[Lewcrew73]

1973 GMC Sprint
Chevy 350 V8 with an Edelbrock 4bbl carb, manual choke
TH400 Trans (?) was original, but haven't pulled any numbers off it yet.

My name is Jason, and I am a sucker for making my daughters happy. My youngest came to me a couple of years ago, and said she would like to get an El Camino when it was her turn to drive. I told her it probably wasn't going to happen, because the prices were pretty high on everything I saw at the time. Fast forward to yesterday, and we brought home a 1973 GMC Sprint.
When we went to look at the car, I did all the tire kicking and poking around. Found a little rust, but it seemed to be in places that weren't a big deal. The smile on my little girls face was a serious distraction, and I made the deal without looking too deep.
Got up this morning to some fresh rain, and that's when I found water in the doors and cab, and quite a bit more rust in the floor than I expected.
I can handle mechanical, electrical, and sound. I know where to get the upholstery done. I think I could lay down paint, at least good enough for cruising in our little town. What I know I am about to learn all about is rust removal.
This is the beginning of spending some good time with my kid working on this project, and hoping that all turns out well.
Pictures of the car are next, along with organizing the project into the different categories and getting the work lists laid out.
Nothing left to do now but get started!

 

[EL S ONE]

Welcome Jason from Campbell Ca. You do the tin work and find somebody that is good with a MIG welder. A gas shielded MIG welder. 😮

 

[123pugsy]

Looking forward to following along.

 

[cyberray]

My name is Jason, and I am a sucker for making my daughters happy. My youngest came to me a couple of years ago, and said she would like to get an El Camino when it was her turn to drive. I told her it probably wasn't going to happen, because the prices were pretty high on everything I saw at the time. Fast forward to yesterday, and we brought home a 1973 GMC Sprint.
When we went to look at the car, I did all the tire kicking and poking around. Found a little rust, but it seemed to be in places that weren't a big deal. The smile on my little girls face was a serious distraction, and I made the deal without looking too deep.
Got up this morning to some fresh rain, and that's when I found water in the doors and cab, and quite a bit more rust in the floor than I expected.
I can handle mechanical, electrical, and sound. I know where to get the upholstery done. I think I could lay down paint, at least good enough for cruising in our little town. What I know I am about to learn all about is rust removal.
This is the beginning of spending some good time with my kid working on this project, and hoping that all turns out well.
Pictures of the car are next, along with organizing the project into the different categories and getting the work lists laid out.
Nothing left to do now but get started!

noooooooooooooooooo..........let me fix that for you.....

"What I know MY DAUGHTER is about to learn all about is rust removal."

I'm a firm believer in 'you want it, you earn it'. there needs to be some sweat equity in this. not cash from part-time jobs or babysitting....sweat equity. if this means she learns how to claybar the paint to get a nice resto on it, she does this. chas is just another word for "I can afford to spend money" while sweat equity is "pride of ownership" and should make her think twice about taking any actions that may endanger the work she has put into the vehicle.

 

[JKCamino]

Sounds like a fun project, keep us posted 👍👍👍

 

[Karadjgne]

This is the beginning of spending some good time with my kid working on this project, and hoping that all turns out well.

That's worth more than the car, that's Priceless. And as mentioned above, anything just 'bought' is easily replaced, but something 'earned' through blood, sweat and tears becomes Personal and that's a whole different perspective.

 

[78 Elk]

This is so awesome, you and your daughter working on the project together. Have fun and enjoy.

 

[Lewcrew73]

 

[Lewcrew73]

 

[Lewcrew73]

Working on getting these pictures uploaded. Got a few today, but had to throw a cover on it because it was starting to rain.
Cleaned up the engine bay a little, and got a good look at the carb. Of course I've already forgotten the part number, and didn't get a picture of that. It has a manual choke, and I finally found that hanging loose under the dash. Seems to work though.
I have power steering hoses coming tomorrow, as the system sprung a leak after I had the shocks all replaced.
Got the front hub bearings repacked too. Got a couple of new Cooper GTs. When my guy pulled the rears for me, he found one trim ring had been JB welded on, twice. Other side was missing clips, so I'm adding those to the parts list. Not sure if I can get the JB weld off, so probably adding a Rallye wheel too.
Found some bucket seats that look like they might fit, and they all have integrated seatbelts. Older caddies, 2002ish Trailblazers, and some Buicks all had potential.
Was hoping to take this up for a wine weekend Saturday, and do a little cruisin with my girl (wife of 33yrs). She doesn't see the finished product yet, so I know she doesn't really like riding in. She sure looks good sitting next to me in it though!
Wont get much done this weekend, but I'll try to get some more pics uploaded.
Back to the real world.....

 

[Lewcrew73]

 

[toyinhawaii]

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Nice project! looks like somebody tried to JB weld the beauty ring on...and it didnt work??

 

[crice63]

Great looking 4th gen! I put some 05 de Ville seats in my 77. Mount them as low as you can. The trailblazer seats always measured too high. My top choice was some BMW convertible seats--they have integrated seatbelts over lots of years. But I found the pristine caddy seats at $25 seat day at the pullapart so couldn't pass them up. I have them all wired and even the charger under the passenger seat works. And three point restraints make passengers feel more secure.

 

[Lewcrew73]

Nice project! looks like somebody tried to JB weld the beauty ring on...and it didnt work??

Unfortunately, it worked just fine, so it never got done correctly. Had to pop the trim ring off to flip the tires around. I wanted the white letters out, and that's how we found it.

 

[Lewcrew73]

Great looking 4th gen! I put some 05 de Ville seats in my 77. Mount them as low as you can. The trailblazer seats always measured too high. My top choice was some BMW convertible seats--they have integrated seatbelts over lots of years. But I found the pristine caddy seats at $25 seat day at the pullapart so couldn't pass them up. I have them all wired and even the charger under the passenger seat works. And three point restraints make passengers feel more secure.

That's the direction I am leaning right now. Ill have to look at the 05 Deville specifically, thanks for that. Walked a parts yard the other day, and saw a number of different candidates. Need to break out my tape measure, and see what kind of room I am really working with, and go pull some seats. I can get power seats for $40, and manual seats are $25. Found some in decent shape, but anything going in will get reupholstered first.

 

[69 SS396]

I'll have to vote for the BMW vert seats.

Very comfy and a little smaller than the DeVille seats. 3 series beamer.

 

[123pugsy]

I'll have to vote for the BMW vert seats.

Very comfy and a little smaller than the DeVille seats. 3 series beamer.

I got a set of them for my rod project. They seem quite good.

 

[JKCamino]

That's the direction I am leaning right now. Ill have to look at the 05 Deville specifically, thanks for that. Walked a parts yard the other day, and saw a number of different candidates. Need to break out my tape measure, and see what kind of room I am really working with, and go pull some seats. I can get power seats for $40, and manual seats are $25. Found some in decent shape, but anything going in will get reupholstered first.

I can also say a 95 deville bench seat will work also. Which is what I have in Killer.

 

[Lewcrew73]

I can also say a 95 deville bench seat will work also. Which is what I have in Killer.

Is that a split bench? It would be nice to eat the dash when the driver is short.

 

[Karadjgne]

Heh, what's the worry there, just how often do you think someone else drives the Killermino lol. It's the passengers who eat dash if they are taller than JK...