb bag of sandblasting sand that apparently we are not supposed to use anymore (silicosus risk) so I can just spread it around for the beach effect 😀
 
Discussion starter · #68 ·
DJ,
What a great project & progress! A lot of talent getting put to use here as well. Not sure I'd know how to act with your facility/tools. Keep up the awesome work. Gabe
Thanks! Not sure about talent, I make sooo many mistakes, but I'm willing to learn and do it over if needed.
Having a nice shop was a lifetime dream. I held onto the dream, worked hard, and had good fortune. I am blessed!
 
Discussion starter · #69 ·
Got the seam sealing done and shot 2 more coats of SPI Epoxy.
That seam sealer is some messy, sticky stuff. Hard to make it look good! I used tubes and tubes of it, everywhere, and an acid brush to get it into cracks and to try and smooth it out.

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Then I shot the Raptor bed liner in the rear wheel wells. I like this stuff! Very easy to work with and I really like the texture and look of it.

It comes in 2 parts, the bed liner material and the hardener. The bed liner container is about 3/4 full and has a line, you add the hardener to the line, shake it up, screw the gun on and shoot it.

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Here is the gun to NOT get! I ordered a kit from TCP Global and it included this gun. Sounded great. The gun is a piece of crap! Get the one from U-Pol.
Notice the plastic trigger handle. It wobbles 20-30 degrees and comes off of the needle. Not fun to mess with when you are suited up, gloved up, with a respirator etc. Very frustrating! When I got the trigger in the right position, it shot just fine, but life is too short to work with crappy tools.

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End result was very good (despite the crappy gun!)

Here is another tip if you are thinking of using this stuff:
-They recommend a 60-minute flash time between coats.
-The material in the gun will catalyze in less than 60-minutes and clog the gun (ask me how I know this :mad: )
-After the first coat, spray some acetone or urethane thinner through the gun, then go smoke your cigar, drink a beer and wait to do the second coat.

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BTW, this Raptor stuff has fumes! Of course I was all PPE'd up, but when I was done shooting I took the respirator off and nearly fainted! Strong stuff! Can still smell it while I'm posting this, 4 hours later.
 
Discussion starter · #70 ·
Got the firewall painted, installed the gas tank (much easier with the car on the rotisserie,) plumbed the fuel and brake lines and then and put the body shell on the frame for the last time. Feels like a real milestone!
Having 2 cherry pickers to lift the body and wheel dolly's under the tires made this an easy, one-person job.

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Discussion starter · #72 ·
I decided a while back to re-skin the doors. The OEM Sheetmetal was just too hammered, especially the drivers door. The place where the door handle sits has a complex indent and lip arrangement and I just don't have the hammer and dolly skills to get that back in shape - it really was whacked. Plus the door skin had rust through on the bottom, which made me want to pull it off and see what was going on with the door frame. Good thing I did, as there was significant rust and damage hidden behind the skin.

After fixing the metal on the door frame (lot's of cutting and butt welding) I was ready to shoot the whole thing in black SPI Epoxy. Big moment!

Here is something that I'm sure all restorers come up against; as much as we want every square inch of metal to be perfect, rust free and solid, there is just no way to get every single nook and cranny to shiny metal before painting. At some point we have to say "I've done my best and we'll see how it goes."
I know the rust is stopped. The whole car was acid dipped and then the specific areas (after grinding off the skins) that still had rust were treated with Oshpo and meticulously neutralized.

Here is the prepped door frame:

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And painted in SPI Black Epoxy, 2 coats.

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Also shot the inside of the new door skin in epoxy


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Some previous owner must have had the door open and backed into something because the mounting area for the door latch was bent all out of shape and the opening for striker to go through had had some "vice grip surgery." It was a mess!
I did my best to get it all back into shape with a hammer and dolly, and Dremel tool - I'm new at this and it was pretty interesting.
I think it is "good enough" for an inside surface and I may be able to skim it with filler and make it better before final paint.

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My first attempt at putting new skin on a door. Picky business . . .
But, got it crimped and spot welded on.
First test fit. Tweaking to the panel and door alignment still needed, but overall I'm pleased.

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Discussion starter · #79 · (Edited)
Been awhile since I posted an update. I took a break from the el Camino and decided to do a "practice" paint job on my 2002 Suburban, kind of a warm up to doing the classic.
Here is a 5 minute video of the process and results:
Bonus - not only painted the 'burb, but got to play with the drone filming it :)
I'm back on the el Camino now and will have something (hopefully) cool to show in a day or so.
 
Discussion starter · #82 ·
I decided to work on this custom dash for the el Camino. It’s been in the back of my mind for awhile and I spent way too many hours on YouTube watching various approaches. I mostly got my inspiration from the guys doing door panels and speaker enclosures.

***Warning: For the “I like factory best” guys, this will not be your thing.

For the dash on this project, I wanted to put in Dakota Digital VHX gauges and a 2 DIN stereo/video head.
I’ve seen lots of guys who put 2 din stereo heads in a custom console, but I just didn’t like that look. I wanted it in the dash.
I was hoping someone made a custom part for this, but could not find one, so I decided to make my own, using the factory dash insert as a starting point.

Here is what I started with:

Cap Baseball cap Gas Bumper Machine



And here is the final product:

Plant Motor vehicle Steering wheel Automotive design Steering part


I’m really happy with it! It took a “ridiculous” amount of time, but apparently that is what it takes. I learned a lot and could do the next one in only an “absurd” amount of time.

I recorded a video of the process for anyone who is interested in how I did it, or crazy enough to want to do something like this. The final approach includes some unlikely things like; Spandex and Bed Liner, seriously!

 
Discussion starter · #98 ·
Next project on the car is to put a "trunk" in the bed. I've seen some other folks who have done this and got some good ideas.
I got a new front bed sheet metal panel from OPGI since the original one was pretty beat up.
Wood Automotive tire Grey Flooring Gas

As many of you know, the 68-72 el Caminos shared a lot of parts with the wagons.
The space under the front bed section is actually the rear passenger foot well on the wagon.
There is a lot of space there and I want to use it for storage, and I'm going to put the battery there (clean up the engine compartment and better weight over the rear.) I'll cover the smugglers box opening in the cab and just have access via a "trunk" lid in the bed.
Automotive tire Hood Grey Wood Automotive exterior

I'm going to cut the brand new sheet metal to create the "trunk" lid. I didn't want to use the whole section as there is a gap around the perimeter that was filled with seam sealer from the factory and not filling it would look bad. And the edges around the wheel tubs scrape. Grinding them back for clearance would result in a bigger, crappy looking gap.
So, I'm cutting out a rectangle for the "trunk" lid and will spot weld down the perimeter and seam seal it like the rest of the bed edges.
I'll put a rubber trim piece around the rectangle, to make it look sort of a factory finish vs. a cut metal edge.
Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Auto part Rectangle


And here is the cut and spacing to accommodate the rubber trim.
Wood Floor Wood stain Hardwood Gas


Next I'll add some bracing to the "trunk lid" (it is sheet metal and flexes a lot) then work out the hinges, latch and mounts for the hydraulic lifter arms.
 
Discussion starter · #101 ·
Progress on the "trunk" for the el Camino. This is a pretty fun project!
I'd been thinking about a solution for the hinges on this thing, original plan was just a basic piano hinge arrangement, but I didn't think that would be all that cool and might have some issues and I kept trying to think of other approaches.

While I was thinking, I opened the trunk of my daily driver, a 2014 Infinity Q60S and started studying the hinges. They are a really cool articulating setup. Not only do they articulate up and out as the trunk opens, they have compact hydraulic cylinders on each hinge to hold the trunk lid up. A really nice, compact and neat package. Wow! I want to use these.

I did a quick search of the local "pick and pull" wrecking yard, but alas, no Infinities in stock.
But, I did more research and the same part number hinge is used on lot on Nissan cars (of course.)
Found a 2012 Maxima at the local place and went down there and scored not only the hinges, but the electronic solenoid latch and striker assembly. Now I have all the parts I need.

***How do you open the latched trunk on a car in a wrecking yard? Remove the back seat and crawl in through the wet and moldy trunk and pull the glow in the dark emergency escape cord. Lovely . . . I'm 60 years old and not fond of this kind of thing anymore. But hey, I did it and got everything I need for less than $50.

Then onto the fun stuff, I fabbed up some braces and mounted the new, very cool, articulating hinges.
Here is how it looks so far:
Hood Automotive tire Motor vehicle Asphalt Wood
 
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